Mickey Spillane - I, The Jury

I, THE JURY

by Mickey Spillane

Copyright 1947

Chapter One

I shook the rain from my hat and walked into the room. Nobody said a word. They stepped back politely and I could feel their eyes on me. Pat Chambers was standing by the door to the bedroom trying to steady Myrna. The girls body was racking with dry sobs. I walked over and put my arms around her.

Take it easy, kid, I told her. Come on over here and lie down. I led her to a studio couch that was against the far wall and sat her down. She was in pretty bad shape. One of the uniformed cops put a pillow down for her and she stretched out.

Pat motioned me over to him and pointed to the bedroom. In there, Mike, he said.

In there. The words hit me hard. In there was my best friend lying on the floor dead. The body. Now I could call it that. Yesterday it was Jack Williams, the guy that shared the same mud bed with me through two years of warfare in the stinking slime of the jungle. Jack, the guy who said hed give his right arm for a friend and did when he stopped a bastard of a Jap from slitting me in two. He caught the bayonet in the biceps and they amputated his arm.

Pat didnt say a word. He let me uncover the body and feel the cold face. For the first time in my life I felt like crying. Where did he get it, Pat?

In the stomach. Better not look at it. The killer carved the nose off a forty-five and gave it to him low.

I threw back the sheet anyway and a curse caught in my throat. Jack was in shorts, his one hand still clutching his belly in agony. The bullet went in clean, but where it came out left a hole big enough to cram a fist into.

Very gently I pulled the sheet back and stood up. It wasnt a complicated setup. A trail of blood led from the table beside the bed to where Jacks artificial arm lay. Under him the throw rug was ruffled and twisted. He had tried to drag himself along with his one arm, but never reached what he was after.

His police positive, still in the holster, was looped over the back of the chair. That was what he wanted. With a slug in his gut he never gave up.

I pointed to the rocker, overbalanced under the weight of the .38. Did you move the chair, Pat?

No, why?

It doesnt belong there. Dont you see?

Pat looked puzzled. What are you getting at?

That chair was over there by the bed. Ive been here often enough to remember that much. After the killer shot Jack, he pulled himself toward the chair. But the killer didnt leave after the shooting. He stood here and watched him grovel on the floor in agony. Jack was after that gun, but he never reached it. He could have it the killer didnt move it. The trigger-happy bastard must have stood by the door laughing while Jack tried to make his last play. He kept pulling the chair back, inch by inch, until Jack gave up. Tormenting a guy whos been through all sorts of hell. Laughing. This was no ordinary murder, Pat. Its as cold-blooded and as deliberate as I ever saw one. Im going to get the one that did this.

You dealing yourself in, Mike?

Im in. What did you expect?

Youre going to have to go easy.

Uh-uh. Fast, Pat. From now on its a race. I want the killer for myself. Well work together as usual, but in the homestretch, Im going to pull the trigger.

No, Mike, it cant be that way. You know it.

Okay, Pat, I told him. You have a job to do, but so have I. Jack was about the best friend I ever had. We lived together and fought together. And by Christ, Im not letting the killer go through the tedious process of the law. You know what happens, damn it. They get the best lawyer there is and screw up the whole thing and wind up a hero! The dead cant speak for themselves. They cant tell what happened. How could Jack tell a jury what it was like to have his insides ripped out by a dumdum? Nobody in the box would know how it felt to be dying or have your own killer laugh in your face. One arm. Hell, what does that mean? So he has the Purple Heart. But did they ever try dragging themselves across a floor to a gun with that one arm, their insides filling up with blood, so goddamn mad to be shot theyd do anything to reach the killer. No, damn it. A jury is cold and impartial like theyre supposed to be, while some snotty lawyer makes them pour tears as he tells how his client was insane at the moment or had to shoot in self-defense. Swell. The law is fine. But this time Im the law and Im not going to be cold and impartial. Im going to remember all those things.

I reached out and grabbed the lapels of his coat. And something more, Pat. I want you to hear every word I say. I want you to tell it to everyone you know. And when you tell it, tell it strong, because I mean every word of it. There are ten thousand mugs that hate me and you know it. They hate me because if they mess with me I shoot their damn heads off. Ive done it and Ill do it again.

There was so much hate welled up inside me I was ready to blow up, but I turned and looked down at what was once Jack. Right then I felt like saying a prayer, but I was too mad.

Jack, youre dead now. You cant hear me any more. Maybe you can. I hope so. I want you to hear what Im about to say. Youve known me a long time, Jack. My word is good just as long as I live. Im going to get the louse that killed you. He wont sit in the chair. He wont hang. He will die exactly as you died, with a .45 slug in the gut, just a little below the belly button. No matter who it is, Jack, Ill get the one. Remember, no matter who it is, I promise.

When I looked up, Pat was staring at me strangely. He shook his head. I knew what he was thinking. Mike, lay off. For Gods sake dont go off half-cocked about this. I know you too well. Youll start shooting up anyone connected with this and get in a jam youll never get out of.

Im over it now, Pat. Dont get excited. From now on Im after one thing, the killer. Youre a cop, Pat. Youre tied down by rules and regulations. Theres someone over you. Im alone. I can slap someone in the puss and they cant do a damn thing. No one can kick me out of my job. Maybe theres nobody to put up a huge fuss if I get gunned down, but then I still have a private cops license with the privilege to pack a rod, and theyre afraid of me. I hate hard, Pat. When I latch on to the one behind this theyre going to wish they hadnt started it. Some day, before long, Im going to have my rod in my mitt and the killer in front of me. Im going to watch the killers face. Im going to plunk one right in his gut, and when hes dying on the floor I may kick his teeth out.

You couldnt do that. You have to follow the book because youre a Captain of Homicide. Maybe the killer will wind up in the chair. Youd be satisfied, but I wouldnt. Its too easy. That killer is going down like Jack did.

There was nothing more to say. I could see by the set of Pats jaw that he wasnt going to try to talk me out of it. All he could do was to try to beat me to him and take it from there. We walked out of the room together. The coroners men had arrived and were ready to carry the body away.

I didnt want Myrna to see that. I sat down on the couch beside her and let her sob on my shoulder. That way I managed to shield her from the sight of her fianc being carted off in a wicker basket. She was a good kid. Four years ago, when Jack was on the force, he had grabbed her as she was about to do a Dutch over the Brooklyn Bridge. She was a wreck then. Dope had eaten her nerve ends raw. But he had taken her to his house and paid for a full treatment until she was normal. For the both of them it had been a love that blossomed into a beautiful thing. If it werent for the war they would have been married long ago.

When Jack came back with one arm it had made no difference. He no longer was a cop, but his heart was with the force. She had loved him before and she still loved him. Jack wanted her to give up her job, but Myrna persuaded him to let her hold it until he really got settled. It was tough for a man with one arm to find employment, but he had many friends.