Gregorius bared his teeth at me. They needed cleaning — badly. “Let’s have the exit line, chum.”
   “Yes, sir,” I said politely. “You probably didn’t intend it, but you’ve done me a favor. With an assist from Detective Dayton. You’ve solved a problem for me. No man likes to betray a friend but I wouldn’t betray an enemy into your hands. You’re not only a gorilla, you’re an incompetent. You don’t know how to operate a simple investigation. I was balanced on a knife edge and you could have swung me either way. But you had to abuse me, throw coffee in my face, and use your fists on me when I was in a spot where all I could do was take it. From now on I wouldn’t tell you the time by the clock on your own wall.”
   For some strange reason he sat there perfectly still and let me say it. Then he grinned. “You’re just a little old cop-hater, friend. That’s all you are, shamus, just a little old cop-hater.”
   “There are places where cops are not hated, Captain. But in those places you wouldn’t be a cop.”

Raymond Chandler (1888-1959) American novelist
The Long Goodbye (1953)

 
Added on 15-Feb-13 | Last updated 15-Feb-13
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