mayoralty from nowhere, politically speaking, dredged up from obscurity by Tammany Hall, the doyens of which rightly estimated him a man they could trust. 'And I want that man out of jail. Today.'
'Unfortunately, Mr Mayor,' said the Commissioner, 'much as I wish I could execute your orders without question, I am subservient to another master as well — the law.'
'Don't law me,' retorted Hylan. 'I know the law. Don't forget who you're talking to, Enright. I could have you fired too.'
'That's your prerogative,' answered Enright.
'Let's keep our tempers,' said McAdoo mildly, 'and hear the facts, shall we?'
'This is none of Washington's business,' snapped Mayor Hylan. 'It's city business.'
'On September sixteenth,' answered McAdoo without raising his voice, 'New York City's business became Washington's business. I haven't reached the President today, but my wife thinks Wilson would not be pleased if the Captain were fired.'
'His wife?' asked the Mayor, incredulous. 'His wife? How about your wife, Enright — does she have an opinion? Excuse me, I'll go ask my wife what the President wants.'
'For heaven's sake, Hylan,' said the Commissioner. 'McAdoo's wife is the President's daughter.'
There was a momentary silence.
'Daughter,' Mayor Hylan humphed and wiped his brow with a soiled handkerchief.
Littlemore cleared his throat: 'Um, would I be the Captain everybody's talking about firing?'
Commissioner Enright answered: 'Is it true, Littlemore, that you took a man out of the hospital last week and jailed him even though he had just received major surgery for compound facial fractures?'
'That guy?' responded Littlemore. 'That guy has a fancy lawyer?'
'Yes. His name, I'm told, is Mr John Smith. I'm also told that Mr Smith's assailant is a very close friend of yours. And that you personally secured your friend's release on bail.'
'How'd the lawyer know that?'
'I take it these facts are true.'
'Yes, sir. I think the guy's real name is Drobac, Mr Enright, and I think he may be the Woolworth rooftop killer.'
'May be the killer?' repeated Hylan scornfully. 'Anyone may be the killer.'
'No, sir, Mr Mayor. There are only about fifty people who could be the Woolworth killer. That's how many were on the observation deck at the time of the murder, and over a dozen of them were kids. This guy was there, and he was recognized by an eyewitness as a wanted kidnapper.'
'Allegedly recognized, Captain,' corrected Enright. 'By the man who assaulted him. Whom you released. Your friend. Who is himself charged with attempted murder.'
'Dr Younger's helped the force before, sir,' said Littlemore. 'He's a Harvard man. And he fought in the war.'
'The war,' repeated Enright darkly. 'You know as well I do, Littlemore, that many men who fought have behaved unaccountably and committed criminal assaults since returning home.'
'Not this man,' said Littlemore.
'Enright, ask your Captain,' interjected Hylan, 'what proof he has that Smith committed the Woolworth murder. I'm told there's no evidence whatsoever.'
'Littlemore?' asked Enright.
The detective shifted uncomfortably: 'Okay, I don't have any proof — for now. But Dr Younger definitely identified him as Drobac, who committed a kidnapping and another killing the night before.'
'Bosh — the kidnapped girl herself doesn't recognize the man,' added Hylan. 'Not to mention the fact that she's left the state.'
'She's only in Connecticut,' said Littlemore.
'Yes, in New Haven, I know,' said the Commissioner. 'Is it true that she failed to recognize the man?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Can you identify him, Littlemore?' asked Enright. 'You rescued the kidnapped girl. Could you testify that the man in jail was one of her kidnappers?'
'No, sir,' conceded Littlemore. 'He's a little — uh — banged up at the moment.'
'You see, Enright?' declared Hylan. 'Your own officer can't identify him.'
'Would you say you have probable cause, Littlemore?' asked the Commissioner.
'Probable cause? You're not talking about letting him go, are you, Mr Enright? This guy's dangerous. He's gone after the French girl twice. He might kill her if we let him out.'
Enright sighed: 'You can't presume guilt, Littlemore, and you can't hold a man without probable cause. You know that.'
'We've held plenty of men on a lot less than this, sir,' objected Littlemore. 'We've held them for months.'
'Yes, but in those cases, the men we were holding — well — ' Enright did not finish his sentence.
Littlemore did: 'Didn't have a lawyer fancy enough to get a meeting with the Mayor.'
'That's the way of the world,' said the Commissioner.
'Give me a few weeks, sir. I'll nail him.'
'A few weeks?' said Hylan. 'An outrage. I won't tolerate it. I've always stood up for the common man against the interests. There's only one true threat to this Republic — the international bankers, the moneymen, like a giant octopus spreading their slimy legs over all our cities. As long as I'm Mayor, the interests won't rule this city. The common man will have his rights.'
His back to Hylan, Commissioner Enright rolled his eyes. 'I'm sorry to say it, Littlemore,' said Enright, 'but your conduct merits an immediate suspension. Releasing from jail a personal friend charged with attempted murder. Imprisoning his victim without probable cause. Really. You should know better.' The Commissioner was one of those men who, when standing, like to bob up and down on the balls of their feet, hands behind the back. 'However, Mr McAdoo happened to be in my office at the very same time Mayor Hylan came in. As fate would have it, McAdoo was also speaking to me about you. He gave me this.' The Commissioner picked up from his desk several pieces of typed stationery. 'It's a copy of a letter delivered today to President Wilson and every member of his Cabinet in Washington, DC. The letter is from Senator Fall of New Mexico. Do you know Senator Fall?'
'No, sir.'
'A very powerful man,' said Enright. 'He sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and will soon be Secretary of State, in all likelihood, under Mr Harding.'
'What's that got to do with me, sir?' asked Littlemore.
'Can you enlighten Captain Littlemore, McAdoo?' said Enright.
'Certainly,' said McAdoo, putting his fingertips together. His calm demeanor, smooth-backed hair, fine features, and long elegant face contrasted sharply with the uncombed, frowning, and overanxious Mayor. McAdoo spoke with a distinctly Eastern, well-educated accent, with only the occasional twang giving away his Tennessee roots. 'Fall's a fire-breather — and a very effective one. He's been denouncing us — the Wilson Administration, that is — for our failure to respond to the outrage on Wall Street. Fall says that an attack of this magnitude can only have been organized and carried out by a foreign power intent on our destruction — a reference, I assume, to Lenin and his Bolsheviks. He says the bombing was an act of war plainly targeting one of America's most important financial houses, while we in the Administration, far from preparing for war, proclaim that it was the work of a few disorganized Italian malcontents. And then, Captain Littlemore, Senator Fall names you.'
'Me?'
'You. He says that the New York Police Captain closest to the investigation — naming you personally — has in private advised Mr Thomas Lamont of J. P. Morgan and Company that the evidence refutes Flynn's theory of the case and demonstrates a purposeful attack against the Morgan firm.'
'I didn't say demonstrates. I said it was a possibility.'
'You are to be congratulated, Captain Littlemore,' said McAdoo.
'I am?'
'Yes. I share Senator Fall's views in every respect.'
'If you'll excuse me, Mr McAdoo,' said Littlemore, 'I don't get it. I thought Senator Fall was criticizing President Wilson, and I thought you were the President's man.'
'I don't know if I'm his man, Captain,' said McAdoo, 'but I'm certainly in his camp. The President wants this
