The 1st Deadly Sin

Blank’s apartment. Then you relock the door from the inside. So when he comes home, unlocks his door and marches in, you’re already in there.”

“I like it,” Fernandez grinned.

“When the time comes I’ll draw you a floor plan so you’ll know where to be when he comes in. Then you-”

“A floor plan?” the lieutenant interrupted. “But how-”

“Just don’t worry about it. Don’t even think about it. When the time comes, you’ll have a floor plan. But you give him time to get inside before you show yourselves. Maybe even give him time to relock his door so he can’t make a fast run for it. He’s sure to relock once he’s inside his apartment; that’s the kind of a guy he is. Then you show yourselves. Now here’s where it begins to get cute. Can you get hold of a piece that can’t be traced?”

“Oh sure. No trouble.”

“What is it?”

“A Saturday-night special.”

The Captain took a deep breath, blew it out in an audible sigh.

“Lieutenant,” he said gently, “Danny Boy makes fifty-five big ones a year, drives a Stingray, and wears silk underwear. Do you really think he’s the kind of guy who’d own a piece of crap like that? What else can you get?”

The “Invisible Man” thought a moment, his teeth clenched. “A nine-millimeter Luger,” he said finally. “Brand- new. Right off the docks. Never been used. Still in the oiled envelope.”

“What kind of grips.”

“Wood.”

“Yesss…” Delaney said thoughtfully. “He might own a gun like that. But the brand-new part is no good. It’ll have to have at least three magazines fired through with a complete breakdown and cleaning between firings. Can you manage that?”

“No sweat, Captain.”

“And it’s got to be banged up a little. Not a lot. A few nicks on the grips. A little scratch here and there. You understand?”

“Like he’s owned it for a long time?”

“Right. And took it on those mountain climbing trips of his to plink at tin cans or some such shit. Now here’s something else: keep the box or envelope it came in, get the right cleaning tools and some oil-soaked rags. You know, the usual crap. This stuff you turn over to me.”

“To you, Captain?”

“Yes, to me. All right, now you and your buddy are inside the apartment, and the door is locked. You’ve both got your service revolvers, and one of you has also got the used Luger. It’s loaded. Full magazine. As soon as Danny Boy is inside his apartment, and has locked the door, you show. And for God’s sake, have your sticks out. Don’t relax for a second. Keep this guy covered.”

“Don’ worry, he’ll be covered.”

“Don’t say a word to him, not a word. Just back him toward the bedroom door. You’ll see where it is on that floor plan I’ll draw for you. Now this is where you’ve got to work fast. As soon as he’s in the bedroom doorway, or near it, facing you, weight him. Make it fast, and-this is important-make certain you both ice him. I don’t know how good a friend this pal of yours is, but you’ve both got to do it. You understand?”

Fernandez smiled slyly. “You’re a smart man, Captain.”

“Yes. Now you’re working fast. He’s down, and for Christ’s sake make certain he’s gone.”

“He’ll have enough weight in him to sink him,” the lieutenant assured him. “He’ll be a clunk before he hits the floor.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Delaney grunted. “Now, the moment he’s down, one of you-I don’t care who it is- straddles his body, facing in the direction he was facing just before he bought it. And then-”

“And then we fire two or three shots from the Luger into the opposite wall,” Fernandez said rapidly. “Where the two of us was just standing.”

“Now you’re catching it,” the Captain said approvingly. “But it’s got to be done fast-so that if anyone hears the shots, it’s just a lot of shots, no pauses. No witness is going to remember how many shots were fired, when, or in what order. But just to play safe, the Luger should be fired into the opposite wall as soon as possible after you’ve iced him.”

“I’ve got it,” Fernandez smiled. “Two of three shots into the wall. Not too high. Like he really was firing at us.”

“Right. Splinter a couple of mirrors if you can. That opposite wall is full of mirrors. Then what do you do?”

“Easy,” Fernandez said. “Wipe the Luger clean. Put it in his hand and-”

“His right hand,” Delaney cautioned. “He’s right-handed. Don’t forget it.”

“I won’t forget it. The Luger gets wiped clean and put in his right hand.”

“Try it,” Delaney said, “but don’t get spooked if it doesn’t work. It’s tougher than you think to get a clunk’s hand to grip a gun-even a fresh clunk. lust make sure you get a couple of good prints on it. They probably won’t show on the wood grips, especially if they’re checkered, but put them on the metal. Anywhere. The gun can even be on the floor, near his right hand. But a couple of good prints are what we need. What do you do next?”

“Let’s see…” Fernandez thought deeply. He took a sip of his brandy. “Well, we’ve still got the keys to the guy’s apartment.”

“Right,” Delaney said promptly. “So your friend has got to go down to the lobby and slip the keys back to Lipsky. Tell him to leave Danny Boy’s apartment door open on the way out. Not open, but unlocked. And while he’s doing that, what are you doing?”

“Me? Well, I guess I could start tossing-”

“Forget it,” the Captain said. “Don’t touch a goddamn thing. The first thing you do is call me on Blank’s phone. I’ll be waiting for your call. I’ll collect a squad and be right over. But don’t do a thing until I get there. Don’t even sit down in a chair. Just stand there. If you get any flak from neighbors, just identify yourself, tell them more cops are on the way, and keep them out in the corridor. All right, I come in with a squad. You tell us what happened, and keep it as short as possible. I make the calls I have to make-the ME, lab, and so forth. Then we start a search, and then I’ll plant the oily rag, the cleaning tools, the extra Luger magazines, and so forth. I don’t know how I’ll carry them up there, but I’ll-”

“But why should you do it, Captain?” Fernandez protested. “We could take that stuff up there with us.”

Delaney grinned cynically. “In cases like this, it’s best that everyone be involved, as equally as possible. It’s insurance. That’s why I want you to make certain that both you and your friend feed Danny Boy the pills.”

The lieutenant puzzled over this. Then his face cleared. “Smart,” he nodded. “So no one talks, ever, and knows none of the others is going to spill.”

“Something like that,” Delaney agreed, not smiling. “Mutual trust. Now here’s the cover story: Operation Lombard determined that the weapon used in the four homicides was an ice ax. That’s a tool used by mountain climbers. Danny Boy is a mountain climber. There’s hard evidence for all this. We checked into purchasers of ice axes in the Two-five-one Precinct, where all the killings occurred, and you and your friend were given a list of ice ax owners to question. Just to put the icing on the cake, I’ll give you two or three names and addresses to check out before you get to Danny Boy. Then you say you identified yourselves as police officers, he let you in, and you asked to examine his ice ax. He said it was in his bedroom and went in there to get it. It’s really in the outside hall closet, but he went into the bedroom and came out with the Luger, blasting. But he missed. The two of you went for your sticks and iced him. How does it sound?”

The lieutenant shook his head admiringly. “You’re a wonder, Captain,” he said. “It sounds great, just great.”

“And, with any luck, while I’m planting the Luger equipment, I’ll turn up the evidence that will put the finger on Danny Boy but good. It was there a few weeks ago. If it’s still there, believe me, no one will ask any questions. But even if he’s destroyed it by now, it won’t make any difference. He’ll be wasted, and it’ll all be over.”

“Sounds perfect, Captain.”