“I think it goes something like this: the buck stops here,” he said, pointing to himself. “It doesn?t go
any higher.”
“How did you get yourself in this fix?“ I asked. “You?re not the kind of man that kisses the ass of
people like Donleavy.”
I was thinking of what Charlie One Ear had told me, about the way Dutch hired him and Salvatore. I
was sure Dutch had used the same kind of judgment in hiring all the hooligans.
“The rules changed on me,” he said sadly. “Leadbetter was supposed to be the in-between man. When
he went down, it fell to me. Up until now, I didn?t have any bitch.”
“Up to now it didn?t mailer,” I said -
He looked over at me for a long time. I was putting the squeeze on him and he knew it. What he
wanted was for me to let him off the hook, but I couldn?t do that. 1 needed Dutch right where he was,
standing between me and the damned Committee. And that meant he had to stand up to them, like it
or not.
“You don?t give a man much, do you, son?”
“I?m not telling you how to run your business, Dutch. I could ask you to trust me but you don?t know
me that well. What I will tell you is that this thing is going to blow and soon. The powder keg?s in the
fire.”
“So what?s the answer?” he said, holding his hands out like a man going down for the third time.
“Try to beat the explosion,” I said. “1 need to find the key that will put the Triad against the wall.”
“What key?”
“I need to build a RICO case against these bastards.”
“That could take years!” he cried.
“Except we have one edge,” I said. “I already know the players and how they operate. It?s not like we
were starting from scratch. What I need is the local buy-out.”
“Who do you suspect?” he asked.
“Hell, there?s so many termites in this woodpile it?s hard to say. Just give me free rein with your
SOB?s for a few days. We can work together. But if something pops I don?t want to have
-to run you down and explain it. Trust me that far. I may work your boys to death, but it?ll be worth it
in the long pull.”
“I?ll give you this—you already made believers outta Charlie One Ear, Salvatore, and Cowboy Lewis.
Zapata?s still on the fence but he?s about to come around. „That leaves only Kite Lange, the Mufalatta
Kid, and Pancho Callahan to convince. I don?t know how you did it, but you sure moved fast.”
“I?m just a charming fellow,” I said with a smile, trying to ease the pressure.
