‘Yeah.’
They drove another block without words.
‘1 got this, this, uh, lump in my gut, like a bad meal layin’ down there,’ Sharky said. ‘Like maybe I’m missing something.’
‘Hunch, hunh?’
‘Maybe. Yeah, could be that.’
‘Really got to you, didn’t she?’ Livingston said. ‘Got to thinkin’ about it, right? Wonderin’ what a five-hundred- dollar piece was like.’
Sharky felt himself bristling. It wasn’t like that, he felt like saying, but then he began thinking about it, remembering how he had felt, listening to her making love the night before. He felt cold and he huddled deeper into his suede pullover.
‘Yeah,’ he said finally, ‘she really got to rue.’
‘I been in Vice a long time, Shark. Too long. Seen lots of fancy tricksters come and go. I done my share of wondering, too. All of us have. I mean, if you didn’t think about it, it wouldn’t be natural.’
‘It’s more than that.’
‘What? You talkin’ about duty, that kinda shit? Listen here, you’re a cop, you ain’t God. You make mistakes just like everybody else. Only trouble is, in our business a man can take an extra cup of coffee, fall asleep at the wrong moment, make a bad guess, it ends up disaster for somebody. You learn to live with it or get out. You’re gonna make a fuckin’ mistake now and then, you can’t afford to, but you’re gonna make ‘em anyway. Couple of years ago a friend of mine named Tibbets lost a material witness. They had this cat under protective custody in a house off Highland Avenue and it all started comin’ down on this guy, y’know, he got the shivers. So one night he goes to the can and hangs himself in the shower. Tibbets is twenty feet away watchin’ a ball game. He never got over it, started in drinkin’, two months later he blew his brains out. So what did that prove? We had already lost a witness. The court case went down the toilet. Then we lost a good cop and for what? We all human, baby. You start thinkin’ otherwise, you’re in deep trouble.’
‘Keep reminding me of that, will you?’
‘Okay. For now just put it aside. She’s dead, man. That boat’s sailed. What we need to be doin’ sight now is figure out where we goin’, not where we been.. Now would you like to hear a thought?’
‘Anything at all.’
‘These Mafiosi are usually big gamblers. It goes with the territory, y’know. Comes to me that maybe this shooter’s found himself some local action. There ain’t that many bookies around and if he’s a heavy player, maybe we can get a line on him.’
‘Terrific. Only trouble is, I wouldn’t know where to place a fifty-cent bet on anything right now.’
‘Well, I know a few bookmakers. What I’m gonna do,
I’m gonna quietly check with Whit Ramsey on the Gaming Squad, see if any new bookies are operatin’. Maybe we can shake somethin’ outa their pockets.’
‘Let’s get it on then,’ Sharky said. ‘Pull over to that phone booth. You can touch base with Whit, I’ll call Barret and see if he’s turned up anything at the lab.’
‘That’s cool.’
It took Sharky a minute or two to get the night operator and another minute to get George Barret on the phone.
‘Sharky, I haven’t got much, but I just thought you’d like to know you were right about that little red pill. It’s a red devil all right. Seventy per cent speed, thirty per cent nitro-glycerine.’
Sharky whistled through his teeth. ‘Jesus, that’s pure dynamite!’
‘I’d certainly agree with you. Blow a normal man straight through the roof. Whoever’s using these is flirting with a coronary.’
‘Anything else, George?’
‘Well, they’d be highly addictive, if that helps. I’d say two or three a day at least.’
‘Just a shit kicker, right? No medicinal value?’
‘I miss the point.’
‘Well, it wouldn’t be the kind of thing maybe he’d have a prescription for?’
‘Not unless the doctor that prescribed them is a homicidal maniac. No, this is not the kind of thing you would find on the medicine shelf. It’s narcotics, period.’
‘George, you’re a winner. Got anything else?’
‘Really, sir. I’ve just gotten started.’
‘Talk to you later.’
He got back in the car. A moment later Livingston joined him.
‘Got anything?’ Livingston asked.
‘Yeah. You ever heard of red devils?
‘Some kind of upper, right?’
‘Upper is right. You could launch a rocket with one of them. Our shooter was probably using. And if he was, Barret says he’s more than likely addicted.’
