“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
He sat across from Keegan, shook out his shoulders and stared at him for ten or fifteen seconds. Then he smiled.
“Eddie Tangier.” His voice was low and soft, almost a monotone.
“Thanks for coming.”
“This your joint?”
“It’s one of my enterprises.”
“One of my enterprises, I like that. That uptown talk tickles me to death. So . . . ?“
He held his hands out and wagged his fingers toward Keegan.
“I need some advice,” Keegan began.
“From me?”
“Yeah.”
“What kind of advice?”
“I’m looking for a guy.”
“Whoa, whoa, what do you think, you see any feathers on me? I am not a vocalist.”
“It’s not like that. This guy isn’t connected in any way.”
“So why would I know him?”
“You don’t. Hear me out a minute, okay. I talked to Mr. C., he told me you were the man. He told me you could find God if the price was right.”
“Costello said that.?” Tangier smiled, obviously flattered. He stretched his neck and sat up a little straighter in the booth. “Well . . . yeah, that’s true. Mr. C. says the truth.”
“Let me set up a hypothetical case for you.”
“A make-believe situation.
“This ain’t a job then, you looking for something for nothin’, huh?”
“I’ll pay whatever you think it’s worth.”
Tangier sat sideways in the booth and looked past his shoulder at Keegan. He drummed his fingers on the table.
“You really do got big ones, call me in off the range like that, I think it’s something important, you blow smoke up my ass.”
“I’ll pay you five grand now and five G’s bonus if I find the guy.”
“Jesus, that’s okay. I’ll have a glass of wine. Red. My throat’s dry.”
“Sure. Tiny, a bottle of the best red in the house for Mr. Tangier. Two glasses.”
“Yes sir, comin’ right up.”
“Okay, so you wanna ride with Eddie Tangier. Shoot, what’s the game?”
“You might look at it as if... as if it’s a patriotic thing.”
“Uh huh. Right. We gonna salute the flag here in a minute?”
“I’m looking for a guy. I don’t know his name, I don’t know what he looks like and I don’t know where he is except he’s in America someplace. Where do I start?”
“What is this, some kinda gag or somethin’? You’re lookin’ for a guy, you don’t know his name, don’t even know what he looks like. What’d this phantom do?”
“Nothing yet. I want to stop him before he does.”
“What’s he
“I have no idea.”
“Shit, you’re wacky. You got bees in your bonnet there, Frankie Kee. I shoulda known.”
“I’m dead serious, Eddie.”
“I didn’t say you weren’t. What I said, you’re nutty as a fuckin’ peanut farm is what I said.”
Tiny came with two glasses of red wine and put them on the table with the bottle.
“Yeah, thanks,” Tangier said. He poured an inch or so in the bottom of the glass, held it up, peered at it through the light, took a sip and nodded approvingly.
“Good dago red,” he said and filled both glasses.
“Just let me set it up for you, okay? Hear me out. You still think I’m around the bend, you and your boys have a
