I went in the hotel's main lobby, which was pretty plush: gray marble floors, walls inlaid with marble and wood, overstuffed furniture, bronze lamps, potted ferns, high vaulted ceiling. To the right was the marble-and-bronze check-in desk, to the left a bank of five elevators, one of which I took up to the fifth floor. Most of the hotels in the city were in trouble; one, the Blackstone, was about to go under. But the Morrison Hotel was doing fine, having cut its rates in half; even a relatively posh joint like this had to make concessions for the depression.
I showered and shaved in the traveler's lounge, went to my locker to get dressed; I was buttoning my pants when I felt a finger tap on my shoulder. I turned.
It was Lana.
It was the first I'd seen him since Nitti's office. His five o'clock shadow seemed even darker this time; maybe he was down here to shave. He was in a rumpled suit that looked slept in. and his bald head caught the overhead light and reflected it. His black eyes were shiny, too, and he had something like a smile going, though there was more than a little sneer in it.
He kept tapping the finger against my chest. 'You doin' anything special here, Heller?'
'That finger's healed nicely,' I said.
He prodded me with it, kind of hard. 'It's healed fine.'
I grabbed it, twisted it; he grimaced but said nothing.
I said: 'Didn't your friend Miller give you my message? You're to keep your distance from me. I don't like either one of you bastards.'
I let go of him. He backed away, holding the finger, his reddened face screwed up, and glanced behind him, wishing Miller were around to back him up. He wasn't.
'I just wanted to know what you're doing here, Heller,' he said lamely.
'I'm using the traveler's lounge, Lang, just like you are. I presume you're using this 'cause Cermak won't let you use the facilities in his fancy bungalow. Or maybe His Honor just keeps 'em tied up.'
'You think you're pretty funny.'
'No, I think you're pretty fanny. Now excuse me.' I put my suitcoat on. and my hat, slung my topcoat over my arm, ready to leave; he held a palm out, in a stop gesture- but he didn't touch me.
'Look,' he said. 'Maybe we should get off each other's backs. We're in this together, right?'
I said, 'Three peas in a pod, that's us. At the trial. But till then, keep your fucking distance, okay?'
He shrugged, almost embarrassed. 'Okay,' he said.
Eliot was in a booth in the sandwich shop, sipping coffee; he gave me a weary little smile as I joined him.
'Just saw a friend of mine,' I said.
'Who's that?'
'Lang.'
'No kidding. You boys keep it friendly?'
'Sure. We're pals.'
'He must be looking after Cermak.' Eliot pointed upward with a thumb. 'That bungalow's something. I hear. Steinway in the living room. Three master bedrooms. Library. Kitchen, dining room, the works.'
'Must pay to be a servant of the public.'
Eliot laughed humorlessly. 'So they tell me.'
'What's the word from the streets, on the Nitti hit?'
Eliot shrugged. 'People seem to think Nitti was going to use Little New York Campagna as a triggerman, to bump Cermak, and Cermak got wind. Newberry, either at Cermak's suggestion or to be a good team player, offered fifteen thousand dollars to have Nitti hit first. Box score: Nitti's alive. Newberry's dead. Cermak's hiding upstairs.'
'Think he's in danger?'
'I hear he bought a bulletproof vest. But. no, I don't think so. Too much publicity. Frank Nitti isn't stupid enough to shoot down the mayor of Chicago.'
'He was planning to.'
'He could've got away with it. before the shit hit the fan. The Cermak hit could've been pinned on any number of gangs, not just the Capone faction. But after all that's happened, no… I'd say Cermak's safe. Nitti's too smart for that.'
I nodded. A pretty waitress with blond hair in a pink-aproned outfit came over. She gave me a nice smile and I asked for coffee. I watched her leave.
'I think I'm in love.' I said.
'Maybe you should call Janey.'
I turned back to him. 'No. That's over.'
'If you say so. Look, about last Saturday…'
'What?'
'Taking you along on the Newberry ID. I'm sorry if I sounded like I was lecturing you or something.'
'Hey. It could have been worse. I could've been taken for a ride by Nitti. not Ness.'
