“Australia?” I asked after the view was gone.
“Yes. That’s right,” he replied. “You have a good ear.”
“Bradford, isn’t it?”
“Yes sir.”
“You got anything to tell me, Bradford?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Maybe somethin’ about what’s goin’ on. Why I was battered and kidnapped and dragged up here.”
He drove a few more blocks and we entered upon Sunset Boulevard. There he turned left.
“I’m sorry you fell into this problem, Mr. Minton,” Bradford said.
“I don’t even understand it,” I said, emphasizing my innocence with the tone of my voice. “What does a rich girl like Miss Wexler have to do with a buffoon like BB Perry?”
“She was the kind of girl who liked . . . what should I say? A certain type of man.”
Like Fearless’s rich girlfriend, I thought.
“What about that man shanghaied me? That Louis. What could your boss be thinkin’ with a thug like that workin’ for him?”
“Those men working for Mr. Wexler are criminals. I don’t like having them in the house, and I certainly don’t trust them,” Bradford said. “He’s a good man—Mr. Wexler is. But the deaths of his children have brought him to grief. He’s used to being in charge and so the heartache makes him want to find the ones responsible for the murders.”
“That makes sense,” I said. “I know people who would have the same reaction.”
“It would be better for all concerned if the police handled the matter, or if, if the culprits were never found. I mean to say that whoever gets involved with this fiasco will be the one most likely to pay a price.”
I could see that Bradford was also a deep thinker. His take on the murder and revenge deserved a closer look.
“You mind if I smoke?” I asked.
“Not if you open your window.”
I rolled down the window and set fire to a cigarette. I let the smoke drift up from my lips to be inhaled through my nostrils; that was my way of thinking and smoking at the same time.
“So you’re tellin’ me that I shouldn’t be thinking about the ten thousand dollars,” I said.
“Not unless you want to trust Louis and his friend,” Bradford said. “They’ll slaughter anyone to get their bonus from Mr. Wexler. And if you were the last man seen with the man killed, then you will be the one the police come after.”
We were passing some pretty big houses going down Sunset but they were nothing compared to Maestro’s palace.
“I guess me tellin’ the cops about my visit to Maestro’s house wouldn’t get me very far,” I added.
“Mr. Wexler is a strong supporter of the mayor and the chief of police. I doubt if you could find a single soul that would take your word above his.”
“But wouldn’t he get mad if I don’t turn up something on BB?”
“All he has to think is that you’re trying. You could keep the thousand you already have,” he said, “keep it and stay out of the way.”
“Excuse me, Bradford, but why would you care about me in all’a this? I mean, shouldn’t you be more concerned with your boss?”
“It is in his interest that I speak to you. I have been with this family for many years, Mr. Minton. I’ve known all of Mr. Wexler’s wives and children. Minna and Lance were bad from the start. Their mother was a dancer in San Francisco.” He said the word
“Were the kids running some kind of scam?”
“I believe so. It had to do with a woman, a Miss Fine.”
“What about her?”
“She has something that Mr. Wexler wants. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but it’s property of some sort. Lance and Minna knew someone who was well acquainted with the woman. They were going to use him to get leverage on her.”
“Bartholomew,” I said.
“I believe so. Lance told his father that he could obtain some control over Miss Fine and now he, Mr. Wexler, feels responsible if indeed Lance’s attempt got him and his sister killed.”
“I guess he would be,” I said. “Responsible, I mean.”
“He didn’t go to Lance,” Bradford said. “The children were angry because their father had reduced them to a very low allowance. He wanted them to work hard to understand money. But all they wanted was to get rich quick. Mr. Wexler should cut his losses and move on. He has seven other children, all of whom are fine and upstanding.”
We had worked our way down to Olympic by that part of our conversation. Bradford pulled up in front of the
