Jeff brought a drink into the kitchen. Kramer, leaning against the sink with his arms folded, looked glum and unhappy. Jeff said: ‘You look like a man who could do with a morale booster. Gin. Donahure is loaded up with bourbon. Never smell it.’ Kramer took the drink gratefully. ‘What are you supposed to be doing?’
‘Thanks. You can see what I’m doing. I’m searching the kitchen.’
‘Found anything yet?’
‘I will when I start looking. Pots and pans, plates and saucers, knives and forks — all sorts of things.’ He gulped some of his drink. ‘Don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to be looking for. Damned sorry about this, Jeff. What can I do?’
‘Just what you’re doing. Nothing. Inactivity becomes you. Any idea what our fat friend is looking for?’
‘No. You?’
‘No.’
‘Your father?’
‘It’s possible. If he knows he hasn’t told me. Not that he’s had a chance to.’
‘Must be something important. Something that makes Donahure pretty close to desperate.’
‘How come?’
‘Sergeant Ryder is how come. Or maybe you don’t know the reputation of the bogeyman?’
‘Ah.’
‘Yes. Takes a desperate man to provoke your old man.’
‘Like a man playing for high stakes. Well, now. You interest me.’
‘I interest myself.’
‘Looking for incriminating evidence, perhaps.’
‘Incriminating whom, I wonder?’
‘I wonder.’
Footsteps and voices approached. Jeff plucked the glass from Kramer, who had a drawer open before Donahure entered. Ryder was close behind him. Donahure gave Jeff the benefit of his customary glare.
‘What are you doing here?’
Jeff lowered the glass from his lips. ‘Keeping an eye on the cutlery.’
Donahure jerked a thumb. ‘Out.’ Jeff glanced at his father.
‘Stay,’ Ryder said. ‘Fatso’s the one who leaves.’
Donahure breathed heavily. ‘By God, Ryder, push me any more and I’ll —’
‘You’ll do what? Give yourself a heart attack by picking up your teeth?’
Donahure took it out on Kramer. ‘What did you find? Nothing?’
‘Nothing that shouldn’t be here.’
‘Sure you searched properly?’
‘Pay no attention,’ Ryder said. ‘If there was an elephant in this house Donahure would miss it. Never tapped a wall, lifted a rug, tried to find a loose tile, didn’t even look under a mattress. Couldn’t have had police schools in his days.’ He ignored Donahure’s apoplectic splutterings and led the way back to the living-room. He said to no one in particular: ‘Whoever made this oaf a chief of police was either mentally deficient or a victim of blackmail. Donahure, I’m now looking at you with what is known as undisguised contempt. You better go make a fast report to your boss. Tell him you’ve made a classic blunder. Two blunders. One psychological, one tactical. I’ll bet for once you acted on your own — no one with an IQ above fifty would have tipped his hand in that crass fashion.’
‘Boss? Boss? What the hell do you mean, boss?’
‘You’d make as good an actor as you are a police chief. You know, I do believe I’m right. Bluster — your only stock in trade, of course — but beneath bluster you’re running scared. “Boss”, I said. “Boss”, I meant. Every puppet needs his puppet-master. Next time you’re thinking of making any independent move I suggest you first consult someone with intelligence. One assumes your boss must have a little intelligence.’
Donahure tried out his basilisk stare, realized it was the wrong fit, turned on his heel and left. Ryder followed him to the front door. ‘Not your day, Donahure. But then it wasn’t quite Raminoff’s day either, was it? But I hope his had a better ending. I mean, I hope he managed to jump clear before he dumped your van in the Pacific’ He clapped Kramer on the shoulder. ‘Don’t look so perplexed, young man. I’m sure the Chief will tell you all about it on the way back to the station.’
He went back into the living-room. Parker said: ‘What was all that about, then?’
‘I’m not quite sure. I talked about his blunders and I’m sure I was right. He’d never make the lead in “The Great Stone Face”. I blundered myself, but in a different way. I blundered into what seemed to be a sensitive area. I wonder what that area could be…’
‘You said it yourself. He’s taking orders from someone.’
‘That crook’s been taking orders all his life. Don’t look so shocked, Dr Jablonsky. He’s a crook, and has been for as long as I’ve known him, which is far too long. Sure, the Californian police forces are no better than the other States in the Union as far as the three P’s are concerned — power, politics and promotion. But it is remarkably free from genuine corruption — Donahure is the exception that proves the rule.’
‘You have proof?’ Jablonsky said.
‘Just look at him. He’s living proof. But you would mean documented proof. That I have. What I’m going to say you can’t quote me on, because I didn’t say it.’
Jablonsky smiled. ‘You can’t faze me any more. As I said, I’ve got the hang of your double-talk now.’
‘Not for repetition. Ah! Something else.’ He picked up the picture with the shorthand. ‘Not for repetition either.’
‘I can tell Ted?’ Marjory said.
‘I’d rather not.’
‘Wait till I tell Susan you keep secrets from her.’
‘Okay. But a secret shared is no longer a secret.’ He caught her interrogative glance at Jablonsky and Parker. ‘My dear child, the first thing nuclear physicists and intelligence cops learn is how to guard their tongues.’
‘I won’t talk. Ted won’t talk. We just want to help.’
‘I don’t want your help.’
She made a moue.
‘Sorry.’ He took her hand in apology. ‘That wasn’t nice. If I need you, I’ll ask. I just don’t want to involve you in what may be a messy business.’
She smiled. ‘Thank you.’ Both of them knew that he would never ask.
‘Chief of Police Donahure. He has a rather special house, Spanish-Moroccan, swimming pool, wet bars everywhere, expensive furniture in awful taste, no mortgage. Mexican couple. Late model Lincoln, full payment on delivery. Twenty thousand dollars on bank deposit. Living high off the hog, you might say, but then Donahure doesn’t have a wife to spend all his money for him — understandably, he’s a bachelor. An acceptable life-style — he doesn’t get paid in pennies. What’s not so acceptable is that in seven different banks under seven different names he has just over half a million dollars salted away. He might have some difficulty in accounting for that.’
‘Nothing that goes on or is said in this house is going to surprise me any more.’ Jablonsky nevertheless managed to look surprised. ‘Proof?’
‘Sure he’s got proof,’ Jeff said. As Ryder didn’t seem disposed to deny this, he carried on: ‘I didn’t know until this evening. My father has a dossier on him, complete with signed affidavits, which would make very interesting reading in Sacramento.’
Jablonsky said: ‘This true?’
‘You don’t have to believe it,’ Ryder said.
‘I’m sorry. But why don’t you lower the boom on him? Repercussions wouldn’t matter a damn to you.’
‘They wouldn’t. But they’d matter to others. Nearly half of our friend’s ill-gotten gains come from blackmail. Three prominent citizens of this town, basically as clean and innocent as most of us are, which doesn’t say a great deal, have been badly compromised. They could also be badly hurt. I’ll use this document if my hand is forced, of course.’
‘And what would it take to force your hand?’
‘State secrets, Doc’ Parker smiled as he said it and rose to his feet.
‘So State secrets.’ Jablonsky rose also, then nodded towards the file he’d brought. ‘Hope that’s of some use to you.’
