“Okay, Mike.”
Then I got out of there and back into the taxi where I gave the driver Pat’s address.
CHAPTER 6
The new Inspector was a transfer from another division, a hard apple I had seen around years ago. His name was Spencer Grebb and one of his passionate hatreds was personnel from other fields poking around in his domain, with first cut going to private investigators and police reporters. From the look he gave me, I seemed to have a special place in his book and was target one on his big S list.
Charles Force was a D.A. out for Charlie Force. He was young, talented, on the way up, and nothing was going to deter his ambition. He was a nice-looking guy, but you couldn’t tell what was going on behind his face. He had made it the hard way, in the courtrooms, and was a pro at the game right down the line.
Now they both sat at one side of the room with Pat in the middle, looking at me like I was game they were going to let out of the box long enough to get a running start so that hunting me down would be a pleasure.
After the introductions I said, “You check those slugs out, Pat?”
“Both from the same gun that killed Basil Levitt. You mentioned Marv Kania. Could you identify the guy, the guy who pulled the trigger?”
“If he’s Kania I could.”
“Try this.” Pat flipped a four-by-five photo across the desk and I picked it up.
I looked at it and tossed it back. “That’s the one.”
“Positive?”
“Positive. He’s made two passes at me, once in the office building and today with a truck. It rammed a taxi I was in.”
Inspector Grebb had a hard, low voice. “This you reported right away.”
“Now I’m doing it. At the moment it could have been a simple traffic accident. I ducked out because I had something to do. Now I’m tying it all in.”
His smile was a twisted thing. “You know, it wouldn’t be too hard to find a charge to press there, would it, Mr. Force?”
Charlie Force smiled too, but pleasantly. A courtroom smile. “I don’t think so, Inspector.”
As insolently as I could make it, I perched on the edge of Pat’s desk and faced them. “Let’s get something straight. I know what you guys would like to see, but I’m not going to fall easily. The agency I represent is federal. It’s obscure, but pulls a lot of weight, and if you want to see just how much weight is there, push me a little. I’m operating in an official capacity whether you like it or not, which gives me certain latitudes. I’ve been around long enough to know the score on both ends so play it straight, friends. I’m cooperating with all departments as Captain Chambers will tell you. Just don’t push. You’d be surprised what kind of a stink I can raise if I want to.”
I looked at Charlie Force deliberately. “Especially in the publicity circuit, buddy.”
His eyebrows pulled together. “Are you threatening me, Mr. Hammer?”
I nodded and grinned at him. “That I am, buster. That’s one edge I have on you. A bad schmear and you can go down a notch and never hit the big-time. So play ball.”
They didn’t like it, but they had to take it. In a way, I couldn’t blame them a bit. An ex private jingle coming in with a big ticket isn’t easy to take. Especially not one with a reputation like mine.
The D.A. seemed to relax. He was still stalling, but it wasn’t for real. “We’ve been advised to cooperate.”
Pat said, “We ran a pretty thorough check on Basil Levitt.”
“Anything?”
“We located a girl he used to shack up with. She told us he was on a job but wouldn’t say what it was. He said he was getting paid well for it but there would be more later and he was already making big plans. Outside of a few others who knew he had fresh money on him, nothing.”
“What about the rifle?”
“Stolen from a sporting goods store upstate about a month ago. We had the numbers on file. He must have worn gloves in the room where he had the gun set up, but got careless when he loaded the clip. There was a single print that tied him in with it.”
Before I could answer, Charlie Force said, “Now what we are interested in knowing is who he was shooting at.”
I looked at my watch and then at his face. “Art Rickerby clued you in. You know what Velda was involved with.”
“Yes,” he agreed pleasantly. “We know. But I’m beginning to wonder about it all.”
“Well, stop wondering.”
“You were there too. Right in the middle.”
“Fresh on the scene. Levitt had been there some time. Days.”
“Waiting for you?”
Let them think it, I figured. I wasn’t cutting him in on anything. “I’m trying to find that out too,” I told him. “When I do you’ll get the word.”
Grebb and Force got up together and headed for the door. Their inspection trip was over. They were satisfied now that I’d make a good target. Grebb looked at me through those cold eyes, still smiling twistedly. “Be sure to do that,” he said.
When they were gone Pat shook his head. “You don’t make friends easily.”
“Who needs them?”
“Someday you will.”
“I’ll wait until then. Look, buddy, you know what the action is in town?”
Pat just nodded.
“Dickerson?”
He spread his hands. “We’re working on it.”
“How can a wheel come in already operating and not be known?”
“It isn’t hard. You want to know what we have?”
“Damn right.”
“Hoods are showing up from all over the country. They’re all clean, at least clean enough so we can’t tumble them. We can roust them when we want to, but they have nothing we can pin on them.”
“How many?”
“Not an army, but let a dozen wrong types hit town at once and it sets a pattern. Something’s about to happen.”
“They’re not holding a convention.”
“No, they’re getting paid somehow. Either there’s loot being laid out or they’re operating under orders. There are Syndicate men in and sitting by nice and quietly waiting for the word. All we can do is wait too. In the meantime there’s a shake-up in the rackets. Somebody’s got the power to pull strings long enough to get action out of the Midwest and the coast. There’s a power play going on and a big one. I wish I could figure it out.”
He sat there drumming his fingertips on the desktop. “What do
I gave it to him straight, right down the line, laying the facts face up from the time I walked into the apartment until I reached his office. I watched his mind close around the details and put them into mental cubbyholes to hold there until he had time to assimilate them. But I gave him no opinions, nothing more than facts.
Finally he said, “There are some strange implications.”
“Too many.”
“I suppose you want something from me now.”
“Yeah. Get a killer off my back.”
