later, but not right then.
Finally we got up and danced while Cookie sat and yapped with the French maid from Brooklyn. Tolly didn't have any trouble giving me the business because the mob on the dance floor had us pressed together like the ham in a sandwich.
Every bit of her was pressed against every bit of me and her mouth was right next to my ear. Every once in a while she'd stick her tongue out and send something chasing down my spine. 'I like you, Mike,' she said.
I gave her a little squeeze until her eyes half closed and she said something through her teeth. I slapped her fanny for it. We got back to the table and played kneesies while we talked until the girls decided to hit the powder room.
As they walked away Cookie said, 'Cute kids, hey?'
'Real cute. Where the devil do you find them?'
'I get around. I don't look like much, but I get around. With a pair like them on my arms it's a ticket to anyplace I want to go so long as a guy's taking up the tickets.'
I picked a smoke out of my pack and handed one to him. 'What about our deal?'
His eyes crawled up my arm to my face. 'I know them. The boys are hurting right now. You do that?'
'Uh-huh.'
'What a mess. The little one wants your guts.'
'Who are they?'
'Private dicks. That's what the little piece of paper says in their wallets. They're hoods who'll do anything for some cash.'
'If they're cops they aren't making any money unless they're hired to protect somebody.'
'They are. You know anything about the rackets, Mike?'
'A little.'
'The town's divided into sections, see. Like the bookies. They pay off to the local big boy who pays off to Ed Teen.'
The cigarette froze in my fingers. 'Where's Teen in this?'
'He's not, but one of his local boys is the mug who uses your two playmates for a bodyguard. His name is Toady Link. Ever hear of him?'
'Yeah.'
'Then you didn't hear much. He keeps his nose clean. The bodyguards are to keep the small-timers moving and not to protect him. As bookies go, the guy's okay. Now how about coming across with something I can sell.'
I squashed the butt out and started on another. Cookie's ears were pinned and he leaned across the table with a grin like we were telling dirty stories. I said, 'There was a little murder the other night. Then there was another. In the beginning they looked little, but now they're starting to look pretty big. I haven't got a damn thing I can tell you... yet. When it happens you'll get it quick. How's that?'
'Fair enough. Who got killed?'
'A guy named William Decker, Arnold Basil, then the next day Decker's friend Mel Hooker.'
'I read about that.'
'You'll be reading more about it. Where'll I find this Toady Link?'
Cookie rattled off a couple of addresses where I might pick him up and I let them soak in so I wouldn't forget them. 'Just one thing, Mike,' he added, 'you don't know from nothing, see? Keep me out of it. I stay away from them boys. My racket takes dough but no rough stuff, and when it comes to rods or brass knucks you can count me out. I don't want none, of them hoods after my hide.'
'Don't worry,' I said. I stood up and threw a fin on the table to cover some of Tolly's champagne.
Cookie's eyebrows went up to his hairline. 'You aren't going now, are you? Hell, what about Tolly? She's got a yen for you already and I can't make out with two dames.'
'Sure you can. Nothing to it.'
'Aw, Mike, what a guy you are, and after I hand you such a sweet dish too.'
My mouth twisted into a lopsided smile. 'I can get all the dishes I want without having them handed to me. Tell Tolly that maybe I'll look her up someday. She interests me strangely.'
He didn't say anything, but he looked disappointed. He sat there wiggling those big ears and I cleared out of the place before the blonde came back and twisted my arm into staying.
Dames.
It was turning into a night just like that first one. The sidewalks and pavements were one big wet splash reflecting the garish lights of the streets and throwing them back at you. I pulled my raincoat out of the back and slipped into it, then climbed behind the wheel.
My watch read a few minutes after nine and it was tonight. Marsha said tonight. But there were other things first and Marsha could wait. It would be all the better for the waiting.
So I got in line behind the other cars and headed uptown. On the edge of the Bronx I turned off and looked for the bar that was one of the addresses Cookie had given me and found it in the middle of the block. I left the engine going while I asked around inside, but neither the bartender nor the manager had seen the eminent Mr. Link so far that night. They obliged with his home address and I thanked them politely even though I already had it.
Toady Link was at home.
