The Big Kill

'The guys are hoods, plain and simple. Especially Fisher. You ever see them?'

I nodded. Pat pointed to the folder in my lap and I pulled out a couple of candid shots taken during a strike- breaking melee on the docks. My boys were right there in the foreground swinging billies.

The cop said, 'They're troublemakers. About a year ago somebody with a little pull had them tagged with badges so what they did would be a little bit legal. Neither one of 'em have records, but they've been pulled in a few times for minor offenses. Brawling mostly. They'll work for anybody who pays off. You want me to put out a call for 'em, Captain?'

'What about it, Mike?' Pat asked.

'It wouldn't be a bad idea, but you won't find them in New York. Stick them on the teletype and see if they aren't holing up in another city. You might try alerting the railroads dicks to keep an eye out for them. They skipped out last night and might still be traveling. Cole has a broken hand and Fisher's face is a mess. They ought to be easy to identify.'

'You want to do that, sergeant?'

He nodded at Pat. 'I have everything I need. They shouldn't be too hard to trace.' He said so-long to me and went back the way he came.

Pat picked the photo up and studied it. 'What's with these two?'

'They worked for Toady Link.' Pat's head came up quickly. 'They were on to Hooker for some reason until I started buzzing the guy, then they went into me. I didn't get the pitch in time or Hooker might still be alive. Last night I paid a visit to our friend Link and he was happy to tell me who the boys were.'

'Mike, damn it.'

'If you're wondering how I found out who they were when the cops didn't know... I have a friend who gets around. With blondes.'

'I'm not wondering that at all! I'm wondering how the hell I could have been so negligent or stupid, whatever you want to call it.' He grinned wryly. 'I used to be a bright boy. A year ago I would have seen the connection or let you talk me into something a lot sooner. Everything you do is tying right in with this Teen affair. Did you know that we had Link slated to go through the mill this week?'

'No.'

'Well, we had. He and four others. While the D.A.'s been getting pushed around he's been doing one, hell of a job on the organization's working men. Toady's about a month away from a man-sized stretch up the river. Every move you make you step on my toes.'

'Why didn't you pick it up sooner?'

'Because it's no novelty to be tied up with Teen or Grindle, especially when there's money or murder concerned. Some of the help those two employ have turned up on more than one offense. It wasn't too difficult to suppose that Basil was just out for extra cash when he went in on that robbery and shot Decker afterward.'

'Are you positive that he's the one who did the shooting?'

'As positive as the paraffin test. Of course, he may have discharged the bullet prior to the killing, but if he did I don't know where. If this Decker thing has even the slightest tie-up with the boys we want then we'll get to it.'

'Hang on, Pat. I'm not saying that it has.'

'I'll damn soon find out.'

I tried to be unconcerned as I pulled on my smoke. 'How about letting me find out for you. So far Decker has been my party.'

'Nix, Mike. I know what you want. All you have in your head is the idea that you want to tangle with that killer. Not this time. Taking that one guy out of play could screw up this whole thing so nicely we'll be left with nothing at all.'

'Okay, Pal,' I grinned, 'go right to it. Just try to get an identification out of me. Just try it.'

'Mike.

'Aw, nuts, Pat. I'm as critical to this thing as those two mugs are. It was me who saw them and me who pushed them around. Without my say-so you don't have a thing to haul them in on. You're taking all the gravy for yourself... or at least you're trying to.'

'What do you want, Mike?'

'I want three or four days to make my own play. Things are just beginning to look up. I'd like a file on Toady Link too.'

'That's impossible. The D.A. has it classified top secret. That's out.'

'Can't you get it, kid?'

'Nope. That would mean an explanation and I'm not giving blue boy a chance to climb up my back again.'

'Well, hell... do you know anything about the guy at all?'

He leaned back in the chair and shook his head slowly. 'Probably no more than you, know, Mike. I haven't done anything more than listen in and supply a little information I had when Toady's name came up. The D.A. had his own men doing the legwork.'

I looked out the window and while I watched the people on the roof across the street Pat studied my face and studied it hard. I could feel his eyes crawl across me and make everything I was thinking into thoughts and words of his own.

He said, 'You're thinking Toady Link's the last step in the chain, aren't you?'