'Shut up and listen. Teen had me picked up. He thought I killed Link and took something from the apartment. It was kidnapping and I was within the law when I shot them so don't worry about it. There's a body in the road out near Islip someplace and the local police ought to have it by now. The other two are in a house I can locate for you on a map and you better hop to it before they get turned up.
'Ed Teen gave the orders to bump me but you can bet your tail you aren't picking him up for it. He probably had an alibi all set for an emergency anyway, and now that he no doubt knows what happened he'll insure it.'
'Why the hell didn't you tell me this earlier? Good Lord, we can break any alibi he has if he's involved!'
'You're talking simple again, friend. I'd like to see you break his alibi. Whoever stands up for him has a chance of being dead if he talks. All you can offer is a jail cell. Nope, you won't put anything down on Teen. He's been through this mill before.'
Pat slammed his head with his open palm. 'So you waste an hour playing games with the D.A. Damn, you should have said something.'
'Yeah, I had plenty of time to talk. You would have heard all about it if you didn't give me that under arrest business.'
'I wish I knew what was going on, Mike.'
'That makes two of us.'
He dragged out a map of the Island and handed it to me. I penciled in the roads and marked the approximate spot where the house was and handed it back. Pat had the thing on the wires immediately. Downstairs somebody checked with the police in Islip and verified the finding of the body on the road.
I said, 'Pat...'
He covered up the mouthpiece of the phone and looked at me.
'Go through the motions of finding Lou's body before you hand the story to the D.A., will you?'
The phone went back into its cradle slowly. 'What's the score, Mike?'
'I think I know how we can get Teen.'
'That's not a good reason at all.' His voice was soft, dangerous.
'You tell him now and I'll get the treatment again, Pat. Look... you've been working this from the wrong angle. You would have gotten there, but it would have taken longer. I'm hot now. I can't stop while I'm hot. You said I could have three days.'
'The picture's changed.'
'Nix... it's just hanging a little crooked, that's all. With all your cops and all your equipment, you're still chasing after shadows.'
'You know it all, is that it?'
'No... but I got the shadows chasing me now. I know something I shouldn't know. I wish to God I knew where and how I picked it up. I've been wandering through this thing picking up a piece here and there and it should have ended when Toady died. I thought he was the one I was after.'
'He was.'
Pat said it so flatly that I almost missed it.
'What'd you say?'
'He drove the car when Decker was killed.'
It was like a wave washing up the beach, then receding back into itself, the way my body was suddenly flushed before it was drained completely dry. I couldn't get my hands unclenched. They were the only live part of me, balled up in my lap doing the cursing my throat wanted to do. The killer was supposed to be mine, goddamn it. I promised the kid and I promised myself. He wasn't supposed to die in bed never knowing why he died. He should have gone with his tongue hanging out and turning black while I choked the guts out of him!
'How do you know?'
'Cole and Fisher were apprehended in Philadelphia. They decided to shoot it out and lost. Cole lived long enough to say a few things.'
'What things?'
'You were right about Hooker and Decker. Toady gave the orders to get Mel. He was going to put Cole and Fisher out with Decker, changed his mind and went himself instead. That was all they knew.'
'You mean they were supposed to bump Decker?'
'No... just go with him when they pulled the job.
I got up slowly. I put my hat back on and dropped my butt in the ash tray on the desk. 'Okay, Pat, get Teen your own way. I still want you to give me a break with the D.A. I want to get some sleep. I need it bad.'
'If Grindle's dead he'll stay dead. Make yourself scarce. When you wake up give me a ring. I'll hold things as long as I can.'
'Thanks.'
'And Mike...'
'Yeah?'
'Do something about your face. You look like hell.'
'I'll cut it off at the neck and get a new one,' I said.
