'Maybe if you had come right in that night the guys wouldn't have been so loose about it.' I nodded. He was right on that. 'What am I supposed to do with this anyway? And don't say try to trace it. We're not dealing with a dead body or a missing person, so what's the priority? There's probably been a million of these partials-'
'Hold it, Pat,' I interrupted. 'Just go to a pair of sources on this one. Check it out with the dental charts on FBI and CIA agents.'
'Are you nuts!' Pat exploded. 'You think our guys are going to pull a stunt like that?'
'Why not?'
He scanned my face. 'Give me a reason. And not that bullshit about having a feeling.'
'There was a finesse to the situation,' I said. They were after one answer, nothing more. They didn't even try to kick the crap out of me for getting in a couple of good shots where they hurt. They left my rod alone. They had access to sodium pentothal, they swabbed my arm with alcohol before injecting me. This is stuff guys with training will do automatically.'
'Suppose it doesn't pay off?'
'You won't know until you try, will you?'
'Inquiries like this can raise a few eyebrows.'
'Pat,' I said, 'you know and I know that all of us have strange connections in odd places. The New York Police Department is a powerhouse, baby, and when they ask, everybody listens. Just go to your connections, kid.'
The hard look on his face softened into an annoyed frown and he nodded agreement. 'Okay, it's a possible, so I'll put it through.'
'Good.'
I started to get up and he said, 'Wait.' He found a message slip under his desk blotter and handed it to me. 'Here is a connection for you to go to, old buddy. Good luck.'
Candace Amory had left a number for me to call.
'But let's keep our priorities straight first, Mike. You have something going for you, haven't you?'
'Like you said, a possible. Nothing concrete.'
'Okay, let's hear it, and cut the garbage about it just being an idea.'
'No problem, but tell me . . . how many guys you got working on my abduction?'
'Guess.'
'One.'
'Right on.'
'And what did he come up with?'
Pat's expression was a little shrewd. 'I think we've been friends too long. You go first.'
'Smiley's a middleman for somebody. That garage of his might make money, but it's a damn front.'
'Can you prove it?'
This time it was my turn to grin a little. 'I might be able to do it better than you can. My rules are different. Now, what do you know?'
'We're on the same track, I think. Trouble is . . . if he's on some kind of a payoff, he isn't leaving any tracks. He lives in a cheap apartment, has an old car . . .'
'And says he plays the ponies,' I put in.
'Who's to say he doesn't? This time he did leave town . . . we checked him out . . . and probably did hit the track to keep his cover straight.'
'You've been working, Pat.'
'New York's Finest on the job,' he said. 'My guy tells me you've been nosing around the area down there.'
'Just trying to help. In this case, I'm my own client if there's any controversy about legitimacy.'
'So far, no squawks. If there were it would have hit the fan by now. The Terrible Trio have been prowling around here all day going through mug shots and burning up the phones.'
'What trio?'
'Coleman, Bradley and your candy lady,' he said.
'I don't get State's involvement in this thing, Pat. Why would they want a rep on the ground floor? We're dealing with a killer, not international intrigue. So Penta nailed one of their guys overseas . . . and got an ex- mobster here . . .'
'He was looking for you.'
'Balls. I don't buy it. I'm no damn motive.'
'Mike . . . somehow you're in this up to your ears.'
'Yeah, great,' I said.
'Cover your ass, pal. You prowl around like you own the city and somebody is sure as hell going to take you out.'
I looked at my watch and stood up. 'I won't make it easy for him.'
They knew me at the hospital, but wanted to see my ID anyway. A new cop on the door scanned my PI ticket, driver's license, checking my face against the photo, before letting me into Velda's room.
'Hey, kid,' I said softly.
In the dim light I saw her head turn slightly and knew she was awake. They had propped her up, the sheet lying lightly across her breasts, her arms outside it. The facial swelling had lessened, but the discoloration still put a dark shadow on her face. One eye still was closed and I knew smiling wasn't easy.
'Do I look terrible?'
I let out a small laugh and walked to the bed. 'I've seen you when you looked better.' I took her hand in mine and let the warmth of her seep into me. Inside, I could feel a madness clawing at my guts, scratching at my mind because somebody did this to her. They took soft beauty and a loving body and tried to smash it into a lifeless hulk because it was there in the way and killing was the simple way of moving it.
'Mike, don't,' she said.
I sucked my breath in, held it, then eased it out. I was squeezing her hand too hard and relaxed my fingers. 'Everything okay, kitten?'
'Yes. They're taking care of me.' She tilted her head up. 'I miss you.'
'I know.'
'What's been happening?'
I filled her in with some general information, but she stopped me. She wanted details, so I gave them to her.
Finally, after thinking a few minutes, she said, 'The one you call the 'walker' . . . it was him all right.'
'It's not much of an identification.'
'Maybe . . . I can add something,' she said. 'If that caller . . . the one who made the appointment to see you . . . is the walker, or the one you call Penta . . .'
'What about him?'
'I taped that incoming call. You could get a voice-print off that and keep it for a match-up.'
'Damn!' It was beautiful, all we needed was a suspect to tie into, but at least it was a plus.
Generally, incoming calls aren't monitored so the caller wouldn't be wary about leaving his voice recorded.
'How come you had it on?'
'I was getting ready to call Byers for those figures you wanted. He's always in a hurry, so I'd tape him and transcribe everything later.'
'Where's the tape, honey?'
'I put it . . . in the Byers file.'
'Velda doll, I could kiss you.'
'Why don't you?'
I grinned at her. 'Will it hurt?'
'Not that much.'
I put my hands on the mattress and bent down so my face was close to hers. Her tongue slipped between her lips, wetting them, and as my mouth touched hers she closed the one eye. A kiss is strange. It's a living thing, a
