“You guys need to hear this,” Banko said.
Chapter 55
All twelve magicians on Uncle Al’s list were listed in the Yellow Pages. The list was copied down and Xeroxed, then divided into three groups, which were split between Fuller and Romero, and the other two pairs of detectives. The men left, and Banko gave Valentine a fatherly slap on the shoulder.
“This is a nice piece of detective work. Good going.”
“Guess I haven’t lost my street smarts,” Valentine said.
Banko gave him the slow burn. “Giving you the casino job still stings, doesn’t it?”
“Did I say that?”
“I was born late, but not late last night.”
“Yes, it still stings,” Valentine admitted.
“Do you know
“Because I got shot, and you didn’t think I was fit for the street.”
“You’ve always been fit for the street.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“Because I knew you wouldn’t be corrupted by all that money,” Banko said. “I needed the squarest guy in Atlantic City to run that place, and you were the best choice.”
Sabina popped her head in. “Still got a job?” she asked.
“Looks like it,” Valentine said.
Sabina looked to her boss for assurance.
“Yes,” Banko said.
She said goodnight and left. Banko picked up one of the Xeroxed lists, and handed it to Valentine. “Make yourself useful, and run a background check on these suspects.”
“Does that mean I’m now working the case?”
“Don’t be a wise ass,” Banko said.
Valentine then went downstairs to the records room, and began looking through the files of men who’d been arrested in Atlantic City over the past twenty years. There were several thousand names, with many not in proper alphabetical order. He had heard that one day, all of the department’s records would be computerized, whatever the hell that meant. In the meantime, every search had to be painstakingly done by hand.
It took an hour and a half to see if any of the twelve suspects had ever been arrested. Of the group, three of the men had criminal records.
The first was Lester Clay, aka The Amazing Foodini. Lester had been arrested for carping checks, and done hard time in Rahway State Penitentiary. Valentine found his parole officer’s name on the sheet, and called him at home. From the officer he learned that Lester lived alone, and had few friends. The parole officer had called Lester a social misanthrope. Valentine hated labels, and said, “What does that mean?”
“He’s a real prick,” the parole officer said.
The second suspect was Martin Hollis — stage name Farky —who’d been arrested for sticking a frozen pepperoni pizza down his pants in the A&P supermarket. Farky had been in his magic costume — top hat, tails, and a walking cane — and acted like he didn’t know where the stolen food had come from when the arresting officer had pulled it from his pants. The arresting officer had not been amused. Hollis’s crime was not considered serious, and he’d been released with a warning.
Johnny Martin — Martin the Magic Man — was the third suspect to run afoul of the law. Johnny had pulled his car up to a street corner one night, and solicited a policewoman posing as a prostitute. The Magic Man had also been wearing his magic costume —a pink bunny outfit with a Styrofoam tail and floppy ears —and had been legally drunk. Martin had wisely thrown himself upon the mercy of the court, and was currently on parole. Valentine called his parole officer as well, and got no answer.
Going upstairs to Banko’s office, he handed his superior the three men’s files, and told him what he’d learned.
“Think it’s one of them?” Banko asked.
“I do.”
“Tell me why.”
“Most killers run afoul of the law at least once. You ought to haul them in.”
Picking up his phone, Banko called Marlene the dispatcher, who sat in a room on the first floor, and instructed her to contact the men in the field, and have them call in. Hanging up, he said, “I’m feeling good about this. How about you?”
“I just hope we’re not too late.”
“You mean to save Mona.”
Valentine nodded. He had not forgotten about Mona, even though he knew it was probably too late to save her. He imagined sharing a cup of coffee with her again, and hearing her rasp over a cigarette while trading one- liners.
“Keep the faith,” Banko said.
