scandals lately, all over the country. This would be one of the biggest. It would take us years to digest it. And Gold’s dead. So where’s your case?”
“Gold had a boat waiting. He was a desperate man, and we all know I had a broken arm. I couldn’t stop him. Somehow he got the strange idea that he’d been paid off in counterfeit money. He’s lived all his life by certain rules. He couldn’t let it go by. He went looking for that man, the man who bought the heroin from him. The next thing we know, he was shooting at Robustelli.”
“It’s circumstantial, Mike.”
“After I tell my story to the grand jury, I think they’ll indict.”
“I’m not thinking of this one man,” Gentry said. “His money’s gone and he’s been shot in the stomach. His wife is a lush who lies down for anybody. His daughter hates him.”
“I won’t argue anymore. Arrest him. If you won’t do it, I’ll bring in somebody with a bigger badge.” Shayne gave his old friend a direct look. “When he took off in Coddington’s car, I didn’t know where he was going. The only name I’d heard mentioned was yours.”
Gentry took the pipe out of his mouth. “You didn’t seriously think-”
“Funnier things have happened. There was only one way to find out. Give Gold a gun. If you’d been the one he shot, I would have come to the funeral.”
“That’s a hell of a thing to say to a friend.”
“Yeah, but it’s the business we’re in. You’ve got things to take care of. On the way out, send in the nurse. I think she’s going to try to teach me to play chess.”
