"No."
"Then who the h.e.l.l"s on my back, and why?"
He walked some more, then he turned to me and smiled. "You got your headaches, kid, and I got mine. Let"s get to Sandra Mantell. I hear you covered up for me, and I checked that, and you did. Thanks."
"You mixed up in a s.n.a.t.c.h, Nickie?"
"No."
"Abner Reed?"
"He get heisted?"
"Yes."
"I know him. Been a customer here. Married money-bags. She"s been a customer here. So"s her aunt and uncle."
"Big heist, Nickie. This is off the record."
"How much?"
"Seven hundred and fifty thousand. Big ones."
The corners of his mouth turned down and his head nodded. "Big enough. I should have heard something. I didn"t. Was it paid?"
"All of it."
"You sure?"
"I paid it."
Now his glance held admiration. "You"re a hip guy. You"re always in on the big action. You have a piece?"
"I had nothing. But your Sandra thought she did."
"What are you talking about?"
I told him. I told him a good deal of it. I stressed her phone call, and I brought it up to date.
He was very serious when he said, "Look, kid, for guys like me, the s.n.a.t.c.h racket is out. There are easier ways to turn a buck. Plus I had nothing to do with that Sandra Mantell killing. On that, I"m on your side. You covered for me, and I appreciate it, but it was a cover I didn"t want. After your call, I went down to Headquarters. Guy by the name of Parker is in charge, but he"d gone home. I talked to a Captain Weaver. I offered full co-operation. That"s that, and you can check it. On that Johnny Hays bit, I"ll take care of that. Now ... is there anything else you want?"
"No, sir, Nickie, don"t want a thing."
"Fine. Now go on outside and enjoy yourself. It"s on the house."
"Thanks, Nickie. For tonight, I"ll pa.s.s."
I went home and I went to sleep. I had my usual nightmares, but they didn"t waken me. I slept through most of the day. I heard the phone ring in my dreams, many times, but I let it ring. I stayed with my nightmares. When I awoke at four in the afternoon, I was cradled in perspiration. I bathed and I had breakfast and I read a book. A mystery. I hate them. But I stayed in. I didn"t want to go to the office. I wanted a clean day. One clean day. I didn"t want to mix in filth, and thievery, and murder. I wanted to be a small boy, and I wanted to believe that all men are good and all women are pure. I have those moments-even as you-and I wanted to live in my preposterous illusions for one solitary day. But the phone rang and I couldn"t resist it and I was glad because it was Trina.
"How are you?" she said.
"Just dandy."
"What"s the matter?"
"Why? Why should anything be the matter?
"You sound ... somehow ... like a little boy."
"That"s bad?"
"I like it."
"I"m thrilled. To the marrow."
"Now you don"t sound like a little boy any more."
"Look. Let"s get off that pitch. You"re my Greek philosopher, and I love you, but-"
"Wanna go to a show tonight?"
"With you?"
"Yes."
"I"d love it."
"My coach gave me a couple of tickets to Dead Of Night." Dead Of Night."
"A mystery?"
"Yes. I"m crazy about them. Aren"t you?"
"Just love "em to extinction. But they frighten me. Will you hold my hand?"
"Yes."
"Promise?"
"Yes."
"And no Greek philosophy?"
"I"ll just hold your hand."
"You talked yourself into an escort, plus dinner. Do I call for you, or do you call for me?"
"I moved out, Peter. I couldn"t stand it there. I"m at a hotel. It"s barren, dreadful."
"Okay. You call for me. We"ll have c.o.c.ktails here, dinner out, your play, and after that ... you"re the boss."
"What time?"
"Suppose you be here at seven."
"Let me think." There was a pause. "I"ve one hour of rehearsal, and then ... okay, fine. I"ll see you at seven."
But she saw me at six. She came to me breathless and excited, and I had to restrain myself from kissing her. She had a little black book in her hand. She said, "I think ... I think this might be important."
"What is it?"
"A little black book."
"Well, thanks. I wouldn"t have known that. Unless I was blind. Yours?"
"No."
"Whose?"
"Sandra Mantell"s."
"What are you talking about?"
"It was in my bag, in my locker, at rehearsal hall. It was a bag I don"t use much. She must have put it into my bag, at our apartment, by mistake. And I took it to rehearsal hall. And I hadn"t looked into it ... until today."
"Gimme," I said.
But all my antic.i.p.atory tremors went for nothing. There wasn"t a name in that book that meant a thing to me. I said, "You stay here, honey. Make yourself a couple of drinks, and get real high for Peter."
"Where you going?"
"Downtown to friend Parker. This little book doesn"t mean a thing to me, but it might to him. Enjoy. I"ll be back in time for dinner."
I took a cab downtown to Headquarters, and the elevator took me up to Parker"s floor, and I was excited, so I barged in without knocking, but Parker had company. Company was a tall guy, with a bruiser"s shoulders, a dancer"s figure, and an angel"s face-Abner Reed. I started backing out, when Parker called: "Come in, come in, Peter."
When Parker"s busy and he"s that congenial, watch yourself, but it turns out, this time, he means it.
"You know Abner Reed, don"t you, Pete?"
"Yes. Saw him once, when he was asleep. How do you do?"
Reed nodded.
"This is Peter Chambers," Parker said.
Reed said, "How do?"
Parker said, "Mr. Reed is going to Europe. He and Mrs. Reed. Going away for a year"s stay. Making a ship tonight, at eight o"clock. Dropped in for a last goodbye. What brings you, you, Pete?" Pete?"
I showed him. "Wouldn"t be legit without a little black book."
"Black book?"
"It belonged to Sandra Mantel."
"Mantell?"
"Yes. Seems she slipped it into her room-mate"s bag, by mistake. Room-mate took bag to rehearsal hall, and didn"t look into it until today. Today, she did. There are names in it, which don"t mean a thing to me, but they might to you. So grab a look, Lieutenant."
The Lieutenant grabbed.
I turned to Reed. "You"ve heard about Miss Mantell?"
"Yes."
"Mixed up with your kidnapping."
"Yes, so the Lieutenant told me."
Suddenly I couldn"t hear too well. I said, "Pardon?"
"Yes," he said. "So the Lieutenant told me."
I tightened my face at him. "I beg beg your pardon?" your pardon?"
"What"s the matter with you?"
"Little hard of hearing."
"I said, "So the Lieutenant told me." "
I"d heard about as much as I wanted to hear. I jumped him. I didn"t wait. He was big, and I wanted the first punch, and I got the first punch, but he took it standing up, and then he let loose a few of his own. From the corner of my eye, I saw Parker jump up, and I heard him roar: "Here. Stop it. Break it up. What the h.e.l.l is going on here?"
By then we were mixing it like a couple of wild preliminary pugs. I slipped by a couple of lefts, but he punched too hard on one of them, and he was wide open, and I was in perfect position, and I came up with one off the floor, with all of my weight behind it, and it caught him clean on the b.u.t.ton. His feet left the floor going up, and his head caught a corner of Parker"s desk coming down, and he went into a deep freeze, and he was going to stay frozen until someone warmed him up.
"Man, you"re nuts," Parker roared. "This time, you"ve really gone and done it."
"Precise moment," I said.
"That"s a.s.sault and battery, and this guy"s important. You"ve popped your cork this trip, fella."
"Precise moment," I said.
Parker bent to him. "Here. Help me get him up. You"ve flipped your wig, pal."
"Stay away from him, Louie."
Parker peered up at me. "What are you talking about?"