“No? Well I’ll tell you what you were knocking him off for. A piece of property out there, for one thing, that Papadakis paid $14,000 for, cash on the nail. And for that other little Christmas present you and she thought you would get on the boat with, and see what the wild waves looked like. That little $10,000 accident policy that Papadakis carried on his life.”
I could still see his face, but all around it was getting black and I was trying to keep myself from keeling over in bed. Next thing, he was holding a glass of water to my mouth. “Have a drink. You’ll feel better.”
I drank some of it. I had to.
“Chambers, I think this is the last murder you’ll have a hand in for some time, but if you ever try another, for God’s sake leave insurance companies out of it. They’ll spend five times as much as Los Angeles County will let me put into a case. They’ve got detectives five times as good as any I’ll be able to hire. They know their stuff A to izzard, and they’re right on your tail now. It means money to them. That’s where you and she made your big mistake.”
“Judge, I hope Christ may kill me, I never heard of an insurance policy until just this minute.”
“You turned white as a sheet.”
“Wouldn’t you?”
“Well, how about getting me on your side, right from the start? How about a full confession, a quick plea of guilty, and I’ll do what I can for you with the court? Ask for clemency for you both.”
“Nothing doing.”
“How about all that stuff you were telling me just now? About the truth, and how you’d have to come clean with the jury, and all that? You think you can get away with lies now? You think I’m going to stand for that?”
“I don’t know what you’re going to stand for. To hell with that. You stand for your side of it and I’ll stand for mine. I didn’t do it, and that’s all I stand for. You got that?”
“The hell you say. Getting tough with me, hey? All right, now you get it. You’re going to find out what that jury’s really going to hear. First, you were sleeping with her, weren’t you? Then Papadakis had a little accident, and you and she had a swell time. In bed together at night, down to the beach by day, holding hands and looking at each other in between. Then you both had a swell idea. Now that he’s had an accident, make him take out an accident policy, and then knock him off. So you blew, to give her a chance to put it over. She worked at it, and pretty soon she had him. He took out a policy, a real good policy, that covered accidents, and health, and all the rest of it, and cost $46.72. Then you were ready. Two days after that, Frank Chambers accidentally on purpose ran into Nick Papadakis on the street, and Nick tries to get him to go back to work for him. And what do you know about that, he and his wife had it already fixed up they were going to Santa Barbara, had the hotel reservations and everything, so of course there was nothing to it but Frank Chambers had to come with them, just for old times’ sake. And you went. You got the Greek a little bit drunk, and did the same for yourself. You stuck a couple of wine bottles in the car, just to get the cops good and sore. Then you had to take that Malibu Lake Road, so she could see Malibu Beach. Wasn’t that an idea, now. Eleven o’clock at night, and she was going to drive down there to look at a bunch of houses with waves in front of them. But you didn’t get there. You stopped. And while you were stopped, you crowned the Greek with one of the wine bottles. A beautiful thing to crown a man with, Chambers, and nobody knew it better than you, because that was what you crowned that railroad dick with, over in Oakland. You crowned him, and then she started the car. And while she was climbing out on the running board, you leaned over from behind, and held the wheel, and fed with the hand throttle. It didn’t need much gas, because it was in second gear. And after she got on the running board, she took the wheel and fed with the hand throttle, and it was your turn to climb out. But you were just a little drunk, weren’t you? You were too slow, and she was a little too quick to shoot the car over the edge. So she jumped and you were caught. You think a jury won’t believe that, do you? It’ll believe it, because I’ll prove every word of it, from the beach trip to the hand throttle, and when I do, there won’t be any clemency for you, boy. It’ll be the rope, with you hanging on the end of it, and when they cut you down they’ll bury you out there with all the others that were too goddam dumb to make a deal when they had the chance to keep their neck from being broke.”
“Nothing like that happened. Not that I know of.”
“What are you trying to tell me? That she did it?”
“I’m not trying to tell you that anybody did it. Leave me alone! Nothing like that happened.”
“How do you know? I thought you were stinko.”
“It didn’t happen that I know of.”
“Then you mean she did it?”
“I don’t mean no such a goddam thing. I mean what I say and that’s all I mean.”
“Listen, Chambers. There were three people in the car, you, and she, and the Greek. Well, it’s a cinch the Greek didn’t do it. If you didn’t do it, that leaves her, doesn’t it?”
“Who the hell says anybody did it?”
“I do. Now we’re getting somewhere, Chambers. Because maybe you didn’t do it. You say you’re telling the truth, and maybe you are. But if you are telling the truth, and didn’t have any interest in this woman except as the wife of a friend, then you’ve got to do something about it, haven’t you? You’ve got to sign a complaint against her.”
“What do you mean complaint?”
“If she killed the Greek, she tried to kill you too, didn’t she? You can’t let her get away with that. Somebody might think it was pretty funny if you did. Sure, you’d be a sucker to let her get away with it. She knocks off her husband for the insurance, and she tries to knock off you too. You’ve got to do something about that, haven’t you?”
“I might, if she did it. But I don’t know she did it.”
“If I prove it to you, you’ll have to sign the complaint, won’t you?”
“Sure. If you can prove it.”
“All right, I’ll prove it. When you stopped, you got out of the car, didn’t you?”
“No.”
“What? I thought you were so stinko you didn’t remember anything. That’s the second time you’ve remembered something now. I’m surprised at you.”
“Not that I know of.”
“But you did. Listen to this man’s statement: ‘I didn’t notice much about the car, except that a woman was at the wheel and one man was inside laughing when we went by, and another man was out back, sick.’ So you were out back a few minutes, sick. That was when she crowned Papadakis with the bottle. And when you got back you never noticed anything, because you were stinko, and Papadakis had passed out anyhow, and there was hardly anything to notice. You sat back and passed out, and that was when she slid up into second, kept her hand on the hand throttle, fed with that, and as soon as she had slid out on the running board, shot the car over.”
“That don’t prove it.”
“Yes it does. The witness Wright says that the car was rolling over and over, down the gully, when he came around the bend, but the woman was up on the road, waving to him for help!”
“Maybe she jumped.”
“If she jumped, it’s funny she took her handbag with her, isn’t it? Chambers, can a woman drive with a handbag in her hand? When she jumps, has she got time to pick it up? Chambers, it can’t be done. It’s impossible to jump from a sedan car that’s turning over into a gully. She wasn’t in the car when it went over! That proves it, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know? Are you going to sign that complaint or not?”
“No.”
“Listen, Chambers, it was no accident that car went over a second too soon. It was you or her, and she didn’t mean it would be you.”
“Let me alone. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Boy, it’s still you or her. If you didn’t have anything t
o do with this, you better sign this thing. Because if you don’t, then I’ll know. And so will the jury. And so will the judge. And so will the guy that springs the trap.”
He looked at me a minute, then went out, and came back with another guy. The guy sat down and made out a form with a fountain pen. Sackett brought it over to me. “Right here, Chambers.”
I signed. There was so much sweat on my hand the guy had to blot it off the paper.
CHAPTER
10
After he went, the cop came back and mumbled something about a blackjack. We played a few rounds, but I couldn’t get my mind on it. I made out it got on my nerves to deal with one hand, and quit.
“He kind of got to you, hey?”
“Little bit.”
“He’s tough, he is. He gets to them all. He looks like a preacher, all full of love for the human race, but he’s got a heart like a stone.”
“Stone is right.”
“Only one guy in this town has got it on him.”
“Yeah?”
“Guy named Katz. You’ve heard of him.”
“Sure, I heard of him.”
“Friend of mine.”
“It’s the kind of a friend to have.”
“Say. You ain’t supposed to have no lawyer yet. You ain’t been arraigned, and you can’t send for nobody. They can hold you forty-eight hours incommunicado, they call it. But if he shows up here, I got to let him see you, you get it? He might show up here, if I happened to be talking to him.”
“You mean you get a cut.”
“I mean he’s a friend of mine. Well, if he didn’t give me no cut, he wouldn’t be no friend, would he? He’s a great guy. He’s the only one in this town can throw the headlock on Sackett.”
“You’re on, kid. And the sooner the better.”
“I’ll be back.”
He went out for a little while, and when he came back he gave me a wink. And pretty soon, sure enough, there came a knock on the door, and in came Katz. He was a little guy, about forty years old, with a leathery face and a black moustache, and the first thing he did when he came in was take out a bag of Bull Durham smoking tobacco and a pack of brown papers and roll himself a cigarette. When he lit it, it burned halfway up one side, and that was the last he did about it. It just hung there, out the side of his mouth, and if it was lit or out, or whether he was asleep or awake, I never found out. He just sat there, with his eyes half shut and one leg hung over the arm of the chair, and his hat on the back of his head, and that was all. You might think that was a poor sight to see, for a guy in my spot, but it wasn’t. He might be asleep, but even asleep he looked like he knew more than most guys awake, and a kind of a lump came up in my throat. It was like the sweet chariot had swung low and was going to pick me up.
The cop watched him roll the cigarette like it was Cadona doing the triple somersault, and he hated to go, but he had to. After he was out, Katz motioned to me to get going. I told him about how we had an accident, and how Sackett was trying to say we murdered the Greek for the insurance, and how he made me sign that complaint paper that said she had tried to murder me too. He listened, and after I had run down he sat there a while without saying anything. Then he got up.
“He’s got you in a spot all right.”
“I ought not to signed it. I don’t believe she did any such a goddam thing. But he had me going. And now I don’t know where the hell I’m at.”
“Well, anyhow, you ought not to have signed it.”
“Mr Katz, will you do one thing for me? Will you see her, and tell her—”
“I’ll see her. And I’ll tell her what’s good for her to know. For the rest of it, I’m handling this, and that means I’m handling it. You got that?”
“Yes, sir, I’ve got it.”
“I’ll be with you at the arraignment. Or anyhow, somebody that I pick will be with you. As Sackett has made a complainant out of you, I may not be able to appear for you both, but I’ll be handling it. And once more, that means that whatever I do, I’m handling it.”
“Whatever you do, Mr. Katz.”
“I’ll be seeing you.”
That night they put me on a stretcher again, and took me over to court for the arraignment. It was a magistrate’s court, not a regular court. There wasn’t any jury box, or witness stand, or any of that stuff. The magistrate sat on a platform, with some cops beside him, and in front of him was a long desk that ran clear across the room, and whoever had something to say hooked his chin over the desk and said it. There was a big crowd there, and photographers were snapping flashlights at me when they carried me in, and you could tell from the buzz that something big was going on. I couldn’t see much, from down there on the stretcher, but I got a flash at Cora, sitting on the front bench with Katz, and Sackett, off to one side talking to some guys with briefcases, and some of the cops and witnesses that had been at the inquest. They set me down in front of the desk, on a couple of tables they had shoved together, and they hadn’t much more than got the blankets spread over me right than they wound up a case about a Chinese woman, and a cop began rapping for quiet. While he was doing that, a young guy leaned down over me, and said his name was White, and Katz had asked him to represent me. I nodded my head, but he kept whispering that Mr. Katz had sent him, and the cop got sore and began banging hard.
“Cora Papadakis.”
She stood up, and Katz took her up to the desk. She almost touched me as she went by, and it seemed funny to smell her, the same smell that had always set me wild, in the middle of all this stuff. She looked a little better than she had yesterday. She had on another blouse, that fitted her right, and her suit had been cleaned and pressed, and her shoes had been polished, and her eye was black, but not swelled. All the other people went up with her, and after they had spread out in line, the cop told them to raise their right hand, and began to mumble about the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. He stopped in the middle of it to look down and see if I had my right hand raised. I didn’t. I shoved it up, and he mumbled all over again. We all mumbled back.
The magistrate took off his glasses, and told Cora she was charged with the murder of Nick Papadakis, and with assault against Frank Chambers, with intent to kill, that she could make a statement if she wanted to, but any statement she made could be used against her, that she had the right to be represented by counsel, that she had eight days to plead, and the court would hear her plea at any time during that period. It was a long spiel, and you could hear them coughing before he got done.
Then Sackett started up, and told what he was going to prove. It was about the same as he had told me that morning, only he made it sound solemn as hell. When he got through, he began putting on his witnesses. First there was the ambulance doctor, that told when the Greek had died, and where. Then came the jail doctor, that had made the autopsy, and then came the coroner’s secretary, that identified the minutes of the inquest, and left them with the magistrate, and then came a couple of more guys, but I forget what they said. When they got done, all that the whole bunch had proved was that the Greek was dead, and as I knew that anyway, I didn’t pay much attention. Katz never asked any of them anything. Every time the magistrate would look at him, he would wave his hand and the guy would step aside.
After they had the Greek dead enough to suit them, Sackett really straightened out, and put some stuff in that meant something. He called a guy that said he represented the Pacific States Accident Assurance Corporation of America, and he told how the Greek had taken out a policy just five days before. He told what it covered, how the Greek would get $25 a week for 52 weeks if he got sick, and the same if he got hurt in an accident so he couldn’t work, and how he would get $5,000 if he lost one limb, and $10,000 if he lost two limbs, and how his widow would get $10,000 if he was killed in an accident, and $20,000 if the accident was on a railroad train. When he got that far it began to sound like a sales talk, and the magistrate held up his hand.
“I’ve got all the insuran
ce I need.”
Everybody laughed at the magistrate’s gag. Even I laughed. You’d be surprised how funny it sounded.
Sackett asked a few more questions, and then the magistrate turned to Katz. Katz thought a minute, and when he talked to the guy, he did it slow, like he wanted to make sure he had every word straight.
“You are an interested party to this proceeding?”
“In a sense I am, Mr. Katz.”
“You wish to escape payment of this indemnity, on the ground that a crime has been committed, is that correct?”
“That is correct.”
“You really believe that a crime has been committed, that this woman killed her husband to obtain this indemnity, and either tried to kill this man, or else deliberately placed him in jeopardy that might cause his death, all as part of a plan to obtain this indemnity?”
The guy kind of smiled, and thought a minute, like he would return the compliment and get every word straight too. “Answering that question, Mr. Katz, I would say I’ve handled thousands of such cases, cases of fraud that go over my desk every day, and I think I have an unusual experience in that kind of investigation. I may say that I have never seen a clearer case in all my years’ work for this and other companies. I don’t only believe a crime has been committed, Mr. Katz. I practically know it.”
“That is all. Your honor, I plead her guilty on both charges.”
If he had dropped a bomb in that courtroom, he couldn’t have stirred it up quicker. Reporters rushed out, and photographers rushed up to the desk to get pictures. They kept bumping into each other, and the magistrate got sore and began banging for order. Sackett looked like he had been shot, and all over the place there was a roar like somebody had all of a sudden shoved a seashell up against your ear. I kept trying to see Cora’s face. But all I could get of it was the corner of her mouth. It kept twitching, like somebody was jabbing a needle into it about once every second.