Page 24
I went back to Paris Green. Gary had locked up, but he opened the door for me. "That was a nice touch," I said. "Vodka and tonic. "
"Double vodka tonic. "
"And on my tab at that. "
"Well, I couldnt charge you six dollars for club soda, could I? Much simpler this way. Theres still some coffee left. Want a cup before I shut down for the night?"
I had a cup and Gary uncapped a bottle of Dos Equis for himself. I tried to give him some money but he wouldnt hear of it. "Id rather keep my efforts as a Ninth Avenue Irregular strictly pro bono," he said. "I wouldnt enjoy it half as much if I took money for it, as the actress said to the bishop. Well, have you reached a verdict? Did he do it?"
"Im sure hes guilty," I said. "But I was sure before, and I dont have any more evidence now than I did then. "
"I overheard a little of the conversation. It was fascinating the way you became another person. All of a sudden you were a saloon character and about half lit in the bargain. For a second there you had me worried that Id put vodka in your drink by mistake. "
"Well, I put in enough time in ginmills. Its not hard to remember the moves. " And it wouldnt be hard to be that person again. Just add alcohol and stir. I said, "He was this close to talking about it. I dont know that there was any way to crack him open tonight, but there were things he wanted to say. I dont know, it may have been a mistake showing him the sketch. "
"Is that what it was, that sheet of paper you handed him? He took it with him. "
"Did he? I see he left my card. " I picked it up. "Of course my name and number are on the back of the sketch. He recognized it, too. That was obvious, and his denial wasnt terribly convincing. He knows the guy. "
"I wonder if I do. "
"I think Ive got another copy," I said. I checked my pocket, unfolded sketches until I got the right one. I handed it to Gary and he tilted it to catch the light.
He said, "Mean-looking bastard, isnt he? Looks like Gene Hackman. "
"Youre not the first person to point that out. "
"Really? I never noticed it before. " I looked at him. "When he was here. I told you Thurman and his wife had dinner here with another couple. This was the male half of the couple. "
"Youre sure?"
"Im sure this chap and a woman had dinner at least once with the Thurmans. It may have been more than once. If he said he didnt know him, he was lying. "
"You also said he was here with another man sometime after his wifes death. Same guy?"
"No. That was a blond fellow around his own age. This man"- he tapped the drawing- "was closer to your age. "
"And he was here with Thurman and his wife. "
"Im sure of it. "
"And another woman. What did she look like, do you happen to remember?"
"Havent a clue. I couldnt have told you what he looked like if I hadnt seen a picture of him. That brought it all back. If youve got a picture of her-"
I didnt. I had thought of trying to work with Galindez on a sketch of the placard girl but her facial features were too imperfectly defined in my memory, and I wasnt at all certain she was the same woman Id seen in the movie.
I let him look at the pictures of the two boys, but he hadnt seen either of them before. "Nuts," he said. "I was doing so well, and now my average is down to one in three. Do you want more coffee? I can make another pot. "
That made a good exit cue, and I said I had to be getting home. "And thanks again," I said. "I owe you a big one. Anything I can do, anytime at all-"
"Dont be silly," he said. He looked embarrassed. In a bad Cockney accent he said, "Just doin me duty, guvnor. Let a man get by wiv killin is wife and theres no tellin what narsty thing ell do next. "
I swear I meant to go home. But my feet had other ideas. They took me south instead of north, and west on Fiftieth to Tenth Avenue.
Grogans was dark, but the steel gates were drawn only part of the way across the front and there was one light lit inside. I walked over to the entrance and peered through the glass. Mick saw me before I could knock. He opened up for me, locked the door once I was inside.
"Good man," he said. "I knew youd be here. "
"How could you? I didnt know it myself. "
"But I did. I told Burke to put on a pot of strong coffee, I was that sure youd be by to drink it. Then I sent him home an hour ago, I sent them all home and sat down to wait for you. Will it be coffee then? Or will you have Coca-Cola, or soda water?"
"Coffees fine. Ill get it. "
"You will not. Sit down. " A smile played lightly on his thin lips. "Ah, Jesus," he said. "Im glad youre here. "
Chapter 13
We sat at a table off to the side. I had a mug of strong black coffee and he had a bottle of the twelve-year-old Irish that is his regular drink. The bottle had a cork stopper, a rarity these days; stripped of its label it would make a pretty decent decanter. Mick was drinking his whiskey out of a small cut-glass tumbler that may have been Waterford. Whatever it was it stood a cut above the regular bar glassware, and like the whiskey it was reserved for his private use.
"I was here the night before last," I said.
"Burke told me you came by. "
"I watched an old movie and waited for you. Little Caesar, Edward G. Robinson. Mother of Mercy, is this the end of Rico? "
"Youd have had a long wait," he said. "I worked that night. " He picked up his glass and held it to catch the light. "Tell me something, man. Do you always need money?"
"I cant go very far without it. I have to spend it and that means I have to earn it. "
"But are you scratching for it all the fucking time?"
I had to think about it. "No," I said at length. "Not really. I dont earn a lot, but I dont seem to need much. My rents cheap, I dont have a car, I dont carry any insurance, and Ive got no one to support except myself. I couldnt last long without working, but some work always seems to come along before the money runs out. "
"I always need money," he said. "And I go out and get it, and I turn around and its gone. I dont know where it goes. "
"Thats what everyone says. "
"I swear it melts away like snow in the sun. Of course you know Andy Buckley. "
"The best dart player I ever saw. "
"Hes a fair hand. A good lad, too. "
"I like Andy. "
"Youd have to like him. Did you know he still lives at home with his mother? God bless the Irish, what a strange fucking race of men we are. " He drank. "Andy doesnt make a living throwing darts in a board, you know. "
"I thought he might do more than that. "
"Sometimes hell do something for me. Hes a grand driver, Andy is. He can drive anything. A car, a truck, anything you could ask him to drive. He could likely fly a plane if you gave him the keys. " The smile was there for an instant. "Or if you didnt. If you misplaced the keys and needed someone to drive without them, Andys your man. "
"I see. "
"So he went off to drive a truck for me. The truck was full of mens suits. Botany 500, a good line of clothing. The driver knew what he was supposed to do. Just let himself be tied up and take his time working himself loose and then tell how a couple of niggers jumped him. He was getting well paid for his troubles, you can be sure of that. "
"What happened?"
"Ah, twas the wrong driver," he said, disgusted. "Your man woke up with a bad head and called in sick, entirely forgetting he was to be hijacked that day, and Andy went to tie up the wrong man and had to knock him on the head to get the job done. And of course the fellow got loose as quick as he could, and of course he called the police at once and they spotted the truck and followed it. By the grace of God Andy saw he was being followed and so he didnt drive to the warehouse, or there would have been more men than himself arrested. He parked the truck on the street and tried to walk away from it, hoping theyd wait for him to come back to it, but they outguessed him and took him right down, and the fucking driver came down and picked
him out of a lineup. "
"Wheres Andy now?"
"Home in bed, I shouldnt doubt. He was in earlier and said he had a touch of the flu. "
"I think thats what Elaines got. "
"Has she? Its a nasty thing. I sent him home. Get in bed with a hot whiskey, I told him, and yell be a new man in the morning. "
"Hes out on bail?"
"My bondsman had him out in an hour, but now hes been released altogether. Do you know a lawyer named Mark Rosenstein? A very soft-spoken Jewish lad, Im forever asking him to speak up. Dont ask how much money I handed him. "
"I wont. "
"Ill tell you anyway. Fifty thousand dollars. I dont know where it all went, I just put it into his hands and left it to him. Some went to the driver, and your man changed his story and swore it wasnt Andy at all, it was someone else entirely, someone taller and thinner and darker and with a Russian accent, I shouldnt wonder. Oh, hes very good, Rosenstein is. Hed make no impression in court, you could never hear what he was saying, but you do better if you stay out of court entirely, wouldnt you say?" He freshened his drink. "I wonder how much of the money stayed with the little Jew. What would you guess? Half?"
"That sounds about right. "
"Ah, well. He earned it, didnt he? You cant let your men rot in prison cells. " He sighed. "But when you spend money like that you have to go out and get more. "
"You mean they wouldnt let Andy keep the suits?" I went on to tell him Joe Durkins story of Maurice, the dope dealer whod demanded the return of his confiscated cocaine. Mick put his head back and laughed.
"Ah, thats grand," he said. "I ought to tell that one to Rosenstein. If you were any good at all, Ill tell him, yed have arranged it so that we got to keep the suits. " He shook his head. "The fucking dope dealers," he said. "Did you ever try any of that shit yourself, Matt? Cocaine, I mean. "
"Never. "
"I tried it once. "
"You didnt like it?"
He looked at me. "The hell I didnt," he said. "By God it was lovely! I was with a girl and she wouldnt rest until I tried some. And then she got no rest at all, let me tell you. I never felt so fine in my life. I knew I was the grandest fellow that ever lived and I could take charge of the world and solve all its problems. But before I did that it might be nice to have a little more of the cocaine, dont you know. And the next thing you knew it was the middle of the afternoon, and the cocaine was all gone, and the girl and I had fucked our silly brains out, and she was rubbing up against me like a cat and telling me she knew where to get more.
" Get your clothes on, I told her, and buy yourself some more cocaine if you want it, but dont bring it back here because I never want to see it again, or you either. She didnt know what was wrong but she knew not to stay around to find out. And she took the money. They always take the money. "