Donahure took it out on Kramer. ‘What did you find? Nothing?’
‘Nothing that shouldn’t be here.’
‘Sure you searched properly?’
‘Pay no attention,’ Ryder said. ‘If there was an elephant in this house Donahure would miss it. Never tapped a wall, lifted a rug, tried to find a loose tile, didn’t even look under a mattress. Couldn’t have had police schools in his days.’ He ignored Donahure’s apoplectic splutterings and led the way back to the living-room. He said to no one in particular: ‘Whoever made this oaf a chief of police was either mentally deficient or a victim of blackmail. Donahure, I’m now looking at you with what is known as undisguised contempt. You better go make a fast report to your boss. Tell him you’ve made a classic blunder. Two blunders. One psychological, one tactical. I’ll bet for once you acted on your own – no one with an IQ above fifty would have tipped his hand in that crass fashion.’
‘Boss? Boss? What the hell do you mean, boss?’
‘You’d make as good an actor as you are a police chief. You know, I do believe I’m right. Bluster – your only stock in trade, of course – but beneath bluster you’re running scared. “Boss”, I said. “Boss”, I meant. Every puppet needs his puppet-master. Next time you’re thinking of making any independent move I suggest you first consult someone with intelligence. One assumes your boss must have a little intelligence.’
Donahure tried out his basilisk stare, realized it was the wrong fit, turned on his heel and left. Ryder followed him to the front door. ‘Not your day, Donahure. But then it wasn’t quite Raminoff’s day either, was it? But I hope his had a better ending. I mean, I hope he managed to jump clear before he dumped your van in the Pacific’ He clapped Kramer on the shoulder. ‘Don’t look so perplexed, young man. I’m sure the Chief will tell you all about it on the way back to the station.’
He went back into the living-room. Parker said: ‘What was all that about, then?’
‘I’m not quite sure. I talked about his blunders and I’m sure I was right. He’d never make the lead in “The Great Stone Face”. I blundered myself, but in a different way. I blundered into what seemed to be a sensitive area. I wonder what that area could be…’
‘You said it yourself. He’s taking orders from someone.’
‘That crook’s been taking orders all his life. Don’t look so shocked, Dr Jablonsky. He’s a crook, and has been for as long as I’ve known him, which is far too long. Sure, the Californian police forces are no better than the other States in the Union as far as the three P’s are concerned – power, politics and promotion. But it is remarkably free from genuine corruption – Donahure is the exception that proves the rule.’
‘You have proof?’ Jablonsky said.
‘Just look at him. He’s living proof. But you would mean documented proof. That I have. What I’m going to say you can’t quote me on, because I didn’t say it.’
Jablonsky smiled. ‘You can’t faze me any more. As I said, I’ve got the hang of your double-talk now.’
‘Not for repetition. Ah! Something else.’ He picked up the picture with the shorthand. ‘Not for repetition either.’
‘I can tell Ted?’ Marjory said.
‘I’d rather not.’
‘Wait till I tell Susan you keep secrets from her.’
‘Okay. But a secret shared is no longer a secret.’ He caught her interrogative glance at Jablonsky and Parker. ‘My dear child, the first thing nuclear physicists and intelligence cops learn is how to guard their tongues.’
‘I won’t talk. Ted won’t talk. We just want to help.’
‘I don’t want your help.’
She made a moue.
‘Sorry.’ He took her hand in apology. ‘That wasn’t nice. If I need you, I’ll ask. I just don’t want to involve you in what may be a messy business.’
She smiled. ‘Thank you.’ Both of them knew that he would never ask.
‘Chief of Police Donahure. He has a rather special house, Spanish-Moroccan, swimming pool, wet bars everywhere, expensive furniture in awful taste, no mortgage. Mexican couple. Late model Lincoln, full payment on delivery. Twenty thousand dollars on bank deposit. Living high off the hog, you might say, but then Donahure doesn’t have a wife to spend all his money for him – understandably, he’s a bachelor. An acceptable life-style – he doesn’t get paid in pennies. What’s not so acceptable is that in seven different banks under seven different names he has just over half a million dollars salted away. He might have some difficulty in accounting for that.’
‘Nothing that goes on or is said in this house is going to surprise me any more.’ Jablonsky nevertheless managed to look surprised. ‘Proof?’
‘Sure he’s got proof,’ Jeff said. As Ryder didn’t seem disposed to deny this, he carried on: ‘I didn’t know until this evening. My father has a dossier on him, complete with signed affidavits, which would make very interesting reading in Sacramento.’
Jablonsky said: ‘This true?’
‘You don’t have to believe it,’ Ryder said.
‘I’m sorry. But why don’t you lower the boom on him? Repercussions wouldn’t matter a damn to you.’
‘They wouldn’t. But they’d matter to others. Nearly half of our friend’s ill-gotten gains come from blackmail. Three prominent citizens of this town, basically as clean and innocent as most of us are, which doesn’t say a great deal, have been badly compromised. They could also be badly hurt. I’ll use this document if my hand is forced, of course.’
‘And what would it take to force your hand?’
‘State secrets, Doc’ Parker smiled as he said it and rose to his feet.
‘So State secrets.’ Jablonsky rose also, then nodded towards the file he’d brought. ‘Hope that’s of some use to you.’
‘Thank you. Thank you both very much.’
Jablonsky and Parker walked together to their cars. Jablonsky said: ‘You know him better than I do, Sergeant. Ryder really cares about his family? He doesn’t seem terribly upset to me.’
‘He cares. Not much of a man for the emotional scene. He’ll probably be just as relaxed when he kills the man who took Susan.’
‘He would do that?’ Jablonsky seemed unhappy.
‘Sure. Wouldn’t be the first time. Not in cold blood, of course – he’d have to have a reason. No reason, he’ll just leave a nice challenging case for the plastic surgeon. And either of those two things could happen to anyone who gets in his way when he’s trying to get next to Morro, or whatever his name is. I’m afraid the kidnappers made a big mistake – they kidnapped the wrong person.’
‘What do you think he’s going to do?’
‘Don’t know. I’m just guessing when I say I know what I’m going to do, something I never thought I would. I’m going right home and say a prayer for the health of our Chief of Police.’
Jeff nodded towards the file Jablonsky had brought. ‘How about your homework? I always had to do it first thing when I came home.’
‘Uninterrupted thought for that one.’
‘I suppose he thinks that’s a gentle hint. Come on, Marge, I’ll take you home. See you when I see you.’
‘Half an hour.’
‘Ha!’ Jeff looked pleased. ‘So you’re not going to sit there all night and do nothing?’
‘No. I’m not going to sit here all night and do nothing.’
For some time after they had left it seemed as if he intended to do just that. After some minutes he put his photograph back in the frame, rose and placed it between two others on the upright piano. The one to the left was that of his wife: the other, that of Peggy, his daughter, a sophomore in arts at San Diego. She was a laughing girl with dancing eyes who had inherited her father’s colouring in eyes and hair but, fortunately, neither his features nor build, both of which belonged strictly to her mother. It was common knowledge that she was the only person who could wrap the formidable Sergeant Ryder round her little finger, a state of affairs of which Ryder was well aware and by which he appeared comp
letely untroubled. He looked at the three photographs for some seconds, shook his head, sighed, removed his own and placed it in a drawer.
He made a call to San Diego, listened for a full half-minute and hung up. The next call he made was to Major Dunne of the FBI. After the first ring Ryder suddenly replaced the receiver. Some thought had evidently occurred to make him change his mind. Instead, he poured himself an unaccustomed Scotch, picked up the file on Carlton, sat and began to leaf through it, making neat, precise notes as he reached the foot of each page. He had just gone through it a second time when Jeff returned. Ryder rose.
‘Let’s go take a little ride in your car.’
‘Sure. Where?’
‘Anywhere.’
‘Anywhere? I can manage that.’ Jeff thought. ‘Donahure might be more persistent than one would give him credit for?’
‘Yes.’
They drove off in Jeff’s Ford. After half a mile Jeff said: ‘I don’t know how you do it. There was a stake-out. We’re being followed.’
‘Make sure.’
Jeff made sure. Another half-mile and he said: ‘I’m sure.’
‘You know what to do.’
Jeff nodded. He turned left at the first intersection, turned right up a poorly-lit lane, passed the entrance of a builder’s yard and came to a stop opposite a second entrance, turning his lights off. Both men got out and walked unhurriedly into the yard.
The car following drew up about fifty yards behind. A lean man of medium height, his face shadowed by a fedora that had become passé in the 1930s, emerged and walked quickly towards the Ford. He had just passed the first entrance when something told him that all was not well. He swung round, reached inside his coat, then lost all interest in what he was doing as a heavy toe-cap caught him just below the knee: in any event it is difficult to reach for a gun when hopping around on one leg and clutching the other with both hands.
‘Stop that noise,’ Ryder said. He reached inside the man’s coat, pulled out an automatic, transferred his grip to the barrel and struck the man squarely in the face with the butt. This time the man screamed. Jeff flashed a torch in his face and said in a voice that could have been steadier: ‘His nose is gone. Some of his top teeth too. They’re gone as well.’
‘So’s my wife.’ The tone of the voice made Jeff flinch and he looked at a man that he’d never seen before. ‘Ridden your luck too far, Raminoff. If I catch you within a mile of my house again you’ll be a month in Belvedere.’ Belvedere was the city hospital. ‘Then after that I’ll go and attend to your boss. Tell him that. Who is your boss, Raminoff?’ He lifted the gun. ‘You have two seconds.’
‘Donahure.’ It was a peculiar gurgling sound and one for which Raminoff could hardly be blamed: blood was pumping steadily from mouth and nose. Ryder watched him for a couple of dispassionate seconds, then turned on his heel.
Back in the Ford Ryder said: ‘Stop at the first phone booth.’ Jeff glanced at him questioningly but Ryder wasn’t looking at him.
Ryder spent three minutes in the booth and made two calls. He returned to the car, lit a Gauloise and said: ‘Drive home.’
‘We’ve got a phone there. Tapped?’
‘Would you put anything beyond Donahure? Two things. I’ve just made a call to John Aaron. Editor of the Examiner. No word yet from the kidnappers. He’ll let me know as soon as anything comes through. I’ve also made a call to Major Dunne of the FBI. I’ll be seeing him shortly. After you’ve dropped me off home I want you to come inside, pick up a gun and something that will serve as a mask and go out to Donahure’s place and find out whether he’s at home or not. Discreetly, of course.’
‘He’s having visitors tonight?’
‘Two. You and me. If he’s there call me at this number.’ He switched on a map light and wrote on a notepad, tearing the page off. ‘The Redox in Bay Street. Know it?’
‘By reputation.’ Jeff sounded severe. ‘A singles bar, full of gays and drug-pushers, not to mention addicts. Hardly your scene, I would have thought.’
‘Why I’m going there. Must say Dunne didn’t sound too happy about it either.’
Jeff hesitated. ‘Going to give Donahure the Raminoff treatment?’
‘It’s a tempting thought, but no. He’d have nothing to tell us. Anyone smart enough to pull off this raid would be smart enough not to establish any direct contact with a clown like Donahure. He would certainly use an intermediary, maybe even two. I would.’
‘Then what would you be looking for?’
‘I wouldn’t know until I have looked.’
Ryder was in disguise – he was wearing a freshly pressed business suit which only his family knew he possessed. Dunne, too, was in disguise: he wore a beret, dark glasses and a pencil moustache, none of which suited him and made him, as he was uncomfortably aware, look slightly ridiculous. But the grey eyes were as intelligent and watchful as ever. He looked in distaste at the oddly attired clientele, mainly teenagers and those in the early twenties, and sniffed the air in nose-wrinkling disgust.
‘Place smells like a damn bordello.’
‘You frequent those places?’
‘Only in the line of duty.’ Dunne smiled. ‘Okay, so no one would look for us here. Certainly I wouldn’t.’ He broke off as a creature in pink pantaloons deposited two drinks on their table and left. Ryder poured both into a convenient potted plant.
‘Can’t do it any harm. Teaspoonful of whisky topped up with water.’ He produced a flask from an inside pocket and poured generous measures. ‘Malt. Always prepared. Your health.’
‘Excellent. And now?’
‘Four things. One, our Chief of Police. For your information only. Donahure and I are not seeing eye to eye.’
‘You surprise me.’
‘Probably not half as surprised as Donahure is right now. I’ve been upsetting him. I’ve been the cause of his losing a van of his this evening – it fell off a cliff into the Pacific. I’ve confiscated some of his personal goods and interviewed a stake-out he set on me.’
‘He’s in hospital?’
‘He’ll need medical care. Right now I’d guess he’s reporting to Donahure on the failure of his mission.’
‘How did you pin him to Donahure?’
‘He told me.’
‘Naturally. Well, can’t say I’m sorry. But I did warn you – Donahure’s dangerous. Rather, his friends are. And you know how cornered rats behave. You have a tie-in between him and San Ruffino?’
‘Things point that way. I’ll look through his house later on tonight, see what I can find.’
‘He might be at home.’
‘What difference does that make? Then I think I’ll go have a word with Judge LeWinter.’
‘You will? He’s a different kettle of fish from Donahure. Spoken of as the next State Supreme Court Chairman.’
‘Still tarred with the same brush. What do you know of him?’
‘We have a file on him.’ Dunne peered at his glass.
‘That means he’s poison?’
‘I’m being non-committal.’
‘Yes. Well, something else for your file. Donahure called tonight with a search warrant on such an obviously trumped-up charge that only a crooked judge would have signed it.’
‘Any prizes for guessing?’
‘No. Number two. I’d appreciate your help in this and the next couple of matters.’ He drew Carlton’s file and the notes he had made on it from a large envelope. ‘Security deputy. One of the seven snatched this afternoon. His curriculum vitae or whatever you call it. Seems above-board.’
‘All the best villains are.’
‘Yes. Army, intelligence, two security jobs before coming to San Ruffino. As he’s always worked for the Army or the AEC his past should be an open book. However, I’d like an answer to those few questions I’ve noted, especially his past contacts. The contacts, no matter how unimportant, are the important things.’
‘You have reason to suspect this man Carlton?’
I??
?ve no reason not to, which is the same thing to me.’
‘Routine. Number three?’
Ryder produced another paper – Marjory’s transcription of Susan’s shorthand – and explained how he had come by it. Dunne read through it several times. Ryder said: ‘You seem to find this interesting?’
‘Odd. This bit about not getting wet feet. About once a year since the turn of the century some people in this State have been confidently expecting the second flood. Cranks, of course.’
‘Cranks and highly organized criminals like this Morro or whoever don’t go together?’