The Erection Set

I took a minute to catch my breath, then took a good look at the three of them. Two I had never seen before, but one was an old-time buddy. Now he had a broken wrist and one hell of a dent in his skull. Blackie Saunders, the wipeout boy from Trenton was going to have a hard time explaining all this to Chet Linden.

Chet was going to have an even harder time explaining this to me.

The cigar Lucy was trying to light had broken halfway down its length and didn’t want to take hold. She spat it out angrily and felt in her pocket for another one. When she got it fired she gave me a twisted grin. “Like the old days, kid. You know them?”

“I know where they came from. What happened?”

She gave a shrug as if it had been an everyday occurrence. “Came in about two hours ago. Scared the living crap out of Beth and the boys.”

“What boys?”

“Old Stanley Cramer and Stoney. Beth had ’em out hustlin’ for some dirt on your cousin. They come up with some goodies, too. He got to one of the girls who was scragged and she gave him a detailed letter.”

“They all right?”

“Sure. Tied up out in the kitchen.”

“Look, Lucy ... don’t give it to me in episodes I havent got ...”

“Relay, sonny. First tell me what we’re gonna do with these buckos. If you want I still got contacts who’ll. . . ”

“Forget it.” I pushed past her and in five minutes I had all three of them wrapped up and gagged so tight they wouldn’t be going anywhere unless I let them. I found my own rod, tucked it away, then pushed Lucy down into a chair. “Okay, Lucy, now all of it.”

She nodded toward Blackie and puffed on the cigar. “That one liked to talk. He had a mad on for you, Doggie boy. Seems like they been in town checking out every one of your acquaintances and didn’t have any luck until he heard old Juke telling Tod about seeing you and what a nice guy you was and how they had something to give you. Juke, he just rambled on and said they was coming here and then call you. Later, Stanley and Stoney came in, sent Juke somewhere on an errand and they followed the boys back.”

“I didn’t get any call.”

“Not like they didn’t try to get one through.”

“I haven’t been in any one place very long.”

“That’s what they figured too. So they decided to wait. Hell, after they put the others in the kitchen that one I busted over there even played some Scrabble with me. The dirty bastard used words that wasn’t in the rules and made me play ’em. I should’ve really laid it on. You know what that lamp cost me?”

“Ten bucks.”

“Yeah, but a dollar was a dollar then.”

I threw her a disgusted smile and shook my head. “Let’s get them out of the kitchen.”

Beth’s fright had turned to total indignation and she was all for throwing a pail of scalding water over the three of them. I talked her out of it and let her settle for kicking each one in the head and enjoying the muffled groans that seeped through the gags. Cramer and Stoney didn’t want any part of them and had to have a few belts of Lucy’s best Scotch before they could get the shake out of their hands. I had to prod Stoney into remembering where he put the letter he had and he finally dug it out of an old jacket that had been slung across the back of a chair.

It was nicely detailed, giving places, dates and two other names who might go along with the big squeeze if no recriminations were guaranteed. As for herself, she’d even appear in court if she had to. And I now had Cousin Alfred’s ass in one hell of a sling.

When I finished reading I put the letter in my pocket. Both the men were watching me closely and I said, “Thanks. You all have something coming for this.”

“We don’t want anything, Mr. Kelly,” Cramer told me. “Unless it’s to see Barrin working full time.”

“I wish I could promise you that, friend.”

“You said you was going to try.”

“All the way out. Trying doesn’t mean it can be done though.”

“But you’re still gonna try?”

I nodded.

“Even with Cross McMillan on your back?”

“I wish that was all I had on my back. Those three inside are only the front-runners.”

“But when Cross hears what ...”

“Cross didn’t send them,” I said.

Their eyes met, then touched Lucy’s. The old madam said, “It goes deeper?”

“You’d never believe, sugar. The funny part is”—I inclined my head toward the other room where the bloody three lay messing up Lucy’s rug—“this end of the action doesn’t bother me at all. It’s that fucking McMillan who’s got the power to hurt everybody and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. He’s got the money, the control and enough hate for the Barrins to enjoy pulling everything down into a pile of rubbish.”

“Piss on him,” Lucy said.

“Try telling that to a city full of people with brand-new stars in their eyes.”

“What’ll we do with your pals inside?”

I felt a grin tug at my mouth and ease the tension from my body. “Call Bennie Sachs to come collect them. All you know is that they broke in on you and did what they did. You have four reliable witnesses to go along with the story.”

“What story?”