The Mike Hammer Collection

Thanks, Rickerby, I thought. You’re still paying for The Dragon.

Pat said, “We ran a pretty thorough check on Basil Levitt.”

“Anything?”

“We located a girl he used to shack up with. She told us he was on a job but wouldn’t say what it was. He said he was getting paid well for it but there would be more later and he was already making big plans. Outside of a few others who knew he had fresh money on him, nothing.”

“What about the rifle?”

“Stolen from a sporting goods store upstate about a month ago. We had the numbers on file. He must have worn gloves in the room where he had the gun set up, but got careless when he loaded the clip. There was a single print that tied him in with it.”

Before I could answer, Charlie Force said, “Now what we are interested in knowing is who he was shooting at.”

I looked at my watch and then at his face. “Art Rickerby clued you in. You know what Velda was involved with.”

“Yes,” he agreed pleasantly. “We know. But I’m beginning to wonder about it all.”

“Well, stop wondering.”

“You were there too. Right in the middle.”

“Fresh on the scene. Levitt had been there some time. Days.”

“Waiting for you?”

Let them think it, I figured. I wasn’t cutting him in on anything. “I’m trying to find that out too,” I told him. “When I do you’ll get the word.”

Grebb and Force got up together and headed for the door. Their inspection trip was over. They were satisfied now that I’d make a good target. Grebb looked at me through those cold eyes, still smiling twistedly. “Be sure to do that,” he said.

When they were gone Pat shook his head. “You don’t make friends easily.”

“Who needs them?”

“Someday you will.”

“I’ll wait until then. Look, buddy, you know what the action is in town?”

Pat just nodded.

“Dickerson?”

He spread his hands. “We’re working on it.”

“How can a wheel come in already operating and not be known?”

“It isn’t hard. You want to know what we have?”

“Damn right.”

“Hoods are showing up from all over the country. They’re all clean, at least clean enough so we can’t tumble them. We can roust them when we want to, but they have nothing we can pin on them.”

“How many?”

“Not an army, but let a dozen wrong types hit town at once and it sets a pattern. Something’s about to happen.”

“They’re not holding a convention.”

“No, they’re getting paid somehow. Either there’s loot being laid out or they’re operating under orders. There are Syndicate men in and sitting by nice and quietly waiting for the word. All we can do is wait too. In the meantime there’s a shake-up in the rackets. Somebody’s got the power to pull strings long enough to get action out of the Midwest and the coast. There’s a power play going on and a big one. I wish I could figure it out.”

He sat there drumming his fingertips on the desktop. “What do you think, Mike?”

I gave it to him straight, right down the line, laying the facts face up from the time I walked into the apartment until I reached his office. I watched his mind close around the details and put them into mental cubbyholes to hold there until he had time to assimilate them. But I gave him no opinions, nothing more than facts.

Finally he said, “There are some strange implications.”

“Too many.”

“I suppose you want something from me now.”

“Yeah. Get a killer off my back.”

His eyes touched mine and narrowed. “We’ll do all we can. He can’t get around too long with a bullet in him.”

“Up to now he’s been doing great.”

I got up off the desk and put on my hat. “This Arnold Goodwin . . .”

“I’ll get a team out on it. This is one of the implications I don’t like. These are the real potential killers. Whether Torrence likes it or not, I’ll see that somebody is staked out around his house. We’ll keep it quiet, so what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“Good deal. I’ll see you later.”

“By the way, Joey Adams called here for you. He wants to see you about something.” He grinned at me. “Said he got stopped on a traffic violation and flashed his honorary badge with all the little diamonds and just found out from the arresting officer what it was good for.”

“Old joke.”

“Funny though.”

I called Joey from downstairs and had him meet me in the Blue Ribbon. It was between the meal hours and nobody was there, so George and I sipped coffee until he got there.

After he ordered milk and cake I said, “What’s the bit?”

“Look, you had me chasing down Sally Devon’s old friends. Well, I’m up in the office when Pauline Coulter comes in to tell me what she forgot. About a week ago she ran into Annette Lee, who was with Sally when she died.”

“Man, she was old then.”

“She’s older now, but still kicking. Annette Lee used to be a wardrobe mistress in a show Sally worked in and afterwards worked for Sally as sort of personal maid. Now how about that? You think I’ll make a cop yet?”

“Not if you keep flashing that police badge.” I grinned.

“Come on!”

“Okay, it was a joke.” I laughed. “No kidding though . . . this Lee gal might clean up a few things. It’s nice to have friends in important places.”