by Rick Polad
“Well, in the interest of finding out—”
“I also know about you, Manning. And I know you like to poke your nose in where it doesn’t belong. Maybe that’s all right with the Chicago police, but this is a federal agency, and we don’t need whatever help you think you can be.”
“Poking my nose in, as you so quaintly put it, has worked out rather well in the past in several cases.”
He just stared at me and picked up the cigarette that was burning in an ashtray. “Why are you here?”
I shrugged and with a smile said, “Justice?”
He laughed. “That’s a good one. Good luck with that. If you don’t have a better answer, you know where the door is.”
I did, and I was anxious to use it.
“I started working on the drug case against Reynolds Margot.”
“Oh yes, I do remember you at the little soiree Mrs. Margot threw. Sweet-talked her into writing a big check, I’m guessing.”
“Keep guessing. I heard you offered him a deal. What was it?”
“You’ll have to ask her, if she’s not in jail. Seems like the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.”
I ignored that. “She didn’t seem to know.”
He sat silently for about twenty seconds. While he was thinking I looked closely at his face. I didn’t know why I hadn’t noticed before. He was bigger than me… could probably do okay in a brawl unless it was with guys who knew their way around brawls. But his eyes were beady and intense… too small for his face… the kind you see on little creatures that have to be looking for bigger creatures that want to eat them.
He stopped thinking and said, “That case is closed, which leads me back to my original question. Why are you here?”
“Mrs. Margot has asked for my help with her current situation, and since this all started with a drug arrest, I thought finding more about that would be helpful.”
“Did you now?” He put out the short stub of the cigarette and lit another. “Okay, I’ll be helpful. I’ll give you one question. Then your time is up.”
“Did you find any reason why Reynolds Margot was on the west side of Chicago?”
“No. You can see yourself out.”
“Do you have a guess why?”
“Did I not make myself clear?”
I was pretty sure we weren’t going to have a friendly conversation, but it was worth a shot. And I still wanted to know about the deal he had offered to Reynolds. But somehow I got the feeling he wasn’t going to tell me, so I didn’t ask. I left.
And I was certainly glad to be getting out of there. As I closed his door, I took a deep breath. It was still far from clean air, but it was a great improvement.
Mrs. Mitchell looked at me with pity. “I apologize for Agent Thward, Mr. Manning. I’m sorry you had to endure that.”
“Not nearly as sorry as I am for you, Mrs. Mitchell. I get to leave.”
She looked sad and nodded. I nodded back. As I was reaching for the door her phone rang. I had one foot in the hall when I heard my name.
“It’s for you, Mr. Manning… your secretary.”
I took the phone. “Carol? Is everything all right?”
“Sure. Been calling your car phone.”
“What’s up?”
“Maggio’s secretary called. He has to reschedule. Wants to know if you can make Monday same time.”
“I can, but I’m not at his beck and call. Please call back and tell him I can’t make it until Thursday. Have him schedule a time.”
“My, you must have appointments that aren’t on the schedule. How am I supposed to arrange your calendar if you keep me in the dark?”
“You done?”
“Yes. Are you coming back this afternoon?”
“Yes. About forty-five minutes, I’ll pick up lunch.”
“Sounds good. See you.”
I thanked Mrs. Mitchell and headed out.
Chapter 17
I got outside and took another deep breath. I’d never take those breaths for granted again. When I got to the car, I called Ben and got his message machine.
“Hey, Ben, Spencer. I’d like to pick your brain. I need information on a couple of people. If you’re available, I’m buying McGoon’s. If I don’t hear from you I’ll see you at seven.”
***
By six I hadn’t heard from Ben, so I headed for McGoon’s. I was a half hour early, so I spent it in the bar with a Guinness and conversation about nothing in particular with Jack. There was only one other person at the bar, and his glass was full. He was busily working with a pencil and a pad of paper. Jack had told me Mondays and Thursdays were the slowest days of the week. People were recovering from the weekend and getting ready for the next one. He was glad to see me… he could only polish the bar so many times.
After ten minutes, he reached under the bar and brought out three darts and set them in front of me.
“What’s this?”
“New idea from the boss.” He pointed to the board on the wall behind the bar. “Three tosses for a buck. Bull’s-eye wins a free beer.”
“What’s the first ring win?”
“Nada.”
“Wow. That’s certainly leaning in the house’s favor.”
“Yup. The boss wasn’t born yesterday.”
“What happens to the dollars?”
“Boss splits with the barkeep.”
“Not a bad deal. How long you been doing this?”
“Just started Monday.”
“How many takers?”
“A lot.”
“How many Bull’s-eyes?”
“One.”
I laughed and reached into my pocket. No cigar, but I did hit the board with all three.
Jack retrieved the darts. “You’re zeroing in on it. You’re bound to win this time. Reach back in your pocket and treat the little lady to a free beer.”
I looked around and laughed. “When you’re done being a sideshow hustler, I’d like my barkeep back.”
He smiled and said, “Gotta do something to make the hours go by on a night like this.”
A couple walked in and sat at a table.
“Keep your wrist warm. I’ll be back.”
But before he got back, Ben arrived. I told him about the darts. He said he had better ways of throwing away money.
I swung off the stool, and Ben announced that, since I was buying, he had skipped lunch so he’d have room for the twenty ounce steak.
Nathan seated us in our usual booth in the back corner where we had a small measure of privacy.
We both ordered steak and a stuffed mushroom appetizer, and Jane returned in a few minutes with a Guinness for Ben and another for me. She hadn’t asked if I wanted another.
“So, to what do I owe this largesse?” Ben asked after taking a long drink.
“I need to pick your brain about a couple of people.” Ben had been in the state’s attorney’s office for eighteen years and had seen all there was to see. His sudden decision to retire a few years back at the age of forty-two had taken them by surprise. There was something that had prompted that decision. I had been working on a case to clear a Charles Lamb. Ben was the prosecutor for the state. I found proof that cleared Charles and was headed to the courtroom, but I got there too late. Charles had been found guilty, and as he was being escorted out of the courthouse, he threw himself through a fifth-floor window. Ben was devastated. He had told me life was too short, and he needed to start enjoying it and could afford to do so. But he had many friends still in the office, and there wasn’t much he didn’t know about. And after all those years he knew where all the bodies were buried and had a lot of favors he could call in. He had called in a few for me.
Jane arrived with the appetizer. As Ben cut into a mushroom, he said, “I assume this has to do with the Margot case
that you’re not working on.”
I took a deep breath and a bite of mushroom. “Well, I’ve been trying to not work on it, but I haven’t been very successful. Mrs. Margot keeps dragging me back in.”
“Good-looking rich widow. No surprise there. How hard did she have to drag?”
“Pretty hard. All along the way this wasn’t something she needed me for. They had the kid dead to rights on the drug charge.”
“And were working on a plea deal.”
I nodded. Ben did keep his finger in the pot. “Right. So it should have ended with an easy court appearance. No reason for the kid to die.”
“No reason we know of. So if it was so easy why did she hire you?”
I slowly shook my head. “She needed a friend for moral support. She just wanted to know her son was getting a fair shake.”
“And was he?”
“I don’t know. I never found out what the deal was. The kid wasn’t cooperative and neither was the lawyer. Do you know Malbry?”
He laughed. “Sure. The go-to man for the big money on the north shore. Fancy suits and cars.”
“He certainly has more than his share of arrogance. In a very short meeting, he made it clear I was not needed.”
“I’m surprised you even got to meet with him.”
“I wouldn’t have, but the money in Mrs. Margot’s checkbook bought me twenty minutes. She insisted.”
He smiled as best he could with the last of the mushrooms in his mouth and then said, “I would have loved to have sat in the corner for that.”
“You go up against him in court?”
“Sure.”
“Win?”
“Won a few, lost a few. Mostly it was settled before we walked in the room, and the appearance was just a formality. He was good at plea bargains. And with a system bogged down in red tape and a long backlog, we were pretty willing to agree to anything reasonable. Is it him you want to know about?”
“No, I don’t care about him. I—”
Dinner arrived.
Ben cut into his steak, took a bite, and sighed. “I’ve been salivating about this moment all day. So who do you care about?”
“I’ve had several meetings with a Detective Bast on the west side and a rather strange meeting this morning with Agent Thward of the FBI.”
Ben nodded as he chewed. After a drink he said, “I’d rather not know one of those.”
“Not hard to figure which one.”
“So what do you want to know?”
“What has your experience been? How were they at their jobs? What kind of men are they? Dedicated? By the book? Cut corners? Whatever you’ve got.”
It really was a slow night. There were only two other couples in the dining area, and Nathan had kept them far away from us.
Ben’s steak was about a third gone. I reached into my pocket and placed a ten-dollar bill next to his plate.
“What’s that for?”
“Ten says you won’t finish.”
“The hell I won’t! Especially now. I’m looking at a new set of clubs.”
I laughed. He had no need for my ten-spot. He eyed the rest of the steak with a gleam in his eye and talked in between bites.
“Bast is as good as they get. By the book right down the line. He’d get along well with Stosh. I don’t think I ever lost a case he was involved in. He’s been offered promotions but thinks he can make a difference on the west side… and he does. It’s still a mess, but it’s a lot less messy because of him.”
“And Thward?” I cut into my last two bites.
“Aside from one arrogant bastard, he gets his share of convictions. But they’re all plea deals for guys pretty far down the ladder. He’s never brought us anyone anywhere near the top of the food chain.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“My guess? Nobody likes him. He pisses off everybody he works with… to the point where they’d rather not share information. Nobody asks for his help, and nobody helps him if they can get around it.”
“Seems like that would make someone worthless. Why does he still have a job?”
“Been doing it a long time. Hard to get rid of government employees. He keeps his nose clean, and he does take people off the street.”
“What about their lifestyles?”
“Don’t know. There are very few cops I got involved with outside the courtroom. Why do you ask?”
Jane asked if she could take my plate and if I wanted another beer. I said she could and I didn’t. She glanced at Ben and smiled. “Think he’ll finish that?”
I smiled back and pointed. “There’s ten dollars says he won’t. You want in?”
She laughed. “No thanks. I like to hold onto my tips.”
As she walked away, Ben asked, “So why do you ask?”
“Because I’ve got a lot of people involved in this and nothing pointing at any of them. And maybe Thward never gets any big fish because those fish keep him happy.”
“Maybe.”
“There are bad cops, you know.”
“I know,” he said. “And nothing worse than someone who’s supposed to be a good guy turning up bad. But it’s rare.”
“Thankfully. But it’s a heck of a temptation.”
“Bast too?”
“You did tell me not to trust anyone.”
“While that makes for a pretty depressing life, it’s a good strategy until you get proof otherwise.” He slowly took a large bite and showed signs of slowing down. “But you have the advantage of having some people you can trust.”
“I do, and that keeps me going.” We both knew he was on that list.
“What other suspects? Your client is a possible for the murder… good motive, and it was her gun.”
“Yes, but not conclusive, and they haven’t arrested her. But I’m looking at the drug arrest. That’s where all this started. I think it’s all tied together. If I can figure that out, the rest of the pieces will fall into place.”
“You think she was involved with that?”
“I have no idea. And there’s the senator’s kid, and while we’re at it, the senator.”
Ben almost choked on his steak. “That’s a pretty big net you’ve got.”
“And Chief Sawyer in Kenilworth.”
He actually stopped eating. “Spencer, I—”
I held up my hand. “I know. But I was invited to a meeting a few weeks ago that included Thward, her lawyer Malbry, and Chief Sawyer. It was more like a social event than a get-together about a kid with an arrest file. I’d be willing to bet more than ten bucks Mrs. Margot wrote a big check to Chief Sawyer’s campaign fund.”
“So he’s on your list.”
I nodded. “You know anything about him?”
He cut another piece. He was going to make it. “Nope. Nothing negative. He’s your typical chief showing up at all the events and keeping as much swept under the rug as possible. No city is free of crime, but in Kenilworth you usually don’t hear about it. Bad for reelection.”
“Think Thward could be dirty?”
He shrugged as he chewed the last piece, pushed his plate away, and wiped his mouth. “Anybody could be dirty. It’s always on the back burner.”
“Well—”
He held up his hand. “Okay, almost anybody. Stosh and Rosie excepted. But you never know what effect circumstances will have on someone’s life. Look at Stosh’s medical bills with Francine’s cancer. Dirty money could start looking pretty good.”
I sighed. “Yeah, but not Stosh.”
He raised his glass. “Not Stosh.”
We both finished our beer.
“I don’t want to see one of the good guys go bad, but if it was Thward I wouldn’t be too upset.”
Ben laughed. “You’d have to stand in line. Who else?” He stabbed
the last piece of steak, put it in his mouth with his right hand, picked up the ten with his left, and thanked me while he chewed.
“Well, there’s the kids’ advocate, Benita, and the nun, Sister—”
“Whoa cowboy. Cross Benny off your list. A nun? Are you smokin’ somethin’?”
“You’re vouching for her?”
“We go way back. You got Stosh… I got Benny.”
“Okay, I’ll make her a very distant maybe.”
“Whatever. Back to the nun. Sister Katherine, if I remember correctly. You suspect a nun?”
Jane asked if we wanted another beer. We declined, and I asked for the check.
“Works with Benny… mostly on the street. Supposedly knows everyone in the neighborhood.”
“And that somehow makes her a suspect?”
“No. What makes her a suspect is that I don’t know her, and she isn’t Stosh. And she seems to just have appeared out of thin air and started helping.”
He laughed. “Sounds more angelic than suspect.”
“And there’s Mrs. Margot. She switches characters like a great actress. I feel sorry for her, but I don’t trust her. She knows more than she’s saying.”
“Maybe they all do.”
“Yup. That’s what makes this job so much fun.”
Jane brought the check.
“So what’s on your agenda?” Ben asked.
“I want to talk to Sister. She and Benny have breakfast almost every morning at a little diner on the west side not far from the church where Benny runs her program. I went this morning, but Sister didn’t show. I’ll try again tomorrow. And I’d like to talk to the priest at the church.”
“You suspect him too?”
“No, but I’d like to see what he knows about Sister Katherine. I’d feel better about her if I knew the history. You don’t just show up and start nunning.”
“Nunning?”
“You got a better word?”
“Probably, but I like nunning.”
I put two twenties on top of the check and said, “And then there’s the senator.”
“You don’t trust politicians?”
“I’d rather deal with a thief than a politician. You can count on them to be exactly what they appear to be. How many politicians do you think are clean?”