“I still don’t see any harm,” Train put in slowly, “in telling the police and the newspapers that Jon’s been working with us all along, trying to get a lead to his father’s missing million. We wouldn’t have to say a word about the diamonds. It would get Jon out of the fix he’s in, and would give us a reason to put him under twenty-four-hour guard, here and out West, too.”
Lord was annoyed. “Train, we’ve gone over that. Assuming Chakorian’s dead and the stones are with him, Spook and any friends he might have would wonder why we’d waste a minute working with Jon, not even confiding in the police, unless we had good reason to think we could get our hands on that million. The fact that the venture centered around recovering the remains might start all sorts of wheels turning in their heads. If they learned Jon settled his insurance claim…”
“They’ll probably learn it anyhow, if they don’t know it already,” Train replied. “I think the risk of their deducing that valuables are hidden with the remains is damn remote. And here’s another thing. Schatzmueller was probably murdered. If his body’s found, we’ll have to give the police the whole story, diamonds and all. If we don’t, we’ll be impeding a homicide investigation. We can’t put ourselves in that position.”
“If his body’s found,” Lord said smoothly, “we’ll reassess the situation. Meanwhile, there’s no proof he was killed. He might be on a banana boat, counting his loot. No, Jon will work with the police trying to identify the man. When he’s identified, we and the police might dig up new leads that’ll result in the recovery of the remains, the diamonds with them. If that happens, Jon will still be entitled to his finder’s fee.”
“Frankly,” Jon said politely, “I think you’re damned unreasonable, asking me to continue on this basis. I won’t cry about it. But I think your anxiety to get your hands on those diamonds is clouding your judgment.”
“I didn’t expect you to like my decision. I know it sounds harsh, but I’ll have to ask you to bear with me. No doubt by now you’re broke. Under the circumstances, I’m willing to pay your expenses when you go back out West.”
“Thanks, but I don’t want a dime from you. Unless of course you’d like to lend me twenty thousand dollars on my personal note, so I can repay my uncle.”
Lord studied Jon, his expression enigmatic. “You’re a real hard-head, aren’t you?”
“No more,” Jon said, “than you are.”
* * * *
Waiting for a cab in front of the Venus plant, Jon became aware of something. A police car, with two men in it, was parked across the street. When the cab arrived, the officers followed Jon to a suburban gun shop, where he bought a Colt .45 automatic; back to headquarters at Eleventh and State, where he got his pistol permit; and to his apartment on North Wells, pulling into a no parking zone in front as he walked up the steps.
Apparently, whether he liked it or not, Jon would be guarded everywhere he went while in Novak’s jurisdiction. The captain wasn’t taking chances. He had a point, at that. Once Jon got to Vegas, the game might be up for Spook. Killing Jon before he left Chicago might be his only out.
Jon couldn’t duck Mike Bonella any longer, so he phoned Mike’s office. The girl said he’d canceled two appointments and gone home early, which was unusual. It took a while to reach Mike at home, and when Bonella finally answered, Jon got an odd reception.
“Jon?”
“Yes, Mike. I…”
“Don’t waste your breath telling me anything. Come see me tonight. It’ll only take a few minutes, then you can go back to what you’re doing.”
Mike hung up. His voice has been devoid of emotion. No anger, no reproach, no questions. That wasn’t like Mike…
* * * *
At dusk Jon’s cab rolled down the tree-lined street on which Bonella lived. Jon had grown up here, and every house, every alley and gangway, was familiar. The homes were old, and not gracefully old any more. Still, Mike stayed on, entrapped by his own memories.
Jon climbed the steps to the wood porch and rang the bell. Mike opened the door, his face gray. He was tieless, in shirtsleeves, and his trousers were rumpled and spotted with cigar ash.
“Come in,” Mike said. “Only soon, you’ll wish you hadn’t.” They went into the living room. A bottle of bourbon rested on the coffee table, a near-empty glass beside it. “You see? I’m drinking alone, a very bad sign.” He sat down, reached for the bottle and poured more whisky into the glass.
“Mike, what’s wrong?”
“Take a chair. A nice mess, isn’t it? All because you want to find what’s left of a pair of shoes, with false heels. Shoes, and a million bucks worth of diamonds.”
“Who,” Jon asked slowly, “told you that?”
“Gardino.”
“How did he…”
“Your aunt. She went to him to sell information for ten thousand dollars. She told him what you and Schatzmueller were really looking for.”
“And Gardino got in touch with you?”
“Yeah. He gave your aunt five bucks for a cab home and told her to keep her mouth shut, or she’d get her skull busted. Then he sent for me. He gave me the word. The word is he wants first crack at the guy you’re looking for, the guy you’re trying to identify. He says if he don’t get first crack, he’ll let out a contract.”
“On me?”
Mike looked up, his eyes boring into Jon’s.
“No. On me.”
Jon’s fingers drummed on the arm of the chair. Gardino knew where and how to apply pressure all right…“You think he means it?”
“I know he means it.”
“If he killed you, I’d get him in a lot of trouble.”
“The law couldn’t touch him. He’d be a thousand miles away when it happened, he’d just laugh at the law.”
“What land of a man…”
“A mad dog.” Bonella downed a slug of bourbon. “They’re all mad dogs. I went to grade school with a couple of them, and now and then they come around and ask little favors. Nothing important, but I do ’em. I ain’t proud of it, but I got a big family, I don’t want anyone hurt. Up to now, I managed to keep ’em away from you.”
“Gardino’s people have talked to you about me before?”
“Sure, starting when you were a kid. I told ’em you didn’t know nothing, to leave you alone. They came around last week, too, to ask about your insurance policy. They were surprised, when I said we’d settled that.”
No wonder, Jon thought, hoods had been visiting Levee Court.
“But now,” Mike went on, “it’s different. Gardino wants those diamonds. And he’s sore, he thinks maybe I knew about ’em all along, but didn’t tell. That’s why he’ll kill me if you don’t cooperate.” He paused. “And you know what? I’m ashamed to say it, but I just learned something about myself. I’m afraid to die.”
“Nobody’s dying yet. Suppose we went to the police?”
“Sooner or later, Gardino’d get me anyhow.”
“He understands, doesn’t he, that I’m working with the police myself now? That when I identify the man, either in person or through a photograph, there’ll be detectives all around me?”
“He knows. But he says when you spot the guy, shake your head and say, ‘That ain’t him.’ He wants a twelve-hour head start. After twelve hours, you can tell the cops you want another look, maybe you made a mistake the first time. Gardino thinks he can do everything he wants to the guy in twelve hours.”
“If I learn the man’s name and address, how am I supposed to contact Gardino?”
Bonella nodded to a folded slip of paper on the coffee table. “Call that number. He also wants to know where those women are, he wants to talk to them, too. He says you’re to tell him everything you learn about the case. I’m to give him an answer tonight on whether you’ll go along or not.”
“He’s not asking for much, is he?
”
Mike eyed Jon closely. “Does it make so much difference? No matter what happens, you can’t get your hands on those diamonds now.”
“There’s more involved than diamonds. I’ve been working with Adam Lord, trying to get the stones back for Venus.”
“Ain’t that swell.” Bitterly, Mike smiled. “I always figured you knew more than you told. I hoped you’d have the sense to go to the police. To get it all in the open, so you’d never get mixed up in something like this later on.”
“It’s a long story. I kept a promise. I don’t think breaking it years later, when I was old enough to know it was wrong, would have done any good. If my father’s dead, a murderer might have found those diamonds, that’s all. In fact Schatz could have found the man I’m looking for without my help. If so, I’m sure the Chakorian case would never be closed officially.”
The wall clock ticked, as they both sat silently.
Finally, Bonella said, “That’s what you want? To close it officially?”
“Damn right.”
“Then we both know what to do. You can’t sell out to scum like Gardino. If there’s enough publicity, maybe he’ll be afraid…”
“No.” Jon rose. Slowly, he began to pace. “If we went to the police, he’d be enraged. You’re right. He’d kill you, he’d have to, so people would know that when he makes that kind of a promise, he keeps it.”
“I’m scared. And I’m sore at you, for doing what you did. But…”
“It’s my decision, not yours. All he wants now is a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ If I say ‘no,’ he’ll kill you right away, so I’ll say ‘yes.’ Call him, Mike. Tell him I don’t like it one bit, but I’ll do it. At least it’ll give us time.”
“You’ll double-cross him?”
“I’ll play it by ear. You better tell him I’ve been working with Venus, too. If he learned that somewhere else, he’d assume he was being betrayed.”
“The women? You’ll tell him where the women are?”
“Not that, no. He’s won his main point, he’ll be smart enough to concede that one. Tell him Pearl doesn’t know any more than he’s already read in the papers; that Bess doesn’t know anything at all, she wasn’t involved. Make it emphatic, I won’t disclose their location under any circumstances.”
Jon picked up the paper, memorized the number, and tossed it back to the table.
“Mike, I’m sorry.”
“I guess,” Bonella said heavily, “you had your reasons.”
“Don’t panic.” Jon looked a lot more confident than he felt. “As my father told Schatz once, keep your head. That’s the main thing.”
* * * *
Eric didn’t like it when Jon settled in a back booth with a pot of coffee. It was bad for business, he said. Jon was a sitting target, he’d scare customers away. On top of that, there’s the stuff in the papers about Chakorian the young ghoul, stories Eric didn’t believe personally, but Jon being seen here at this time would give the place a bad name.
On the contrary, Jon said. People will flock here, hoping to glimpse the ghoul. They mustn’t be disappointed. Business is booming already, there’s a detective at the bar and another at a table near the door, and the element of danger will attract thrill seekers. Further, Jon owned 10 percent of the building, and if Eric threw him out Jon would raise his rent. Now go away, Jon added, and let me think.
Inspiration was not forthcoming. Gardino had him over a barrel, all right. He’d gone full circle and faced the prospect of lying to the police again. The first time, he’d done it for his father. Now, it would be for Mike…
He drank a second cup of coffee. And a third.
Behind him, a woman said, “Hello, Chakorian. I’ve come for that drink on the house. The balm.”
He got up and turned, not recognizing her at first. Tall and angular, she had red hair and wore a green cocktail dress. Of course—it was Dinah Lord.
“I’m glad you did.” The fact that he’d be seen talking to Lord’s daughter didn’t matter much any more. She moved in across from him and he asked, “What’ll you have?”
Dinah nodded to the coffee pot. “Some of that.”
Jon signaled a waitress. “You’re short-changing yourself.”
“Big day tomorrow. I’ve had my quota of the other stuff. I’m a working girl.”
“At Venus?”
“No. The ad agency that has the Venus account I won’t pretend my family connections didn’t help me land the job, but I pull my own weight.”
A girl brought another cup and filled it. Absently, Dinah stirred.
“You,” she said, “have been doing something for Venus all along, haven’t you? Trying to recover assets. My father wouldn’t give me the details, but I wormed that much out of him.” She flashed a reassuring little smile. “Don’t worry, my head’s full of business secrets. At home, my father has nobody to talk to except me, and Chakorian’s all he’s had on his mind lately. I’m afraid you Chakorians bring out the worst in him, too. He said some terrible things, when I told him I was coming here tonight”
“Maybe it isn’t so wise, our being seen together.”
“Oh, hell. Everyone at the plant blew Chakorian’s son was there today. As for me—the people who brought me here insisted on coming, to gawk at you. When I go back to their table, I’ll just tell ’em we reminisced about the time I visited your father’s house, and walked out before you could show me his secret treasure.” She paused. “What was it, by the way?”
“A shark’s tooth,” he lied, “from the China Sea.”
“Sorry I missed it.” Dinah took a cigarette from her purse; Jon lit it for her. “I had a reason for coming, though. To tell you not to be too angry with my father, for making you go on pretending you weren’t working with him. He and Train argued about that yesterday, I overheard a few words.”
“It burns me a little. But maybe in the long run, his decision will be the right one.”
“It’s wrong. But for what it’s worth, I think he’ll change his mind soon and make things easier for you. I think he’s developing quite a respect for you. You have to understand. Rudy Chakorian’s an obsession with him. He nearly went broke, fighting your father.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Few people did, but it almost happened. Friends had to bail him out. In any matter where your father’s concerned, he sort of loses perspective. But give him time.
He’ll come to his senses. At bedrock, he’s a stern moralist. He still hates himself, for some of the things he did sixteen years ago.”
Jon smiled. “Forgive me. But with all due respect, your father doesn’t strike me as the introspective type. I don’t think he’d waste a minute brooding about the propriety of ancient decisions.”
“He is, though. The phone taps, the microphone—he’s always had misgivings about that. He gave Train carte blanche, he didn’t even want to know how it was done, but each day he’d listen to the recordings or read transcripts. Not just your father’s conversations, but other people’s. Often personal, intimate conversations that had nothing to do with your father. And after your father disappeared, he had everyone investigated. The football player, the woman your father lived with, your aunt and uncle, that man Bonella…”
“Mike? I’ll agree, your father’s perspective went haywire if he spent good money investigating Mike.”
“Well, he did. He wondered if Bonella really met you accidentally; if your father was paying him secretly to care for you. He picked up a lot of dirt about some of the people he investigated, but nothing about your father. He felt bad about that later, too. Prying into private lives, uncovering things he had no business knowing. I’m sure that once he…” She paused. “Excuse me. Maybe I’m being rude. But I get the impression your mind’s somewhere else.”
“I’m sorry.” It was true. He’d only half-heard her; he’d been th
inking of Gardino. “And I’m the rude one. You came here to do me a favor, to cheer me up a little, but you’re right, I’ve been thinking of other things.”
Dinah smiled again. “Is it Pearl? The girl with you in Arizona? Her picture was in yesterday’s paper. She looks very pretty.”
“Yes,” Jon said. That was an explanation which Dinah Lord, well-meaning keeper of secrets who’d just disclosed a bagful, would understand. Dinah seemed to have grown into a pleasant, level-headed young woman, though, despite her wealth and her father. Not bad looking, either. Under other circumstances, Jon would have tried to get to know her better. “That’s what it was. I was thinking of dear old Pearl.”
* * * *
A few minutes after Jon returned to his apartment, Uncle Howard rapped on the door.
“Hi.” Howard strolled in, hands in his pockets. “It was nice to hear on the radio that you’re back in town.”
“I meant to get in touch.”
“I’m sure you did. Since according to the papers, that twenty thousand I loaned you vanished with Schatzmueller.” He walked to a table and opened the box containing Jon’s pistol. “I’ll be damned. A .45 service automatic, just like we had in the Navy.” Smiling a little, he picked up the gun and pulled back the slide, peering into the chamber to be sure it was empty. “You don’t fool around, do you? With this cannon, plus the cops staked around the joint, you’re as safe as the gold in Fort Knox.”
Jon sank into a chair. “Howard, I’ll level. I’m beginning to doubt Schatz will ever be found.”
“You gave me a ninety-day note. And if the money hasn’t been recovered by then, the note can be extended.”
“Maybe. But I’ve imposed on you enough. I want to give you my share in Levee Court, to cover that loan.”
“Forget it.”
“Why? You don’t owe me anything.”
Howard put the gun down. “No,” he said slowly, “but I’ll level with you, too. Since I got rid of Elvira, I’ve been having a ball. But when the fun’s over, what’ll be left? Not a damn thing. I’m too old for a family of my own now. You’re the closest thing to a family I’ve got. You ask twice twenty thousand, and you’ll have it. I know you wouldn’t ask unless you needed it damned bad, and I know there must be more to what you’re doing than it says in the papers. This trip west, to identify the man who tried to kill you—I’ll advance all the cash you need for that, too.”
The James Michael Ullman Crime Novel Page 54