Mourn The Living

by Collins, Max Allan

  There was a blur of movement in the doorway and a familiar voice cried, “Tulip! Stop, Tulip, it’s me!”

  Tulip smiled, turned away from Nolan and faced the door.

  The slug caught Tulip in the stomach, hard, and Tulip lay down like a hibernating bear. He looked up at the smoking nine millimeter in the hand of Dinneck and said, “What the hell did you do that for?” Then Tulip closed his eyes and stopped breathing.

  “Thanks,” Nolan said.

  “Saving your life wasn’t the point,” Dinneck said. “But Tulip was Elliot’s man, and I needed him out of the way.” This he said even as he stepped over the big dead man.

  “Allow me to introduce myself, gents. My name is Dinneck, but you also have the right, I think, to know who I represent.”

  Dinneck sat down on a black leather couch and let the nine millimeter take turns staring at Nolan and Elliot.

  “I’m a native New Yorker,” he said, and coughed, his throat raspy. “My employers heard some rumors about dope traffic in this part of the country. Around Chelsey to be exact.”

  Dinneck rose, stepping over the corpse of his ex-partner.

  “I work for the Commission.”

  4

  “WON’T YOU sit down, Mr. Webb?” Dinneck asked, his hoarse voice dripping sarcasm. “I have some business to take care of with Mr. Elliot here, before you and I settle our personal differences.”

  Nolan said, “Your ball game,” and sat back down in the black leather chair. The gun Elliot had dropped at Nolan’s command a few minutes before lay unseen behind the closed suitcase of money. Elliot seemed to have forgotten it, and Dinneck didn’t know about it. Nolan would make his move for the .38, but not yet. Dinneck was in the mood to talk, so Nolan would listen and watch while he waited for the right moment to move.

  Dinneck stroked his throat, which was visibly bruised from both Lyn Parks’ assault and Nolan’s blows of earlier that evening. He looked weak, he looked pale—almost as pale as Elliot.

  “Mr. Elliot,” Dinneck was saying, “I was assigned to you by my employers to work undercover until I had enough on you to be convinced positively of your guilt. Which I am. I placed a long-distance call this afternoon to a gentleman in New York who gave me instructions as to what to do about you. You see, my employers don’t take it kindly when somebody opens up a business without a franchise.”

  “You never saw a thing,” Elliot snapped. “You weren’t involved with the narcotics operation at all. None of the men the Boys sent me were.”

  “That’s right. You used me for strong-arm work. Beat people up, pressure them. Like I did with that reporter, Davis, who skipped town. Watched over people, like Mr. Franco . . . the late Mr. Franco, now, I hear. And Broome and Saunders, too. My, my, but you were a busy little fella tonight. Yes, I ran your errands, and you were careful to keep me away from your narcotics set-up. Instinct maybe.” Dinneck coughed, caressing his throat; talking was obviously painful to him, but he couldn’t resist. He coughed again and glanced pointedly at Nolan, who sat motionless, silent, like an obedient school-boy. Then he returned his gaze to Elliot.

  “You got to remember Chelsey’s a small town, Mr. Elliot,” Dinneck said. “Junkies and pushers aren’t hard to pick out in a town this size. And the college punks have big mouths, like to brag about getting their kicks. Your bosom pal Broome was a pusher and a junkie both, he could’ve worn a sign it was so obvious. And my own late partner, here, was paying half his salary back to put in his arm.”

  Sweat was streaming down Elliot’s face; his confident tones turned back into the high-pitched squeaking he’d used when Nolan first came into the den. “There’s a quarter million in that suitcase, Dinneck! Take it and let me go. I’ll never say a word.”

  Dinneck smiled. “You don’t cross the Commission and live, Elliot. If I did that, even if I killed you and kept the money, my life’d be as worthless as . . . as yours.”

  Elliot was shaking his head no as Dinneck brought up the nine-millimeter; then Elliot remembered something. “Nolan,” he said, “you don’t know he’s Nolan!”

  Dinneck hesitated. He lowered the nine-millimeter, puzzled. “Nolan? What the hell are you talking about? What is he talking about, Webb?”

  “Search me,” Nolan said.

  “He isn’t Webb, he’s Nolan,” Elliot spewed. “There’s a quarter million on his head.”

  “We got quarter millions up the ass tonight,” Nolan said.

  Dinneck coughed, covering his mouth with his hand. “Shut up, Webb . . .” He coughed, coughed again. “Okay, Elliot, okay. This guy here, this Webb, he’s Nolan? The guy that resigned the outfit by shooting one of the Francos?”

  Elliot nodded and didn’t stop nodding. “That’s him, he’s the one, a quarter million dollars.”

  Dinneck gave them both a broad, toothy smile. “That’s nice to know, children—that’s real comforting to know.”

  “Look, I told you and I didn’t have to,” Elliot said, his eyes filled with desperation. “Give me a break. Don’t kill me, don’t shoot me.”

  “I’m not going to shoot you, friend,” Dinneck told him. “Not with a gun anyway.” He motioned Elliot up against the wall.

  Nolan leaned back in the chair. He had a good idea of what would be coming next; he’d heard rumors of this practice among mob enforcers when he’d been working for the Boys. He eyed the .38 and knew it wasn’t time to move. Not yet.

  Dinneck reached into his pocket and withdrew a brown carrying case about the size of a small picture frame. He snapped it open and the light of the room caught the reflection from the tip of the hypodermic needle within the case and tossed it around.

  “You a user, Elliot? You take the stuff yourself, or do you just sell it?”

  “I’m no user, you know that. And I don’t smoke or drink or womanize, either.”

  “Well good for you. You’re just all virtue and no vice, aren’t you?”

  Nolan said, “Get it over with.”

  Dinneck said, “Don’t be so anxious, dead man. Your turn’ll come soon enough.” He walked over to Elliot, shoved him hard against the wall, then held the hypo up and said, “You ever hear of a mainliner?”

  Elliot didn’t answer.

  “Of course you have. You’re in the business, aren’t you? A mainliner is a shot of H, right in the old blood-stream. Into a nice fat juicy vein. My employers are of the opinion that a person dealing in drugs ought to get first hand view of what he’s selling. Now that’s only good business, isn’t it?”

  Elliot plastered himself against the wall. “You . . . you’re going to give me an overdose! You’re going to kill me with that thing!”

  Dinneck nodded. “And the cops will find a poor slob who just misjudged and popped too big a cap for his own good.”

  Elliot began to scream and Dinneck slammed his fist into the man’s temple. Elliot slid to the floor and lay there, a puddle of flesh.

  Dinneck took a rubber strap from one of his coat pockets, kneeled over, bared Elliot’s right arm and tied the strap around it. The hypo was already loaded and it was no trouble for Dinneck to jam the needle into a throbbing, bulging vein and press his thumb down on the plunger.

  Nolan leaned over, ready to go for the .38 that waited for him of the floor a few feet away. Dinneck caught the motion from the corner of his eye and sank his heel into Nolan’s hand just before it had reached the gun. Then he kicked the .38 across the room, at the same time backhanding Nolan, who flopped back in the chair and waited for a second chance that would probably never come.

  Elliot was semi-conscious, crying softly and spasmodically. Dinneck kicked Elliot’s head once and put him out.

  “He won’t be waking up,” Nolan said.

  Dinneck tossed the hypo to the soft carpet. “Not in this world.”

  “How much did you have in the hypo?”

  “Enough. Enough horse to kill a horse. Hah, horse, hell, a herd.” Dinneck laughed some more, but the laughter turned into a racking cough.

/>   Nolan thought, keep coughing, pal, come on, got to make another try for you.

  “My eastern employers didn’t pay me to kill you, Nolan, but somehow I don’t think they’ll mind. You’re a thorn in the Boys’ side, and the Boys are part of the Commission, after all.” Dinneck slipped his free hand into his coat pocket and popped a toothpick into the corner of his mouth. “Besides, I can use the money. Quarter million’s gonna go a long way. It’ll hurt, you know, handing in Elliot’s suitcase of bills.”

  “I didn’t figure you killed for free.”

  Dinneck hefted the .38. “You got a point. I’m strictly a contract man, and all my contract work’s done for the Commission. A loyal soldier. But in your case, I’d make an exception, even if there wasn’t a quarter million on your head.”

  “You talk too much, Dinneck,” Nolan said, “for a man with a sore throat.”

  Dinneck grinned. “Two-hundred fifty G’s is gonna soothe that fine.”

  The nine-millimeter came up and faced Nolan, and Nolan knew his move had to be fast and good and now. . . .

  The shot came from the doorway, a thunderclap that couldn’t happen, slamming into the wall between them.

  Mitchell stood in the doorway, a Police Special smoking in his fist. “Hold it right there!”

  But Dinneck didn’t do anything of the kind.

  He whirled and dropped to one knee, bringing up the .38 to try to blast Mitchell out of the door. Nolan heaved the suitcase of money at Dinneck’s hand, knocked the automatic flying, and the mouth of the suitcase jumped open and vomited bills. Nolan sliced through the drifting green bills and drew his foot back to kick in Dinneck’s head. Dinneck, scrambling after the nine-millimeter, saw Nolan’s foot coming and grabbed it and spun Nolan around and threw him over on his back. Mitchell was still in the door, forced to hold fire because of all the movement.

  Nolan landed hard, on his own .38, where it had been kicked away by Dinneck minutes earlier. Nolan rolled over, scooped it up and looked up into Dinneck’s face and Dinneck’s gun.

  Nolan squeezed off a single shot, then rolled away, ready to squeeze off another. But it wasn’t necessary.

  The slug had caught Dinneck in the throat, and the small blue hole that marked its entry appeared just under the man’s adam’s apple. The nine-millimeter tumbled from his hand, and Dinneck did a half-turn and crashed to the floor. He used his last few seconds foolishly; he tried to speak, dredging up nothing except blood, and he tried to grasp the gun, coming up with a wad of money that wouldn’t be buying him anything. His mouth went slack, the toothpick fell away from his lips, and he didn’t have time to close his eyes before he died.

  Nolan looked at Mitchell, standing there in the doorway with the Police Special in his hand; cordite-smell was in the air.

  Nolan said, “Talk about cavalry,” but Mitchell didn’t react. Nolan shrugged and started picking up the scattered cash that lay over, under and around the lifeless bodies.

  It took ten minutes to repack the suitcase.

  5

  MITCHELL had come alone. At Vicki Trask’s he’d gotten a call from Lyn Parks saying she’d seen several of Elliot’s men go into the house, and Nolan would probably need help.

  Now Nolan and Mitchell stood in the hall outside the den where the remains of Elliot, Tulip and Dinneck were inside waiting for Chelsey’s harried medical examiner. The chauffeur Nolan had clubbed over the head less than an hour before sat handcuffed and dazed in the den with the dead men. Since Mitchell was the only cop who’d reached the scene so far, Nolan was anxious to be on his way.

  “I’m keeping the suitcase of money,” Nolan said flatly.

  Mitchell didn’t say anything. He looked beat. He’d been up most of the night and in eleven years of police work had never run across an evening that remotely compared to this one. He was shaking his head and gazing in at the three bodies in the den.

  Nolan watched the cop, who seemed practically in shock. Nolan said, “Mitchell, we made a deal. I want your word you’ll keep me out of this. Just cover up the incident as best you can.”

  Mitchell nodded, his eyes a pair of burnt-out holes. “Okay,” he conceded. “But you got to get out as soon as possible. I don’t want anybody finding out I opened the door for this massacre.”

  “I’ll need an hour,” Nolan said.

  Mitchell said, “Okay, okay,” not giving a damn, and stood looking into the den.

  Neither man said a word as Nolan left, suitcase in hand.

  When he reached the car he was met by a bubbling Lyn Parks. He let her talk, reaching an arm in the open window and grabbing the keys from the ignition. He ignored her eager interrogation and opened the trunk and stowed away the suitcase of bills, where it lay innocently with the rest of his luggage, just another piece of baggage. He got back in the car, started it and headed for Vicki Trask’s apartment, paying no attention to his talkative passenger.

  He pulled up in front of the apartment and got out of the Lincoln. Looking in at Lyn Parks he said, “We’ll have plenty of time for talk later. You got a car?”

  “Yeah, but . . .”

  “What is it?”

  “An ancient Plymouth, why?”

  “Walking distance?”

  “Yeah, as a matter of fact it’s in a parking lot over by the Arms. Couple, maybe three blocks.”

  “Ever been to Wisconsin?”

  “No, but . . .”

  He tossed a ten dollar bill in her lap. “If you want to go to Wisconsin with me, go get your car and fill it with gas. Drive it back here and wait for me. If you don’t want to go with me, don’t be here when I get back.”

  Nolan left her before she could say anything else and opened the door in the middle of Chelsey Ford Sales. He went up the flight of stairs that led to Vicki’s apartment and knocked once. She came to the door, smiling in relief at the sight of him and throwing her arms around him.

  He broke her warm clasp and led her to the couch. He told her to sit and she did.

  Nolan went back and closed the door. He looked at her. She seemed tired but was still very nice to look at. He remembered how she’d been in bed.

  “Like I said before, I got nothing personal in this,” Nolan said. “We slept together once and I like you, but it ends there.”

  There was horror in her face. “What are you talking about, Earl?”

  “Go ahead and call me Nolan. I haven’t figured out yet what I’ll be calling you.”

  “You’ll keep calling me Vicki, of course! What are you talking about, what’s wrong?”

  Nolan stood over her and looked down. “I owed Sid Tisor a debt. So to pay it back to him I came to Chelsey to look into his daughter’s death. If it was murder, he would as soon I kill the murderer. If suicide, or an accident, I was supposed to confirm it with him and let it go at that.”

  “Why are you going over all this past history?”

  “Be quiet.” Nolan let a cigarette, the last of the pack. He crumpled it and tossed it on the table and went on. “My first thought was to look into Chelsey’s branch of the Outfit. As it turned out, the Boys didn’t have anything to do with Irene Tisor. Other than indirectly, sell the initial cube of LSD she took that night.”

  “Isn’t that where you were? Having it out with the criminals and all? Isn’t your debt paid?”

  “I had it out with the ‘criminals,’ all right. Three more died, died before I could ask them what they knew about Irene Tisor. But I didn’t have to ask, because they didn’t know anything. No, Vicki, the debt isn’t paid.”

  “What are you talking about? Why are you telling me all this, Nolan—I really want to know!”

  “Maybe you should be doing the telling,” he said. “Maybe you’ll tell me what’s going on here.”

  “Nothing’s going on here!”

  Nolan said, “You could start by telling me how the real Vicki Trask died, Irene.”

  She looked up, slowly, and saw in his face, in the ice-grey of his eyes, that he knew the truth, at le
ast partially. Her mouth jerked spasmodically and she brought up her hands, cupping them over her face to catch the tears.

  Nolan spoke softly. “It took a long time to recognize you, Irene.”

  She glared at him wildly, her eyes red, her face streaked with tears. “How . . . how did you know?”

  “It was hard,” he told her. “Your hair is different now. And you had your nose fixed. Your father told me about that, I should have remembered. And when I saw you last you were a child. Not a woman.”

  “When . . . when did you know?”

  “Tonight in bed I figured it. But I must’ve suspected all along. You couldn’t resist calling me Nolan, could you? You had to play a game with me.”

  “It wasn’t really a game,” she said, beginning to regain control. “I did idolize you, Nolan, as a child and a teenager and even now. But since I was playing Vicki Trask, I couldn’t recognize you first-hand.”

  “Why, Irene? Why did you play Vicki Trask? Why does everyone who knows you in Chelsey know you as Vicki Trask? Why did everyone in Chelsey think the real Vicki Trask was Irene Tisor? And why is the false-Irene/real-Vicki dead?”

  The tears began again, and Nolan waited for them to stop. Then he said, “Tell it, Irene.”

  She nodded, swallowing the hard lump in her throat and rubbing her red eyes with balled fists.

  She said, “Before I left home for college, my father had one of his infrequent heart-to-heart talks with me. He told me . . . told me that before he’d retired, he’d been involved with organized crime. Our whole family was, on my mother’s side. That he had been involved for more than twenty years.”

  She stopped and Nolan said, “So?”

  “I was . . . was ashamed. Oh, I know, I should have guessed what kind of business he was in. If from nothing else, from the kind of people who showed up now and then at the house. People like you, Nolan. But . . . but he was such a mild man, a gentle person . . . it really threw me to find out he’d been a . . . a criminal. I’d always thought of him as so upright . . . it suddenly disgusted, revolted me . . . with him, myself, my whole life!”