The Hidden Hand of Death

by Lawrence J Epstein

“Gloria. A little too pro looking maybe. Hair is a little high. She don’t look much like an assistant you’d hire. But she’s a beauty. She will definitely get his attention. She gets the attention of every man.”

  I gave Vinny the address of the car dealer.

  “Can Gloria get there in a half hour?”

  “For the right price, Ryder, she can get there yesterday. We’re right near there. She can be there immediately.”

  “A half hour is fine. A fifty.”

  “My ears are bad. You’ll laugh but I swear you were offering her fifty when you know whatever she’s gonna get that she needs to share it with me. I’m guessing you really said a hundred.”

  “Sure. Get a hearing test, Vinny. That’s what I said. A hundred it is.”

  I drove over to the dealer and arrived a half hour before the appointment. A tall blonde with too much hair was standing in front of the place.

  I walked over to her.

  “You’re Gloria?”

  “Yeah. I take it you’re Ryder.”

  I nodded.

  “Listen, Gloria. No offense, but please wipe off some of the make-up.”

  She started to.

  “Good.” I checked my watch.

  “When we get in there, Gloria, flirt a little with him. You don’t have to do anything. In fact, please don’t. I mean to smile, look like you find him fascinating, laugh at his jokes. He’ll stare at you.”

  “Every man I’ve ever known has stared at me.”

  “I’m sorry. If he asks you to get a drink or to go to dinner, say you’re going out with me.”

  “You’re not my type. You look too clean and nice.”

  “I’ll do what I can to change, Gloria. But for now just look attractive and look interested. You can wink at him.”

  “You want I should, I don’t know, rub up against him?”

  “No.”

  “What if he does the rubbing?”

  “Use your judgment. If it were me, I’d slug him.”

  “I’m not great at that.”

  “Do your best.”

  “Vinny said I had to get the money first, right up front. He said you were real honest, but Vinny’s not the trusting type.”

  I gave her a hundred dollar bill.

  We went inside. I asked for Mr. Miles and was directed to a desk in back. A lot of eyes followed Gloria as we walked back there.

  “Mr. Miles. I’m Ryder. This is my assistant Gloria.”

  Miles got up, walked around his desk and shook hands with me and then quickly turned to Gloria. He took a long time shaking Gloria’s hand. His eyes were drunk with her beauty.

  Miles turned to me. He was having trouble concentrating.

  “You’re here about my wife?”

  “Yes, Mr. Miles. Your brother-in-law, Detective Hill, has asked me to look for her.”

  “Good luck. I have a detective and we’ve looked all over the city. Simon, Detective Hill that is, got the cops all going. My detective couldn’t find her, and the cops couldn’t find her. I guess she’s good at not getting found.”

  “What do you think happened to her?”

  Miles was again staring at Gloria.

  “I don’t know.”

  “I’m particularly interested because she’s been seen.”

  “Yeah. She’s not inside hiding. She goes and leads a life. Maybe she’s staying with a boyfriend.”

  “She have one of those?”

  “She’s a pretty woman. Or used to be. She’s alone. She needs help. I’d say there’s a chance you look hard enough you’re going to find some man involved. You want my advice?”

  “Sure.”

  “Don’t bother looking. The whole police force couldn’t find her. You’re not going to. Tell Simon you looked, get his money, and go back to your business.”

  “Thanks for the advice. But I promised I’d take a quick look. Tell me about where she’s been seen.”

  “Mostly downtown. The Village. But all over. We know it because she cashes checks. She has her own account and there’s a lot in it. I was a good husband and I gave her whatever she wanted.”

  “She had identification when she cashed those checks?”

  “Oh sure.”

  “I’ve got to go to the men’s room. Maybe you wouldn’t mind if Gloria questioned you a bit.”

  “Not at all.”

  I turned and walked toward the front of the store.

  Gloria later told me what happened next.

  “How did a dame like you end up with a loser like that?” Miles asked her.

  “Oh. He’s real nice to me. Pays me good. Let’s me have days off when I have appointments.”

  “Why don’t you make an appointment with me? I’d feed you first. A real fancy place.”

  “I’m not allowed to date anyone except Mr. Ryder.”

  “And your appointments.”

  “Old friends.”

  “So make a new friend. You…listen Gloria. I want to be direct with you. I’m real lonely. The women I see, believe me they don’t look like you. They don’t look like your ugly sister. At night, I twist and turn. I can hardly sleep. I need someone. But not just anyone. She has to be a knockout. Sure, I’d like that for myself. But it’s also business. I show off a beautiful woman who’s with me, that’s a statement that I am very successful in business. I’ve looked hard and I haven’t found such a woman. And then you walk in. It’s like fate or something. I need someone and you’re stuck with a loser.”

  “What you say is real nice, Mr. Miles. Real nice. I do see that you could take care of me.”

  “There’s nothing you’d want that I won’t give to you.”

  “Mr. Miles, there’s a big problem.”

  Gloria and I had rehearsed this and as she told me the conversation I saw that she was a useful helper. She continued the story.

  “What’s that Gloria? I don’t see the problem you’re talking about. You’re not married?”

  “No. But you are. Your wife might not be here, but you’re still married.”

  “Promise me you’ll think about it. I can explain about my wife. If you…”

  I came back.

  “So, Mr. Miles, you were saying your wife had identification when she cashed the checks.”

  “Sure. People spotted her. The cops showed them my wife’s picture and they said it was her. So she’s all right. She’s not being held anywhere. I guess when she gets tired of it all she’ll come home. Or maybe she’ll go to another city.”

  I tightened my lips. I saw what had happened then. Miles had a plan and had carried it through.

  “You have a good relationship with your wife, Mr. Miles?”

  “What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “I’d like to know, too,” Gloria said. “I mean you seem like such a nice guy.”

  “I am a nice guy, Gloria.” He turned to me. “My wife and I got along very well. Ask the neighbors.”

  “She didn’t ask for a divorce?”

  “Are you crazy? Didn’t you hear me? I gave her a lot of money. What’s was she gonna do if she got a divorce? No. She never asked. I think it’s time for you to go, Ryder.”

  I nodded. “Any reason you used the past tense when talking about her?”

  “Please don’t make a scene. I want you out.”

  “Come on Gloria. We’re done here.”

  We walked outside.

  “You did a good job, Gloria. He flirt with you like we thought he would?”

  “He practically jumped me. I can tell you this, Mr. Ryder, I’m not always an honest woman but I wouldn’t want to be married to that guy.”

  “No. I bet you wouldn’t. Tell Vinny thanks for recommending you.”

  “You need me for any other services, you let me know.”

  She handed me a card with her name and phone number.

  I drove back to the diner and placed a call.

  “Simon?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I spoke to your brother-in-law.�
��

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Me too.”

  “What did you think, Ryder?”

  “I have a few thoughts. No proof of anything. I am going to talk to the storekeepers who saw her. Send me a list.”

  “I can do that.”

  “One other matter.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I want to know when the next air raid drill is. Tomorrow night would be good.”

  “I can’t tell you that. Not only because it’s not right, but I don’t know. And I certainly can’t arrange one for tomorrow night.”

  “You know people, Simon. And don’t tell me you can’t arrange it. Say it’s to catch a big crook you want to get caught. That is, in fact, the truth. Find out and give me a call.”

  “You have a plan.”

  “I do. You don’t want to know about it.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Detective Hill called me back in an hour.

  “It’s set for tomorrow night, Ryder. Just when you wanted it. It’s dangerous knowing you. You’re going to get me in a lot of trouble.”

  “I knew you could do it. And I’m going to help you not get you in trouble. Was arranging the drill okay for you?”

  “Oh, it was easy. I said a hit man who the cops can’t catch asked me as a favor to disrupt the entire schedule of New York City. No problem they said. Let us know if he wants anything else.”

  “I’m glad people want to help me.”

  “This is between us, Ryder. What you’re doing had better work. I don’t like to lie. I had to pile lie on top of lie.”

  “There’s a good chance it will work.”

  “You’re trying to kill me aren’t you Ryder? It would be faster if you just shot me.”

  “Let’s see what happens.”

  “Sure. We’ll just be patient and see what happens when the whole city goes dark.”

  He hung up.

  I called the Commodore Hotel and booked a room for the next night in Gloria’s name.

  Then I called Gloria.

  “This is Ryder.”

  “I bet you missed me. I knew you thought I was not your average girl.”

  “It’s business, Gloria.”

  “Oh. Maybe another time. Okay. What do you want?”

  “I want you to call the car dealership. Invite Miles to the Commodore Hotel tomorrow night. Make it sound as though he’s going to have a good time. Tell him the bar there is 165 feet. That might make it the world’s longest. On New Year’s Eve, tell him the bar’s customers are eight feet deep. If he knows this, he’ll be impressed that you know it. If he doesn’t know it, he’ll be even more impressed.”

  “Mr. Ryder, is he going to have a good time?”

  “No. In fact, I hope he’s going to have a very bad time. Listen, Gloria. You seemed shrewd to me. Can you take down some directions about what to say?”

  “Let me get a pad and pencil.”

  She was back in a few seconds.

  “All right, Mr. Ryder.”

  “You can’t sound awkward. This is very personal.”

  “You know I’m not an idiot.”

  “I know you’re better than your situation.”

  “You wanna give me a job as a scientist or talk to me?”

  “You ready to take those notes?”

  A sigh.

  “Yeah. Shoot. Oh, sorry. Vinny told me about you. I don’t think I should use the word ‘shoot’.”

  “It’s fine. Here’s what you do.”

  I began speaking to her. I paused sometimes and every once in a while she’d ask me to repeat what I had said or slow down.

  When I was done, I said, “That’s it.”

  “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

  “No, Gloria. It’s for your own protection. And don’t tell Vinny about this. If he asks this was a date for you to get close to Miles.”

  “I don’t like lying to Vinny.”

  “It’s better than being picked up by the cops.”

  “Yeah. It is. And it’s better than getting a hit man angry at me.”

  “I’m not going to get angry, Gloria. You should know that I’m not a hit man. I’m a fixer. And I like you.”

  “Sure. That’s what men do. They like me.”

  “Just be at the hotel. Show up an hour early and get the key. Vinny will be by at five in the lobby. You give him the key.”

  “I don’t understand it, but I’ll do it.”

  I called Vinny next and explained that Gloria would meet him in the hotel lobby and give him a key. I explained to Vinny what I wanted.

  “I need to hire someone for that, Ryder. I tried it once and made a mistake. I know it’s simple.”

  “Can’t you do this yourself, Vinny?”

  “You want someone else?”

  “No. You’re the best mainly because you don’t talk. Get your guy. Just do it.”

  “Consider it done, Ryder.”

  With the arrangements made, I considered where I should be. There would be a dim-out. I’d need to show up at the Commodore. The smart move would be to rent a room near the one in Gloria’s name.

  But I knew my money supply was being drained. I couldn’t charge a homicide detective a lot. The FBI thought I was a great patriot, and I figured, rightly or wrongly, that they wouldn’t give me much. Norah London was gone and I wasn’t going to charge her anyway. There were no high-paying customers around.

  I considered what I would do in desperate circumstances. I decided I wasn’t going to rob a small bank or liquor store. I thought of stealing from thieves. And maybe, I thought, it would come to that.

  My car, which I had to depend upon, sometimes decided it wouldn’t start at times I needed it to. But, I wondered, where was I going to get the $920 I needed to pay in the showroom where I had gone checking for a new car?

  Worse. Gas was usually fifteen cents in my favorite Esso station. But gas was rationed. I could only use three gallons a week. I could get gas on the black market, but it cost a dollar a gallon. I thought it was too bad I couldn’t use a bottle of Coke instead of gas. That only cost a nickel.

  I decided I would remain in my apartment and then go to the Commodore rather than staying there. I hated not doing the job right, but economic facts were hard facts.

  The next evening, I waited outside the Commodore looking for Vinny. I spotted Vinny about a quarter after five.

  “That didn’t take long,” I said.

  “I told you. I got an expert. In fact it was easy enough for a kid to do it. You want to pay me now.”

  “Put it on the tab.”

  “You got money troubles, Ryder? You’re in a bad business to have money troubles.”

  “Can you just wait for the dough?”

  “Yeah. You’re a good customer. I’m pretty sure you’re the only honest customer I got in fact.”

  “I’ll pay you down the road.”

  “There are consequences if you don’t.”

  “Don’t threaten me, Vinny.”

  “I’m reminding you.”

  “I’m in the business. I don’t need reminders.”

  I went into a coffee shop, went to a booth in the back, faced the street, and ordered a cup.

  I sat there and tried to be patient.

  “You planning to move in?” a waitress asked me.

  “I’ll be out in a few minutes,” I said.

  “Take your time, honey. I’m just supposed to say that. I never throw nobody out. It’s wartime.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  I checked my watch. Then I ordered another cup of coffee that was hot.

  Then I walked over to the Commodore, got the device that Vinny had left for me at the desk, and sat down to listen.

  I had to sit quietly for five minutes.

  And right on time it happened.

  The air raid siren went off. I would thank Detective Hill.

  I was impressed. It was only two minutes later that the air raid warden, complete with helmet, flashli
ght, and badge, dashed into the hotel lobby.

  “All lights out,” he said. “Everybody just sit where you are. This is just one of our weekly drills. We’re a little early this week, but it’s the same rules.”

  I lifted the device to my ear. It would take Gloria a few minutes. Suddenly I feared that I wouldn’t be able to hear them. Gloria had put her gadget underneath her hair. Vinny had sworn to me that it would work. I knew Gloria could do her job.

  I listened. Right then in the bar Gloria was supposed to be taking Miles’ arm.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I invite you for a drink and we end up in the dark.”

  The sound was good. If I had the money, I would have given Gloria a fat bonus.

  “It’s a pleasure to be in the dark with you, Gloria.”

  “I’m real scared,” she said. “I was always scared of the dark. When I was a little girl I went under the bed with a flashlight at night when my mommy shut off the light.”

  “Maybe we should go someplace.”

  “I’ve got a room in the hotel, but I’m not sure about going up there with you. I don’t want you should get the wrong idea. I know what men say about me. I know what men say to me. But I’m not that kind of girl.”

  “Why don’t we just go to your room so you can feel safe? I won’t do anything. We’ll just sit and talk?”

  “Honest? Talking would help.”

  “Come on.”

  “Can we see to get up there?”

  “Sure. I’ll get us a flashlight.”

  There was silence for a couple of minutes.

  “The bellboys always can get stuff if you give them enough.”

  Then, if all was going well, he was leading her up the stairs and to her room.

  I heard a door opening.

  “Maybe we should sit on the bed so you can rest when you want, Gloria.”

  “No. I want to sit on those chairs near the window. They’re real comfortable. But maybe the bed later.”

  I heard them walking over to the chairs.

  The curtain was going up.

  The drama was about to begin.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  There was silence for a few seconds. I became worried. Then they began.

  “Are you feeling all right, Gloria? I hope some of that fear has gone away. I’m a big guy and I’m going to protect you.”

  “Oh, yes, Mr. Miles. I feel much better being in my hotel room. It’s like a safe place.”