Miss Callaghan Comes To Grief

And so it went on. The cops were far too excited looking at the dead bodies of Jean and Mendetta, hunting through the desk and drawers, to be really interested in Benny. When he tried to bring up about Sadie they told him to go down to the Missing People's Bureau.

Finally he gave up and sat down to wait for them to go. When they were through photographing the bodies, testing for finger−prints and ransacking the apartment. Carter found a little time to speak to him again.

He said, “We'll want you, buddy, so stick around. There's goin' to be a big stink over this, an' you're goin'

to be right in the middle of it. When we want you we'll send for you.”

They all went off after that and left Benny alone. So he decided to get good and drunk.

A little while later Jay found him, sitting in his armchair, a bottle of Scotch by his side and a glass clutched firmly in his hand.

Jay looked at him. “Hey, soak,” he said, “anythin' left for me?”

Benny got hastily to his feet. “Am I glad to see you?” he said, shaking hands vigorously. “Sure, have a drink. I'll get you a glass.”

Jay pushed him back into the chair. “I'll get it,” he said. “You take it easy.”

When he came back from the kitchen, holding a glass, Benny had just given himself a long shot.

“Wait a minute,” Jay said hastily, taking the bottle away. “You've got to keep sober for a while.” He poured himself out two fingers and sat down on the edge of the table. “Listen, buddy, I want to talk to you.”

Benny shook his head. “I can't stand any more of it,” he said. “Those cops have been making my conk buzz.”

“Never mind about the cops. You an' me've got a job of work to do. You want to find your wife, don't you?”

“Why, goddamn it, of course I do.”

“All right, then. Now listen. You don't know anythin' about how a murder is investigated. Well, I do. I've been watchin' these guys. They're puttin' on a front. They don't want to find out who killed Mendetta. They don't want to find out where your wife is. So they fool around, ask a lot of bull questions and then leave it at that. Maybe they'll forget all about you.”

Benny sobered. “That's cock−eyed,” he said. “It's their job to find out things like that.”

Jay smiled grimly. “That's what you think, but you don't know anythin'. This is serious, Perminger. If you're not ready to do somethin' your wife'll never be found.”

“What have I got to do?”

“I'll explain things so you can understand. Do you know what Mendetta did for a livin'?”

Benny shook his head. “I know he'd got plenty of dough,” he said. “And I've heard he was mixed up with some rackets. What they are I don't know.”

Jay nodded. “Well, I'll tell you. He was runnin' brothels.”

Benny blinked. “You sure of that?” he said.

“I'm sure.”

“Mind you, I wouldn't like to earn my dough that way, but brothels are necessary, ain't they?”

“Not Mendetta's brothels. I've heard he fills them by Slave methods. I don't want to scare you, buddy, but I think your wife's in one of his houses right now.”

Benny stared at him. “What!” he said.

Jay nodded. “I think so, Perminger.”

“You're crazy!” Benny said, his voice rising. He got to his feet. “That's a goddamn dirty lie, and you know it. Take it back, you heel, or I'll kick the nuts off you.”

Jay reached out and shoved him in his chest. Benny flopped over into the chair again. “Quiet,” Jay said.

“You've got to listen to this. You don't know how deep it goes.”

Benny said between his teeth, “You're goin' to be sorry for this, you heel!”

“Aw, shut up; let me tell you. Mendetta's dead. Who killed him? Some guy who thinks he can make more dough out of the racket. There's Grantham at 22nd Club. It might be he, but I don't think so. He hasn't the guts. Never mind who it is just yet. Mendetta's girls never had a conviction. Time after time I've been in court when one of them was brought in for soliciting, and every time they got off. Every time one of his girls came up Judge Hennessey was the guy who found them not guilty. Why? Ever heard of corrupt judges? All right.

Mendetta must have had a lot of protection. That means he paid out a lot of dough. When he was killed, I'm bettin' those guys who got regular dough started gettin' scared. If they find the guy who killed Mendetta they won't get any more easy dough. They're givin' him a run. If he keeps up payment, as Mendetta did, then he's safe. That's the way the racket is worked in this town.”

Benny said, “What the hell has it to do with Sadie?”

Jay leant forward. “Suppose Sadie saw the killer? Suppose she reported it to the cops? Suppose they got excited and saw that she was goin' to bust up their racket? What would they do? Give her a cake and a bronx cheer? Like hell!”

Benny sat very still. “What could they do with her?”

“They could either knock her on the head or else give her over to Grantham. You've got to face it, Perminger. If her body ain't found in a week or so, then she's in one of his houses.”

“They can't do a thing like that!” Benny said wildly. “By God! I won't let them do it!” He got to his feet.