is the same as that of the gang who have robbed other dealers and collectors in the Bay Area over the past three years; carpets and prayer rugs from those previous thefts have turned up more than once in the hands of individuals suspected of dealing with Terzian.”
“So you think Terzian was the regular fence for this gang?”
“I do, yes.”
“These individuals he dealt with—where are they located?”
“There are half a dozen we're fairly certain about in New York, Houston, Milwaukee, Atlanta and Los Angeles. And two probables in Fresno and San Diego.”
“Sounds like a pretty large-scale operation.”
“It was, on a one-man basis.”
“Weren't the police able to get anything on him?”
“Nothing concrete. He was arrested twice as a receiver of stolen goods, once in 1970 and once in 1972, but the charges were dropped in both instances for lack of evidence.”
“Do you have any idea at all who he might have been dealing with here in Tuolumne?”
“None at all. I was amazed, in fact, when I learned this was where he had gone from San Jose on Saturday. This hardly seems like the place where someone wealthy enough to afford the Daghestan would be located.”
“Is there any chance he kept records of these transactions of his? That would be the easiest way to get a line on his contact in this area.”
“I doubt it,” Kayabalian said. “Terzian was not the type of man to put anything incriminating on paper. It would be my assumption that he kept it all inside his head, including telephone numbers.”
“Did he have any employees—anybody he might have confided in or let something slip to?”
“He had two people working for him, a clerk and a boy who cleaned rugs, but as far as we've been able to learn, neither of them was involved in his illegal activities. He wasn't married and he had no immediate family.”
“Those employees might still be a place to start.”
“Perhaps. Does that mean you're reconsidering my offer?”
I did not answer immediately, but I was working it around in my head again. He seemed honest and forthright enough, and I had already decided that I liked his manner. And what he had said about observing legal and ethical restrictions made sense. And I damned well could use the job, even if I doubted a realistic shot at the reward he had dangled in front of me. There was still my commitment to Harry to consider, but then, that would end with the leaving—tonight or tomorrow, if everything went all right—of Ray and Angela Jerrold.
What about Dr. White, I thought, and the goddamn lesion on my lung? Suppose I have to have additional tests? Suppose I have to go into the bloody hospital? Suppose—
The hell with that, you can't start turning down jobs on the basis of intangibles. For Christ's sake, man, your work is the one thing keeping your head together.
I said finally, “I'd have to clear it with Cloudman first.”
“Of course.”
“There's another thing too. I probably wouldn't be able to get on it until Wednesday. There are a couple of things that have to be attended to first.”
He worried his lower lip. “You couldn't possibly begin sooner than that?”
“Late tomorrow, maybe, but I can't make any promises right now. I won't know for sure until tomorrow morning.”
“That's acceptable, I think. Do you want to call Cloudman now?”
“Okay.”
Kayabalian nodded and lit another cigarette for himself. So I left him and went out to the lobby and found a pay telephone booth against one of the walls. Cloudman was still in; he came on ten seconds after I told the desk officer who was calling.
I said, “I've just been having a talk with Charles Kayabalian.”
“Have you?” He sounded pleased to hear from me. “What about?”
I told him, skipping some of the details but none of the meat.
“Uh-huh,” he said. “Well, I sort of had the idea he was going to ask you to do some work for him. Like I told you before, he was pretty interested.”
“How do you
“So you think Terzian was the regular fence for this gang?”
“I do, yes.”
“These individuals he dealt with—where are they located?”
“There are half a dozen we're fairly certain about in New York, Houston, Milwaukee, Atlanta and Los Angeles. And two probables in Fresno and San Diego.”
“Sounds like a pretty large-scale operation.”
“It was, on a one-man basis.”
“Weren't the police able to get anything on him?”
“Nothing concrete. He was arrested twice as a receiver of stolen goods, once in 1970 and once in 1972, but the charges were dropped in both instances for lack of evidence.”
“Do you have any idea at all who he might have been dealing with here in Tuolumne?”
“None at all. I was amazed, in fact, when I learned this was where he had gone from San Jose on Saturday. This hardly seems like the place where someone wealthy enough to afford the Daghestan would be located.”
“Is there any chance he kept records of these transactions of his? That would be the easiest way to get a line on his contact in this area.”
“I doubt it,” Kayabalian said. “Terzian was not the type of man to put anything incriminating on paper. It would be my assumption that he kept it all inside his head, including telephone numbers.”
“Did he have any employees—anybody he might have confided in or let something slip to?”
“He had two people working for him, a clerk and a boy who cleaned rugs, but as far as we've been able to learn, neither of them was involved in his illegal activities. He wasn't married and he had no immediate family.”
“Those employees might still be a place to start.”
“Perhaps. Does that mean you're reconsidering my offer?”
I did not answer immediately, but I was working it around in my head again. He seemed honest and forthright enough, and I had already decided that I liked his manner. And what he had said about observing legal and ethical restrictions made sense. And I damned well could use the job, even if I doubted a realistic shot at the reward he had dangled in front of me. There was still my commitment to Harry to consider, but then, that would end with the leaving—tonight or tomorrow, if everything went all right—of Ray and Angela Jerrold.
What about Dr. White, I thought, and the goddamn lesion on my lung? Suppose I have to have additional tests? Suppose I have to go into the bloody hospital? Suppose—
The hell with that, you can't start turning down jobs on the basis of intangibles. For Christ's sake, man, your work is the one thing keeping your head together.
I said finally, “I'd have to clear it with Cloudman first.”
“Of course.”
“There's another thing too. I probably wouldn't be able to get on it until Wednesday. There are a couple of things that have to be attended to first.”
He worried his lower lip. “You couldn't possibly begin sooner than that?”
“Late tomorrow, maybe, but I can't make any promises right now. I won't know for sure until tomorrow morning.”
“That's acceptable, I think. Do you want to call Cloudman now?”
“Okay.”
Kayabalian nodded and lit another cigarette for himself. So I left him and went out to the lobby and found a pay telephone booth against one of the walls. Cloudman was still in; he came on ten seconds after I told the desk officer who was calling.
I said, “I've just been having a talk with Charles Kayabalian.”
“Have you?” He sounded pleased to hear from me. “What about?”
I told him, skipping some of the details but none of the meat.
“Uh-huh,” he said. “Well, I sort of had the idea he was going to ask you to do some work for him. Like I told you before, he was pretty interested.”
“How do you
Similar Books
