Brooklyn on Fire by Lawrence H. Levy Page A

Sean patiently listened and got an address from him.
    He wrote to the manufacturer, who had a factory in Lowell, Massachusetts, and enclosed in the letter a drawing of the button. The owner wrote back, confirming that he had indeed used that button on one of the jackets he manufactured, and was kind enough to enclose a sketch of the jacket. The jacket was similar to the peacoat the navy used for its seamen except for a few adjustments, the most dramatic being that it came only in a brown color, whereas the navy’s peacoat was dark blue. Most importantly, the owner enclosed a list of half a dozen stores that carried his jacket in the New York area. Sean decided to visit the ones in Brooklyn first.
    This was the third week in a row Sean had spent his one day off working, and he invited Patti to join him. He missed seeing her, and he saw no harm in her accompanying him to clothing stores. At each store he’d ask the salesclerks about the men who had bought that particular jacket. Since there were no exact records, he’d have to rely on their memories, some good, some bordering on awful. Still, after visiting the third store, Sean had a list of about twelve men. He was eager to continue on to the stores in Manhattan.
    By this time, Patti was bored and began to complain. Sean, growing weary of the constant jabber, especially since he had also started getting it at work from Chief McKellar, decided on something highly unusual: he followed his sister’s advice. Instead of challenging Patti and letting their little tiff blossom into a full-blown argument, he conceded that he might have been a bit selfish. After all, this was also her only day off. So Sean put off the rest of his search until the next week. He suggested they visit some women’s clothing stores and then, knowing Patti’s love of nature, have a late afternoon picnic in the park.
    At first puzzled by his quick acquiescence, Patti was thrilled that this new Sean existed and hoped it signaled a turn in their relationship. And Sean was surprised how one small concession could make Patti so pleasant and amenable. As the happy couple left the store, they were too wrapped up in each other to notice a man with a leg brace quickly scurrying into a nearby storefront doorway.
    —
    S HORTY HAD BEEN keeping an eye on Sean Handley, and now he had found the store where Shorty had bought his jacket. He was sure the salesman would remember him. How many men with leg braces could have bought clothes from him?
I have to do something soon,
he thought,
but what?
He needed to speak with his employer about what type of action to take, but he didn’t know who his employer was. If he couldn’t contact him, he’d have to find a solution. And whatever that solution was, it had to stop Sean Handley.

    H UGH M C L AUGHLIN IMPLORED his driver to go faster. He had gotten a frantic call from Alfred Chapin demanding to see him immediately. Chapin had seemed completely panicked. McLaughlin leaned back in his seat and vented to Liam.
    “Our mayor should be wearin’ short pants, Liam. He doesn’t have the balls to be dressin’ in full-length trousers.”
    “Maybe it really is something serious.”
    “Yer right, lad. It is possible. It’s also possible that he shit his pants!” McLaughlin burst out with a hearty laugh and Liam joined in. Then McLaughlin added, “Again!” The laughter got even louder as McLaughlin’s carriage thundered through the streets.
    When they arrived at Chapin’s office, they were immediately shown in, and sitting there with a wry smile on his face was Collis Huntington. As for Chapin, he did have the deeply uncomfortable look of a man whose sphincter muscles had just given way.
    Huntington pointed to Liam and said, “Who’s he?”
    “He’s my associate,” McLaughlin answered.
    “Let him
associate
with Mayor Chapin’s secretary in the outer office.”
    “Liam’s my right-hand man. He’s no slouch, and he’s got a letter from Abraham Lincoln to prove