straightened his hat and tie and said:
"Hey, listen: I'm in this, I guess, and cutting up won't get me nothing. Suppose I be good. Could you forget about the tussle? See- maybe it'd be smoother for me if they thought I come along without being dragged."
"O.K."
"Thanks, brother."
Noonan was out eating. We had to wait half an hour in his outer office. When he came in he greeted me with the usual How are you?… That certainly is fine… and the rest of it. He didn't say anything to MacSwain-simply eyed him sourly.
We went into the chief's private office. He pulled a chair over to his desk for me and then sat in his own, ignoring the ex-dick.
I gave Noonan the sick girl's document.
He gave it one glance, bounced out of his chair, and smashed a fist the size of a cantaloup into MacSwain's face.
The punch carried MacSwain across the room until a wall stopped him. The wall creaked under the strain, and a framed photograph of Noonan and other city dignitaries welcoming somebody in spats dropped down to the floor with the hit man.
The fat chief waddled over, picked up the picture and beat it to splinters on MacSwain's head and shoulders.
Noonan came back to his desk, puffing, smiling, saying cheerfully to me:
"That fellow's a rat if there ever was one."
MacSwain sat up and looked around, bleeding from nose, mouth and head.
Noonan roared at him:
"Come here, you."
MacSwain said, "Yes, chief," scrambled up and ran over to the desk.
Noonan said: "Come through or I'll kill you."
MacSwain said:
"Yes, chief. It was like she said, only that rock wasn't worth no grand. But she give me it and the two hundred to keep my mouth shut, because I got there just when she asks him, 'Who did it, Tim?' and he 'says, 'Max!' He says it kind of loud and sharp, like he wanted to get it out before he died, because he died right then, almost before he'd got it out. That's the way it was, chief, but the rock wasn't worth no-"
"Damn the rock," Noonan barked. "And stop bleeding on my rug."
MacSwain hunted in his pocket for a dirty handkerchief, mopped his nose and mouth with it, and jabbered on:
"That's the way it was, chief. Everything else was like I said at the time, only I didn't say anything about hearing him say Max done it. I know I hadn't ought to-"
"Shut up," Noonan said, and pressed one of the buttons on his desk.
A uniformed copper came in. The chief jerked a thumb at MacSwain and said:
"Take this baby down cellar and let the wrecking crew work on him before you lock him up."
MacSwain started a desperate plea, "Aw, chief!" but the copper took him away before he could get any farther.
Noonan stuck a cigar at me, tapped the document with another and asked:
"Where's this broad?"
"In the City Hospital, dying. You'll have the 'cuter get a stiff out of her? That one's not so good legally-I framed it for effect. Another thing- I hear that Peak Murry and Whisper aren't playmates any more. Wasn't Murry one of his alibis?"
The chief said, "He was," picked up one of his phones, said, "McGraw," and then: "Get hold of Peak Murry and ask him to drop in. And have Tony Agosti picked up for that knife-throwing."
He put the phone down, stood up, made a lot of cigar smoke, and said through it:
"I haven't always been on the up-and-up with you."
I thought that was putting it mildly, but I didn't say anything while he went On:
"You know your way around. You know what these jobs are. There's this one and that one that's got to be listened to. Just because a man's chief of police doesn't mean he's chief. Maybe you're a lot of trouble to somebody that can be a lot of trouble to me. Don't make any difference if I think you're a right guy. I got to play with them that play with me. See what I mean?"
I wagged my head to show I did.
"That's the way it was," he said. "But no more. This is something else, a new deal. When the old woman kicked off Tim was just a lad. She said to me, 'Take care of him, John,' and I promised I would. And then Whisper
"Hey, listen: I'm in this, I guess, and cutting up won't get me nothing. Suppose I be good. Could you forget about the tussle? See- maybe it'd be smoother for me if they thought I come along without being dragged."
"O.K."
"Thanks, brother."
Noonan was out eating. We had to wait half an hour in his outer office. When he came in he greeted me with the usual How are you?… That certainly is fine… and the rest of it. He didn't say anything to MacSwain-simply eyed him sourly.
We went into the chief's private office. He pulled a chair over to his desk for me and then sat in his own, ignoring the ex-dick.
I gave Noonan the sick girl's document.
He gave it one glance, bounced out of his chair, and smashed a fist the size of a cantaloup into MacSwain's face.
The punch carried MacSwain across the room until a wall stopped him. The wall creaked under the strain, and a framed photograph of Noonan and other city dignitaries welcoming somebody in spats dropped down to the floor with the hit man.
The fat chief waddled over, picked up the picture and beat it to splinters on MacSwain's head and shoulders.
Noonan came back to his desk, puffing, smiling, saying cheerfully to me:
"That fellow's a rat if there ever was one."
MacSwain sat up and looked around, bleeding from nose, mouth and head.
Noonan roared at him:
"Come here, you."
MacSwain said, "Yes, chief," scrambled up and ran over to the desk.
Noonan said: "Come through or I'll kill you."
MacSwain said:
"Yes, chief. It was like she said, only that rock wasn't worth no grand. But she give me it and the two hundred to keep my mouth shut, because I got there just when she asks him, 'Who did it, Tim?' and he 'says, 'Max!' He says it kind of loud and sharp, like he wanted to get it out before he died, because he died right then, almost before he'd got it out. That's the way it was, chief, but the rock wasn't worth no-"
"Damn the rock," Noonan barked. "And stop bleeding on my rug."
MacSwain hunted in his pocket for a dirty handkerchief, mopped his nose and mouth with it, and jabbered on:
"That's the way it was, chief. Everything else was like I said at the time, only I didn't say anything about hearing him say Max done it. I know I hadn't ought to-"
"Shut up," Noonan said, and pressed one of the buttons on his desk.
A uniformed copper came in. The chief jerked a thumb at MacSwain and said:
"Take this baby down cellar and let the wrecking crew work on him before you lock him up."
MacSwain started a desperate plea, "Aw, chief!" but the copper took him away before he could get any farther.
Noonan stuck a cigar at me, tapped the document with another and asked:
"Where's this broad?"
"In the City Hospital, dying. You'll have the 'cuter get a stiff out of her? That one's not so good legally-I framed it for effect. Another thing- I hear that Peak Murry and Whisper aren't playmates any more. Wasn't Murry one of his alibis?"
The chief said, "He was," picked up one of his phones, said, "McGraw," and then: "Get hold of Peak Murry and ask him to drop in. And have Tony Agosti picked up for that knife-throwing."
He put the phone down, stood up, made a lot of cigar smoke, and said through it:
"I haven't always been on the up-and-up with you."
I thought that was putting it mildly, but I didn't say anything while he went On:
"You know your way around. You know what these jobs are. There's this one and that one that's got to be listened to. Just because a man's chief of police doesn't mean he's chief. Maybe you're a lot of trouble to somebody that can be a lot of trouble to me. Don't make any difference if I think you're a right guy. I got to play with them that play with me. See what I mean?"
I wagged my head to show I did.
"That's the way it was," he said. "But no more. This is something else, a new deal. When the old woman kicked off Tim was just a lad. She said to me, 'Take care of him, John,' and I promised I would. And then Whisper
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