first.
So the gent was a witness, not a killer, for there had been no signs of a fight, and no time for an argument; they hadn’t gotten far enough into the apartment.
The missing man was missing because of fear of scandal, not because of guilt.
Just to be sure, Cap Martin checked. No key on the girl, none found any place except in the back of a dressing table drawer, and that would be a spare.
Problem: Was it worthwhile fighting City Hall for a mere witness? For a killer there would be no doubt, but get Jim Latson and the machine mad just for a witness who, at best, could clear Guild only so he could be deported?
Cap Martin, sadly deciding to call it a day, already knew the answer. It was worthwhile. It might mean going out to a precinct, it might mean even being framed out of his pension, but he knew he was going to do it.
For a final act of the day, he put in a note: Rein and Page were to report to him when they came on for the day watch tomorrow. And a memo to Jake: Call Latson’s secretary and ask for an appointment as early as was convenient for the chief.
The egg, as the kids said, had hit the electric fan. From time to time, other things hit that fan, too. But Cap Martin, a family man, believed in clean talk.
Chapter 15
FOG COVERED THE CITY, had even managed to find its way into the interview room at the County Jail. It mixed with the sweat on Dave Corday’s face, but it didn’t cool him.
He slapped the picture with the palm of his hand. “This is your man,” he said. “You shot Miss DeLisle, and this man was present.”
Guild shook his head. He seemed to have shrunk since he had been in jail; probably all that had happened was that the damp air made his dungarees droop even more than when they had been issued to him.
“I did not shoot Miss DeLisle,” he said. “I am a family man, I cannot dishonor my name.”
Dave Corday let his voice out a couple of notches. “Your name? You fool, it isn’t your name! You came into this country under a name that wasn’t your own, and then you even changed that! What was the idea, were you going to send the papers you came in under back to the old country, sell them over again?”
“Please, I am sorry I came in that way, outside the law. But I have worked hard since I have been here; I am good American.”
Dave Corday used the dramatic fall in volume now. He put a hissing quality into his voice, he chose plenty of words with s’s in them. A good legal education pays off. “The United States stinks for your presence. I’m sending you back out of the States. Back behind the Iron Curtain!”
That hurt. That was the line to take. Little Guild’s face collapsed. He said, “Well, I know. I did not kill Miss DeLisle, but yes, I bought another’s papers to come here. His quota number.”
“And you’ll go back without ever seeing your baby,” Dave Corday said. He did not have to bother with voice tricks now; what he was saying carried its own weight. “Why should anyone give you a favor?”
Ralph Guild began to cry.
Dave Corday leaned over, and spoke harshly: “There’s only one man can save you: me! Sign this thing, and identify this man, and I’ll drop the charge against you down to murder two—second-degree murder. It means you’ll go out on bail; and I’ll see you get that bail.”
Ralph Guild said, “And—and then?”
Corday said, “Time, man, time.” He leaned back, used his kindly tone. “Think it over, Guild. Time to spend with your family. Mr. Van Lear will ask for postponement after postponement. He’s a smart man. Think, Guild, think.”
He thought to himself: This is the way. This will get Jim Latson into court, stripped of his power. By the time the trial starts, he won’t have a friend left; they’ll scare off quick when they find he was involved in a murder. And then—hell, then we can trace the gun to him. He got it some way; took it off a criminal, got it as a gift, bought it.
And whatever he did about the
So the gent was a witness, not a killer, for there had been no signs of a fight, and no time for an argument; they hadn’t gotten far enough into the apartment.
The missing man was missing because of fear of scandal, not because of guilt.
Just to be sure, Cap Martin checked. No key on the girl, none found any place except in the back of a dressing table drawer, and that would be a spare.
Problem: Was it worthwhile fighting City Hall for a mere witness? For a killer there would be no doubt, but get Jim Latson and the machine mad just for a witness who, at best, could clear Guild only so he could be deported?
Cap Martin, sadly deciding to call it a day, already knew the answer. It was worthwhile. It might mean going out to a precinct, it might mean even being framed out of his pension, but he knew he was going to do it.
For a final act of the day, he put in a note: Rein and Page were to report to him when they came on for the day watch tomorrow. And a memo to Jake: Call Latson’s secretary and ask for an appointment as early as was convenient for the chief.
The egg, as the kids said, had hit the electric fan. From time to time, other things hit that fan, too. But Cap Martin, a family man, believed in clean talk.
Chapter 15
FOG COVERED THE CITY, had even managed to find its way into the interview room at the County Jail. It mixed with the sweat on Dave Corday’s face, but it didn’t cool him.
He slapped the picture with the palm of his hand. “This is your man,” he said. “You shot Miss DeLisle, and this man was present.”
Guild shook his head. He seemed to have shrunk since he had been in jail; probably all that had happened was that the damp air made his dungarees droop even more than when they had been issued to him.
“I did not shoot Miss DeLisle,” he said. “I am a family man, I cannot dishonor my name.”
Dave Corday let his voice out a couple of notches. “Your name? You fool, it isn’t your name! You came into this country under a name that wasn’t your own, and then you even changed that! What was the idea, were you going to send the papers you came in under back to the old country, sell them over again?”
“Please, I am sorry I came in that way, outside the law. But I have worked hard since I have been here; I am good American.”
Dave Corday used the dramatic fall in volume now. He put a hissing quality into his voice, he chose plenty of words with s’s in them. A good legal education pays off. “The United States stinks for your presence. I’m sending you back out of the States. Back behind the Iron Curtain!”
That hurt. That was the line to take. Little Guild’s face collapsed. He said, “Well, I know. I did not kill Miss DeLisle, but yes, I bought another’s papers to come here. His quota number.”
“And you’ll go back without ever seeing your baby,” Dave Corday said. He did not have to bother with voice tricks now; what he was saying carried its own weight. “Why should anyone give you a favor?”
Ralph Guild began to cry.
Dave Corday leaned over, and spoke harshly: “There’s only one man can save you: me! Sign this thing, and identify this man, and I’ll drop the charge against you down to murder two—second-degree murder. It means you’ll go out on bail; and I’ll see you get that bail.”
Ralph Guild said, “And—and then?”
Corday said, “Time, man, time.” He leaned back, used his kindly tone. “Think it over, Guild. Time to spend with your family. Mr. Van Lear will ask for postponement after postponement. He’s a smart man. Think, Guild, think.”
He thought to himself: This is the way. This will get Jim Latson into court, stripped of his power. By the time the trial starts, he won’t have a friend left; they’ll scare off quick when they find he was involved in a murder. And then—hell, then we can trace the gun to him. He got it some way; took it off a criminal, got it as a gift, bought it.
And whatever he did about the
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