Chapter 12 Chapter 12 New Transactions
I went out to find McSwain.There was nothing in the address book or the telephone yellow pages.I went to the pool room, the cigar shop, the speakeasy, looked around, and asked cautiously.Nothing was found.I walked the streets looking for bandy legs, but couldn't find any.In the end, I decided to go back to the hotel and get some sleep before continuing the hunt at night.
A man in the corner of the hotel lobby took down the newspaper covering his face and walked towards me.The man happened to be bow-legged and pig-jawed, and it was none other than McSwain.
I nodded at him nonchalantly and walked towards the elevator.He followed me and muttered, "Hey, are you free?"
"Yes, but the time is limited." I stopped and pretended not to change my face.
"Let's find a place to talk." He said nervously.
I took him to my room.He straddled a chair and put a match into his mouth.I sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for him to speak.He bit the match for a moment, and said, "I came to confess to you, man—"
I interrupted him: "Are you trying to say you knew who I was when you lied to me yesterday? And you want to tell me that Bush never asked you to bet on him? And you didn't until after talking to me. Do you want to confess that the only reason you know about his past is because you were a policeman? And do you think that if you can persuade me to force him, you can make a small fortune?"
"If I came here on a special trip to confess so much to you, would I be killing myself?" he said, "but since you've said it all, I'll admit it."
"Are you rich?"
"I won six hundred dollars." He pushed back his hat and scratched his brow with the bitten match. "I lost all my wins on the dice, and lost more than two hundred dollars. What do you think?" I made six hundred dollars as easily as I shot a fish, and ended up begging for four coins for breakfast."
I said that things are unpredictable, the world we live in is so ruthless.
He snorted, put the match back in his mouth and chewed for a while, and continued, "That's why I came to you. I've been in this business before, and—"
"Why did Noonan drive you away?"
"Empty me? Why? I resigned. My life has changed since my wife was killed by a car - I got insurance money. So I resigned."
"I heard he kicked you out just after his brother shot himself."
"Oh, that's what you heard wrong. It was indeed after that incident, but you can ask him to see if I resigned voluntarily."
"That's none of my business. Go on, what did you come to see me for?"
"I've lost everything and my pockets are empty. I know you're a detective from the Mainland Detective Agency, and I have a strong premonition about what you're going to do here. I take black and white in this small city, and I know exactly what both sides are going to do. I can help you with that. As an ex-cop, I play both sides of the game."
"You want to be my eyeliner?"
He stared into my eyes and said unhurriedly: "It's not wise to always choose the worst words to describe things."
"McSwain, I'll do something for you." I took out the signed statement from Myrtle Jannison and handed it to him. "Tell me about it."
He read it carefully, the match bobbing up and down as the shape of his lips changed.Then he stood up, put the statement next to me, and frowned at it.
"There are a few things I have to figure out myself," he said solemnly. "I'll be back in a moment and tell you the whole thing."
I laughed and said to him, "Don't be silly, you know, I won't let you slip away like this."
"Not necessarily," he shook his head, still looking serious, "you're not sure either. You're still considering whether you should stop me."
"The answer is yes," I said, thinking about how tough he was, six or seven years younger than me, and twenty or thirty pounds lighter.
He stood at the foot of the bed, looking at me seriously.I sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him with the eyes I should have in this situation.We stared at each other for almost three minutes.
I'm also distracted from estimating the distance between us, figuring out how I'm supposed to fall on the bed and turn around on my hips so that the heels of my shoes hit his face just in case he jumps over.He was too close for me to draw my gun.
As soon as I made a plan in my mind, he said, "That rotten ring is not worth a thousand dollars. It took me a long time to sell it for two hundred dollars."
He shook his head again, and continued, "First of all, I want to know what you're going to do with this."
"Catch the Whisperer."
"I don't mean this, I mean me."
"You have to go to the bureau with me."
"No."
"Why not? You're just a witness."
"I'm just a witness, but Noonan can easily charge me with bribery or conspiracy, or even both. It's no wonder he's not happy with such a good opportunity."
After making sure his long jaw was no longer wobbling, I said, "That would be unfortunate. But you'll have to see him anyway."
"Try and take me there!"
I sat up straight and slid my right hand behind my hip.
He reached out to grab me, and I fell back on the bed, completed my turn, and kicked him with my feet.It was a good move, but unfortunately it didn't work.He was so eager to grab me that he hit the edge of the bed and just bounced me to the floor.
I was on all fours, on my back, trying to roll under the bed while I was busy drawing my gun.
escaped.He pushed so hard that he hit the side of the bed.Eventually he fell next to me, landed on his head, and did a somersault.
I put the gun in his left eye and said, "You're making us both look like a pair of clowns. Hold on until I stand up or I'll punch a hole in your head so I can stuff it in brain."
I stood up, found the statement and put it away before making him stand up too.
I groped around him with my other hand, but found nothing resembling a weapon.Then I ordered: "Smooth your hat, and turn your tie back to the front of your clothes, so you don't disgrace me when you walk down the street. You'd better always remember that I have a gun in my coat pocket, and one hand it."
He straightened his hat and tie and said, "Hey, look, I think I'm in, and it won't do me any good to back out. Believe me, I'll be good. Can you forget about that shit? See--let They thought it might be easier for me to come in voluntarily rather than by force."
"it is good!"
"Thanks, buddy."
Noonan had gone out to eat, and we waited an hour and a half in his outside office.When he came back, he greeted me with the usual "How's it going?", which of course was "Great," and then added some polite words.He didn't say a word to McSwain, just looked at him sourly. We went into the chief's private office, and he pulled a chair for me to put next to the desk, and sat in his own place, leaving the former detective alone. I handed Noonan the statement signed by the dying girl. He glanced at it, jumped up from the chair, and swung his melon-sized fist straight to McSwain's face. The punch sent McSwain across the room, where there was a partition in the way.The partitions were rattled, and a framed picture fell of Nonam, with several other local dignitaries, welcoming a man in leggings.The guy who was beaten also slipped down at the same time as the photo. The fat chief staggered over, picked up the photo frame, and smashed it hard on McSwain's head and shoulders, smashing the photo frame.Afterwards, Noonan returned to his desk, out of breath, but smiled happily and said to me: "If there is only one mouse left in this world, it is him." McSwain sat up straight and looked around, bleeding from his nose, mouth and head. Noonan yelled at him: "You, come here!" McSwain said, "Yes, Chief," and got up and stood at the table. Noonan said, "Say it clearly, or I'll kill you." McSwain said, "All right, Chief. It's all just as she said it was, except the diamond wasn't worth a thousand dollars at all. She shut me up with it and two hundred dollars, because when I got there She was asking him: 'Tim, who did it?' He said: 'Max!' His voice was high and high, as if speaking with the last of his strength, because he died instantly, before he could even finish his sentence .That's the way it is, Chief, but that rock isn't worth—" "Damn rock!" Noonan yelled. "And don't spill blood on my carpet." McSwain fumbled for a dirty handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his nose and mouth, and continued: "That's the way it is, Director. I was telling the truth at the time, but I didn't mention that I heard him say that Max did it." .I know I shouldn't—” "Shut up!" Noonan said, pressing a button on the table. A uniformed officer walked in, and the chief snapped McSwain's fingers and said, "Take this baby to the basement and let the bone-destroyer work on him before locking him up." McSwain desperately begged for mercy: "Oh, Chief!" But before he could finish speaking, the police officer took him away. Nonance gave me a cigar, tapped the statement with the other, and asked, "Where is this woman?" "In the city hospital, dying. Are you going to send the firing squad to scare her to death? I'm afraid that's not very legal--the statement was made by me. Another thing, I heard that Peak Murray Separated from the Whisperer. Wasn't Murray one of his alibi?" The director replied: "That's right." Then he picked up the phone, "McGraw, find Pick Murray and tell him to come over. Then arrest Tony Agostia for throwing a knife." He put down the phone, stood up, and puffed out a large amount of cigar smoke, and the voice came through the smoke: "I have not been absolutely honest with you." I thought to myself, that's a nice way to say it, but I didn't say anything, waiting to hear him continue. "You know what this place is like, and you know what it's like to work in this kind of job, and there's always going to be one or the other out there asking you to do your bidding. Being Chief of Police doesn't mean I'm the boss. You're someone People's trouble, and that's probably my trouble, whether I think you're a good guy or not. I gotta hang out with the people I play with. You know what I mean?" I shook my head to show that I understood. "It used to be that way," he said, "and it isn't anymore. This is different, it's new. Tim was just a kid when the old woman kicked her legs. She said to me before she died, 'John , take good care of him.' I swear I will. Whisperer killed him for that slut!" He bent down and grabbed my hand, "See what I mean? It's been a year and a half Now, you finally gave me a chance to catch him. Let me tell you, starting today, no one in Bosheng City dares to speak to you with a louder voice than you!" I told him I was very happy.Then we chatted for a while, until a tall, thin man with a round, freckled face was brought in with an upturned nose.He is Pique Murry. "We were guessing when Tim died—" Noonan said, as Murray sat down to take his cigar, "—where the Whisperer was. You went to the lake that night, didn't you?" "That's right," Murray said, his upturned nose becoming more pronounced. "With the Whisperer?" "I was never with him from the beginning to the end." "Were you with him when the shot went off?" "No." The chief squinted his green eyes, and they shone brightly.He asked softly, "Do you know where he was?" "have no idea." The director sighed contentedly and leaned back in his chair. "Shit, Pique," he said, "you told us you were in the bar with him earlier." "Yeah, that's what I said," the lanky man admitted, "but that doesn't mean anything. He made me say that, and I don't mind doing my friend a favor." "Does that mean you don't mind being charged with perjury?" "Don't make such a joke." Murray spit into the spittoon with a look of vitality. "I won't say anything in court." "What about Jerry, George Kelly, and O'Brien?" the commissioner asked. "They said they were with him all the time because he asked for it?" "O'Brien was, I don't know about the others. I was about to leave the bar and I ran into the Whisperer, Jerry and Kelly and went back and had a drink with them. Kelly told me Tim was done and then the Whisperer Said: 'As long as there's an alibi, no one gets hurt. We've been here all along, haven't we?' Then he looked at O'Brien, who was standing behind the bar. O'Brien said, 'Of course.' Whisperer Looked at me again, and I said the same thing. But at this point, there's no reason for me to keep covering for him." "Kelly said Tim was killed, not that he was dead?" "He used the word 'kill'." The Chief said, "Thanks, Peake. You shouldn't have done it, but you did. How are the kids?" Murray said they were fine, except that the baby wasn't as fat as he'd hoped.Noonan called the D.A.'s office, called in Dart and a stenographer, and took notes for Peake before letting him go. Then, Noonan, Daddy and the stenographer went to the city hospital to make a complete note for Myrtle Jannison.I didn't follow and decided to get a good night's sleep.I told the chief to come back to him later and went back to the hotel.
Notes:
Noonan had gone out to eat, and we waited an hour and a half in his outside office.When he came back, he greeted me with the usual "How's it going?", which of course was "Great," and then added some polite words.He didn't say a word to McSwain, just looked at him sourly. We went into the chief's private office, and he pulled a chair for me to put next to the desk, and sat in his own place, leaving the former detective alone. I handed Noonan the statement signed by the dying girl. He glanced at it, jumped up from the chair, and swung his melon-sized fist straight to McSwain's face. The punch sent McSwain across the room, where there was a partition in the way.The partitions were rattled, and a framed picture fell of Nonam, with several other local dignitaries, welcoming a man in leggings.The guy who was beaten also slipped down at the same time as the photo. The fat chief staggered over, picked up the photo frame, and smashed it hard on McSwain's head and shoulders, smashing the photo frame.Afterwards, Noonan returned to his desk, out of breath, but smiled happily and said to me: "If there is only one mouse left in this world, it is him." McSwain sat up straight and looked around, bleeding from his nose, mouth and head. Noonan yelled at him: "You, come here!" McSwain said, "Yes, Chief," and got up and stood at the table. Noonan said, "Say it clearly, or I'll kill you." McSwain said, "All right, Chief. It's all just as she said it was, except the diamond wasn't worth a thousand dollars at all. She shut me up with it and two hundred dollars, because when I got there She was asking him: 'Tim, who did it?' He said: 'Max!' His voice was high and high, as if speaking with the last of his strength, because he died instantly, before he could even finish his sentence .That's the way it is, Chief, but that rock isn't worth—" "Damn rock!" Noonan yelled. "And don't spill blood on my carpet." McSwain fumbled for a dirty handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his nose and mouth, and continued: "That's the way it is, Director. I was telling the truth at the time, but I didn't mention that I heard him say that Max did it." .I know I shouldn't—” "Shut up!" Noonan said, pressing a button on the table. A uniformed officer walked in, and the chief snapped McSwain's fingers and said, "Take this baby to the basement and let the bone-destroyer work on him before locking him up." McSwain desperately begged for mercy: "Oh, Chief!" But before he could finish speaking, the police officer took him away. Nonance gave me a cigar, tapped the statement with the other, and asked, "Where is this woman?" "In the city hospital, dying. Are you going to send the firing squad to scare her to death? I'm afraid that's not very legal--the statement was made by me. Another thing, I heard that Peak Murray Separated from the Whisperer. Wasn't Murray one of his alibi?" The director replied: "That's right." Then he picked up the phone, "McGraw, find Pick Murray and tell him to come over. Then arrest Tony Agostia for throwing a knife." He put down the phone, stood up, and puffed out a large amount of cigar smoke, and the voice came through the smoke: "I have not been absolutely honest with you." I thought to myself, that's a nice way to say it, but I didn't say anything, waiting to hear him continue. "You know what this place is like, and you know what it's like to work in this kind of job, and there's always going to be one or the other out there asking you to do your bidding. Being Chief of Police doesn't mean I'm the boss. You're someone People's trouble, and that's probably my trouble, whether I think you're a good guy or not. I gotta hang out with the people I play with. You know what I mean?" I shook my head to show that I understood. "It used to be that way," he said, "and it isn't anymore. This is different, it's new. Tim was just a kid when the old woman kicked her legs. She said to me before she died, 'John , take good care of him.' I swear I will. Whisperer killed him for that slut!" He bent down and grabbed my hand, "See what I mean? It's been a year and a half Now, you finally gave me a chance to catch him. Let me tell you, starting today, no one in Bosheng City dares to speak to you with a louder voice than you!" I told him I was very happy.Then we chatted for a while, until a tall, thin man with a round, freckled face was brought in with an upturned nose.He is Pique Murry. "We were guessing when Tim died—" Noonan said, as Murray sat down to take his cigar, "—where the Whisperer was. You went to the lake that night, didn't you?" "That's right," Murray said, his upturned nose becoming more pronounced. "With the Whisperer?" "I was never with him from the beginning to the end." "Were you with him when the shot went off?" "No." The chief squinted his green eyes, and they shone brightly.He asked softly, "Do you know where he was?" "have no idea." The director sighed contentedly and leaned back in his chair. "Shit, Pique," he said, "you told us you were in the bar with him earlier." "Yeah, that's what I said," the lanky man admitted, "but that doesn't mean anything. He made me say that, and I don't mind doing my friend a favor." "Does that mean you don't mind being charged with perjury?" "Don't make such a joke." Murray spit into the spittoon with a look of vitality. "I won't say anything in court." "What about Jerry, George Kelly, and O'Brien?" the commissioner asked. "They said they were with him all the time because he asked for it?" "O'Brien was, I don't know about the others. I was about to leave the bar and I ran into the Whisperer, Jerry and Kelly and went back and had a drink with them. Kelly told me Tim was done and then the Whisperer Said: 'As long as there's an alibi, no one gets hurt. We've been here all along, haven't we?' Then he looked at O'Brien, who was standing behind the bar. O'Brien said, 'Of course.' Whisperer Looked at me again, and I said the same thing. But at this point, there's no reason for me to keep covering for him." "Kelly said Tim was killed, not that he was dead?" "He used the word 'kill'." The Chief said, "Thanks, Peake. You shouldn't have done it, but you did. How are the kids?" Murray said they were fine, except that the baby wasn't as fat as he'd hoped.Noonan called the D.A.'s office, called in Dart and a stenographer, and took notes for Peake before letting him go. Then, Noonan, Daddy and the stenographer went to the city hospital to make a complete note for Myrtle Jannison.I didn't follow and decided to get a good night's sleep.I told the chief to come back to him later and went back to the hotel.
Notes: