The Referral Game (A Frank Randall Mystery)

by Steven Ehrman

  “So?”

  “He went in with you, Bill. They saw you pull up; wait for Pomeroy, and then you went in together. When all hell broke loose and the squad cars and ambulances showed up, they saw you directing the action, giving orders. They asked a few people until they found out who you were. They can identify you.”

  “You’re going to take the word of a couple of hoods over mine? Frank, we were partners. Besides, they could have fingered me from my picture in the papers and made up this whole story.”

  “No, you were too smart for that. I went back and checked the coverage in the papers. Your picture wasn’t in there. You were interviewed, of course, but you didn’t allow your picture to be taken. It was probably the old ‘boys I work a lot of undercover, so no photos please’, or something along those lines. No, those boys saw you just like they described it.

  “It’s over, Bill, don’t insult my intelligence by denying it any longer. Your fingerprints are all over it, the missing money, the overseas accounts, and hidden savings. It sure sounds like someone with a background in law. You graduated from law school didn’t you, Bill?”

  “Along with thousands of other people in this state alone.”

  “Stop the clowning, Bill. Tell me the truth. What was it? Gambling debts?” He raised an eye at me. “I talked to my bookie, and he says that you’re in hock with half the books in town. Did Silas offer to pay those off, and throw in a little extra, for a foolproof scheme to rub out Edgar?”

  “If all this is true, Frank, then why didn’t I let Silas kill you and Paula and then shoot him? No witnesses that way. And why didn’t he tell you I was in on it? He was going to kill you anyway, right? Riddle me that one, Batman.”

  I took a long breath and answered. “Both of those points bothered me at first, but there are logical reasons for each. I’ll take the second one first. I think that you prevailed upon Silas not to tell me the truth as a favor to you. After all, we had been partners, sacrificing me for the sake of the plan was enough of a contribution on your part, without my finding out in my final moments that you had been in on my death. Even so, he was about to blab it to me, when Paula started in on him.

  “And the reason you left us alive? It’s really pretty simple when you think about it. You needed witnesses, people who could testify about what happened. With Paula and me around there was no mystery. We could tell the whole world what had happened and that you weren’t involved, except as a dutiful police officer. If four people had walked into that building, and only one had came out alive, well, someone might have wondered how you had drawn the long straw. They might have wondered about your role in this tragedy. They might have dug into your past and your connection to the Pomeroys. A lot of embarrassing questions might have popped up. You couldn’t let that happen. Your entire plan was predicated on the police accepting the situation at face value. If someone started pulling threads, the whole fabric might have come undone. But with Paula and me alive, and you running the crime scene and the investigation, you were home free.

  “Except for one detail. You know how I brood over things and you didn’t want me turning it over in my mind, trying to figure all the angles. So you gave me a distraction, someone to take my mind off the case. A person who became irritated whenever I brought it up, until I dropped it.”

  “Paula,” said Bill tonelessly, staring out a window. He wasn’t even looking at me anymore.

  “Exactly, your real partner in this scam, unbeknownst to Silas of course. Her role was to make me feel sorry for her, to make me desire her and it worked. And after Silas was dead her job was to, ‘cool the mark’, that’s what it’s called, right?”

  “That’s what it’s called,” said Bill. He sounded like he was a million miles away.

  “I’ve been staking out your house. She’s here right now, isn’t she?”

  He kept staring out the window.

  “Isn’t she?” I repeated, raising my voice

  Chapter 11

  The Girl

  .

  “You don’t have to yell, Frank. I heard you the first time,” said a voice behind me.

  I turned, and saw Paula standing at the edge of the hallway. Her hair was in place and her make-up was perfectly applied, it was in stark contrast to Bill’s disheveled appearance. She was dressed in an almost sheer nightgown. She looked absolutely stunning, but what I couldn’t take my eyes off was the revolver in her hand that was pointed at me.

  “After I met you I knew we had picked the wrong man,” she said. “I knew you’d eventually start digging. Have you ever let anything go in your entire life? I don’t think so. You’re like a dog that chews all the meat off a bone and then keeps gnawing at it. He knows there’s marrow inside.”

  She walked over to Bill and handed him the gun.

  “We knew this was a possibility when we started, didn’t we, hon?” she said to Bill.

  “Yeah,” he replied. “Why did you come here, Frank? You know how it’s got to end don’t you?”

  “That’s why I came. I’m just so tired.”

  He looked me up and down with sadness. “Frank, if I let you walk out of here, will you promise to keep quite about-”

  “What?” Paula screamed, interrupting him. “We can’t have him walking around holding the end of a rope that’s tied around our necks.”

  “That’s quite a girl you got there,” I said to Bill. “How long has this thing been going on? I know it’s been some time. You see, I had a little chat with Martinez down at the club. He’s kind of sore about Paula quitting on him. He was glad to pick your photo out Bill as the man who has been seen with Paula on many occasions.”

  Bill shrugged, but an evil grin crossed Paula’s lips.

  “Bill and I go way back, don’t we, hon?” she said. I met Bill through Silas, after I married that dry stick Edgar. I only married him because I thought the old woman would croak sometime soon and I could have some of that Pomeroy money that she was hoarding. But it became clear pretty quick that she wouldn’t leave him anything that I could get my hands on. She was going to leave it to him in a trust or something; Bill explained it to me. So, since Bill and I were already seeing each other on the sly, we decided to scam the family out of some pocket change. I was going to leave anyway, so I told Silas that unless he gave me fifty K to divorce Edgar I was going to get myself pregnant. He was terrified that I would have a baby. Bill found that out. He thought that a grandchild might change the old lady’s mind about Edgar and me. Maybe cost him a chunk of his inheritance; maybe even ace him out altogether. The old woman didn’t have any grandchildren and with the kind of disappointing sons she had, maybe he had reason to be worried. A new generation to terrorize might have appealed to her. Anyway, he fell for it, although he chewed me down to twenty, and I left. Bill and I stayed together, off and on, ever since. When the old witch died Silas came to Bill complaining about his share of the estate. It was his idea to bump off Edgar, we just came up with a plausible plan, which unfortunately included you.”

  She was breathing hard, almost panting. She looked to Bill. He was staring out the window again. He finally looked over at me and said: “Frank, I didn’t want it to come to this. I was just so deep in debt; I couldn’t refuse when Silas came to me with his proposal. If you knew those brothers like I did, you wouldn’t judge me so harshly. The whole family was a cancer on society; they were only protected by their money. You gotta believe me, the world is a better place without them.”

  “What are you doing?” screeched Paula. “You know what you have to do. Get it over with. We can’t trust him with what he knows.”

  “We can trust him if he gives us his word. Didn’t you learn that much about him in all the time you spent together? He’s different than me and you.”

  “I’ll tell what I know,” she spit at him. “Unless his hands are as dirty as ours, which they aren’t, he’ll rat us out eventually. I don’t care what he says now.”

  They were glaring at each other. Paula’s face was r
ed and her knuckles were white. Bill looked like my father had after he had been embalmed.

  “Listen, both of you,” I said. “I can settle this for you. I mailed a letter to Captain Woodward this morning. I didn’t trust myself not to change my mind. My feelings were to deep for both of you to take that chance. I couldn’t let two murders slide, but I couldn’t stay away either. I had to tell you to your faces. You’ve still got at least 24 hours before Woodward gets my letter. Once you’re done with me, you’ll have a chance to make it out of the country, maybe get lost somewhere. They won’t look forever.”

  “You see?” screamed Paula. “I told you.”

  Bill smiled at me. For the first time that morning he looked like the old Bill, the guy who had shown me the ropes when I was a wet behind the ears rookie. He taught me more about police work than any academy or college ever could. He also taught me about honesty and integrity in a job where temptations were everywhere you looked, from hookers offering freebies to dealers who would pay a thousand a week just to look the other way. The guy who wouldn’t boost an apple off a pushcart, yet here he was up to his neck in a double murder. I was still hoping I would wake up and find it was a bad dream.

  “You’re one in a million, you know that, Frank?” he said. “Boy, you’ve really got me backed into a corner.”

  “I’m sorry, Bill. I couldn’t figure any other way to play it. I’m new at this kind of situation.”

  “Me too.” Bill said. “I don’t reckon we’ll ever be in one like this again.”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “I wish it hadn’t come to this, Frank, that’s the truth.” He hesitated, fingering the gun. “I just can’t see any other way.” He cocked the gun. “Goodbye, Frank.”

  He put the barrel to his head and pulled the trigger.

  The explosion shook the room. Paula screamed, and I covered the distance to Bill in one leap, but no haste was necessary. No doctor could repair the hole he had blown in his head. At least his eyes were closed. He had always been a gambler. Sometimes, even when you bet on red and black, and think all your bases are covered, green comes up and the house rakes in your chips. Bill lost his gamble and checked out. It fit his personality, bet big and take your lumps if you lose without complaining.

  I picked up the gun and put it in my jacket pocket. Paula was a statue, staring at Bill’s lifeless form in horror. She turned her eyes to me.

  “He’s gone,” she said, in a whisper. “It’s over.”

  “Yes, Paula, it’s over,”

  She ran to me and embraced me. Her breath was hot on my neck.

  “Thank God, Frank,” she said. “ I was so afraid for you.”

  She squeezed me as tight as she could. Memories of nights we were together flashed through my mind.

  “This has been a nightmare for me, Frank,” she said.

  “I know,” I replied, as I kissed her forehead.

  “Oh, Frank, I never meant to get involved in murder. It was just supposed to be another scam,” she said. “I was scared of Bill then, just like I was today. He’s been acting crazy. I was frightened. You saw what he just did. He was completely unbalanced.”

  I nodded.

  “That could have been either of us. But I should have known it would be all right with you here. You’ve always protected me. Frank, I think you’re been the only good thing in my life, the only pure thing. And now with all of this over, we can put the pieces back together.”

  “There’s still one piece of unfinished business, Paula,” I said, as steadily as I could. My chest hurt and my left arm felt numb. “There’s one last act. I’ll call the police now.”

  “What are you going to tell them?” she asked.

  “The truth.”

  “You won’t do that,” she said. “You’ve protected me before, you’ll do it again.”

  “Not this time, Paula.”

  She held me closer and looked up into my eyes. “Frank, you’ve kissed these lips, held this body. What is your heart telling you? You know we belong together. Don’t deny it. Remember what things were like before you had me? Do you want to live the rest of your life like that? The loneliness would kill you.”

  “Paula, we can’t ignore-”

  “Kiss me, and tell me you can turn me in.”

  We kissed deeply. My thoughts wandered back to when I had first seen her. She had been so innocent, so trusting in me. But it had all been an illusion, a performance.

  “The letter has been written and sent,” I said. “I’ve already named you as Bill’s partner.”

  “You can say that you were wrong. That it was all Bill, and I was duped, just like you.” I winced. “You could say that when you came here today, Bill confessed the whole thing, clearing me, and killed himself because of what he had done to the two of us. You can say that he begged my forgiveness before he shot himself. The police would believe you. You could do it.”

  I had to admire her. She was making all this up on the fly and it sounded good. It sounded plausible. The cops, and more importantly a jury if it came to that, just might buy it. All she needed was me to corroborate it for her. Our testimony against a dead man would probably carry the day.

  “I could do it, Paula, but I won’t.”

  “Think this through, honey,” she said. “Think about our life together.”

  “That’s what I am doing, Paula. You’ve left a trail of dead bodies in your wake. Your lovers don’t have a very good track record, Edgar, Bill, maybe even Silas, maybe that’s why he hated you so much. How long before I’m the next victim?”

  “It’s different with you, Frank, you know that. Don’t tell me you don’t feel it too. You love me. Don’t try to make it into something dirty.”

  “I don’t know if it’s different with me or not. I’m not sure if you know yourself, Paula. But I know one thing for certain. If I cover for you, and get you out of this jam, then I’d have something on you. And with a girl like you that means that I’d have to sleep with one eye open for the rest of my life.”

  “Frank, baby, please don’t do something you’re going to regret. Honey, you’ll look back and realize this was a mistake, and then it’ll be too late. Baby, please just love me like you used to and we can be happy again. I’m begging you.”

  Her voice was breaking and tears ran down her cheeks.

  “Give that performance in court and hope for a jury of twelve men. They’ll acquit you on the first ballot,” I said. “Until then, I’ve got a call to make.”

  I walked to the phone and called the number I knew best. The phone was answered on the second ring. “Give me Captain Woodward,” I said. “It’s an emergency.”

  Chapter 12

  The Truth

  One hour later Bill’s body was gone, and Paula had been led away in handcuffs. She smiled, blew me a kiss, and told me that she loved me as they took her downtown. Maybe she meant it. She was such a good actress, I just couldn’t tell. I figured to spend the rest of my life wondering.

  Captain Woodward had personally directed the action; fingerprints, photos, the works. He hadn’t been happy to be called in after the fireworks were over, and he let me know it.

  “It was irresponsible, Randall,” he said. “You’re a private citizen.”

  “I am that,” I said.

  He thought that over, looking for an insult.

  “I could run you in for this,” he continued. “You’re in trouble any way you look at it.”

  “What’s the charge, Captain?” I asked softly.

  “Obstructing justice, impeding an investigation, I’ll think of something, don’t worry. And I’ll make it stick.”

  “You could, but it wouldn’t be a smart move.”

  “Are you threatening me, Randall?”

  “No,” I said. I was getting that tired feeling again. “The department is going to look bad enough on this, what with Bill running this scam right under your nose. If you arrest the guy who figured it all out, then you look even worse.”


  He stared at me and looked around to see if anyone was within listening distance.

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “Just this, if it comes out that you and I were working together, then you come out pretty good.”

  “We were working together?” he asked doubtfully.

  “Sure. We both had suspicions from the beginning, but since there was nothing solid, you let me sift through things in the background and bring you information until you could file charges. Police officers use confidential sources all the time.”

  “And Vinson’s death?”

  “He felt us closing in and…” I trailed off.

  Woodward mulled it over. “I don’t like it,” he said finally. “I know you don’t like me, Randall, but I’m an honest cop. I can’t go along with you on a story like that. I can’t lie in an official record. I’ll take my lumps in the papers and with the politicians.”

  “It was just a suggestion,” I said. “Do you want to cuff me now? I suppose I’m in for a few days of county accommodations.”

  He studied me closely. I’m not certain what he was looking for and I don’t know if he found it. The silence grew. We were the only two left in the house. I could hear no street sounds. It was like being in a bottle, or maybe a coffin.

  “ Why did you come here?” Woodward asked finally. “He might have killed you. Why did you take that chance?”

  “Bill was my partner. I owed him that much.”

  “I think I can understand that. I’m a cop too, Randall.”

  He seemed to have more to say, so I waited.

  “All right, Randall, you can go. Keep yourself available, and I’ll want you downtown tomorrow morning for a complete statement.”

  “I’ll see you then. By the way, congratulations on cracking the Hanson case.”

  “Just doing my job, Randall.”

  “Right,” I said, and started for the door. I was almost there when Woodward’s voice stopped.