by Simon Swift
"I don't know what to say Stan, you've been great," I shook his hand tightly. "Thank you, thank you a lot. And you look after Claudia, you hear me."
Stan shook my hand back. Very firm and strong. "Don't you worry about that," he said. "Come visit us sometime! I'll look forward to it."
"Maybe," I said and walked out of the house.
I got in the car and knew she was there immediately. I don't know if it was her scent or an inner feeling that I had but I knew. She leaned forward and put her head between the two front seats.
"Can we go now?" she asked.
I turned around with a cold look on my face. "We are not going anywhere Claudia. If I take you with me your family will probably kill the both of us."
"But what about Marlow, I must see her."
"Forget Marlow. She's not the friend you think she is. She probably isn't a friend at all."
"Errol, how can you say that? Marlow is my best friend in all the world."
"Marlow is a conniving, manipulative tramp. Just for the record, it was Marlow that was seeing your darling George. She probably wasn't the only one but it was her that I caught him with when you hired me. Not only that but she was also seeing a very good friend of mine who just happened to get murdered. Add me to that list and you get the picture."
"You slept with Marlow?"
"Yes, twice. Three times in fact and that's not all. She's involved in the case that I'm on and I don't mean the infidelity of George Ferriby. This is more to do with murder, kidnap and extortion and Marlow is in it right up to her neck."
"I don't believe you. Why are you saying these things?"
I put my hand to Claudia's cheek and stroked it gently.
"Sweetheart, I'm sorry. Really, I am but it is true. All of it is true. And I truly wish that I could take you back to the City but I can't. Please just get out of the car and go back inside. I'll be in touch I promise."
A solitary tear rolled down her cheek and she leaned over a bit more and kissed me full on the lips. She then opened the car door and got out before going back into the house. I drove off without looking around and my hard on didn't wear off until I hit the City limits.
I considered turning around and going back to Woodstock. I could search the redhead out from the casino and we could spend the day making sweet love with a couple of bottles of champagne and a jazz concerto on full volume. That is how I felt but I resisted and kept heading south towards the City. I hadn't felt this way since I left Casablanca and I wasn't sure who was making me feel worse. Marlow was incredible but it was Claudia that I was falling in love with. I was sure of it.
I didn't think I would ever feel like this again and for the last few days I had successfully convinced myself that I wasn't but when the car door slammed shut and she disappeared inside the Cortene house it was all released. It felt like listening to Dizzy Gillespie do a fifteen-minute solo whilst high on grass, the emotions came rushing to the surface and I was left feeling physically weak and lost.
I pulled over a mile from the City and got out of the car. Twenty push-ups followed by a one minute rest and then twenty more got me gasping for breath. I repeated this two more times, shadow boxed for a further ten minutes and then got back in the car.
Chapter Seventeen – Partnership
I dropped the car off at the rental office and walked the rest of the way. Terence and Mike were still standing guard outside the main office. They confirmed that there had been no sign of trouble. I paid them both a healthy bonus and asked them to carry on their security for a few days more. They happily agreed.
I could hear Ava's typewriter clicking away as I walked through the reception area. I let out a deep sigh and took her in my arms, giving her a long hug. She melted in my arms, every curve wrapping around me.
"Errol, I've missed you, are you all right? You should have telephoned me. I would have arranged some breakfast."
"Hey, hey, slow down sweetheart," I held her at arms distance and winked. "I'm fine darling. I feel tired but I'm still here and I've eaten already. What's been happening, are you okay?"
She relaxed her grip and smiled. “I'm fine now you're back, Errol. Mr. Wilson has been in here for you again. Four times in fact. He said yesterday that if you don't contact him urgently then there may be serious consequences."
"How did he say it? Aggressively? Threateningly?"
"No, nothing like that. More matter of factly. You know as if it was out of his control. He's a very nervous man, scared even, but not threatening at all."
"Why hasn't Hermeez seen him? Is he still not showing his face around here?"
"No, Hermeez has been around," she said. "But Wilson won't talk to anybody but you. He is most insistent."
I lit up a Lucky and inhaled deeply. "Okay darling, arrange a meeting tomorrow."
"In the office, or would it be better in a public place?"
"No, I think the office will suffice. He's not dangerous is he?"
“I don't think so, Errol, he didn't look like he could harm a fly. He's got a very creepy aura about him though."
"Okay darling, the office is fine."
I sat down on the couch, flicking through the weekend's Tribune. The news was pretty much as normal, except for a large article on the Cortene family. Of course, it wasn't a blow by blow account of their Mafiosi activities, more a sycophantic piece on their wonderful contribution to the community. How through many different fields they provided jobs and hope to a decaying society.
I tossed the paper back onto the table.
"What's the latest on the Dragon Bar murders? Is Beech still sniffing around?"
Ava sat down beside me. "He's been in a few times throwing around idle threats with no real weight behind them. Asking me where you were, what you were doing and how long you would be away. You know the usual Beech outbursts."
I nodded in agreement, a wide grin filling my face at Ava's absolute control and ability to frustrate the hell out of the police force. She'd had a good tutor.
"A few days ago he sent Tim Matthews round. He said that they wanted to check the firearms that we hold in the office."
My face changed. "Son of a bitch, did you check it out with Jake?"
"I rang Jake whilst Tim waited. He said it would be better to let them go right ahead."
I blew out a thick cloud of smoke and stubbed the cigarette out in the crystal ashtray on the side table. "And we came out clean?"
"Clean as a whistle. Tim said that there was no possibility of the murder of Dyke Spanner or Woo Wang being committed by any of the weapons here. Of course, this didn't satisfy Beech, he's been grumbling that you could still have the murder weapon with you. Or that maybe you've disposed of it."
I let out a gasp of air and smiled. "That sounds dangerously like slander to me. I hope you made him take it back."
Ava gave me a sparkling smile, showing off her beautifully whiter than white set of pegs. "I passed it on to Jake and he immediately sent a letter of complaint to the New York Police Department. The next day Beech came in personally to apologize. Grudgingly, you know, quite clearly under orders, but an apology nevertheless."
I stood up and went over to the drinks cabinet, pouring myself a large Remy and a small tonic for Ava. She took the glass from my outstretched hand and gulped it down, eager to continue the story.
"How well do you know Weeny Jung Ping?" she asked me, completely changing the mood of the conversation.
I tried not to, but almost certainly did, look puzzled. "Very well, why do you ask?"
"I'm afraid this is the next angle. He too disappeared almost exactly the same time you went upstate. The police went to his shop for routine questioning and everything was locked up. Subtle as ever they decided to have a look anyway, and forced their way in. Tim wouldn't let on the full story, but it sounds like they found something in there which now leads them to suspect he may be the killer."
"Of Dyke and Wang?"
"So it seems. I don't know if they found the gun or plan, or
what, but for the last week the papers won't leave it alone." She reached into her drawer and tossed me a couple of newspapers.
ANTIQUES DEALER LINKED TO MURDER MYSTERY. TONGS POSSIBLY RESPONSIBLE -Today police revealed that a local Chinatown Antiques Dealer has been discovered to have links to the sinister Tongs network. The man, a Mr. Jung Ping, has disappeared from his lifelong place of residence in extremely mysterious circumstances and is now a prime suspect for the two murders committed recently that have been given the tag of The Dragon Bar Murders.
I looked at another...
JUNG PING KILLS WANG? WHY?
I downed my drink in one and went back to the cabinet for another.
"Not for me, Errol," Ava said and turned around to look at me. "Well, could he have done it?"
"Weeny always used to tell me, 'Keep your friends close but your enemies closer'. Who knows…" I raised the glass and winked at Ava. "Anybody could do anything in this crazy world, you must know that by now."
Ava looked disappointed by my answer. It was as if she could see the cogs going round in my head but couldn't quite work out what it was they were thinking.
"Anyway, it looks that for the time being you're in the clear."
"I'm always in the clear, you know that honey."
Ava stood up and returned to her desk, looking at me inquisitively all the while. "Jake wants you to contact him as soon as possible. Just to check you're not in any more trouble. You want me to sort that out for you?"
Once again, I smiled my wide, toothy grin. "You're an angel, you know that? A beautiful angel."
"Just one more thing, Errol," said Ava, as I made my way through to my inner-office. "I know you're not going to tell me too much about this case you're on, but...you know, if there's anything I can be getting on with, anything you need me to do for you... you only have to say."
"An absolute angel," I uttered and continued through to my desk.
For most of the afternoon, I sat with my feet up on the desk thinking. I got through a couple of large packs of Lucky Strikes and the best part of twenty bucks worth of Remy Martin, but still nothing made any sense. I was pretty sure that the Coward would be paying me a visit quite soon. I would certainly have to make some arrangements for that. I also decided that if the office was a possible target, then it was no place for Ava to be. She was a fantastic detective but had no experience of anything so dangerous and I had no intention of putting her in danger. I would have to tell her to take some leave.
I was interrupted by the telephone ringing. I sighed, put down my empty glass, and picked up the receiver.
"Hello."
"Errol, you've got a visitor, shall I send him through?"
My heart began pounding as I held my gun in one hand and the handset in the other. I put it to my mouth, "Who is it darling, I don't want any appointments this afternoon unless it's Mr. Wilson or Timmy."
Before Ava could answer, I heard the door open and a head popped round. I sat back in my chair and let out a huge sigh of relief, dropping the gun on the desk.
"Hey, what are you going to do Eezy, shoot me?"
It was Hermeez Wentz.
"Thank you," I said down the phone to Ava. "Do you want to get off home now sweetheart. Lock the door behind you."
I turned and looked at Hermeez. "You know something my friend? Am I glad to see you?"
Hermeez hung up his coat, fixed himself a drink and pulled out a small box from his inside pocket. He placed the box on the table and smiled.
"I take it Ava has not told you."
I shook my head.
"You missed the service Eezy. After what you told me at the house I did not want to bring you back for a ten minute service in the grubbiest chapel in Chinatown."
He opened the box and pulled out a small, wooden urn with a bronze plaque. On the plaque, the name Dyke Harvey Spanner was engraved with his favourite poem underneath.
"I held Maggie's hand and we didn't shed a tear between us. Dyke's attorney, Timmy Matthews and a couple of old winos from the Dragon were the only other attendees. After the service, which lasted a whole fifteen minutes, his attorney pulled me to one side and gave me some news. Apparently it was Dyke's wish that you should take his remains and scatter them down by Jamaica Bay. I collected the urn this morning."
I picked up the small wooden case and studied it closely. I was struck at how light it was. That a man can be reduced to something so insignificant and something so shabby made me feel sad. That it was Dyke Harvey Spanner that was the man was a little more palatable but melancholic nevertheless. Hermeez picked up on my turn of mood and tried to cheer me up. He ran into a couple of anecdotes about the drinks reception after the service which in normal circumstances would have made me laugh only now they didn't appear very funny.
"Ava did tell me something else," I said, uncertain just how I was going to approach this. Hermeez's reaction solved my dilemma. He held out both his hands in a gesture of surrender so I shut up and let him say his piece.
"I'm sorry, Errol. I shouldn't have lied to you about Marcia. You are my best friend in the whole world and I love you dearly."
"I guess I shouldn't have gone to see her but I was worried about you. I still am."
Hermeez's face took on a more serious look. "I'm not going to reprimand you mate, but no you shouldn't have gone to see her. It wasn't your place." He smiled. "She told me about what happened."
"If Ava hadn't told me about Muchado I wouldn't have interfered."
"You still should not have interfered, but I guess I should have expected it. Look, it's not what you think okay? I know how your mind works and I'm telling you you've got it all wrong. I'm going to say this to you, I don't have to but you are my buddy so I guess I will. First of all, I did not kill or pay Arnold Muchado, or anyone else for that matter, to kill Dyke. Secondly, I am not in any trouble. I know it looks bad with that thug coming by the office and I apologize for that but everything is fine."
He licked his fingertips and brushed his eyebrows back. I watched him do it and after a couple of minutes, I realized he had finished. I decided not to push it. Throughout our friendship, we had always trusted each other completely. Hell, we had to, we wouldn't have survived two minutes in Guadalcanal if we hadn't. Or the mean streets of Manhattan. But I still was left feeling a little short changed. When Hermeez told me he had nothing to do with the death of Dyke Spanner I had to believe him. When he told me he was not in trouble, I had to believe him. But it still didn't make it any easier. After a long silence, I shrugged, flashed him a wide smile and patted him on the shoulder.
"Hermeez, let's go for a drink at Joes. We've got a lot to talk about."
I locked the urn in the safe and we left the office.
Joe approached the table to take our glasses and brought them back a minute later refilled.
Hermeez watched me pick up my glass and take a drink. I put it back on the table and looked at my friend.
"Are you ready?"
He nodded. "Yes."
I told him, omitting nothing. From the beginning, which he already knew I told him about the punk arriving on my doorstep, to the Coward's phone call, to the rendezvous in the Wyatt Earp and the fantastic tale of the Blue Tavernier diamond, to my kidnapping, to my run in with Stanley Cortene and the revelation about his niece Claudia. His face stayed calm and staid throughout. He didn't look afraid although I hoped he was, I certainly was. I felt better for having shared it but was not sure if I had done the right thing. Hermeez had been my closest friend for over thirty years but right now, everything was topsy turvy.
When he did speak, his voice was grave: "This is bigger than either one of us could have imagined, Errol. If we're going to see this one through we need to look after each other. Agreed?"
I nodded, "Agreed."
"First of all, do you think there is a diamond?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't had chance to find out but if there isn't then this whole thing takes another right turn. So for the time
being yes I am assuming that there is."
"Okay, and you don't have it, right?"
"Right."
"So the question is, did Dyke have it? I don't know about you but my gut reaction says no. If Dyke Spanner took a diamond from the dying Dutch Schultz seven years ago, he would not have waited until now to do anything about it. It would have been sold years ago and the money safely deposited in one of his Swiss bank accounts."
"So, if not Dyke then there is only one person."
Hermeez drained his drink and nodded. "Our old friend Liam Tighe, who so far appears to have escaped the notice of your buddy the Coward." He waved at Joe to bring over more drinks. "Before we get onto the whereabouts of our elusive former ally we need to go right back to the beginning of this caper. Firstly, is Claudia Cortene a part of this scam? She set you off on the case so it's a natural assumption, plus she is the best friend of this Marlow and the niece of a gangster. A very fuckin' big gangster. What do you think?"
I shook my head. "I don't think she is knowingly involved in anything. She's vulnerable and open to manipulation. I think she's innocent."
"Okay, so Claudia's in the clear. What about Marlow? Why did she set you up to be present at the Dragon Bar the night that Dyke Spanner was iced? The obvious answer is to set you up for a murder that she knew was going to be committed. She then conveniently disappeared only to draw you in to another sticky situation. With the motive being blackmail to get the diamond. If she's not pulling the strings she is certainly doing a good job for the Coward."
"That's what blurs the issue. When I met Coward at the Wyatt Earp he intimated that unless I played ball Marlow would be killed and I would be up for two murders."
"But it didn't happen, did it? My guess is that between them they tried their damndest to bluff the pants off you. Her quite literally, the Coward using more traditional strong-arm tactics. She must be involved, especially after her cameo appearance at the Coward's ranch. And if she's involved there's every chance Ferriby is too."
