The Visible Suspect (A Frank Randall Mystery)

by Steven Ehrman

  “So you made an end run with the only asset you had,” I said.

  “That’s right, Randall. I looked into your record and I saw a solid investigator. I wouldn’t have given it to just anybody. I judged that you were part bloodhound and that you would shake the bushes until you found him. I was right.”

  “Yeah, but you made me your stalking horse. You realize you also made me a target of every mobster and revenge minded cop looking for Vitale. Not everyone asked me nicely either, Banner.”

  “Well that’s the chance you took when you became a private snooper and started taking money from people to look under rocks. Did it ever occur to you, Randall, that things are under rocks because they don’t want to be found? That’s just part of the profession you chose.”

  “Cops look under rocks too,” I pointed out. “And nobody expects them to get kicked around.”

  “That’s different. Cops have a shield that says `protect and serve’. They are public servants. You’re just a guy with a laminated license and a line of snappy patter. Besides, there aren’t many jobs where people are glad to see you. You think people are glad to see a doctor? No, it just means they’re sick. Ever meet anyone happy to see a lawyer? Of course, not. You know the one person people are always glad to see? The garbage man. That’s right, everybody loves to see their garbage man. Is that what you want to do for a living, Randall?”

  “What’s the vacation time like?” I asked.

  “Pretty liberal, but you can only afford to go to New Jersey.”

  “Forget it then,” I said. “What do you think Captain Woodward is going to do if he finds out who Peterson was?”

  “He already knows,” said Banner. “I was told he got the notice last week, but he doesn’t know that you know, and he won’t. Don’t worry.”

  “He’d yank my ticket if he knew I held that back,” I said.

  “The cops aren’t even working it anymore, so it’s moot. They got the word from above and its in file thirteen now. Oh, I suppose they’d close it if someone came in and confessed, but that’s not likely is it? It’s history and bad history at that. As far as I know, the only person still working the case is you.”

  “I’m not looking either, agent. You were just about the last loose end I cared about.”

  “Well, that’s probably the smartest thing you’ve said today. Get back to your old job of car repos, rich parents with runaway kids, and taking pictures of cheating spouses. That’s where the real money is.”

  He knocked the rest of his pipe into the ashtray, stuck it in his jacket pocket, and stood up.

  “Well, I don’t suppose we will be seeing each other again, Frank,” he said, as he walked to the door. “And you make a good cup of coffee, buddy.”

  “There’s two schools of thought about that, but thanks,” I said still sitting on the sofa.

  “You did good work running down Vitale. Don’t lose any sleep worrying about a thug like that. He got what was coming to him, no matter who killed him.”

  “Do you know who killed him, Banner?” I asked quietly.

  Banner looked me directly in the eyes. “No, I don’t, Frank. Take care.”

  And he was gone. I didn’t even hear his footsteps walking down the hall.

  Chapter Twenty

  I waited until Saturday to go into the office. I had been away almost three weeks. I didn’t want to run into anyone, and on Saturdays the building was usually fairly tranquil. Traffic was light and it was sunny, so I parked on the street and walked into the building.

  The elevator was working for once. I thought about walking it anyway, but I pushed the button and waited for the door. I watched the arm on the dial make its way to the lobby and the door opened. The car was empty. I walked in, punched the button for six, and drew in a breath as the doors shut. After a short uninterrupted ride, the doors opened once again. The car made the trip pretty quickly if it didn't have to stop on any other floors. I walked onto the shabby carpeting that covered the hallway. My office was just down the hall and within moments I had my keys out to open the door to my outer office. I didn’t need my keys as the door fell open as I pressed against it. The door to my inner office was closed, but I could see a light gleaming underneath the door. I had company.

  I didn’t hesitate more than a second. I marched to the door, turned the knob, and walked in.

  “Hey, Randall. Welcome home, you bum”

  It was Jimmy sitting in my chair with his feet on my desk and a big cigar in his mouth. He had a drink in his hand, and the whiskey bottle from my desk drawer in front of him.”

  “Don’t mind me, Jimmy,” I said. “Make yourself at home. I’ll join you in a drink, since it looks like I’m buying. How did you get in here anyhow?”

  “That’s a trade secret, Randall. As head of the Neighborhood Watch, I have to have access to all properties. I’m pretty handy with a lock pick, you know. Hey, I even brought your mail in. No charge. It was kinda piling up in the outer office. The mail guy was putting it through the slot, but anybody could peek through and see it. You know, when you’re going on vacation you should have the post office stop your mail. Mail piling up is a dead give away to burglars that you’re not home. That’s another good tip, and it’s also no charge.”

  As he was saying this, I sidled around to the back of the desk and motioned for Jimmy to get up. He was affable about it, and grabbed his drink and took the chair I reserved for clients in front of the desk. I sat down and glanced at the mail he had brought in. One looked like a check so I tore the end off of it, and blew into the envelope. I reached in and pulled out a coupon for tires.

  “That’s a neat way to open your mail there, Randall. You’re a real innovative guy. That’s good for entrepreneurs like me and you.”

  I ignored that. “What do you want, Jimmy, and where is your shadow Frankie?”

  “Frankie’s taking care of some other company business. What I got to talk about with you doesn’t need anymore ears than we got in this room.”

  I waited while he finished his drink. He sat the empty glass down and took a last drag off of his cigar and then butted it out in the ashtray I had picked up in Mexico years ago. It had a bull embossed on the bottom of it. At the time it had seemed sort of classy to me. I don’t remember now why I had thought that.

  “Terrible thing about young Tommy Hawkins isn’t, Randall? Man, people have a way of dying around you. I’m not the superstitious type myself, but it’s causing some talk, I gotta tell ya.”

  I grimaced. “Jimmy, if you think I had something to do with Hawkins death you’re playing a weak hand. Captain Woodward was in my apartment sitting right in front of me when Hawkins was run down. If that’s all you got, I think we’re through here.”

  I continued opening my mail, but Jimmy gave no indication he was through.

  “The thing is,” he said, “that I just might have some information on young Tommy that might interest you.”

  “You have nothing that would interest me.”

  “Now, don’t be so sure,” he said, with a wave of his hand. “Don’t forget I’m in the information business, among other things, and I make it my business to know other peoples business.”

  He was hinting at something and the grin on his face showed he felt he had all the high cards.

  “All right, Jimmy, I admit it you have me curious. Just what is it you think is so important?”

  He leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. His jacket pulled back and I saw he had on a pair of black suspenders along with his belt. He didn’t seem like a suspenders and belt kind of guy, but what got my attention was the ugly looking gray revolver hanging from a shoulder holster.

  He followed my eyes and laughed.

  “Don’t worry, Randall, that ain’t for you. At least, not yet.”

  He laughed as if he had just told an inside joke. I didn’t laugh.

  “Here, just to prove we’re friends, we’ll put the heater aside for now.”

  With t
hat, he jerked the gun from the holster, leaned forward, and placed it on the desk.

  “See? No mean old gun to get between two old friends. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, young Hawkins. Did you now little Tommy was running around insinuating that he knew who killed Vitale?”

  My surprise must have shown.

  “No, it’s true, I tell you,” he continued. “That bar he was drinking at is a favorite hang out of his and, just between me, you, and the lamppost, it is a family business. Yep, the word was he knew who did it, and it was worth big bucks to him.”

  “Wait a minute,” I said. “If this was so out in the open, how come the police are not all over it?”

  “I didn’t say it was out in the open, Randall,” he sneered. “The kind of people in there don’t call the police when they have information, they call Uncle Rico.”

  “Are you telling me that Rico Ravello is your uncle?” I asked dumbfounded.

  “You didn’t know that, Randall? Wow, you really aren’t much of a detective. Uncle Rico has had me on the streets the last few years doing the grunt work of the organization to test me out. I passed,” he said with a tight smile. “Anyway, they call Uncle Rico and he gets the word to me.”

  I let it all sink in for a moment.

  “Okay, so supposedly Tom Hawkins was doing some drunken bragging, he was prone to that you know, and you found out about it. Too bad he was run over before you could question him. You’re not much of a detective either, Jimmy.”

  Jimmy shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

  “Maybe not, Randall, but I didn’t need to talk to Hawkins. I already knew what he knew. That’s why I ran him down in the street.”

  “What?” I said. “That’s a lie, Jimmy. In fact, I think everything you’ve told me is a lie. Thomas Hawkins was killed by a hit and run driver. The police never called it a murder.”

  “The police don’t know everything, Randall,” Jimmy said with a sneer. “Little Tommy had some information that I couldn’t afford to let get out.”

  “So why come clean to me, Jimmy? That kind of puts you at risk to me doesn’t it?’

  Jimmy gazed steadily at me.

  “Still cagey, eh, Randall? Well, since we’re such good friends, I’ll let you in on it. You see, the family had a contract out on Vitale, or Peterson as he called himself.”

  “That’s not news, Jimmy. Your uncle and his associates impressed upon me just how interested they were in the whereabouts of Vitale,” I said, as I rubbed my jaw. “Do you want me to tell you how they let me know that?”

  Jimmy was flicking an imaginary fleck of dust off of his jacket.

  “No, I heard that story too. You can’t swim with sharks and not get bit a few times. Anyway, me and Frankie have kind of been on your tail from the beginning of this thing. We figured if we bird dogged you sooner or later you would lead us to Vitale. We tipped off Uncle Rico on your trip to the Missing Persons Bureau. I guess that’s why they knew where to pick you up.”

  I shifted in my seat a little. In spite of myself I was getting unsettled by the thought of Jimmy’s neighborhood watch spying on me.

  Jimmy noticed my growing discomfort and smiled a tight smile.

  “Yeah, it’s true,” he continued. “We saw the cops hassle you, and we knew all about Tommy’s visit here and your visit to the old woman who hired you. The night all the excitement went down, I was staking out the place, but I wasn’t alone. I saw those two uniforms, Murphy and Scarpeli, cruising by the place and, of course, young Tommy was lurking about.”

  He waited to gauge my reaction, but I said nothing and he went on.

  “Yeah, it was getting kind of crowded out in the street so I thought I might let myself in. Your lobby lock is a joke and I went through it like butter. Once I was inside I hid in the shadows and waited. I saw the cops float by in their patrol car a couple of times and young Tommy seemed to be circling the block as well. I was thinking of calling it a night when I saw Vitale come out of the alley across the street. He walked up to the building like he didn’t have a care in the world and let himself in just like I did. He took the elevator up to your floor. I watched the dial and he didn’t stop anywhere else and he met with you. Young Tommy must have seen him and he also got into the lobby. Where do you suppose a cultured boy like that learned to jimmy a lock? I blame television. It’s polluting our youth, Randall”

  “That’s quite a tale, Jimmy,” I said with a yawn. “But I already know Vitale and Thomas Hawkins were here that night and I know the cops were in the area too. You’re serving pretty weak tea here; buddy, and I haven’t heard anything that tells me why you would pretend to have killed Hawkins. I know enough about you to know you’re not all bark, but I don’t see the pieces falling together.”

  Jimmy cracked his knuckles and leaned forward in his chair.

  “I’ll tell you, Randall, you play your cards pretty close to your vest, but that’s all right with me. It’s one of the few things I like about you.”

  I let that one slide.

  “Anyway, I’m just about done,” he said. “When you tossed Tommy, he left, but he was still lurking outside the building. I guess he wanted another shot at Vitale without you to interfere. Then he saw something he shouldn’t have seen and it cost him. I kinda feel sorry for the little worm. He was just trying to make a dishonest buck. You’d be surprised how often that doesn’t work out when amateurs try it.”

  I could see where he was going with this, but he was holding something back.

  “Okay, Jimmy, so you’re trying to tell me that Thomas saw you, or one of your associates, kill Vitale and then tried to blackmail a mob family? Come on, Jimmy. Hawkins couldn’t have thought he could get away with a stunt like that. He might have been a sorry excuse for a human being, but I didn’t see any evidence he was stupid.”

  “You got that right, Randall. Young Tommy didn’t have the guts to go up against us, but he would squeeze his stepmother if he had an angle to use on her. My associates tell me Tommy was trying to figure the best way to spring the trap on her. He didn’t say when he setting this trap, but it was going to be soon. That’s why I had to move when I did.”

  My head was spinning.

  “I don’t get it, Jimmy. How did Hawkins think that the mob rubbing out Vitale gave him leverage on his mother?”

  “That’s easy Randall,” Jimmy said with a huge smile. “He figured he could prove that she hired it done. With that lever he could get control of his late father’s fortune and live happily ever after.”

  “I still think you’re either fishing for information or lying, or both, Jimmy. The police would never believe that Mrs. Peterson would have anything to do with the mob. If Hawkins saw you murder Vitale he would have just turned you over to the cops and washed his hands of it.”

  Jimmy waited for me to go on, but when it was apparent that I had no more to say he spoke up.

  “You don’t get it, Randall. Tommy didn’t see me kill Vitale. He saw you do it.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I sat stunned. I almost felt as if I had left my body and that I was watching myself. I heard a car horn honk in the street, followed by screeching wheels.

  “No smart reply to that one, Randall?” Jimmy asked. “That’s okay, I already know just about everything, except for why you did it, and I’ve got a pretty good idea about that too.”

  “Jimmy, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but you’re just spitting into the wind as far as I’m concerned,” I said. “Blow on out of here and I’ll forget you just accused me of murder.”

  “Just sit back, Randall, and I’ll tell it to you. Then you can decide if it’s all just balloon juice or not. After Vitale came in I took the stairs up to the sixth floor to listen in on your conversation. The cleaning lady didn’t make it easy, but I was just outside of the door most of the time, listening. When she got too close, I picked the lock of the office next to you and hid in there. That came in handy later. Anyway, I heard most of what went down between you two.
I heard Vitale threaten his wife and Carla and, maybe you didn’t hear it, but he threatened you too, Randall. I knew Vitale and you can believe it. I think he might have plugged you right here in your office except for the queen of the mops being a potential witness. When I heard you guys coming out I retreated back to the door of your neighbor and watched from there. I was at just the right angle to see what you did in the elevator. You pushed all the buttons. That’s why Vitale said you were childish. You pushed every floor. He thought you were just screwing with him. What it really did was give you the chance to go back to your office, and let the cleaning lady see you, and then beat him to the lobby by running down the stairs. I followed you as close as I could. You weren’t thinking about anybody behind you. All you were thinking about was beating Vitale to the lobby. You did, of course, and when he came out into the lobby it was pretty dark. He never saw you coming up behind him. Maybe you didn’t even plan on killing him, I don’t know. Maybe you thought you could just scare him. Lucky for you that you did kill him. You couldn’t scare a guy like Vitale. After you made certain that he had enough steel in his brain, you hotfooted it back up to your office. I was underneath the stairwell on the ground floor and you never saw me in the dark, but I saw you. I’ll say this for you, Randall; you didn’t look even a little scared. Maybe you have a future in that sort of work. There was one big thing you missed. Young Tommy saw you from the street. I don’t know what was in his mind, but we can guess. I think he went back to the bar as quickly as he could in order to establish an alibi. It wouldn’t do him any good if he got fingered for the murder. The bar was busy and no one could swear he had left, so he was in good shape, but for one thing. He needed the body discovered quickly or his alibi was useless. Tommy was the one who phoned in the anonymous tip to the cops. He was seen by one of my guys using the phone. It had to be him. It worked out perfect; the cops find the body quickly and assume it was a mob hit. You’re dusted clean by the cleaning lady and Vitale is dead, which almost everyone wanted.”