The Criminal (9 page)

I shrugged. I felt uncomfortably empty, drained dry. "Don't jump to conclusions, Don. I was just popping off."

"I understand," he said. "I know how you must feel about me."

"Why, Don"-I forced a grin and stood up-"I had no idea you cared. As a matter of fact, I love you like a brother. Come along, huh? Come with me to the composing room."

"I guess not," he said. "You don't need me, Bill."

"Sure, I do," I said. "What the hell? Two heads are better than one any old day."

"I'd better go home," he said. "My wife… my wife is pretty sick."

"And no gabbing, understand?" he said. "You don't know a thing about the Talbert boy."

"What about him?" I said. "You want we should bring him a sandwich or something?"

"No," he said. "When he's ready to eat, he can say so."

"We could bring him a malt or something," I said. "Something cold to drink maybe."

"He can have something to drink," he said, "whenever he wants it."

"Well, I was just asking," I said.

"He can have anything he wants," the d.a. said. "Just as soon as he comes to his senses."

Me and Charlie figured the Chinaman's was the best deal, being close and pretty reasonable and all, so we went downstairs and headed across the street. Charlie was kind of mumbling to himself and counting on his fingers. Finally, he got it figured out.

"Small steak, french fries, peas, pie, two cups of coffee," he said. "Two fifty exactly, Dick."

"Yeah," I said, "but what about the tip?"

"H--," he said, "what you want to tip Chinamen for? They got a lot more money than you have."

"Oh, I don't know," I said. "I guess maybe I shouldn't, but I always feel kind of funny. Don't you tip 'em, Charlie?"

"Well, I ain't going to tonight," he said.

We got to the Chinaman's and I told Charlie to go on back and get us a booth. I had to give my old lady a ring.

"I guess I ought to call my daughter, too," he said, giving me a kind of funny look. "You go ahead and I'll wait for you."

“Well, H-,” he said. “There’s plenty of d--d booths.” But he went on back.

I called Korry at his office but I didn’t get any answer, and he wasn’t at home either. Finally I got him at US Federal where they was having a night immigration hearing.

“Dick Yeoman, Mr. Kossmeyer,” I said. “Mr. Kossmeyer, ain’t you counsel in the Talbert case?”

"Talbert?" he said. "Tal-oh, yeah. Sure, Dick. They let the kid go."

"No, they ain't let him go," I said. "It don't look like they're going to either, if you know what I mean. I was going to call you earlier, Mr. Kossmeyer, but I didn't have a chance and-"

"S- of a b--h!" he said. "I supposed he was home in bed. I haven't had a peep out of his folks."

"I've been doing everything I can for that boy, Mr. Kossmeyer," I said. "But frankly that ain't very much. It ain't something I got a lot of control over, if you follow my meaning."

"Sure," he said, quickly. "I appreciate that, Dick. You- stop by my office tomorrow. Where-"

"Oh, that's not necessary" I said. "What time, Mr. Kossmeyer?"

"Any time, any time!" he said. "Where've you got him, Dick?"

"At county, Mr. Clinton's office," I said. "But I kind of got a hunch we're moving him."

"J--s!" he said. "You know what the angle is, Dick, why- Never mind. Where are you burying him, any idea?" "I honestly don't know, Mr. Kossmeyer," I said. "The d.a. ain't saying very much, if you know what I-" "Son of a b--h!" he said. "Those G-d D--d dimwitted Talberts! I ought to sue 'em for mopery!" "Some people is certainly stupid all right," I said. "But I guess in a kind of crisis like this they're probably kind of out of their minds." "They ain't got any G-d D--d minds!" he said. "Hold him there, Dick. Stall it some way. Just give me a couple of hours-an hour. You do that, and I'll appreciate it. I'll appreciate it, very much, Dick." "I'll certainly do my best, Mr. Kossmeyer" I said." I can't make no promises, but-" He banged up the phone.

I went on back to the booth where Charlie Alt was.

He looked at me, looking sort of sore, an then he kind of laughed. "Halvers?" he said.

"Halvers?" I said. "Halvers on what, Charlie?"

"Halvers on what you get from Kossmeyer," he said. "H--, it's only fair, Dick. I was going to call him myself if you hadn't got firsts on the phone. I'd've give you half if I'd called him."

Well, there was two schools of thought on that, if you follow my meaning. But there wasn't much else I could do so I said, well, all right, if he felt he was entitled to it.

"Kossy says we should stall," I said. "We stall an hour or maybe two until he can get hold of some judge for a habeas, he'll appreciate it very much."

"Kossy's all right," Charlie said. "He's one good Jew if you ask me."

"What you got to say a thing like that for?" I said. "He can't help it if he's a Jew, can he? What's wrong with being a Jew?"

"H--," Charlie said. "What you snapping me up for? I say something nice about him, and you snap me up."

"Well," I said.

"You'd better watch yourself, Dick," he said. "You go around acting like that and people will think maybe you're part Jew yourself."

"Like who maybe will think that?" I said. "Anyway, I'd a lot rather be a Jew than some certain other people I know, if you follow my meaning."

"Yeah?" he said.

"Yes," I said.

He sat and frowned at me a minute or two, and then he picked up the menu.

"H--," he said, looking at the menu. "I don't know why you got to get sore, Dick. Didn't I say Kossy was a good friend of mine? Didn't I say he was a hundred per cent gentleman and the best lawyer in town? H--, that's nothing to get sore about."

"Well, all right," I said. "I guess maybe I misunderstood you."

"I tell you what I think I'll do," he said. "I'd just as soon skip the peas. That makes two thirty-five instead of two-fifty"

"I'd just as soon, too," I said. "We can get some extra bread for nothing if we want."

We gave our order to the waiter, told him to make the steaks extra well done. The d.a. telephoned when we'd just started eating, so the waiter told him we was eating and he said to tell us to get a move on.

"What the h--?" Charlie said. "We ain't supposed to eat any more?"

"That's what I say," I said. "I guess maybe we can't order our steaks the way we want 'em."

"What you think Kossy will give us, Dick?" he said.

"Well… twenty apiece, maybe," I said. "Probably fifty if we can stall until he comes up with the habeas."

Charlie kind of whistled. "Fif-ty bucks! What I can't do with that! You really think he will, Dick?"

"Why not?" I said. "I got fifty from Kossy two or three times. Things that wasn't as much trouble as this."

"Yeah," he said. "But there wasn't anyone else in on it. He didn't have to pay no one but you."

"He didn't, huh?" I winked at him. "Vas you dere, Charlie?"

"Wow! Fifty bucks!" Charlie said. "I tell you something, Dick. I'll do something if you will. What you say we each drop an extra quarter for Who Flung Dung?"

(The waiter's name was Hop Lee, but Charlie always called him Hopalong or Who Flung Dung or something like that. Just kidding, you understand.)

"You mean we give him fifty cents besides the thirty cents?" I said. "Almost a dollar tip?"

"What the h-?" Charlie said. "We can afford it, can't we?"

"Well, I don't know," I said. "Suppose we can't stall long enough. We maybe can't get away with it."

"We'll get away with it," Charlie said. "I'll knock Clinton down and set on him if I have to."

"Well, all right," I said. "You leave an extra two-bits and I will. But I'd feel a lot more comfortable about it if I had that fifty bucks in my pocket."

"Fifty bucks!" Charlie said. "Boy, oh, boy! You still want to make a deal on that Smith & Wesson, Dick?"

"I'll sell it," I said. "I ain't taking any old beat-up Colt in trade."

"Beat up?" he said. "And I guess that old Smith & Wesson ain't beat up! I guess you bought it brand new from Mr. Smith and Wesson instead of taking it off of that nigger highjacker."

"I wouldn't say anything about me taking things off of people, Charlie," I said, "if you follow my meaning."

"Well, don't go running down my Colt all the time," he said. "People hear you knocking it all the time, I never will get rid of it. I had two or three trades worked up, and someone hears a knock on it-I ain't saying it came from you, now-and the deal falls through."

"Look, Charlie," I said. "Irregardless of what you may have heard to the contrary I have never at any time or place knocked that Colt to anyone. On the contrary, Charlie, and I can prove it. Dusty Kramer, over on city vice, he came up to me the other day and said, frankly, what was my honest opinion, and I said frankly I didn't see how a man could go wrong on a good Colt. I said you asked for my honest opinion, and there it is. You see yourself a good Colt at the right price and you better grab it."

"Well," Charlie said. "I didn't say you knocked it, Dick. I didn't think you'd do a thing like that."

"You know why I don't want to take in a trade," I said. "I've explained the situation to you several times, Charlie. I got a Colt and I got a Smith & Wesson, and getting rid of the Smith & Wesson, I still have the Colt. I don't want another one, two Colts, even if it ain't all beat up."

"This is my last offer," Charlie said. "I'll swap you the Colt and fifteen dollars, no, twenty dollars. That's my last offer, Dick, take it or leave it."

"You just made yourself a deal, mister," I said.

"I'll pay you tomorrow," he said, "just as soon as we get the dough from Kossmeyer."

"Well, all right," I said, "but if it's no dough, no deal. I got to have the cash on the line, Charlie."

"You'll get it," he said. "We'll stall that Clinton if we have to hogtie him."

We finished our steak and potatoes, and had some pie and coffee. Then, we had second coffees and someway the waiter didn't charge us for them, so we left that money for him, too. Another twenty cents with the eighty. An even dollar tip. Me and Charlie kind of wanted to be around when he picked it up, see how he'd act, you know, but he was busy with some other tables and we figured we'd better be getting back.

Practically everyone had been gone from the courthouse when we left, and everyone was gone now. I mean all the other offices was closed up tight but the d.a.'s, and even the elevator boy had gone home. All the lights was off but just a few little ones, and we practically had to feel our way up the stairs and down the corridor.

We got to the d.a.'s office, the first one you go into I mean that's got the railing running down the center and went on through the gate. Charlie was in the lead and I was right on his heels, and when we stopped all of a sudden I piled right into him.

"Excuse me, Charlie," I said.

"Shh," he said. "G-d d-n!"

He jerked his head at the door of the witness room, and I listened. I heard the d.a. say something, and then I heard the kid say something. There was a sound about it I didn't like one little bit, and I could tell that Charlie didn't like it one little bit either.

He turned around and looked at me, and I looked at him. I could tell he was thinking the same thought I was.

"Well, Charlie," I said. "I guess them was just about the most expensive steaks we'll ever eat."

"G-d D-n," he said. "S-n of a b--h!"

"I guess we should've et 'em rare," I said.

"Shh," he said. "Listen, G-d D-n it!"

So we listened:

"
Now, Bob, you want to tell the truth, don't you? Do you want to tell the truth or do you want to go on lying?"

"
Yes! I mean, no, I don't want to! I mean I'm not I don't k-know I-"

"You don't know what the truth is, do you, Bob? Isn't that what you mean? You'd rather tell the truth than to tell a lie, wouldn't you? If I helped you out and told you what the truth was, would you tell it or would you tell a lie?"

"Y-yes-no! I don't know! Y-you got me all mix-"

"You didn't mean to kill that girl, did you, Bob? Did you? Just answer yes or no; did you or didn't you mean to kill her?"

"I… n-no."

"If you didn't mean to, then it would be an accident wouldn't it? Isn't that right, Bob?"

"I-I-I g-guess."

"You didn't go near the golf course, did you? Well, how do you know it wasn't a half a mile? Did you measure it? How do you know it wasn't a mile or two miles or…"

"Because I told you an' told-"

"But that was a lie, remember? You wanted me to tell you the truth, because you'd rather tell the truth than tell a lie. Isn't that right?"

"I-I don't know! I'm telling the truth!"

"Fine. Of course, you are. You're beginning to remember, get straightened out, and now you're telling the truth. You're a good boy, Bob. I knew it all the time. You liked little Josie. You might have got frightened and lost your head, everyone does that, but you liked her. You wouldn't have killed her accidentally and then just wandered on off to the golf course as if nothing had happened. You don't want me to think you'd do that, do you?"

"N-no…"

"How many times did you and she do it, Bob?"

"I-just-"

"Sure, but once can be several, can't it? It could be, couldn't it, Bob? You know, several times together?"

"I d-don't… WHAT YOU WANT ME TO SAY? WHAT YOU-"

"Oh, I can't tell you what to say, Bob. That wouldn't be fair. Now, if you want me to help you remember-tell it in the right words so people will know you're a fine boy and it was all just a mistake like anyone might make… Is that what you mean, Bob? You want me to help you, put it in the right words, so-"

"Y-Y-YES!"

Charlie Alt yanked the cigar out of his mouth, and flung it on the floor.

"G-d D-n," he said. "Good-bye fifty bucks!"