William Bernhardt - Nemesis - The Final Case of Eliot Ness

“Maybe we should catch the killer and not tell him.”

“Maybe Ness will catch him and not tell us.”

“Really? You think so?”

“Anything’s possible. The only thing that really bothers me is- Ness has no background in police work. He may know how to bust up mobsters-known entities who aren’t hiding. But he has no experience with detective work. And he’s running the show.”

“So what are you gonna do about that?”

“I’m going to do whatever the safety director tells me to do,” Merylo said. “But I have a few plans of my own.”

“Like what?”

Merylo didn’t answer. He turned his attention to the near shore, where thousands of people were still watching the show. “We need to fan out. Search the area. Talk to people.”

“How we gonna do that? We can’t even get enough men to keep the crowd in line.”

Merylo slowly turned to look at his assistant, drenched in sweat from rowing the boat. “Zalewski-you’re brilliant.”

“I am?”

“I think you’ve just answered your own question.”

“I have?”

“We need more able-bodied men. And I see about a zillion of them on that shore.”

“You’re not thinking-”

“I am.”

“That’s crazy!”

“Maybe.”

“You can’t pay them.”

“I won’t have to.”

“It’ll be chaos.”

“It already is. But I can tolerate some chaos. If it gets us our killer.”

“Listen to me!” Merylo bellowed, trying to be heard above the roaring crowd. “I need your help!”

“You sure do!” someone shouted back. Half the crowd laughed in response. The noise was thunderous.

Merylo began to wonder if this had been a very bad idea. He was perched on a wooden ledge on the edge of the pond, atop a dumping platform, to increase his visibility to the crowd.

“Listen to me. Please!”

Eventually, the tumult subsided. “We need to search the area. The whole Run. Look for clues. A head, for instance. Maybe a witness who saw the body get dumped.”

“Isn’t that what the police are for?”

“The police are stretched to the outer limits. We got all these conventions in town, plus these murders and a lot of other crime. It would take days for my men to search the area, and by that time the trail might be cold.”

“What’s in it for us?” someone shouted. “We need cash.”

“I can’t pay you.”

“If you don’t pay, we don’t work.”

“Why? You got something better to do?” That got a large laugh. Merylo liked it better when they were laughing with him, not at him. There were a lot more of them than there were of him. “Listen, some of you people live out here. Do you like having this killer running around slaughtering people? Do you feel safe?”

“No!” came a chorus of replies.

“Then help me stop him. Be my foot soldiers. I’ll be here all night long. If any of you find something, you report back to me. Let me split you up into groups so you can canvass the area. Systematically. There’s enough of you to cover the whole Run before nightfall. What do you say?”

As Merylo expected, he received a mixed response. That was okay. He didn’t need all of them.

“All right then. If you’re willing to help, line up over here. Let’s send a message to this monster. Let’s tell him that if he goes after the Run-we’ll go after him!”

Another enthusiastic response. Merylo felt like Henry the Fifth on the eve of battle. These people would probably encounter less danger. But they were no less important to the cause.

He gazed out into the crowd. What a motley, ragtag assortment of humanity. He saw men in tattered clothes; he saw men in three-piece suits. He saw sunbaked faces and calloused hands; he saw men who obviously had never done a day’s labor in their life. He saw some who had already ruined their lives with booze or drugs; he saw some whose lives were just beginning. The employer and the unemployed. The book-educated and the street smart. And a few who appeared to have no smarts at all. Didn’t matter. He could use them all.

“All right, you four, take the east side of Thirty-seventh and walk due north until you reach the tracks…”

The last guest arrived just after midnight. Ness intentionally kept the lights dim in the apartment, ostensibly because he didn’t want to attract attention, but more importantly because he wanted to strike the proper mood, one of mystery and intrigue. He had to ignite these men’s sense of adventure for his plan to succeed. He knew many of them read the pulp magazines that were so popular these days-even if they would never admit it; he’d seen one in The Banker’s briefcase. The Shadow, The Spider, Doc Savage, Weird Tales. Ness had read one or two himself, when he had time and he was sure no one was watching. They seemed to thrive on exotic wonders, on the premise that the reader was being inducted into a secret society known only to a chosen few. That was exactly the kind of atmosphere he wanted to create tonight.

The Banker offered Ness his hand.

Ness shook it firmly. “Thanks again for coming, Lou.”

“Well, I owed you for that business at The Thomas-”

“I remember.”

“I appreciate your keeping my name out of your reports.”

“You weren’t who I was after.”

“Appreciated, just the same. So I came and I brought some friends, just as you asked. What’s this all about?”

“I’ll tell you in just a moment.”

“When did you get this Clifton Boulevard apartment? I thought you and the missus had a nice place out by the lake.”

“We… do,” Ness said, clearing his throat. “I just use this when I have to stay out late.” He smiled a little. “In my line of work, I often have to work nights.”

“I can imagine. Gotta catch the wolves while they’re on the prowl.”

“Exactly.” Ness entered the main living room where he joined The Steel Magnate, The Meat Packer, The Uptown Physician, The Councilman, The Prosecutor, The Railroad Tycoon, The Oil Baron, The Architect, and The Radio Magnate. All the captains of industry were gathered together in one room. “I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve invited you here. I’m hoping you can help me solve a problem. And I suspect that you already know what that might be.”

“Well, I’m guessing you aren’t going to ask us to buy more traffic lights,” The Oil Baron said.

“No, I’m not. Although I would like to see more of you involved with my Boys Clubs. Those lads need strong role models-like every one of you. Men who have worked hard and made something of themselves. Men who can show these boys that even if they’ve got nothing to their name, fortitude and determination-”

Ness stopped and smiled. “Now see what you’ve done, Paul. You got me totally off track.”

“Didn’t take much,” The Oil Baron commented.

“No, I’ll admit, I’m passionate about the Boys Clubs. I wish the press were as interested as I am. Unfortunately, these days they only seem to be interested in one thing.”

“Here it comes,” The Railroad Tycoon said, his bushy gray eyebrows dancing up and down.

“I’m sure you saw this coming. Gentlemen, I need your help catching this cold-blooded killer who walks among us. The Torso Murderer.”

Someone in the rear of the room whistled. “Tall order.”

“Yes, it is. That’s why I asked Lou to only invite tall men, people who aren’t afraid to reach for difficult goals others might find unattainable. I know we can catch this murderer. If we work together.”

“But haven’t you already got a team working on this case?” The Uptown Physician asked. “He’s in the paper almost every day. That stout fellow-what’s his name? Murrow…”