Ed McBain: The Big Bad City

"What?"“

"Police, ma' am, would you open the door, please?”

“Police?" the woman said. "Yes, ma'am.”

He waited. He knocked again. The door opened almost at once. A girl who couldn't have been older than twenty, twenty-one, was standing there in jeans and a cotton T-shirt.

"Coralee Hilbert?" he said.

"Coral," she said.

"Okay to come in, Coral?”

"Why?" she said.

"You own a green Honda Accord with the license plate WU 3200?”

"I do.”

"Like to talk to you about a violation, ma' am. Is it okay to come in?”

"Let me see your badge," she said. "Shield," he corrected. "What?" she said.

"Never mind," he said, and took out the leather fob and showed her his gold and blue-enameled shield with the word DETECTIVE in an arc over the city's seal.

"A detective?" she said, surprised. "What kind of violation is this?”

"Just a parking ticket, miss," he said, "nothing to worry about," and closed the door behind him. "You know anybody named Sonny Cole?”

They were standing in a small kitchen in a neat apartment, living room beyond, doors leading off to what he supposed were two bedrooms.

Windows facing-south. Afternoon sunlight streaming in. The place titinrned with air-conditioning. It was cool and clean and pleasant. He wondered if the girl was a hooker.

"What about him?" she asked.

"Was he driving your car this past Friday night?”

"He's been driving my car for almost two weeks now.”

"How come?”

"I lent it to him.”

"What's your relationship with him, miss?”

"We're friends.”

“How long have you known him?”

"About three months.”

"And you loaned him your car?”

"He's a good driver.”

"Must be. Parked in a no-parking zone, must be an excellent driver.”

"So what's the big deal? A parking ticket? They send out detectives on parking tickets?”

"You know anyone named Juju Judell?”

"No.”

"Sonny ever mention him to you?”

"No.”

"When's the last time you saw Sonny?”

“He stops by every now and then.”

“When's the last time he stopped by?”

“Couple days ago.”

"Did he happen to stop by on Friday night?”

"No.”

"This past Friday night. Didn't stop by then?”

"No.”

"When did he stop by?”

cool and "Sunday?”

was a "Well, was it or wasn't it?”

"I just told you.”

"You made it sound like a question.”

9”

"No, it was Sunday. We went to the stree!

weeks Culver.”

"He isn't living here, is he?”

"No, I live here with my mother.”

"What do you do for a living, miss?”

"I'm a student?”

"You're not a manicurist?”

"A manicurist? What?”

"Do you know where Sonny lives?”

"No, I don't.”

"Never been to his apartment?”

an "Never.”

"He just stops by here, is that it?”

"Yes.”

"Gets his nails done, right?”

"What?”

"Where do you go to school, miss?”

"Ramsey U.”

"Studying what?”

"Communications.”

"Learning to communicate, huh?”

"Learning television broadcasting.”

"Why'd you lend him your car?”

"He's trying to collect money he lent his husband.”

"His what?”

"His cousin had an operation and Sonn) husband thousands of dollars to pay for it.”

"His cousin's husband, huh?”

"Yes. His first cousin. Well, they're separated now.

Which is why Sonny needed a car. So he could follow him and maybe he'd lead him to his cousin.”

"Where'd you get this story, miss?”

"It isn't a story. Sonny needs to find his cousin, the one who had the kidney operation ...”

He c "A kidney operation, I see." phon "So he can ask her to plead his case, tell her former ansv husband to pay him back the money." the "So he's trailing this guy around.”

"Yes." him "In your car.”

“

"Yes. He's a cop, you may even know him." ,”

"Who's a cop?”

WIThe guy who owes him the money.”

"Sonny Cole is trailing a cop ?" Ollie said.

"That's what he told me.”

Oh, Jesus, Ollie thought.

He called the Eight-Seven the minute he found a pay phone. This was now around three-thirty. Parker answered the phone and told him Carella was in with the lieutenant just then.

"Tell him the guy who killed his old man is trailing him," Ollie said.

"In a green Honda.”

"No kidding?" Parker said.

"Sonny Cole. Tell him. The license plate number is WU 3200. Did Murchison tell you my nun joke?”

“No.”

"Forget it, I got a better one.”

"Let me hear it," Parker said.

"These two nuns are riding back to the convent on their bicycles, and they take a wrong turn?”

“Yeah?”

"They're bouncing along the road, and one of the nuns realizes they're lost so she asks the other nun, "Have you ever come this way before?”

And the other nun says, "No. It must be the cobblestones.”

“

"I don't get it," Parker said.

"Discuss it with Murchison," Ollie said. "And don't forget to tell Carella. Sonny Cole. A green Honda.

WU 3200.”

"Yeah, yeah.”

“Write it down.”

“Yeah, don't worry.”

"Put it on his desk.”

"Yeah, fine. Is it that she realizes they're lost because of the cobblestones?" Parker asked.

"Yeah, you got it, pal," Ollie said, and hung up.

"So what Roselli's saying is she killed the man, is that it?" Byrnes asked.

"That's what he's saying," Brown said. "Who's to contradict him? A dead woman?”

“Is what he's counting on.”

“Have you got a theory?”

"Well ... let's say Roselli's telling the truth. She did kill Charlie Custer. In which case, she quit the band and went back to the order so she could hide.”

"From who? The police down there already closed it out, didn't they? Who's she hiding from?”

"Roselli.”

"The only witness to the crime. Okay, that makes sense.”

"On the other hand, if she didn't kill him ...”

"Then Roselli did.”

"Right. And she still went back to the order so she could hide from him.”

"Because she witnessed his crime.”

So she disappears completely, becomes Sister Mary Vincent again.”

"None of these guys knew she'd once been a nun, is that right?”

"Came as a total surprise to them.”

"So running back to the convent was actually a good idea.”

"Perfect way to vanish.”

"So what happened' He touched her-: "That's what he's got to tell us, Pete.”

“Why should he?" The office went silent.

"You think he's the one who wrote that letter to her?”

“Could be.”

"But we haven't got the letter.”

"That's right?”

"So we don't know what it said.”

"If he's the one who ransacked her apartment, that's what he was looking for.”

"And if he found it, he burned it a minute later.”

“So we're back to zero.”

“He's a user, Pete.”

“How do you know?”

"Fames told us. Four years ago he was doing pot ...”

“Everybody does pot when he's a kid.”

“Not such a kid, Pete. He was twenty-four?”

"Even I did pot when I was twenty-four," Byrnes said.

"He graduated. At Figgs's funeral, he was sniffing coke.”

"Still according to Fames?”

“Yes.”

“Reliable?”

“Who knows?”

"Okay, let's say he's a user. What are you looking for?”

"Guy's on cocaine, he needs money. He told us he's having a hard time finding work, been giving piano lessons to make ends meet. Okay, let's say he tracked Katie down, tried to blackmail her. Told her he'd blow the whistle on the murder unless she paid him two grand. So she ...”