Ed Mcbain - Money, Money, Money

“You’re the one who made the grave mistake,” Ollie said.

“Threeof them,” Carella said.

The blonde smiled.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“I don’t have to tell you that.”

“You killed two civilians and tried to kill a police officer. Do you know what kind of trouble you’re in here?”

“I’m not in any trouble at all.”

“Two counts of Murder Two …”

“Another count of Attempted …”

“On our block, that’s pretty serious,” Ollie said.

“On my block, it’s routine,” she said.

“And where’s that, Miss?”

“What’s your name, Miss?”

“Where do you live?”

“How come you weren’t carrying any identification?”

The blonde smiled again.

“You think this is pretty funny, don’t you?” Ollie said. “Trying to kill a police officer.”

“How about a police officer shooting me in the back?” she said. “Do you thinkthat’s funny?”

“Not as funny as it might have been if I’d killed you,” Ollie said. “That really would’ve been comical.”

“You think so, huh? Just wait, Mister.”

“For what?” Ollie said.

“Just wait.”

“What it is, you see, we don’t like cops getting shot in this city.”

“Then cops in this city should keep their noses out of other people’s business.”

“Which people are you talking about?”

“People with more important matters on their minds than two piss-ant dope dealers.”

“Oh?” Carella said.

“Oh?” Ollie said.

“You knew they were dealing, huh?”

The blonde smiled.

“What else did you know about them?”

She shook her head.

“Did you know one of them killed a man named Jerry Hoskins?”

She kept smiling, shaking her head.

“Ever hear that name?”

“Jerry Hoskins?”

“Got himself shot on Christmas Eve by one of the guysyou shot last night? Think there might be a connection?”

“Stop blowing smoke up my skirt,” she said.

“Jerry Hoskins? Frank Holt?” Ollie said.

“One and the same person,” Carella said.

“Sold Wiggins a hundred keys of coke on Christmas Eve …”

“Got paid for it with a bullet at the back of his head. Ever hear of him?”

“Jerry Hoskins?”

“Frank Holt?”

The blonde said nothing.

“Ever hear of a woman named Cass Ridley?” Ollie said.

“Cassandra Ridley?” Carella said.

“Flew a hundred keys of shit out of Mexico for Jerry Hoskins. Ever hear ofher?”

“I’m not saying anything until my people contact you.”

“Oh? Your people? Who are these people?”

“You’ll find out.”

“You got friends in high places?” Ollie asked.

“The Mayor’s office?”

“The Governor’s mansion?”

“The White House?”

“Go ahead, laugh,” she said.

“Nobody’s laughing,” Ollie said. “What it looks like is you knew Walter Wiggins was dealing drugs, and maybe you also knew Hoskins was in the same business …”

“Keep blowing smoke,” she said.

“Did you also know Cass Ridley, who flew the shit up from Mexico?”

“Did you happen to take a bottle of champagne to her apartment?”

“Did you and another fine lady walk her over to the zoo?”

“You and another blond lady?”

“Both of you wearing black?”

“We got a doorman justitching to identify you.”

“Keep blowing, I’m beginning to enjoy it.”

“I wonder how you’ll enjoy your date with the D.A.”

“You’vegot a date with my people,” she said. “But you don’t seem to …”

“We’re dying to meet them,” Carella said.

“Tell us who they are, we’ll go pay them a visit.”

“Maybe they can explain how come you killed Wiggins who killed Hoskins who hired Ridley to fly dope for him.”

“Maybe they can explain how Ridley ended up in that lion’s cage,” Ollie said.

“No ID on her,” Carella said.

“Maybe your people can explain all that.”

“Maybe my people can have you both walking beats tomorrow morning.”

“Oooo,” Carella said. “A threat, Ollie.”

“Oooo,” Ollie said.

There was nothing he liked better than a perp trying to pull rank. Especially when the perp had tried to gun down a cop.

“You think these important people you know’ll come riding to the rescue, is that it?” he said.

“You don’t know what you’re messing with here.”

“Gee, I thought we were messing with an Attempted Murder One and a pair of Murder Twos.”

“You’d never make it to trial. They’ll step on you like a bug.”

“Who? Your important people in high places?”

The blonde smiled.

Ollie just loved it when they smiled.

“If your friends take you out of here, they’ll be harboring a fugitive,” he said. “That’s called Hindering Prosecution in the first degree, Section 205.65 of the Penal Law. Want to hear it?”

“Shove it up your ass,” the blonde said.

“Nice talk on the lady,” Ollie said. “Hindering prosecution is rendering criminal assistance to a person who’s committed a class-A felony. Murder Two is a class-A felony. So’s Attempted Murder One. If your friends whisk you out of here, they’ll be staring at a seven-year max in the slammer. Maybe that’s why they’re not here yet, huh?”

“All in good time,” the blonde said.

“Oh sure, I hear them thundering down the hallway right this minute.”

The blonde actually cocked her head toward the door.

“But maybe not,” Ollie said. “Ballistics is checking the slugs that killed the two dealers. If they match the ones we test-fire from that cannon you were carrying …”

“Save it. I’m not interested.”

“Well, let me tell you what else we’ve got,” Carella said. “It might change your mind.”

“I got shot last night. I’m tired. Goodbye, Mr. Detective.”

“We’ve got one of the guys you killed wearing a wire. We’ve got the other guy you killedtalking on that wire. Saying a lot of interesting things about a company called Wadsworth and Dodds, ever hear of them?”

“No.”

“W&D?”

“No.”

“Witches and Dragons?” Carella said. “Is that a glimmer I see in your eye? How about Mother? Do you know who Mother is?”

The blonde said nothing.

“Ever see that name on a W&D computer?”

The blonde was still silent.

“Ever hear that name anyplace?”

“Why don’t you go home, Mr. Detective?”

“People keep telling me to go home,” Carella said to Ollie.

“Maybe you should,” Ollie said.

“Yeah, but gee, I’d like to finish this, you know?”

“So finish it.”

“Here’s where we’re coming from, Miss,” Carella said, turning back to the bed. “A person is guilty of Murder in the First Degree when the intended victim is a police officer who at the time of the killing is engaged in the course of performing his official duties, quote, unquote, Section 125.27 of the state’s Penal Law. You tried to kill a police officer last night, honey.Me. Would have killed me, in fact, if another police officer—Detective Oliver Wendell Weeks here—hadn’t expediently intervened. That makes the crimeAttempt to Commit Murder, which in this case is an A-1 felony. Add to that theactualmurders of both Tito Alberico Gomez and Walter Kennedy Wiggins, and you’re looking at twenty-five years to life, three times over. That comes to seventy-five years in the slammer. You’ll be a hundred years old when you get out.”

“A hundred and five,” the blonde said.

“That’s if we don’t get a positive ID from the doorman.”

“What doorman?”

“The one who let you in Cass Ridley’s apartment building. Where you stuck an ice pick in her forehead. You can add another twenty-five for that one.”