Ed Mcbain - Money, Money, Money

“You think so?I think I’ll be out of here before you jerks leave the building.”

“You got shot when?” Ollie said. “Seven, seven-thirty last night? You know what time it is now? Almost one o’clock the next day. Has anyone been here to see you? Has anyone even called you? Where’s the cavalry, sweetheart? They’re riding into the sunset, that’s where they are, and leaving you to take the fall. But, hey, be loyal. Seventy-five years behind bars may seem better to you than anything we’ve got to offer.”

The blonde was looking at him.

Ollie figured he had her attention.

“Want to hear it?”

“No. I want to go to sleep.”

“Okay, go to sleep. I guess we’ll have to charge her on all three counts, Steve.”

“Maybe four if we get lucky with the doorman,” Carella said. “Too bad she can’t help us get our search warrant, huh?”

“A crying shame,” Ollie said.

“Well, what are you gonna do?” Carella said, and shrugged. “Let’s go home.”

“So long, Miss,” Ollie said, and both detectives started out of the room.

“What do you mean?” the blonde asked.

They turned back to the bed.

“About a search warrant?” she said.

“Let me be honest with you, okay?” Ollie said, which was the last thing he wished to be with her. “We know you won’t admit you’re a hitter for W&D because that would make this Murder for Hire, and that means the Valium cocktail if you’re convicted.”

“The death penalty,” Carella explained. “Lethal injection.”

“I hear it’s actually pleasant,” Ollie said, and smiled. “But we know you won’t admit that somebodypaid you for offing the redhead and the two Negroes, so all we’ve really got for sure are the pair of Twos and the One-Ten. Which is enough to put you away for seventy-five, I might remind you, ah yes, if that’s the route you choose to take.”

“Or,” Carella said.

“Or,” Ollie agreed, and nodded.

“Orwhat?Let me hear it.”

“To the point, I like that in a woman,” Ollie said. “Do you know what’s on any of the W&D computers?”

“Let’s say Ican know what’s on them if Ineed to know what’s on them.”

“Let’s say youneed to know what’s on them if you want to deal here,” Ollie said.

“But of course we can’t speak for the D.A.,” Carella said.

“Of course not. Butif the lady wants to deal, she would have to tell us she knows what’s on those computers.”

“You’re both so full of shit,” she said. “Tell me what you want me to say.”

“We want you to say that evidence of a crime exists on W&D’s computers.”

“What crime?”

“From what we understand, the Criminal Sale of Controlled Substances.”

“In the first degree,” Carella said.

“Section 220.43.”

“An A-1 felony.”

“Twenty-five to life upstate.”

“Heavy,” Carella said.

“That’s the crime,” Ollie said. “From what we understand.”

“And how do you happen to understand this?”

“A good question,” Ollie said. “We’ve got a tape, remember?”

“We want you to listen to that tape,” Carella said.

“Tell us it’s accurate …”

“… so we can get a search warrant on probable cause.”

“Reliable information from a cooperative witness and all that,” Ollie said.

“IfI cooperate,” the blonde said.

“Well, that’s entirely up to you, m’little chickadee, ah yes.”

“What do I get in return?”

“We’ll drop the One-Ten,” Ollie said. “That okay with you, Steve? I mean, you’re the one she tried to kill.”

“That’s fine with me, if it’s okay with the D.A.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not fine with me,” the blonde said.

“Then you tell us.”

“Drop everything.”

“We can’t do that.”

“Oh, yes you can. I walk, you get the big boys.”

“Well, maybe we can reduce the murder counts to manslaughter.”

“Well, maybe I don’t think that’s good enough, either, okay?”

“Two counts of Manslaughter One? That’svery good,” Ollie said. “And we’ll drop the Attempted, don’t forget.”

“Sorry, boys.”

“Somewhere between five and twenty-five on each?” Carella said. “That’s a good deal. Don’t you think that’s a good deal, Ollie?”

“I do indeed. What do you say, Miss?”

“I say I want five, not twenty-five.”

Carella pretended to be thinking this over. He looked at Ollie. Ollie sighed.

“Okay, five,” Carella said.

“And you run the sentences concurrently,” the blonde said.

“No, we can’t do that,” Carella said. “That’d come to only two and a half on each hit.”

“Come on, honey, be realistic,” Ollie said.

“The guys who got whacked were a pair of shits,” the blonde said. “I did society a favor.”

“Still, just fiveconcurrently?” Carella said.

“For adouble hit?” Ollie said.

“That’s all they’re worth,” the blonde said.

“Let me call the D.A.,” Carella said. “Play the tape for her, Ollie.”

12 .

THEY INTERROGATED RICHARD HALLOWAY at ten minutes to five that Saturday afternoon. He was wearing gray flannel slacks, a blue blazer, a blue button-down shirt, and a green bow tie printed with little red prancing deer. He had waived his right to an attorney, and so there were only four people in the interrogation room—Halloway himself, Detectives Carella and Weeks, and Detective-Lieutenant Byrnes—all of them sitting around the long cigarette-scarred table, drinking coffee. Halloway seemed completely relaxed and supremely self-assured.

“Mr. Halloway,” Carella said, “when we entered the offices of Wadsworth and Dodds this afternoon at three-thirty, were you packing to move?”

“Is it a crime to move one’s offices?” Halloway asked.

“Only if you’re moving to conceal evidence of a crime.”

“I see. And what crime was I supposed to have been concealing?”

“We have a warrant to open your computers, Mr. Halloway.”

“So open them,” Halloway said, and smiled, and added, “If you can.”

“Oh, we will.”

“Good luck.”

“We think we might find some interesting stuff on your database.”

“If you find sales figures interesting.”

“Tell me about that database, okay?”

“Sure. Which book?”

“A folder called Witches and Dragons.”

“I’m not familiar with that title. How aboutDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of…?”

“How about a file named Diana?”

“Don’t know that title, either.”

“Or Em. Interesting file, Em. Seems to list all the drug deals your firm has made in Mexico over the past two years. Dates, locations, number of kilos, purchase prices, etcetera, etcetera, the whole megillah.”

“I’m more familiar withPractical Classroom Chemistry by Guthrie Frane. I know we have a file on that.”

“Do you have a file called Nettie?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“The Feds might be interested in that one. We think Nettie stands for ‘counterfeiting.’ We think you’ve been buying counterfeit money in Iran and using it to finance your various drug transactions.”

“My, my, all this crime in such a small publishing house.”

“We think your database will provide evidence of those crimes. And other interesting activities.”

“Assuming, of course, that you can get into our computers.”

“I think we can.”

“Well, you can certainly try.”

“Our nerds are very determined.”

“I’m sure they are,” Halloway said, and finished his coffee, and stood up, and smiled. “Well, I have things to do,” he said, “as I’m sure you do, too. So let’s not waste any more time here, hmm? I know you believe…”