Ed McBain - Killer's Choice

'Six in the corner,' he said. He shot, and the cue ball hit the six. The six went straight for the corner pocket and the cue stopped on a dime behind the thirteen ball.

'Thirteen in the side,' Abelson said.

'Frank Abelson?' Kling asked.

'Yeah. Quiet a minute. Thirteen in the side.' He shot and sank the thirteen ball. The cue ball hit the cushion, ricocheted, and rolled over to the eight ball.

'Eight in the…'

'Hold your game a minute, Abelson,' Kling said.

Abelson looked up. 'Who says?'

'Police,' Kling answered.

Abelson walked to one end of the table. He picked up the chalk and began chalking the end of his stick. 'I was wondering when you'd get around to me,' he said. 'I can listen while I play.'

He stepped behind the cue ball, ducked below the table so that his eyes were level with the rim. 'Eight in the far corner,' he said. He took his position and triggered off the cue. The eight shot for the far corner in a straight line.

'Why'd you figure we'd get around to you?'

'This is about Annie, isn't it?'

'Yes.'

'So? It figures. I took her out. So here you are. What do you want to know?'

'You can start by telling us where you were on the night she was killed.'

'What night was that?' Abelson asked. 'Eleven in the corner.' He shot.

'The night of June 10th.'

'What night was that? I mean like Monday, Tuesday, you know.'

'Monday.'

'Jeez, that's a hard night to figure. Four in the side.' He shot, and then chalked his stick again. 'Who the hell remembers?'

'It was a week ago yesterday,' Kling reminded him.

'A week ago yesterday. Lemme see. Five in the same pocket.' He studied the shot. 'No, make it in the corner. No, leave it in the side.'

'A buck you don't make it,' Carella said.

'I don't take candy from babies,' Abelson said. He shot. The five ball disappeared into the side pocket. 'See?'

'You play here a lot?'

'A little.'

'You're pretty good.'

'I'm okay.' Abelson studied the table. 'Bank the deuce into this side,' he said.

'What about the night of June 10th?'

'I'm thinking,' Abelson said. He shot and missed the pocket by a hair. 'Dammit,' he said. 'You're throwing me off my game.'

'That's a real shame,' Kling said. 'Tell us about the 10th.'

'I was busy.'

'Doing what?'

'Yeah, I remember now.'

'What were you doing?'

'What the hell difference does it make? I was nowhere near that liquor shop.'

'What were you doing?'

Abelson lowered his voice. 'You guys in on the fix?'

'The Havilland deal?'

'Yeah.'

'No.'

'Oh. Oh,' Abelson said.

'Was there a crap game here that Monday night?'

'Well…'

'We know about the fix. It's okay,' Kling said.

'Well, yeah, there was a sort of a game. I cleaned up, kind of.'

'How much?'

'Five bills. That's okay, ain't it? I mean for a small-time game.'

'Yeah, pretty good. Don't forget to declare it.'

'Oh, I won't. Honest, that's me. Legal.'

'What time'd you get here?'

'About eight.'

'And you left?'

'Around two in the morning.'

'You were here all that time?'

'Sure. I was hot.'

'I suppose you were seen here all that time.'

'Sure.'

'Fink see you?'

'Sure. Him and a lot of other guys.'

'How well did you know Annie?'

'Pretty well. Dated her on and off.' Abelson blinked. 'Ain't you gonna check my alibi?'

'We'll get to it. How well is pretty well?'

'You know. Pretty well.'

'Did you ever plank her?'

'Hey, what the hell kind of a question is that?'

'We'd like to know,' Carella said.

'Why?'

'We'd like to know. You care to tell us?'

'Yeah, I did.' He shook his head. 'Boy, you guys don't believe in nothing private, do you? Nothing sacred.'

'Did you know she was being kept by somebody?'

'Who? Who, Annie? You kidding?'

'We're serious.'

'No, I didn't know that. I kinda liked her. She was a nice doll.'

'Where'd you meet?'

'Shootin' pool, how d'you like that? She shoots pool. What a crazy doll, she was. Pep, you know. She come in this pool hall, not this one, another one called Mickey's. You know Mickey's? Well, she come in there one night, wearin' this dress cut to here, I swear it. She gets herself a table, racks them up, and starts sinkin' them like she's been workin' the tables all her life. What a crazy doll! Every time she leaned over that table to make a shot, every eye in the place popped out. What a doll! I kinda liked her.'

'She never told you about a man named Phelps?'

'No.'

'You knew she was divorced?'

'Oh, sure. I used to go for her at the house, you know? I even met the kid. Monica. A nice little kid. I used to bring the kid things sometimes. Candy. A doll, once. Like that. She was a crazy little kid, that kid. Crazy. I mean, like gone. Not nuts.'

'Sure.'

'I kinda liked her, too.'

'Ever think of marrying Annie?'

'I didn't like her that much, mister,' Abelson said.

'She ever mention any enemies to you?'

'Nope.'

'Anyone she was afraid of?'

'Nope.'

'When did you see her last?'

'Well, I went over to the funeral parlour, to pay my respects.'

'Alive, I mean.'

'A few weeks ago. Wait, it was the first of the month. June 1st, I remember. Somebody made some comment about it being June already. June 1st. It was a Saturday night.'

'Did she mention anything about a letter she'd received?'

'No.'

'Did you call her after that night?'

'Yeah, I spoke to her a couple of times.'

'Did she mention a letter during those conversations?'

'Not that I remember.'

'Did you call her any time after June 6th?' Kling asked.

'Yeah, maybe. I think so.'

'Mention a letter?'

'No.'

'Did you know a man named Arthur Cordis?'

'Nope.'

'A man named Jamie?'

'Nope. Well, wait. Jamie what?'

'We don't know his last name.'

'No. I know some Jimmys, but they don't call themselves Jamies. Besides, they're nobody Annie knew. No, I'm sorry. You gonna check my alibi?'

'Yeah,' Carella said. 'She didn't seem worried about anything when you saw her? Nobody'd been bothering her, or threatening her, or anything?'

'She didn't say nothing about it. She seemed pretty happy. We had a ball. She was a real crazy doll. You shoulda seen her shoot pool, I mean it. She shot pool better than any guy I know. Except me. She was a real good pool player. Crazy. Crazy.'

'You don't have any idea who might have done this to her, huh, Abelson?'

'None. She was a crazy doll. Who'd wanta kill her? It's a shame. It's really a goddamn shame. I kinda liked her, you know? I really kinda liked her a lot.'

'Well, thanks a lot, Abelson,' the detectives said, and they walked over to where Baldy Fink was recounting his money.

'Was Abelson at the crap game last Monday night?' Kling asked.

'Yeah,' Fink said.

'From what time to what time?'

'Got here about eight-thirty, left sometime in the morning.'

'What time?'

'Two, three. Somewhere around there.'

'Did he leave at all during that time?'

'Leave? He was hot as a pistol. He won close to half a grand. When you asked about him, that's what I thought it was about. The crap game. He was here all night. That's what I thought it was about. Listen, can't you guys change your mind?'

'Anybody else see him here all night?'

'A hundred guys.'

'Who?'

'Some of those guys right there,' Fink said. 'Table four.'

Kling walked over to the table and began talking to the players.

'Can't we fix this up?' Fink asked. 'What the hell, are you so honest?'

'It's not that I'm honest,' Carella said. 'I don't want to destroy your faith. I'm as crooked as every other cop you ever met. It's just that I've got bigger things going for me. I can't be bothered with small potatoes.'