Joseph Kanon - Stardust

“He didn’t have to know them. He just had to pass them on.” Ben looked at Henderson. “Assuming he did.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“They were sent to him but we don’t know that he picked them up, do we?”

“We can assume.”

“But we can’t prove it. The guy who went over the balcony-my burglar. Ray. Police find a mail key on him?”

Henderson said nothing.

“You must have asked. Given your interest. Or didn’t anybody think of it?”

“We asked.”

“And? Great partnership,” he said when Henderson didn’t answer. “Look, I can find out anyway. But I thought there was some urgency here.” He stared at Henderson. “It’s important.”

Henderson nodded, then said, “Now tell me why.”

“Because he didn’t take mine. So he already had one. Danny’s. Which he either took from him, or which Danny never had. It’s possible somebody else picked up the mail.” He looked at Liesl. “It’s also possible Danny did. Either way.”

“And either way he’s part of it,” Henderson said. “He had to know.”

“About the mail, yes. Not necessarily what was in it.”

“Small difference.”

“Not to us,” Ben said, including Liesl. “Anyway, Ray had a key. Which means whoever hired him gave it to him. Which also means he doesn’t have it anymore. And that’s where we come in,” he said to Henderson.

“Back up,” Henderson said.

“Guy goes to the Cherokee, checks the mail but nothing’s there because I’d already picked it up. So he checks the apartment, still nothing, and after he knocks me out, he goes through my pockets and still nothing. Then he goes over. And now the police have the key. But not the letter, or all kinds of bells would be going off. So whoever hired him is stuck. No key, no letter. But he knows it was sent, so where is it?”

“You have it,” Henderson said quietly.

“Right. And the important thing is that he doesn’t know we’re having this little talk. He doesn’t know I gave it to you. Unless somebody leaks. We don’t know where he has friends.”

“Nobody’s going to leak.”

“Make sure, okay? Or he won’t move. He won’t take the bait.”

“The bait being you,” Henderson said.

Ben nodded.

“What are you talking about?” Liesl said. “Bait?”

“If the letter’s already here, I must have it. If it’s still on its way, then I’d get it. No other keys. Not to mention he won’t want to risk checking the boxes at the Cherokee. After what happened. Police might be taking an interest. So if he wants it, he has to get it from me. With any luck, before I start asking anybody about it. So he doesn’t want to see me with anybody.” He looked at Henderson. “No watchdogs. But Liesl’s a different story. That’s why I wanted you here, so you’ll know. I want you to put someone on the house,” he said to Henderson. “Not sitting out front in a hat, either. A gardener, maybe, something like that. But who’s there all the time. And somebody right behind, when she goes out. So she’s always covered.”

“You’re taking the case over now?”

“You were going to put some guys on me, weren’t you? Just switch them to her. He’ll watch me. He has to think it’s all right, to make his move.”

“Try to kill you, you mean,” Liesl said.

“Which he might do,” Henderson said. “And then we’re nowhere and you’re dead.”

“That’s the chance you’ll have to take.”

“You’re the one taking the chances,” Liesl said. “You don’t have to do this.”

“He’ll come anyway. He’s already tried once. Besides we have some names to protect,” Ben said, leading him.

“Protect.”

“You moved in hours. If you had files on these guys, criminal files, you’d be rounding them up. So they’re in the other files.”

“Which other files.”

“Security clearance is my guess. Of course, I’m not cleared to know.”

“Does it make any difference?”

“I’m putting myself in a gun sight for you.”

Henderson looked at him. “I’ll see what I can do. I’d need approval.”

“Protect yourself,” Liesl said. “Don’t act like this. You should have someone.”

“You wouldn’t even know he was there,” Henderson said. “We can do that.”

“He’d know. And then he’d know you were after him. He’d duck. We have to do it this way. I’ve got a guy looking into who hired Ray. It’s a back way in, but maybe we’ll get lucky. Otherwise-”

“What guy?”

“A reporter. Knows a lot of rats. Sorry I can’t say who-you’re not cleared.”

“Very funny.”

“How about the Bureau issuing me a gun?”

“A gun?” Liesl said, alarmed.

One of the other agents knocked and opened the door. “Phone,” he said to Henderson.

“In a minute.”

“It’s long distance. Berkeley.”

Henderson frowned, annoyed. “I have to take this.” He hurried out of the room, closing the door behind him, leaving them alone, the air suddenly thick with quiet.

“This is what you think, he was a traitor? It’s fantastische.”

“I don’t know.”

“How can you say that? I know.”

“Because you’re still in love with him.”

She jerked up her head, meeting his eyes for a minute, then looked away. “You take everything too seriously. I didn’t mean-”

“I didn’t see it. Maybe I wasn’t looking.”

“What difference does it make?”

“His widow, that’s one thing. His wife-”

She smiled grimly to herself, still staring at her lap. “Not seemly.” She was still for a minute, then got up, pacing to the other side of the table. “So now you want to get yourself killed to prove this? First an informer, now, what? From bad to worse. That’s what you want?”

“To get killed? No. I want to talk to him.”

“Talk to him.”

“I want to know what happened. What Danny did. Not guess. Know.”

“Why?”

He looked at her. “So I can let him go.”

She stopped, folding her arms across her chest, swaying slightly, holding herself in. “And me,” she said.

Before he could answer, Henderson was back, the same brisk hurrying.

“Any luck?” Ben said.

“With what?”

“The San Francisco postmark. Wasn’t that the call? Berkeley?”

Henderson shook his head. “Something else. We have other cases, believe it or not. Now, we were-”

“You were going to get me a gun.”

“We’re not a store. You’d have to be deputized.”

“Fine. It’s a family tradition, working for the Bureau. Maybe this time it’ll be for something worthwhile, not just chasing Communists.”

Henderson turned to him. “You’re a little mixed up on this,” he said.

“How?”

“I told you. Those names are like an order of battle. The only people interested in that now are the Communists. That’s who your brother was working for.”

Riordan shortstopped him in the hall. “You don’t want to go in there. Not even near. Not the way he is today. He’d do it with his bare hands.”

Riordan was carrying an envelope, in a rush, his eyes darting toward the parking lot.

“What’s the problem?”

“Are you kidding? Warning Kaltenbach? C’mon, before he sees you.”

“Then how about you going in there, quiet, and getting my copy of the list and I’ll be gone.”

“Forget it. Get it from the Bureau. Ever see him crossed?” He paused. “Why’d you do it, anyway? I mean, who was he to you?”

“Nobody. Just a friend of the family.”

They both turned as the door opened, Minot coming out so fast he almost bumped into them.

“You’ve got a hell of a nerve,” he said to Ben. “What are you doing here? Dennis, I thought you had something to do.” He slammed the door behind him. “Let’s go. Or do you want me to have Frank throw you out?” He began hustling everybody down the hall.