Дэвид Балдаччи - A Gambling Man

“No, but politicians have backers. And Drake has his.”

“And who are Drake’s backers?”

Armstrong sat forward, looking pointedly animated now. “You should nose around about money men from Vegas, and mob types from New York who want to set up shop in Bay Town, Santa Barbara, Frisco, LA, and San Diego. There is a narcotics trade, Willie, that is very lucrative for the mob, and a lot of it comes over the border and over the water. These folks are invading this country, and nothing is stopping them so far.”

“Yeah, did you happen to mention that to Carl Pickett? Because he doesn’t even have a single police boat on the water. Maybe he likes the stuff coming in. Maybe he gets something from it. Maybe that’s how he can buy big-ass Chryslers and toothpicks by the bushel on a policeman’s salary.”

Armstrong sat back, looking surprised. “Are you accusing the chief of police of taking bribes?”

“Not at all. I think he slipped and fell on the street and a bunch of money ended up in his pocket. But if you tell him I said so, I’ll deny it.”

Armstrong waved this comment away. “I don’t care about Pickett at the moment. I care about this election, and I don’t want to see my son-in-law’s chances go down the tubes because someone is trying to frame him.”

“The son-in-law you don’t much care for?” said Archer.

Armstrong leveled his gaze at him. “I don’t have to like the man to like his politics. Douglas will be a good mayor, and, more to the point, he is the man we need at the moment. And I consider Alfred Drake to be certainly a socialist and perhaps a communist. He would be a disaster for this town.”

“You mentioned to Archer here that you wanted us to find the truth, no matter where it went. It didn’t sound like you had a dog in the hunt, Armstrong, but now it sounds like you do. So which is it? I’d like to know before deciding on your offer of engagement.”

Armstrong smiled and looked at his daughter. “I forgot how good Willie is at chess, Beth. I think he might have captured one of my pawns and one of my knights, and he’s now bearing down on my queen.”

“Is there an answer in there somewhere?” noted Dash.

“Look for the truth, Willie. And I do have a dog in the hunt, yes. But I’m confident of where the trail will lead you. How’s that for an answer?”

“I guess it’ll have to do, because I doubt another one will be coming along.” Dash took a sip of the sangria and wrinkled his nose.

“You don’t care for it?” asked Armstrong.

“I’m not much of a punch man. You introduce sweetness into alcohol, you’ve pretty much lost me. Liquor should burn, make a man feel alive. Otherwise, you’re just drinking something so you can piss it away an hour later. So, you had a look at the list we got from Kemper. Anyone on it look promising?”

“I’m not a detective.”

“Just your gut, then.”

“I think the list is pretty much worthless.”

“Interesting.” Dash rose and put on his hat. Archer did likewise. “So when did you and your boys leave Midnight Moods last night?”

“Right after our little encounter with Archer. You can check with the valet if you don’t believe me.”

“Okay, I will. You remember which one it was?”

“A man in a valet’s uniform looking for tips and drunk women leaving alone.”

“Thanks, that pretty much describes all of them. But it’s a start.”

“That’s quite a place you built for the Kempers,” noted Archer while looking directly at Beth Kemper.

“I built it for my daughter ,” said Armstrong. He put a protective arm around Kemper. “Douglas just came along for the ride.”

“But you’re backing your son-in-law for the mayor’s race,” said Dash.

“One does not have to love one’s allies, Willie. One just has to use them.”

When they finally arrived back at the office the sun was dipping into the horizon and turning the dark ocean water salmon and gold in the process.

Archer said, “Didn’t that seem weird to you back there? Beth Kemper didn’t act anything like herself.”

“Her old man takes up the whole universe when he’s in the room.”

They got out of the car and Dash said, “I’ve got some things to do, Archer. See you in the morning. Bright and early this time. But here’s what I want you to do.” He leaned back through the open window. “Tonight, head back over to Midnight Moods and see and hear what you can. Go over the room again and see what occurs to you. Talk to folks. I find it hard to believe that no one saw anything last night.”

“Will do, Willie. Is Connie gone, do you think? I was going to head up to the office for a minute.”

Dash checked his watch, dipped his hand into his pocket, and came up with a key ring with three keys attached. He took one off and tossed it to Archer. “Just don’t lose it.”

Archer watched as Dash walked off down the street, to where he didn’t know. He went into the building to find the elevator car empty. Earl must have gotten off work, too, he thought.

He took the stairs up and unlocked the door to Willie Dash, Very Private Investigations.

Connie was indeed gone. He closed the door and entered his office and looked around. Small, spare, dowdy even, musty.

And my office.

He smiled and spent the next hour cleaning the place up and putting things just so. He almost felt like he was back in prison where small tasks like this — straightening something, cleaning something — allowed him to get through the day and the next day and the next. Finished, he looked out the small window and watched as two men walked down the alley four stories below smoking cigarettes and sharing a bottle.

Archer drove back to the boardinghouse and knocked on Callahan’s door.

“Yeah?” she called out.

“It’s me, Archer.”

He heard footsteps approach. When she opened the door, he found himself a little disappointed that she had so many clothes on.

“What?” she said, her hand on her hip and attitude dripping from her features.

“You want to grab some dinner?”

“No. I’m not hungry. Did you find out who killed that girl?”

“We’re working on it, Liberty. But I did have one favor to ask.”

“Then you better come in. It would be humiliating for you if I turned you down in public.”

She sat on the bed and he leaned against the wall. He could see that she had a number of outfits out on the bed and others hanging on various wall pegs.

“You going through your wardrobe?”

“Yeah. What Dawson had for me just didn’t work. Luckily I brought a few things that will.”

“More than a few. You excited about it?”

“It’s not Hollywood, but it’ll do. For now. What’s the favor?”

“I was wondering when you start work there if you could keep your eyes and ears open at Midnight Moods and report back to me.”

“You mean, act as a spy for you?”

“Well, that’s one way of putting it.”

“Seems to me like it’s the only way, Archer.”

“It might help us find out who killed that woman.”

Callahan’s hard features collapsed when he said that, and she looked down and started fussing with one of her nails. “Whoever did it, didn’t have to kill her like that. They didn’t have to... do that to her.”

Archer sat on the bed next to her. “If you go all soft on me, I’ll think somebody kidnapped the real Liberty and left you behind.”

“What girls like me do, Archer, what girls like Ruby Fraser did, is hard. We have to navigate a thousand different things at once, most of them shitty and almost all of them having to do with men. All at the same time we’re pursuing our dreams, or at least what we think we’d like to do with our lives. And unlike men, we can do a hundred things right and one thing wrong and our dream is over. That kind of gets to you, makes you... light on your feet, unwilling to...”