James Chase - Safer Dead

I drove away, aware that I was sweating slightly and not because of the heat. If this kind of thing was going to happen often, I thought, my temper and nerves would almost certainly become frayed.

Lincoln Drive was in the poorer quarter of Tampa City: that is to say the houses were smaller, and didn’t stand in a couple of acres of screened estates as ninety-nine percent of the rest of the houses in Tampa City did. It was a tree lined street tucked away as if ashamed of itself, but a street that I would have been glad to live in.

A big, fat, solid looking man was fussing over a row of sweet peas a professional would have been proud to have grown in the garden of No. 24. I guessed he must be Bradley. He glanced up as I swung the Buick to the kerb.

He looked every inch a cop; but not a bad cop. His fat weather-beaten face had a half humorous expression that went well with a pair of alert blue eyes. A straggling moustache, a sunburned, balding head and an aggressive chin gave him character plus toughness instead of just plain toughness. I got out of the car and he wandered down the garden path to meet me.

‘Captain Bradley?’ I asked, resting my hands on the gate.

‘Sure, come in,’ he said.

‘Will the car be all right? I’ve already been pinched for parking out of line.’

He laughed.

‘The car’s fine. They don’t make pinches outside my house. Come on in.’

I followed him up the path.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen sweet peas like those before,’ I said, not to butter the old boy, but because I meant it.

‘They’re pretty good. You a gardener?’

‘Not yet.’

‘Yeah.’ He nodded. ‘Gardening’s for the middle-aged and the old. I’d be lost without a garden now.’

He led me into a neat, comfortably furnished sitting room with casement windows opening out on to the lawn.

‘I didn’t get your name.’

‘Chet Sladen.’

He lifted a bushy eyebrow.

‘You the fella who writes in Crime Facts?’

‘That’s right.’

He beamed.

‘I’m glad to know you. I read all your stuff. Sit down. How about a drink?’

‘Thanks.’

While he was making drinks he said, ‘This is your first visit to Tampa City?’

‘Yes; pretty nice looking town. Looks as if it’s loaded with dough.’

‘It is. Some say there’s more loose money here than in Hollywood. We have thirteen millionaires living here right at this minute. Anyone with less than a five figure income is trash in Tampa City.’ He came over with the drinks and lowered his bulk into an armchair. ‘Well, here’s to you.’

We drank, then I handed him Greed’s letter.

‘This is an introduction, Captain,’ I said. ‘From Captain Creed.’

Bradley’s face lit up.

‘Well, well, I haven’t heard from Tom for years. How is he?’

‘He’s fine. He and I have been working on a case. A lead has turned up here. He thought it might be an idea if I investigated it.’

Bradley looked sharply at me, opened the letter, read it, then returned it to the envelope before saying, ‘Hmm, so you’re thinking of investigating a lead here, are you?’

‘That’s the idea. I understand Doonan doesn’t encourage that kind of thing.’

‘That’s an understatement. If you’ll take the advice of an old man, Mr. Sladen, you’ll get in your car and go back to Welden. The atmosphere in Welden, as far as I remember is a lot healthier than here.’

‘I know, but I have a job to do. I was hoping for a little help from you.’

‘I’m out of the running now. I haven’t been inside headquarters for over a year. There’s not much I can do. Care to tell me what it’s all about?’

I made myself comfortable and took him through the whole story.

He sat still, his eyes half closed, listening intently. I had an idea by the time I had finished, he hadn’t missed a word.

‘That’s an interesting case,’ he said. ‘I think you’re on to something coming here. It may be a coincidence, but you might be interested to know there’s a smart nightclub in Tampa City that’s called the Golden Apple.’

I sat up.

‘Golden Apple? Well, what do you know? What sort of club is it?’

‘A very exclusive one, Mr. Sladen. It’s run by Hamilton Royce, who is a very smart operator indeed. When I was in the saddle I made it my business to check on him. He started life as a card sharper, working the Atlantic liners. From sharping he graduated to share pushing, and he only skipped out of Miami one jump ahead of the law. He got his money out and he settled here. The Golden Apple has two big gambling rooms, and I know for a fact at least two of the roulette wheels are crooked. No one can get near the place without a membership card. Commissioner Doonan, by the way, was one of the first life members, and I hear his entrance and subscription fees were on the house. The club has five hundred members and they come straight out of the Blue Book. None of them has less than a six figure income. It’s quite a place.’

‘It must be. You don’t think I could get myself made a member?’

Bradley laughed.

‘It would be easier to get yourself made the President, Mr. Sladen: a lot easier.’

‘Well, then I guess I’ll have to grin and bear it. Do you know Lennox Hartley? Does the name mean anything to you?’

‘Can’t say it does,’ Bradley said. ‘He’s the fella who claims to recognize the Benson girl?’

‘That’s right. He’s my first port of call.’

‘Take my advice and go slow,’ Bradley said seriously. ‘You don’t have to worry much about the cops in this town; not the boys who are pounding the beat. Of course they are on the lookout for an easy buck. They get a cut on all fines made on the spot, and they’re keen. Pay up, don’t talk back and you’ll be okay, but take care you don’t run up against the plainclothes boys. They’re tough, and believe me, when I say tough, I mean tough. Police Captain Mathis was my lieutenant when I was in charge. I had trouble with him when I was in office, and I wish now I had got rid of him. He’s not only a bad policeman, but he’s a brutal one. His lieutenant’s name is Joe Carson. He’s bad too, but the worst of the three is Sergeant Carl Lassiter. Run up against him and your best bet is to get out of town fast. I’m not fooling, Mr. Sladen. There was a private eye from Welden.’

‘I heard about him from Creed.’

‘It was Lassiter who fixed him. So watch out.’

I was beginning to feel apprehensive, and I wished I had Bernie with me. He would have been so scared to hear all this, in comparison, I should have felt brave.

‘I’ll take it easy,’ I said. ‘Thanks for the tip. I’m looking for a convenient, but not too expensive hotel. Can you put me on to one?’

‘Try the Beach Hotel on Palm Avenue. They’ll look after you and they won’t rob you. And take my tip, don’t tell anyone you’ve been to see me. I’m not popular in this town. Strangers calling on me aren’t popular either.’

I got up.

‘Thanks. If I need advice, can I come and see you?’

‘Sure, but call me first. It would be better if you didn’t leave your car outside, and safer if you came here when it was dark.’

I stared at him.

‘Are you serious?’

‘Yes, I’m serious all right.’

‘You mean they really don’t like you having visitors?’

‘That’s the idea. Since I retired about a year ago, I don’t reckon I’ve had a visitor until now. People are a little shy about calling on a cop who had to retire. But don’t think I mind. I don’t. I’ve a fine wife and a garden, and that’s all a man of my age needs.’

‘You had to retire?’ I said. ‘Why, I thought . . .’

‘I was kicked out. Maybe one of these days when we’ve both got more time, I’ll tell you about it, I’ve got a lot of work to do and I guess you have too.’