The Murderers

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Detective Payne said, Bookmaking and numbers ru

“Hmmmm,” Matt said thoughtfully. “Yes, that is essentially what I said.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No,” Matt said. “I was not speaking in jest.”

“I’m getting out of here,” So

“You’re not going anywhere, So

“I’ll bet, Charles,” Matt said, “that if I was to show that young man with the red hair my badge, and ask if he would be kind enough to open his bag for me…” He interrupted himself, jumped to his feet, and walked quickly to the redhead.

“I want you to put that bag on that table,” he said, showing him his badge. “In sight. And I want you to sit in that booth with your hands flat on the table until I tell you to move. You understand me?”

The redhead followed Matt’s pointing, to the last booth in the line.

“Am I busted?” the redhead asked, very nervously.

“If you mean arrested,’ not yet. And perhaps that can be avoided. It depends on Mr. Boyle.”

He waited until the redhead had done what he had ordered him to do, then walked back to the booth and sat down.

“Excuse me, Detective McFadden,” he said politely. “Please continue.”

“So you bust him, so what?” So

“I hope that won’t be necessary,” Matt said. “But in that unhappy happenstance, you would lose the morning’s receipts. That would provide sufficient justification, I would think, Mr. Boyle, for Special Operations to assign whatever police perso

“Speaking of which,” Charley McFadden said. “The minute the word gets out that the cops have your receipts, you’re going to have a lot of wi

“Interesting thought, Detective McFadden,” Matt said.

“Thank you, Detective Payne”

So

“OK, McFadden,” So

“Now that we have you in the right frame of mind, Mr. Boyle,” Matt said, “Detective McFadden wishes to probe your presumably extensive knowledge of Philadelphia’s criminal community.”

“Huh?”

“Tell us about Frankie Foley, So

Oh, shit! I didn’t even think about him. What the fuck has Foley done now? Christ, did he hit the Narcotics cop?

“Never heard of him,” So

“Think hard,” Charley said. So

“Never heard of him, Charley,” So

“You were apparently wrong, Charles,” Matt said. “Mr. Boyle will not be cooperative. Mr. Boyle, you are under arrest for violating the laws of the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pe

“Jesus Christ, Charley!” So

“Remember who he is now, So

“…and if you ca

“Charley, can we talk? Private?” So

“I have other things on my agenda, Mr. Boyle. I don’t have time to waste on you,” Matt said.

“Matt, So

Matt gave this some thought. He looked impatiently at his wristwatch.

“Very well,” Matt said. “I will have a word with his accomplice.”

He got up and walked to the booth where Pat O’Hallihan sat with his hands obediently on the table.

“I don’t like your friend, Charley,” So

“I don’t think he likes you, either. Too bad for you. He’s a mean sonofabitch sometimes. You don’t know who he is?”

So

“He’s the guy who popped the Northwest Serial Rapist in the head. Blew his brains out.”

“No shit, that’s him?”

“That’s him.”

“Charley, you’re going to get me killed,” So

“How am I going to get you killed?”

“Frankie Foley’s a hit man for the mob. If he finds out I’ve been talking to you, I’m a dead man.”

“An Irish hit man for the mob? Come on, So

“I’m telling you. He does hits they don’t want to do themselves.”

So

“How do you know?” Charley asked.

“I know. I know. Trust me.”

“‘How do you know?’ I asked.”

“He…uh, Jesus, Charley, you’re going to get me killed.”

“Think about it, So

So

“He’s come to me a couple times and told me he needed alibis. Usually right after somebody hit one of the Guineas.”

“Lately?”

“I ain’t seen him, I swear to God, in a month.”

“Where does he usually hang out?”

“Meagan’s Bar.”

“He’s in the deep shit now, So

“You think he hit the narc?”

“You tell me, So

“I ain’t heard nothing, Charley, I swear to God.”

“Payne wants to lock you up, So

“Christ, I don’t know any more than I told you. And that’s enough to get me killed. Those Dagos don’t fuck around.”

“You’re going to have to do better than that,” Charley repeated.

“I can ask around,” So

“I’ll bet you do,” Charley said.

“I swear to God, if I hear anything, I’ll call you.”

“I believe you, So

“You lock me up, all you get is what I already told you,” So

Charley considered that for a moment.

“I’ll try, So

“Talk to him, Charley. I’ll make it worth your while.”

Charley shrugged and walked over to the booth where Matt was now counting thick, rubber-band-bound stacks of one-dollar bills.

Matt got up and walked with Charley to a corner of the room. Charley began to talk to him. So

But finally, after flashing So

“That took some doing,” he said. “My ass is now on the line. Don’t fuck with me about this, So

“Charley, I understand. The first thing I hear-”

“And you better hear something, and soon,” Charley interrupted. He laid a calling card on the table, took out a pen, and wrote another number on it. “My home phone is on there. The one I wrote is Special Operations. Call me there, not at Northwest Detectives.”