“Not all the time,” Carella said.
“Boy, what excitement!”
“Mmm,” Carella said. “Where have you been, Mr. Hassler?”
“I was out of town. I had no idea you guys were looking for me. When I got back to the apartment this morning-brother! What a mess! The landlady told me I’d better call you guys. So I did.”
“Have you got any idea what happened in your apartment while you were gone?” Hawes asked.
“Well, it blew up, that much I know.”
“Do you know who was in it when it blew up?”
“The guy, yeah. The broad, no.”
“Who was the guy?”
“Tommy Barlow.”
“That his full name?” Hawes asked, beginning to write.
“Thomas Barlow, yeah.”
“Address?”
“He lives with his brother someplace in Riverhead, I’m not sure of the address.”
“Do you know the street?”
“No, I don’t know that, either, I’ve never been there.”
“How do you know Tommy, Mr. Hassler?”
“We work together in the same place.”
“Where’s that?”
“Lone Star Photo-Finishing.”
“In this city?”
“Yeah. 417 North Eighty-eighth.” Hassler paused. “You wondering about the ‘Lone Star’? A guy from Texas started the outfit.”
“I see. How long have you been working there, Mr. Hassler?”
“Six years.”
“You know Tommy Barlow all that time?”
“No, sir. Tommy’s been with the company no more’n two years.”
“Were you good friends?”
“Pretty good.”
“Is he married?”
“Nope. I told you. He lives with his brother. He’s a crippled guy, his brother. I met him once down the place. He walks with a cane.”
“Do you know his name?”
“Yeah, wait a minute. Andy… ? no, wait a minute… Angelo… ? something like that, just a minute. Amos! Amos, that’s it. Amos Barlow. Yeah.”
“All right, Mr. Hassler, what was Tommy Barlow doing in your apartment?”
Hassler grinned lewdly. “Well, like what do you think he was doing?”
“I meant…”
“They found him with a naked broad, what do you think he was doing?”
“I meant how’d he happen to be there, Mr. Hassler?”
“Oh. He asked me for the key. He knew I was going out of town, so he asked me if he could use the place. So I said sure. Why not? Nothing wrong with that.”
“Did you know he was going there with a married woman?”
“Nope.”
“Did you know he was going there with a woman?”
“I figured.”
“Did he tell you as much?”
“Nope. But why else would he want the key?”
“Would you say he was a good friend of yours, Mr, Hassler?”
“Yeah, pretty good. We been bowling together a couple of times. And also, he helps me with my movies.”
“Your movies?”
“Yeah, I’m a movie nut. You know, where I work, we don’t process movie film. That’s all done by Kodak and Technicolor and like that. We just develop and print stills, you know. Black and white, color, but no movies.
Anyway, I got this urge to make movies, you see? So I’m always shooting pictures and then I edit them and splice them and Tommy used to help me sometimes. I got this Japanese camera, you see…”
“Help you with what? The picture-taking or the editing?”
“That, and the acting, too. I’ve got a reel almost three hundred feet long that’s practically all Tommy. You should see some of my stuff. I’m pretty good. That’s why this place knocked me on my ass when I walked in here. What color! What atmosphere! Mar-velous! Just mar-velous!” Hassler paused. “You think I could come in here and take some pictures sometime?”
“I doubt it,” Carella said.
“Yeah, what a shame,” Hassler said. “Can you picture that guy’s arm bleeding in color? Boy!”
“Can we get back to Tommy for a minute, Mr. Barlow?”
“Oh, sure. Sure. Listen, I’m sorry if I got off the track. But I’m a nut on movies, you know? I got the bug, you know?”
“Sure, we know,” Hawes said. “Tell us, Mr. Hassler, did Tommy seem despondent or depressed or… ?”
“Tommy? Who, Tommy?” Hassler burst out laughing. “This is the original good-time kid. Always laughing, always happy.”
“When he asked you for the key, did he seem sad?”
“I just told you. He was always laughing.”
“Yes, but when he asked you for the key…”
“He asked me, wait a minute, it musta been three days ago. Because he knew I had to go out of town, you see. The reason I had to go out of town is I’ve got this old aunt who lives upstate and I’m hoping someday when she drops dead she’ll leave me her house. She hasn’t been feeling too good, and I got a cousin who’s got his eye on that house, too, so I figured I better get up there and hold her hand a little before she leaves it to him, you know? So I went up there yesterday, took the day off. Today’s Saturday, right?”
“That’s right.”
“You guys work on Saturdays?”
“We try to, Mr. Hassler,” Carella said. “Can we get back to Tommy for a minute?”
“Oh, sure. Sure. Listen, I’m sorry if I got off the track. But that house is important to me, you know? Not that I want the old lady to drop dead or anything, but I sure would like to get my hands on that house. It’s a big old place, you know? With lilacs all around…”
“About Tommy,” Carella cut in. “As I understand it, when he asked you for the key, he seemed his usual self, is that right? Happy, laughing?”
“That’s right.”
“When did you see him last?”
“Thursday. At work.”
“Did he take Friday off, too?”
“Gee, I don’t know. Why do you ask?”
“We were just wondering what time he and the girl met. He didn’t mention anything about that, did he?”
“You’d have to check with the boss, I guess. See whether or not Tommy was off on Friday. That’s what I’d do if I was you.”
“Thanks,” Carella said.
“She was married, huh? The broad?”
“Yes.”
“Tough break. Her being married, I mean, I got a rule, you know? I never fool around with married women. The way I figure it, there’s plenty of lonely single girls in this city who’re just ready to…”
“Thanks a lot, Mr. Hassler. Where we reach you if we need you?”