“I gotta tell you, sir,” Zalewski said hesitantly. “Some of the boys back at the station are talking.”
“If you hear anyone criticizing our work, assign them to the case,” Merylo grunted. “That’ll teach them.”
“No. Not about that. I mean about-you know.” He rubbed his chin.
Merylo was letting his beard grow. It was a slow process-he had a light beard-but it was beginning to show. “Tell them I’m so busy I don’t have time to shave.”
“Whatever you say. But-I think the safety director might not like it. He’s so goody-two-shoes clean-cut and all.”
“He won’t mind. It’s not like he wants my picture in the paper.”
“You got some kind of plan?”
“I do. But if my idea is going to work-I want as little attention as possible. From the papers or anyone else.”
37
“The Unknowns?”
Ness grinned a little. “Yeah. What do you think?”
“Doesn’t have as much zing as the Untouchables.”
“Doesn’t matter. No one who isn’t a member is ever going to hear about it.”
“And this worked?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe. We’ve got enough cash to hire eight operatives-plus you-long-term. Freedom to do whatever you think necessary. Without being watched. Without being hampered by government restrictions.”
David Cowles paused. Ness could see the wheels turning in the man’s bald head. He had known Cowles, a member of the Cleveland Scientific Investigation Bureau, for some time now, and he trusted him. Cowles had been the genius behind several of the most successful cases the police department took credit for solving.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Enlist men. Send them out. Penetrate the underworld. The two victims who have been identified were both criminal types. Probably they all were. If you send your men around, quietly asking questions, not acting like cops, they’re bound to find something. And if they have to use somewhat illegal means… well, they’re not police officers, are they? They’re just private citizens working for you.”
“Sounds risky. What if someone finds out? What if the whole thing blows up? You don’t need that kind of publicity.”
“Me?” Ness said, pressing his hands against his chest. “I didn’t have anything to do with it. I’m only the safety director.”
Cowles fingered his dark, round owl-like glasses. “I’m beginning to see the way this thing works. The trail ends with me.”
“You ever read Sherlock Holmes?”
Cowles opened the small box on Ness ’s coffee table and took out a cigarette. “Can’t say that I have. Though I hear the man was very scientific.”
“He was. And he also had a group of private operatives. The Baker Street Irregulars, he called them. They were just kids. But they could fan out through all of London and learn anything Holmes needed to know without attracting attention. That’s what we need here. Put your men out into the city. Find the killer.”
Ness leaned in closer. “But here’s the most important part, David. They report to you. You and only you. No one else. They don’t even know I’m involved. Understand?”
“Perfectly.”
“Think you’ll have any trouble finding men?”
“Nope. Already got one in mind.”
“Tell me.”
“Sure you want to know?”
Ness smiled. “I’ll forget the name as soon as I hear it.”
“Fellow named Joe Teran.”
“Mexican?”
Cowles nodded. “Marijuana dealer. My evidence put him away a few years ago. He’s free now.”
“An ex-con? Is that wise?”
“He’s a smart man, Eliot. Tells me he’s reformed. But he still has lots of contacts in the underworld. Not the kind of underworld you’re used to dealing with, the highfalutin’ mobsters and such. His people are the lowest level of filth the city has to offer. But I believe those are the contacts that could prove most useful in this case.”
“I’ll trust your judgment.”
“And Joe knows lots of other useful people. Heaven knows it isn’t hard to find good men who need work these days. I’ll have your Unknowns out on the street before the end of the week.”
“Appreciate it.”
“My pleasure. I want this creep caught as much as you do. This might just work.”
“Let’s hope so. The people are demanding an arrest.”
“And the press, huh?”
Ness looked at him sharply, then, after a moment, his face relaxed. “Yes, the newspaper boys, too.”
“I know you want to keep this secret, Eliot, and I understand why. But the press are expecting you to do something. Something they can report.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan. Meanwhile, you get to work. Check in with me as often as possible. Let me know if you have any leads. Or if you need more assistance. Anything. Whatever it takes. Bring me this monster.”
“You going to tell Chief Matowitz about this?”
“Not a chance. Let them follow their path, and I’ll follow mine. They can be the decoy. Deflect the attention of the press. While we catch the killer. Because we’ve got to catch him, David. The headlines in the papers get larger every day. They’ve totally forgotten about everything else I’ve done for this city. All anyone cares about is this Torso Killer. So let’s give him to them. So I can get on with my work. And my life.”
38
“Mr. Ness! Mr. Ness!”
“Can’t stop, boys. I’m working.”
“Just a short interview.”
“Can’t do it.”
“The people want to know-”
“Sorry, must keep moving.”
“Not even a picture?”
Ness slowed. “Well… make it quick.”
The photograph revealed Cleveland ’s esteemed Safety Director, Eliot Ness, and a substantial number of police officers, standing in the very heart of Shantytown. All around him were low-level homes-if they could be called that. They would be more accurately described as shacks, cardboard boxes, piano crates. Tents, in a few instances. Squalor was everywhere. The few people visible were dirty, tired, malnourished. It was like a snapshot from hell.
Ness continued moving.
“What are you doing out here?” one of the reporters, the one from the Courier, asked as he chased after him, running at his heels.
“Trying to catch a killer. Most of the victims have been deposited in this area. Stands to reason that the killer lives here, or at the very least is a frequent visitor. Someone must have seen him. Might not have known they did. But they did.”
“Do you think the killer is a transient?”
“I think many of the victims were. That’s what makes them so hard to identify. Even that fellow who’s on display at the Exposition. No one recognizes them because they weren’t here long, didn’t make friends. What friends or family they may have had didn’t know they were here.”
“What do you think of Shantytown?”
Ness hesitated. He had to be careful. “I think President Roosevelt is doing everything he can to improve the economy. But when men are out of work, crime is a natural consequence. Who knows what forces may have driven this killer to murder? All I know is this is a good place to look for information, whether this is the killer’s headquarters or his favorite hunting ground. So I’m going to talk to these people. And we are going to catch this killer, my friends. Mark my words. We are going to catch him.”
Once Ness shook the reporters, he was able to do some real work. Even if this trip was mostly for show, there was no reason not to try to accomplish something while he was here. He wanted to search more thoroughly. Unfortunately, most of the residents were closemouthed- understandably so, since most of them were harassed by law enforcement officers on a regular basis. Even shabby homes like these were protected by the Fourth Amendment; he couldn’t go in without permission or a warrant. And he couldn’t force anyone to talk.