He moved toward me and I said quickly, “I’ll stay awhile.”
He was a foot from me and ready to go to work.
“I’m going to stay calm,” he said after running his right hand over his bristly head of hair. His left fist was clenched.
“That’s a good idea,” I agreed.
“Eleanor Roosevelt,” he said. “How the hell am I supposed to keep her out of this? You know what this is going to do?”
“You’re a Democrat,” I said.
“I’m a cop,” he said, holding his left fist up to my face.
“Captain,” I said, “this has nothing to do with Eleanor Roosevelt. Some confused political loonies got together and convinced themselves they had the president’s dog. Before they could do anything about it, they started bumping each other off and got themselves caught.”
“That’s simple, huh?” said Phil. “You think that football team out there is going to go along with that story?”
“Why not? Shelly just wants to go home. Jeremy and Gunther are patriotic, Dolmitz and his daughter will be happy to put most of it on Bass and Lyle, and I’ve got a date.”
He reached out a hand and shoved me against the wall.
“I’ve got some bruised ribs,” I said, holding out a hand to keep him back.
“You think the newspapers are going to drop it that easy?” he said, shaking his head.
“How do they find out?”
“Two bodies,” he screamed. “Two bodies. One in your office with two bullets put into it eight hours apart and a tied-up giant with a broken arm who flew out of your office window. You think they might be just a tiny bit curious about that?”
“You’ll think of something,” I said.
“The only thing I can think of right now is to smash your face,” he went on.
“That’ll make you feel better?”
I reached for the door. Hell, he would probably catch me before I hit the stairway, but I wasn’t going to take a session with Phil without giving escape a fair chance. Then the phone rang, a bell announcing the end of round one.
Phil picked it up and said, “What is it?”
Then someone on the other end said something to change his face from rage to bewilderment.
“Captain Pevsner, sir,” he said. “Yes sir, I recognize your voice. Of course. Yes, I understand.”
Then he was silent for a good three minutes, just nodding his head. Finally, he looked up at me.
“Someone wants to talk to you,” he said, holding out the phone.
I took it and said, “Hello.”
“Mr. Peters,” said Eleanor Roosevelt. “I’m back in Washington. I have definite proof that Fala is right here and that the dog you retrieved was quite another animal.”
“I know,” I said.
“I understand that you have been through a great deal of discomfort over this and under the circumstances I’ve had to inform Franklin. He has just spoken to the officer in charge, and I hope your difficulties are now over. You have my thanks for your efforts and please send me your bill. We must get back to the Peruvian reception now. Good-bye.”
I was about to say good-bye on my end when the voice of the president came over the phone as clear as if it were a fireside chat.
“Thank you, Mr. Peters.”
“You’re welcome, sir,” I said, and he hung up, but a demon took me and I went on talking. “No sir…. Yes … I understand.… If it’s absolutely essential for national morale of course I will, but I don’t know if I’m really qualified to be Mr. Hoover’s assistant…. No, I’m flattered but …”
Phil pulled the phone out of my hand, put it to his ear and heard nothing.
“He just hung up,” I said, grinning.
“Get out,” Phil said, giving me an extra shove across the room. “Just pack your jokes and get out, leave the bodies for me, for the adults to take care of.”
“Come on, Phil,” I said, adjusting my windbreaker. “We caught the bad guys.”
“And you’re going on a date while I put my career on the line to cover all this up,” he said, getting behind his desk. “What are you risking, junior G-man?”
“Nothing,” I said.
“Nothing,” he agreed. “Because you’ve got nothing to lose. Because you haven’t invested in anything.”
“That’s the way I wanted it, Phil,” I said, waiting for him to get up and go for me again. He didn’t get up.
“I’m going, Phil,” I went on. No answer. He picked up the phone, pushed a button, told Seidman and Cawelti to come in, and waved me away as if I were a fly on a hot day.
Cawelti and Seidman passed me in the hall, the former giving me a look of hatred, the latter ignoring me. I found Shelly, Jeremy, and Gunther in the squadroom, told them to follow me, and we made a package exit that would have been pointed out by tourists if we were on the street. But in the Wilshire Station we were part of an average day.
“And we are free?” said Gunther. “No more questions?”
“No more questions,” I said. “The president thanked us and closed the case.”
“Dolmitz and Jane,” said Jeremy, trying to hail a cab. One slowed down, looked us over, and sped away. “She is really a very good illustrator. Perhaps she can work on the children’s book from prison. I don’t know the rules.”
“Maybe,” I said.
Shelly was looking glumly at the sidewalk. Another cab came cruising and I stepped into the street in front of it. The cabbie had to stop or face two to five years for manslaughter. He stopped.
We piled in and I told him to take us to the Farraday. He hummed all the way to keep from dealing with us, and I watched Gunther try to maintain his dignity on the jump seat in front of me. Shelly wasn’t worrying about his dignity. He bounced and talked to himself.
Back at the Farraday, I checked on the dog, which Jeremy had locked in his office. He was all right. Then I called Carmen, after thanking Gunther and asking Shelly to wait.
Carmen was. angry but we still had time to get to the fights if I moved quickly.
“Shelly,” I said, hanging up. “How about calling Mildred and telling her to meet us at the stadium. Tickets are on me. Gunther and Jeremy are coming too.”
With a little coaxing, Shelly agreed. The idea had come to me without bidding, and as soon as it had come I knew that my chance of getting alone with Carmen for the night was down to nearly nothing. As it turned out, I was right. Alice Palice also joined us for the evening and we easily filled two cars.
By the time I dropped Carmen off and Gunther and I headed back to Mrs. Plaut’s, I was flat broke.
“I would like to have offered to drive the car back here,” Gunther said, “so that you might have remained to bid Carmen good night, but I am, as you know, unable to drive any automobile but my own or one-”
“Forget it, Gunther,” I said, looking back at the dog curled asleep in the back seat. “I’ve got too many bruises for anything more tonight.”
Mrs. Plaut didn’t greet us. It was far too late for that. Gunther went to his room. I went to mine, talked to the dog, and shared some puffed rice with him before going to bed. When I turned the lights out I realized that I wouldn’t have the dog the next night. Something threatened me with a feeling I didn’t like, so I shut my eyes and went over my bill to Mrs. Roosevelt. It was like counting sheep for me. Repair of torn sleeve, two dollars; gas, two dollars; repair of Olson’s (now my) pants where shepherd had bitten, eighty cents; taxi from the warehouse where I met Keaton, a buck eighty with tip; five for the manager of the Gaucho Arms; medical bill from Doc Hodgdon, five dollars; wind-breaker zipper, forty cents; car door, twenty dollars; two hot dogs, two pepsis and a taco for the dog, a buck.
In the morning, the dog and I went back to my office after having coffee and some donuts at Manny’s. The bodies were gone, and a man was already putting a new pane in my window. Shelly was nowhere around.
It took me about seven calls to find the person I was looking for. and I arranged to meet him in an hour. That was about how long it took me to find the place, a deserted farmhouse on the way to Santa Barbara.