He was, at this point, just about ready to leave the case to the men who knew how to handle such things. His amateurish legwork, his fumbling questions, had netted a big zero — or so he thought. The only important thing he’d turned up was Claire Townsend. Claire, he was certain, was important. She was important now, and he felt she would become more important as time went by.
So let’s polish our goddamn shoes. You want to look like a slob?
He took his shoes from the closet, slipped them on over socks he would most certainly smear with polish and later change, and set to work with his shine kit.
He was spitting on his right shoe when the knock sounded on the door.
“Who is it?” he called.
“Police. Open up,” the voice said.
“Who?”
“Police.”
Kling rose, his trouser cuffs rolled up high, his hands smeared with black polish. “Is this a gag?” he said to the closed door.
“Come on, Kling,” the voice said. “You know better than that.”
Kling opened the door. Two men stood in the hallway. Both were huge; both wore tweed jackets over V-necked sweaters; both looked bored.
“Bert Kling?” one of them asked.
“Yes?” he said puzzled.
A shield flashed. “Monoghan and Monroe,” one of them said. “Homicide. I’m Monoghan.”
“I’m Monroe,” the other one said.
They were like Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Kling thought. He suppressed his smile. Neither of his visitors was smiling. Each looked as if he had just come from an out-of-town funeral.
“Come in, fellers,” Kling said, “I was just dressing.”
“Thank you,” Monoghan said.
“Thank you,” Monroe echoed.
They stepped into the room. They both took off their fedoras. Monoghan cleared his throat. Kling looked at them expectantly.
“Like a drink?” he asked, wondering why they were there, feeling somehow awed and frightened by their presence.
“A short one,” Monoghan said.
“A tiny hooker,” Monroe said.
Kling went to the closet and pulled out a bottle. “Bourbon okay?”
“When I was a patrolman,” Monoghan said, “I couldn’t afford bourbon.”
“This was a gift,” Kling said.
“I never took whiskey. Anybody on the beat wanted to see me, it was cash on the line.”
“That’s the only way,” Monroe said.
“This was a gift from my father. When I was in the hospital. The nurses wouldn’t let me touch it there.”
“You can’t blame them,” Monoghan said.
“Turn the place into an alcoholic ward,” Monroe said, unsmiling.
Kling brought them their drinks. Monoghan hesitated.
“Ain’t you drinking with us?”
“I’ve got an important date,” he said. “I want to keep my head.”
Monoghan looked at him with the flat look of a reptile. He shrugged, then turned to Monroe and said, “Here’s looking at you.”
Monroe acknowledged the toast. “Up yours,” he said unsmilingly and then tossed off the shot.
“Good bourbon,” Monoghan said.
“Excellent,” Monroe amplified.
“More?” Kling asked.
“Thanks,” Monoghan said.
“No,” Monroe said.
Kling looked at them. “You said you were from Homicide?”
“Homicide North.”
“Monoghan and Monroe,” Monroe said. “Ain’t you heard of us? We cracked the Nelson-Nichols-Permen triangle murder.”
“Oh,” Kling said.
“Sure,” Monoghan said modestly. “Big case.”
“One of our biggest,” Monroe said.
“Big one.”
“Yeah.”
“What are you working on now?” Kling asked, smiling.
“The Jeannie Paige murder,” Monoghan said flatly.
A dart of fear shot up into Kling’s throat. “Oh?” he said.
“Yeah,” Monoghan said.
“Yeah,” Monroe said.
Monoghan cleared his throat. “How long you been with the force, Kling?” he asked.
“Just… just a short while.”
“That figures,” Monoghan said.
“Sure,” Monroe said.
“You like your job?”
“Yes,” Kling answered hesitantly.
“You want to keep it?”
“You want to go on being a cop?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then keep out of Homicide.”
“What?” Kling said.
“He means,” Monroe explained, “keep out of Homicide.”
“I… I don’t know what you mean.”
“We mean, keep away from stiffs. Stiffs are our business.”
“We like stiffs,” Monroe said.
“We’re specialists, you understand? You call in a heart doctor when you got heart disease, don’t you? You call in an eye, ear, nose, and throat man when you got laryngitis, don’t you? Okay, when you got a stiff, you call in Homicide. That’s us. Monoghan and Monroe.”
“You don’t call in a patrolman.”
“Homicide. Not a beat-walker.”
“Not a pavement-pounder.”
“Not a nightstick twirler.”
“Not a traffic jockey.”
“Not you!” Monoghan said.
“Clear?” Monroe asked.
“Yes,” Kling said.
“It’s gonna get a lot clearer,” Monoghan added. “The lieutenant wants to see you.”
“What for?”
“The lieutenant is a funny guy. He thinks Homicide is the best damn department in the city. He runs Homicide, and he don’t like police coming in where they ain’t asked. I’ll let you in on a secret. He don’t even like the detectives from your precinct to go messing around in murder. Trouble is, he can’t refuse their assistance or their cooperation, ‘specially when your precinct manages to stack up so many goddamn homicides each year. So he suffers the dicks — but he don’t have to suffer no goddamn patrolman.”
“But… but why does he want to see me? I understand now. I shouldn’t have stuck my nose in, and I’m sorry I—”
“You shouldn’t have stuck your nose in,” Monoghan agreed.
“You definitely shouldn’t have.”
“But I didn’t do any harm. I just—”
“Who knows what harm you done?” Monoghan said.
“You may have done untold harm,” Monroe said.
“Ah, hell,” Kling said. “I’ve got a date.”
“Yeah,” Monoghan said. “With the lieutenant.”
“Call your broad,” Monroe advised. “Tell her the police are bugging you.”
Kling looked at his watch. “I can’t reach her,” he said. “She’s at school.”
“Impairing the morals of a minor,” Monoghan said, smiling.
“Better you shouldn’t mention that to the lieutenant.”
“She’s in college,” Kling said. “Listen, will I be through by seven?”
“Maybe,” Monoghan said.
“Get your coat,” Monroe said.
“He don’t need a coat. It’s nice and mild.”
“It may get chilly later. This is pneumonia weather.”
Kling sighed heavily. “All right if I wash my hands?”
“What?” Monoghan asked.
“He’s polite,” Monroe said.
“No, I have to wash my hands.”
“Okay, so wash them. Hurry up. The lieutenant don’t like to be kept waiting.”
The building that housed Homicide North was the shabbiest, dowdiest, dirtiest, crummiest building Kling had ever seen. It was a choice spot for Homicide, Kling thought instantly. It even stinks of death. He had followed Monoghan and Monroe past the desk sergeant and then through a narrow, dimly lighted hallway lined with benches. He could hear typewriters clacking behind closed doors. An occasional open door revealed a man in shirtsleeves and shoulder holster. The entire place gave the impression of being the busy office of a numbers banker. Phones rang, people carried files from one office to another, men stopped at the water cooler — all in a dimly illuminated Dante interior.