Nichols took all this in and then relit his stogie. When he spoke his voice was low. “There’re lots of bars and dives in and around Chinatown, Archer. Not as many as there were in Old Chinatown, but they’re getting there. Hell, my place isn’t that far away from it. But the Jade is in a class of its own. And I don’t mean that as a compliment.”
Archer nodded. “I saw that for myself.”
“To answer your question, the man in the photo is named Darren Paley, and he is bad news all around. Dangerous as hell. Done time for some really bad stuff and came out way too soon, probably because of money changing hands, and he’s now doing even worse stuff. They said he’s killed more people than he has fingers on both hands.”
“And the cops just look the other way? I thought the LAPD was cleaning up its act.”
“They are. But they have to pick their battles, and low-hanging fruit brings faster headlines. Paley is a cobra sheathed in armor. The cops go after him, they need to be ready for war. And he’s got mob ties. That complicates things. It always does.”
Archer told Nichols about the actress and what he had seen going on there.
He nodded before Archer was finished. “Blackmail to a tee. Unless she gets other ‘famous friends’ to take the bait, she gets outed. It’s been done before and it works great.”
“And if all of these people get outed?”
“Film business takes a hit, city takes a hit, LAPD takes a hit. Why the hands-off on the Jade makes sense. Plus, they figure if you’re stupid enough to get yourself in that kind of jam, you take your own medicine and don’t look for rescue from the official machinery.”
“You seem to know a lot about this,” said Archer.
“Oh, didn’t I mention? The mob-backed gambling ring guy I was nosing around on that got me stuck in this contraption for life?”
“Darren Paley?” said a slack-jawed Archer.
“I couldn’t prove anything back then and he skated free. And the dirty cops were all over it providing him cover. But it was Paley all right.”
“Where’d he get all the scars?”
“Paley grew up rough and tumble back in Chicago; it’s made him hard as steel. Among other prison stints, he got sent to the pen at Joliet on a murder charge, but it got overturned and he walked free after a year. He was only eighteen. He’s got no heart and ice in his veins. He’ll kill someone one minute and forget it the next. He was a hero in the war. Shot down twenty-some Luftwaffe planes when he was with the Army Air Corps. When that wasn’t a thrill enough for the guy, he got his orders shifted and took his battle to the dirt with the regular Army. Word was they’d have to pull him off Krauts after he’d already killed them because he kept beating and shooting and knifing them. He got thrown out of the army in 1944 for stealing guns and ammo and selling it. The brass didn’t court-martial him because he was such a ‘hero’ in combat and they didn’t want the bad press. Then he jumped right into bed with the mob. This was up in Vegas. He was doing the gambling ring operation on behalf of the Vegas mob, who didn’t want to leave all the illegal dollars to the local boys. Later, he moved here full-time, and now he’s running the Jade. Never turn your back on the man, because he’ll stick a very large knife in it.”
“What’d he do for the mob in Vegas other than run a gambling ring down here?”
“Knee and back breaker for Lansky, Siegel, Cohen, and boys like that. And he was really good at his job. He moved up quickly. They were probably sorry to see him go. But my thinking is they’re still connected at the hip. That’s my spiel on Paley, now talk to me about your case.”
Archer went on to explain about Lamb’s disappearance and the dead Cedric Bender being found at her home.
“I actually met Bender a couple times,” said Nichols. “I didn’t know about his death. He was a good egg. Square and straight.”
“County cops seem to be keeping it under wraps. And they haven’t been to Lamb’s place of business yet, either.”
“Sounds like they got orders to slow-walk this. You got other angles to work, Archer?”
“A few. Hopefully, one will pan out. Anything else you can tell me about Paley?”
“He’s got plenty of smarts. Enough to get some of the solid action.”
“So he might have partners in all the stuff at the Jade?”
“My guess would be yes,” replied Nichols.
“Well, he was talking to the lady from Malibu. They obviously know each other. She said her husband has lots of businesses.”
“And maybe one of them is the Jade,” said Nichols.
“Well, they’re not paying the electric bill and the hired help off one kind of booze.”
“Blackmail, selling dope, and making stag films bring in a nice living. What’s next on your to-do list?”
Archer looked at his watch. “Having dinner with the prettiest girl in town, and I can’t be late.”
Chapter 36
Archer picked Callahan up at eight on the dot outside the Universal gate. She was wearing black slacks, a white blouse with a collared neck, a black trench coat, and three-inch red heels. She looked like a million bucks, while Archer was still walking around with sand in his pants. Still, he felt like a Rockefeller with her sitting next to him.
She gave him directions to West Sunset Boulevard, where he pulled into a drive-in called Tiny Naylor’s. Hollywood High School was right across the street. They slid into the only open slot because the place was packed.
“You weren’t kidding about the burger joint,” he said.
“Calling Tiny Naylor’s a burger joint is like calling the Mona Lisa a sketch. This place has class, Archer. And you don’t have to get burgers and shakes. You can have a rib eye, baked potato, corn on the damn cob, and lots more, and it’s delivered right to your car. And it’s got a famous clientele because they don’t have to get out of their car and show their faces.”
Archer looked at an ancient Packard next to them. “Those folks having milkshakes look familiar.”
Callahan followed Archer’s gaze, and gasped when she saw who it was. “Gee, Archer, I wonder why? It’s only Kate Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.”
Archer began leaning out the window to get a better look but Callahan said, “Oh, for crying out loud, leave them alone. Guys like you are the reason they come to places like this, so people won’t go gaga.”
He gave her a funny look. “But don’t movie stars want that? Isn’t that why they work so hard to get famous?”
“It’s complicated,” said Callahan slowly. “Yes, they want to become stars because that’s what movies do for you. And no, they don’t want to be gawked at like zoo animals.”
“Well, I don’t see how you straddle that fence.”
“You don’t, Archer, which is why two big stars are here in an old Packard wearing sunglasses when it’s nighttime. And of course the other reason is that Tracy’s married. And he’s Catholic.”
“Sounds like a match not made in heaven.”
As they ordered from the waitress, a giant man lumbered across the parking lot.
“Who’s that?” asked Archer. “The front four for the LA Rams rolled up into one guy?”
The waitress looked where he pointed. “Oh, no, that’s Tiny Naylor. He owns this joint.”
Callahan laughed dismissively and said, “And you call yourself a detective.”
As they ate in the car, Archer laid out for Callahan all that he had learned. She shivered when he told her what he had discovered about Darren Paley.