“I know,” Davis said. “Were you one of the mechanics?”
“I was one of them,” he said.
“Good.” Davis smiled and said, “I didn’t catch your name.”
“Jerry,” the man said. “Mangione.” His black brows pulled together suspiciously. “Who you investigating for?”
“A private client. The father of the girl who was a passenger.”
“Oh. Carruthers’s wife, huh?”
“Yes. Did you know her?”
“No. I just heard it was his wife. He’s chief pilot down Burbank, ain’t he?”
“Yes,” Davis said.
Mangione paused and studied Davis intently. “What’d you want to know?”
“First, was the fire-warning system okay?”
“Yeah. We checked it out. Just one of those things, you know. False alarm.”
“Did you go into the plane?”
“Yeah, sure. I had to check the signal in the cockpit. Why?”
“I’m just asking.”
“You don’t think I put that damn bomb on the plane, do you?”
“Somebody did,” Davis said.
“That’s for sure. But not me. There were a lot of people on that plane, mister. Any one of ’em could’ve done it.”
“Be a little silly to bring a bomb onto a plane you were going to fly.”
“I guess so. But don’t drag me into this. I just checked the fire-warning system, that’s all.”
“Were you around when Mrs. Carruthers boarded the plane?”
“Yeah, I was there.”
“What’d she look like?”
Mangione shrugged. “A broad, just like any other broad. Red hair.”
“Was she pretty?”
“The red hair was the only thing gave her any flash. In fact, I was a little surprised.”
“Surprised? What about?”
“That Tony would bother, you know.”
“Who?”
“Tony Radner.”
“Are you sure about that? Sure you know who the man with her was?”
Mangione made an exasperated gesture with his hands. “Hell, ain’t I been working here for three years? Don’t I know Tony when I see him? He used to sell tickets inside. It was him, all right. He brought her out to the plane and helped her get aboard. Took her right to her seat, in fact. I guess maybe... well, I gotta tell you, I was surprised.”
“Why’s that?”
“Tony’s a good-looking guy. And this Mrs. Carruthers... well, she wasn’t much. I’m surprised he went out of his way. But I guess maybe she wasn’t feeling so hot. Tony’s a gent that way.”
“Wasn’t feeling so hot?”
“Well, I don’t like to talk about anybody’s dead, but she looked like she had a snootful to me. Either that, or she was pretty damn sick.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Hell, Tony had to help her up the ladder, and he practically carried her to her seat. Yeah, she musta been looped.”
“You said Radner used to work here. Has he quit?”
“Yeah, he quit.”
“Do you know where I can find him?”
Mangione shrugged. “Maybe you can get his address from the office in the morning. But, mister, I wouldn’t bother him right now, if I was you.”
“Why not?”
Mangione smiled.
“Because he’s on his honeymoon.”
When Davis awoke in the morning, the back of his head hardly hurt at all. He shaved and washed quickly, downed a breakfast of orange juice and coffee, and then went to the San Francisco office of Intercoastal Airways.
Radner, they told him, was no longer with them. But they did have his last address, and they parted with it willingly. Davis grabbed a cab, and then sat back while the driver fought the California traffic. When he reached Radner’s address, he paid and tipped the cabbie, and listed the expenditure in his book.
The rooming house was not in a good section of the city. It was red brick, with a brown front stoop. There was an old-fashioned bellpull set in the wide, wooden doorjamb. He pulled this and heard the sound inside, and then he waited for footsteps. They came sooner than he expected.
The woman who opened the door couldn’t have been more than fifty. Her face was still greasy with cold cream, and her hair was tied up in rags.
“Yes?” she said.
“I’m looking for Tony Radner,” Davis said. “I’m an old friend of his, knew him in the Army. I went out to Intercoastal, but they told me he doesn’t work for them anymore. I wonder if you know where I can reach him.”
The landlady regarded him suspiciously for a moment. “He doesn’t live here anymore,” she said.
“Darn,” Davis said. He shook his head and assumed a false smile. “Isn’t that always the way? I came all the way from New York, and now I can’t locate him.”
“That’s too bad,” the landlady agreed.
“Did he leave any forwarding address?” Davis asked.
“No. He left because he was getting married.”
“Married!” Davis said. “Well, I’ll be darned! Old Tony getting married!”
The landlady continued to watch Davis, her small eyes staring fixedly.
“You wouldn’t know who he married, would you?”
“Yes,” she said guardedly. “I guess I would.”
“Who?” he asked.
“Trimble,” the landlady said. “A girl named Alice Trimble.”
“Alice Trimble,” Davis said reflectively. “You wouldn’t have her phone number, would you?”
“Come on in,” the landlady said, finally accepting Davis at face value. She led him into the foyer of the house, and Davis followed her to the pay phone on the wall.
“They all scribble numbers here,” she said. “I keep washing them off, but they keep putting them back again.”
“Shame,” Davis said sympathetically.
“Hers is up there, too. You just wait a second, and I’ll tell you which one.” She stepped close to the phone and examined the scribbled numbers on the wall. She stood very close to the wall, moving her head whenever she wanted to move her eyes. She stepped back at last and placed a long white finger on one of the numbers. “This one. This is the one he always called.”
Davis jotted down the number hastily, and then said, “Well, gee, thanks a million. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”
“I hope you find him,” the landlady said. “Nice fellow, Mr. Radner.”
“One of the best,” Davis said.
He called the number from the first pay phone he found. He listened to the phone ring four times on the other end, and then a voice said, “Hello?”
“Hello,” he said. “I’m an old friend of Tony Radner’s. He asked me to look him up if ever I was in town.” He paused and forced himself to laugh in embarrassment. “Trouble is I can’t seem to find him. His landlady gave me this number...”
“Oh,” the girl said. “You must want my sister. This is Anne Trimble.”
“Oh,” he said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize...” He paused. “Is your sister there?”
“No, she doesn’t live with me anymore. She and Tony got married.”
“Well, now, that’s wonderful,” Davis said. “Know where I can find them?”
“They’re still on their honeymoon.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.” He thought for a few seconds, and then said, “I’ve got to catch a plane back tonight. I wonder if I might come over and... well, you could fill me in on what Tony’s been doing and all. Hate like the devil to go back without knowing something about him.”
The girl hesitated.
“I promise I’ll make it a very short visit. I’ve still got some business to attend to here. Besides... well, Tony loaned me a little money once, and I thought... well, if you don’t mind, I’d like to leave it with you.”