“Funny neighborhood for it. We’re only a few blocks from City Hall and the courthouses.”
“Well it’s still the Italian neighborhood, you know.”
Traffic squeezed through the narrow street and pedestrians hurried by, topcoated under umbrellas. Mathieson said, “We’re likely to be here for hours.”
“That’s what stakeouts amount to. The thrill and adventure of detective work.”
The rain frosted the windshield but he didn’t switch on the wipers; it would have been a giveaway. He could see the restaurant well enough. ANGELO’S—Fine Italian Food. It looked expensive.
He had never been an easy victim to boredom but it was a bleak night, autumnally cold; he thrust his hands into the pockets of his topcoat and reminded himself to buy a pair of gloves.
“Vasquez wanted to be in on this, didn’t he?”
“Did he say so?”
“It was a feeling I got,” Mathieson said.
“He’d have liked it. But no way. Too much chance Ramiro might recognize him.”
“Does Ramiro know him?”
“A lot of people recognize him. Not as recognizable as Roger Gilfillan, maybe, but a lot of people do spot him.”
“I’m surprised he exposes himself to all the publicity. I’d think it would be a handicap in such a confidential business.”
“Times like this, maybe. But it’s celebrity that sells popcorn. Vasquez is the best-known private detective in the world. That’s what brings the clients in. It’s what brought you in.” Homer ruminated over his slice of cold pizza. “It’s you I’m worried about. Ramiro’s never met you but he must have seen your photograph.”
“I’m nine years older than those photographs. Don’t you think the disguise works?”
“It’s the same disguise you used with Gillespie, without the glasses. I don’t know—I guess it’ll fool him. He’ll have no reason to think of connecting us with Edward Merle. I guess it’s not much of a risk. But I don’t like taking any risks at all when I don’t have to.”
“Homer, there was no way I could wait somewhere else. I’ve got to be in on this—I want to see his face.”
“I can understand that. But you let me do the talking, understand? You must be the silent menace. Concentrate on looking like a killer.”
“What does a killer look like?”
“Silence is the main thing. Don’t say a single word. It’ll shake him up more than anything else would. Keep your hand on the gun in your pocket.”
“Don’t worry about that. I haven’t forgotten he carries a Magnum.”
“Well we’ll have to take care of that before we do anything else, won’t we.”
3
Finally they came out of the restaurant—Ramiro and Damico. It was half past one in the morning; the rain had stopped and a cold mist flowed through the empty street. A third man came out into the street and there was some conversation among the three; then the third man embraced Damico, turned and pumped Ramiro’s arm in a politician’s handshake, left hand on Ramiro’s elbow.
“Lou Tonelli,” Homer said. “He’s the ward boss down here, among other things.”
Tonelli went back into the restaurant. Ramiro and Damico climbed into the Cadillac Fleetwood and after a moment its tailpipe spouted white steam.
For three blocks Homer followed without lights; then the Cadillac turned uptown on the Bowery and Homer switched on the headlights when he fed the Plymouth into the traffic. Mathieson observed how he interposed several cars between himself and the Cadillac without getting caught behind traffic lights; it looked easy but it wasn’t.
Ramiro went west on Thirteenth Street, dropped Damico on University Place and went uptown again. “All right,” Homer said. “He’s not going home—that’s what we needed to know. We’ve got him. He’s heading for the call girl. Forty-sixth between First and Second. Now all we’ve got to do is get there first.” He swung off Madison Avenue and they barreled across Twenty-sixth street, jouncing in the chuckholes, running an amber light and then the tag end of a red one; Homer went squealing into Third Avenue precariously and chased the staggered traffic lights northward.
There was no traffic; they made it to Forty-fifth on the single light and Homer wheeled left into the side street opposite the United Nations Building; he parked swiftly in front of a loading bay. No Parking. “So we get a ticket. They won’t tow it away this time of night. Come on, let’s move.”
Mathieson got out and turned toward the corner. Homer was retrieving something from the car—it looked like a plastic bottle of detergent fluid; and he had the styrofoam coffee cup. They went quickly around the corner. Homer was pouring liquid into the cup. He tossed the detergent bottle into the mesh waste can on the corner and they strode north to Forty-sixth Street.
Mathieson said, “What’s in the cup?”
“Window cleaner. Ammonia. Less drastic than acid but it does the job.” They went around the corner. “Good. He’s not here yet. It’s that second awning—the girl’s got an apartment on the seventeenth floor.”
“We go in?”
“No, there’s a doorman. We wait for him outside.”
They posted themselves on the curb just short of the awning where they were not within the doorman’s angle of view. “Which way will he come from?”
“No telling. Depends where he finds a parking space.” Homer held the styrofoam cup casually. Two friends saying good-night after an evening on the town, sobering up with a cup of takeout coffee. “Keep your hand in your pocket and your mouth shut. Use the gun if you have to—he won’t hesitate.”
He curled his hand around the .38 in his pocket. “We’re not here to do any shooting, Homer.”
“Sometimes something goes wrong. Just stay loose and be ready to—heads up, here he is.”
The big Fleetwood growled along the street seeking a place to park. There wasn’t any; the car disappeared around the corner, moving slowly.
“He’ll find a space somewhere. Take it easy—don’t get jumpy now, for God’s sake.”
Mathieson looked both ways. There was no one on the street. Above them numerous windows were still alight. Up at the farther intersection a woman with a heavy shopping bag walked across on Second Avenue. Eddies of mist curled like steam on the wet black surface of the street. The canvas awning dripped.
A taxi cruised past, empty, dome-signal alight; it paused hopefully but Homer shook his head and the taxi drove on. Then a pedestrian appeared at the corner of First Avenue and turned into the street, coming toward them—wide shoulders, heavy bulk, coat flapping: George Ramiro.
Homer said, “We’re having a conversation, OK? I just told you a joke. You’re a little drunk.”
Mathieson uttered a sharp bark of laughter. It sounded unconvincing to him but he said, “Hey that’s a pretty good one,” his voice sounding too loud and too forced. He turned without hurry, facing Homer, his shoulder to the approaching pedestrian. He could see Ramiro out of the corner of his eye—walking steadily, unafraid, unalarmed; but his right hand stayed in his coat pocket and with it, Mathieson knew, there had to be the .357 Magnum.
As Ramiro approached, Homer gestured with the coffee cup. “So I says to him, ‘Billy, the day she takes her pants down for you is the day whales start flying.’”
Ramiro was three paces away and Homer turned abruptly. “George? Hey, that you, George?”
It brought Ramiro’s head around and that was when Homer flung the contents of the styrofoam cup in his face.
4
When the ammonia hit his eyes Ramiro brought both hands to his face and cried out, lurching back against the brick wall. Homer was on top of him instantly, dropping the cup, pinning Ramiro to the wall. Mathieson darted in; fumbled in Ramiro’s coat pocket; found the Magnum and relieved him of it. It took no more than three seconds. He slipped the Magnum into his own pocket and Homer was pressing a handkerchief into Ramiro’s hand. “Here, wipe yourself off.”
Ramiro whimpered and clawed at his face. Blinded and in excruciating pain he was completely without fight. Homer batted Ramiro’s arms away and wiped his eyes with the handkerchief. “Come on, it’s only a little window cleaner.”