“His right hand,” Delaney cautioned. “He’s right-handed. Don’t forget it.”
“I won’t forget it. The Luger gets wiped clean and put in his right hand.”
“Try it,” Delaney said, “but don’t get spooked if it doesn’t work. It’s tougher than you think to get a clunk’s hand to grip a gun-even a fresh clunk. lust make sure you get a couple of good prints on it. They probably won’t show on the wood grips, especially if they’re checkered, but put them on the metal. Anywhere. The gun can even be on the floor, near his right hand. But a couple of good prints are what we need. What do you do next?”
“Let’s see…” Fernandez thought deeply. He took a sip of his brandy. “Well, we’ve still got the keys to the guy’s apartment.”
“Right,” Delaney said promptly. “So your friend has got to go down to the lobby and slip the keys back to Lipsky. Tell him to leave Danny Boy’s apartment door open on the way out. Not open, but unlocked. And while he’s doing that, what are you doing?”
“Me? Well, I guess I could start tossing-”
“Forget it,” the Captain said. “Don’t touch a goddamn thing. The first thing you do is call me on Blank’s phone. I’ll be waiting for your call. I’ll collect a squad and be right over. But don’t do a thing until I get there. Don’t even sit down in a chair. Just stand there. If you get any flak from neighbors, just identify yourself, tell them more cops are on the way, and keep them out in the corridor. All right, I come in with a squad. You tell us what happened, and keep it as short as possible. I make the calls I have to make-the ME, lab, and so forth. Then we start a search, and then I’ll plant the oily rag, the cleaning tools, the extra Luger magazines, and so forth. I don’t know how I’ll carry them up there, but I’ll-”
“But why should you do it, Captain?” Fernandez protested. “We could take that stuff up there with us.”
Delaney grinned cynically. “In cases like this, it’s best that everyone be involved, as equally as possible. It’s insurance. That’s why I want you to make certain that both you and your friend feed Danny Boy the pills.”
The lieutenant puzzled over this. Then his face cleared. “Smart,” he nodded. “So no one talks, ever, and knows none of the others is going to spill.”
“Something like that,” Delaney agreed, not smiling. “Mutual trust. Now here’s the cover story: Operation Lombard determined that the weapon used in the four homicides was an ice ax. That’s a tool used by mountain climbers. Danny Boy is a mountain climber. There’s hard evidence for all this. We checked into purchasers of ice axes in the Two-five-one Precinct, where all the killings occurred, and you and your friend were given a list of ice ax owners to question. Just to put the icing on the cake, I’ll give you two or three names and addresses to check out before you get to Danny Boy. Then you say you identified yourselves as police officers, he let you in, and you asked to examine his ice ax. He said it was in his bedroom and went in there to get it. It’s really in the outside hall closet, but he went into the bedroom and came out with the Luger, blasting. But he missed. The two of you went for your sticks and iced him. How does it sound?”
The lieutenant shook his head admiringly. “You’re a wonder, Captain,” he said. “It sounds great, just great.”
“And, with any luck, while I’m planting the Luger equipment, I’ll turn up the evidence that will put the finger on Danny Boy but good. It was there a few weeks ago. If it’s still there, believe me, no one will ask any questions. But even if he’s destroyed it by now, it won’t make any difference. He’ll be wasted, and it’ll all be over.”
“Sounds perfect, Captain.”
“No,” Delaney said, “it’s not perfect. There are some loose ends we’ll have to take care of. For instance, this friend of yours-I’ll have to meet him.”
“You already know him.”
“He’s in Operation Lombard?”
“Yes ”
“Good. That makes it easier. This was just a quick outline, lieutenant. The three of us will have to go over it again and again and again until we’ve got it just right and our timing set. Maybe we could even have a dry-run to work out any bugs, but essentially I think it’s a logical and workable plan.”
“I think it’s a winner, Captain. Can’t miss.”
“It can miss,” Delaney said grimly. “Anything can miss. But I think it’s worth a chance.”
“Then it’s on, Captain? Definitely?”
Delaney took a deep breath, came back to sit behind his desk again. He sat erect in his swivel chair, put his big hands flat on the desk top.
“Well…maybe not definitely,” he said finally. “I like it because it gives me another option, and I’m practically running out of those. I’ve got just one other idea that’s been percolating in my brain. I tell you what: Go ahead and get the Luger. Fire it, clean it, and bang it up a little. But don’t mention a word to your friend. If I decide to go ahead, I’ll let you know. Got it?”
“Sure,” Fernandez nodded. “I do what you said about the Luger but hold up on anything else until I get the word from you.”
“Exactly.”
They both rose to their feet. The lieutenant put out his hand; Delaney grasped it.
“Captain,” Lt. Fernandez said seriously, “I want to wish a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year to you and yours. I hope Mrs. Delaney is feeling much better real soon.”
“Thank you, lieutenant,” Delaney said. “The very merriest of Christmases to you and your family, and I hope the New Year brings you everything you want. It’s a real pleasure working with you.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Fernandez said. “Likewise.” Delaney closed the door, came back into the study.
He sat down at his desk, wished he had a fresh Cuban cigar, and considered the plan he had discussed with Lt. Fernandez. It wasn’t foolproof; such plans never were. There was always the possibility of the unexpected, the unimagined: a scream from somewhere, a sudden visitor, a phone call. Danny Boy might even charge the two police officers, going right into their naked guns. He was capable of such insanity.
But essentially, Delaney decided, it was a logical and workable program. It was a solution. There were a lot of loose ends: how would he carry the Luger tools and cleaning equipment up to the apartment when he answered Fernandez’ call, where would he plant them (in the bedroom, obviously), what if the souvenirs were no longer taped to the bottom of the dresser drawer? A hundred questions would be asked, by newsmen and by his superiors. How had Operation Lombard determined that an ice ax was the weapon used in the four homicides? How had they latched onto Daniel Blank? There would be many, many such questions; he would have to anticipate them all and have his answers ready.
He looked at his watch. Almost 4:15; it was a long afternoon. He sighed, pulled himself to his feet, unlocked the study door to the living room, wandered in.
The two big transceivers were on plain pine planks, placed across sawhorses. A uniformed officer was seated in front of each instrument, hunched over a table microphone. A separate table, not as large, held the three new telephones. There was a uniformed officer on duty there, reading a paperback novel. Two men, stripped to their scivvies, were sleeping on cots alongside the wall. One was snoring audibly. Detective second grade Samuel Wilding-he was one of Blankenship’s assistants-was seated at a card table making notes on a chart. Delaney raised a hand to him.
He stood a moment near the radios, hands clasped behind his back. He was probably, he thought regretfully, making the operators nervous. But there was no answer for that.
The room was quiet. No, not quiet; except for the low snoring, it was absolutely silent. Late afternoon darkness crept through open drapes, and with it came a-what? A sweetness, Captain Delaney admitted, laughing at himself, but it was a kind of sweetness.
The uniformed men had taken off their blouses. They were working at their desks in sweaters or T-shirts, but still wearing gun belts. Only Detective Wilding wore a jacket, and his was summer-weight, with lapels. So what was it? Delaney wondered. Why the sweetness? It came, he decided, from men on duty, doing their incredibly boring jobs, enduring. The fraternity. Of what? (Delaney: “A friend? In the Department?” Fernandez: ((astonished)): “Of course in the Department. Who’s got any friends outside the Department?”) A kind of brotherhood.