“How often did he speak about this place?”
Claude Boster said, “Just twice to me. Both times was when he was... feeling sick.”
“Like he needed a boost,” I suggested.
“Yes.”
I looked at Small. “And you?”
“Several times. Casual remarks, but strange for him.”
“Why?”
“Because he was used to big laboratories and the finest equipment. In his work he needed other technicians to perform minor time consuming tasks and it wasn’t like him to seek solitude.”
“He was a loner, wasn’t he?”
“Quite so, but only in regard to his personal association with people. Other people were a necessity in his profession.”
“And you can’t think of anything else he might have said or done that could locate this place of his?”
In a soft tone Boster said, “It wouldn’t have been up north.”
“Why not?”
“Louis had a touch of rheumatism. He couldn’t stand cold weather.”
“So that narrows it down to half a continent,” I mused. “Nuts.”
“We tried, Mr. Mann,” Small said apologetically.
“The next time don’t try it alone. I’ll get some people on this and see what we can run down. My advice to you both is to stick close to your homes and stay locked in. There are others who know of your connection with Agrounsky and if they think you have anything that might locate him you’ll be a target. You’ve already seen an example of what they’ll do so don’t play it down.”
“But...”
“I’ll arrange for police protection. You’re public property for a while and you’ll need it. What I want is for you to think. Go over every damn detail of your talks with Agrounsky and see what you come up with. If there is anything at all... any little thing, you call me.” I wrote down the Sand Dunes number on separate slips of paper and handed it to them. “If I’m not there, contact the I.A.T.S. offices in New York or the local F.B.I. and they’ll have an agent here in a matter of minutes.”
Both of them nodded silently.
“You realize how critical this is?”
They nodded again.
“One of you might be holding the key to saving your own hides. You haven’t got much time. Maybe none at all.”
I.A.T.S. was in emergency session when my call got through. Charlie Corbinet took the message and put Hal Randolph on the line. The edge was off the usual gruff tone and he sounded tired, and all he could say was, “Yeah, Randolph here.”
“Tiger Mann. I have something.” I gave him the details of Agrounsky’s narcotic condition and the possibility of his having a hideout somewhere near a fish place run by a guy named Wax. “You’ll need a damn big team to run it down,” I said. “It could be a store near a river or a lake as well as the oceanside. That gives you a lot of country to cover, but it’s the only lead I have.”
“Okay, Tiger. You sure that’s all?”
“Push it from the narcotics end and you might get something.”
“Don’t worry, we will.” He paused, then added, “You get off it now.”
“Like hell I will.”
“Orders, Mann.”
“Shove ’em. I’m closer than you are and I’m staying on it.”
“You were told you’d risk a court-martial,” he warned me.
“You scare me, big daddy. You need every person you can get.”
“Except you,” he said. “This is a matter of national concern. There can be no instability factor...”
I hung up on him and grinned to myself. Hell, they weren’t worried about me. They didn’t want to risk putting the Martin Grady organization in a position of power if we broke through. They still wanted us destroyed and if they could keep us from gaining strength the odds were still going for them.
My watch read ten after nine. Another hour and the men Hal Randolph would have assigned would be flooding the area, some with orders to hold me. Well, they’d have a time of it if they tried squeezing me out.
I got back to my motel, paid two days in advance, took a few necessities out of my suitcase and drove over to the Sand Dunes Motel and registered in under T. Gerrity, getting a corner room on the northeast end of the building.
When I finished putting my gear away I called Dave’s motel, left word for him to meet me outside the police station in twenty minutes, then ducked back through the rain and took the highway down to the precinct station and asked for Hardecker.
The Captain opened the door himself, looked me over as if I were a bug of some kind and waved me in. “You’re a pain in the butt, Mann.”
“So I’ve been told before.”
“What’s it this time?”
“A constant stakeout on Boster’s and Vincent Small’s places.”
“Why?”
“You could have a repetition of the other night. Cover all doors and keep a car ready to roll.”
“Just like that, huh?”
“Just like that.”
The faintest grin showed around his mouth. “I don’t know why I like you,” he said. “You scare me, but you make life kind of exciting. Okay, I’ll get somebody there. I don’t suppose you can explain.”
“That’s right.”
“And nobody’s to know about it, right?”
I nodded.
“Son-of-a-gun,” he almost whispered. “I get the feeling I’m being made a sucker.”
“You’re not.”
“I know that too, but I can’t help the feeling.” He slid into his chair and rocked it back, picking up two report sheets from his desk in the same motion. “We’re not so stupid around here, Mr. Mann. I have a little news for you.”
“Oh?”
His fingers flicked the sheets. “Something on Agrounsky. We work pretty closely with personnel on the space project... continuous surveillance on certain people engaged in classified work... for their own protection as well as security reasons.”
When I didn’t say anything he looked down at the sheets again. “This is confidential. Duplicates of these reports were never submitted to any agency because we checked every detail out thoroughly.”
“Go ahead.”
“Louis Agrounsky was a bachelor with pretty sedate habits. He didn’t drink and he didn’t consort with women. That is... not often. When he did it was with two professionals on six different occasions over a period of thirteen months. Now we don’t condone or protect prostitution, but we face the facts and know it exists. These two women were informers for us and notified us of the contact and we bugged the rooms to make sure Agrounsky didn’t talk out of turn and become a security risk.”
“Did he?”
“Nope. It was all very physical and very professional. And understandable,” he added. “He satisfied a need and left. In case you’re wondering, this situation has arisen before and...”
“I get the picture,” I interrupted. “It’s nothing new.”
“Naturally, we kept a check going and on several occasions had the report that Agrounsky was seen with a woman. No identification. They met for supper twice and went to the picture show once. No further contact.”
“No attempt was made to establish identification?”
“There was no necessity for it. He was allowed to lead his own life. She wasn’t a known person and the association was casual. It wasn’t an overnight affair and the police officer seated nearby said the conversation was inconsequential.”
“Description?”
Hardecker shrugged. “Female, early thirties, well built but on the plain side. Their relationship seemed friendly. Nothing more.”
“It doesn’t sound like him.”
“Friend, if a man is a male, sooner or later he’s going to get that yen for a broad. In Agrounsky’s case it was on rare occasions, but enough to satisfy him even if it was only a matter of getting into a conversation.”