A Death in Pilsen

Chapter 17

In the pressroom at Headquarters the next morning, I had barely got settled with a copy of the three-star final and a Lucky when my phone jangled. It was Marge Blazek.

“I was surprised to see you show up last night,” she said in a concerned tone. “You never called yesterday to say you were going to be at Horvath’s, like you did the other times.”

“Sorry about that. I got to feeling bad that you were staying away from your favorite hangout because of me. Thought I’d do things a little differently this time.”

“I see that you got to talk to Len. How did that go?”

“Okay, I guess. He sure likes the sauce.”

“Yeah, he does hit it pretty hard, all right. You’ve seen them all now except Johnny.”

“Yeah, seems like he must not be coming in all that much. I have yet to see him.”

“Oh, he showed up last night all right, ’bout an hour or so after you left. I asked him where he’d been hiding himself, and he said he’s been kind of down after... well, you know.”

“After Edwina.”

“Yeah. Anyway, I told him it was good to have him back. Says he’ll be there again tonight.”

“I will be too. Please don’t stay away on my account. I can always get Maury to finger him for me.”

“You know I’ll be glad to help any way I can.”

“I know that, and I appreciate it. How about describing Sulski to me, in case Maury isn’t all that cooperative? He’s getting damn tired of me coming in and asking him questions.”

“Johnny, he’s, well, sorta light-haired, not exactly blond, but close to that. Medium height, I guess; I usually see him sittin’ down. And stocky, but not fat. He doesn’t talk much, he’s maybe even quieter than Rollins. He’s got a square face and he doesn’t smile hardly at all. Except that Eddie, she could get him to smile, and even laugh, which is more’n I could ever hope to do. I think he sees himself as a tough guy.”

“The strong, silent type, huh?”

“Pretty much, yeah. That’s a good way to put it.”

“Sounds like Edwina was able to break through that pose of his though, huh?”

“Yeah, she did. Hey, sorry, I gotta go now — a customer just walked in the door.”

I thanked her and told her I’d be on my own at Horvath’s tonight.

The rest of the day dragged as if I were in my dentist’s chair getting a root canal. I made my regular visit to Fergus Fahey’s office, where the big news was that Elsie had announced her pregnancy.

“That’s just terrific!” I said, giving her a squeeze. “I always knew that you had it in you.”

“Now I really have it in me,” she shot back, smirking prettily and patting her still-flat stomach.

Fahey was less enthused about her condition when the two of us got settled in his office.

“Best damn secretary a man could want, and now I’m going to lose her,” he grumbled after taking a drag on one of the cigarettes I had supplied. “God knows how I’ll ever fill those small but very large shoes of hers.”

“You’ll find a way, Fergus. How long has she been working for you now?”

“Eight, maybe nine years, since she was fresh out of high school. She caught on to things around here right away; I never had to tell her anything twice. Seemed to always anticipate what I need. My wife says Elsie was the third-best thing that ever happened to me — after her and the kids, of course.”

“Well, I have to admit she’s a gem, all right. But it was only a matter of time before somebody else found that out. I was surprised that somebody hadn’t grabbed her sooner.”

Fahey leaned back and considered me through narrowed eyes. “I always thought that somebody might’ve been you.”

“Honestly, Fergus, it never crossed my mind,” I told him, taking a sip of Elsie’s superb coffee. “It’s just that I guess neither one of us ever thought of the other in that way.”

“That’s where you’ve got it wrong, Snap. Elsie had it bad for you at one time, really bad... but by God, you never heard that from me, right?”

“Right,” I replied, honestly surprised, at least in part because I was more than fifteen years older than the lovely little brunette who was typing in the outer office.

“Well, it’s all past history now,” he said, blowing a cloud of smoke. “She’s happily married, and by all accounts you are as well, I gather.”

“Yes, I am. I almost let this one get away a few years ago, but I came to my senses somewhere along the line. Nice when we’re given second chances; I’m damn happy for Elsie.”

“In truth, I am, too, of course,” the old cop said. “She told me that she’s planning to come back in a few months, but I don’t believe that for a minute. I also don’t think she should come back... just call me traditional.”

“That’s something we agree on, Fergus. But, God, I’m going to miss her coffee.”

“She’s promised to train her replacement in what I consider the fine art of brewing,” he said, “but she’ll never be able to train someone to be like her in lots of other ways that nobody could hope to explain.”

“Agreed again. In there anything that we need to talk about on my beat?”

“Quiet day so far,” he replied. “What about you?”

“Same.”

“Still searching for someone to take your cousin’s place in that cell at the Bridewell?”

“Yes I am, Fergus. I know you don’t much like to hear that, but what else can I do?”

He released a world-weary sigh and shook his head slowly. “Just don’t become part of the news yourself, okay?”

“Okay,” I said with a grin, getting up and leaving. “See you around.”

At the dinner table that evening, I told Catherine I would be making another visit to Horvath’s.

“Is this really getting you somewhere, Steve?” she asked as she served me tuna casserole. “From what you’ve told me so far, I can’t see that you’ve really learned anything.”

“Except that none of the three guys I’ve talked to has an alibi for the time Edwina was killed.”

“But what does that prove?”

“That any one of them could have done it.”

“I know this is hardly my métier, but it seems to me that you’ve got to have both evidence and motive for the killing. Where are they?”

“There may never be any hard-and-fast evidence,” I conceded. “As to motive, they all supposedly lusted after her to varying degrees. What I’m trying to find out is whether one of these guys, in his lust, tried to force himself on Edwina at her and Charlie’s apartment and a scuffle started, with her ending up getting knifed in the chest.”

Catherine nodded, lips pursed. “Just where do you stand with that?”

“Nowhere, yet. I’ve got one more guy to talk to, and he’s supposed to be at Horvath’s tonight.”

“I don’t mean to sound like a cross-examining attorney in a courtroom, Steve, but what if you don’t get anything out of this last man? Then what?”

“I’ve got to persuade the cops to grill all four of them until one cracks.”

“But you’ve said that your friend the chief isn’t inclined to do that.”

“I’ll figure out a way to talk him into it, somehow. Along those lines, by the way, I’ve asked him to see if any of these guys have records.”

“And you still remain absolutely convinced that Charlie couldn’t have done it?”

“Absolutely, unequivocally.”

She lifted her shoulders and let them drop. “I know it’s fruitless to try to talk you out of going to that bar tonight. But you’ve got to promise me that you’ll be careful. Things could get out of control.”

“I promise. If anything happened to me, that would hardly help Charlie’s cause, would it?”