Bad Business

18

I went to see Elmer O'Neill at his office in a converted gas station in Arlington. The gas pumps were gone but the low concrete pedestal on which they'd once sat was still there.

"I see what you mean about low overhead," I said when I went in.

"Overhead any lower," Elmer said, "and I couldn't stand up straight."

"Right in the heart of the action, too," I said.

"Whaddya need?" Elmer said.

"Bernard Eisen," I said. "What'd he look like?"

"Guy hired me to tail his wife?"

"Yep."

"Blond guy, little mustache, glasses."

"How'd he pay you?"

E lmer squinted at me. "What's goin' on?" he said.

"Just confirming a few loose ends," I said.

"The hell you are," Elmer said. "Why do you want to know how he paid me?"

I grinned.

"Hard to throw one past you," I said.

"Don't forget it."

"He pay you cash?" I said.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Bernie has a history of bad checks," I said. "Just wondered if he bounced one on you."

"Hell no," Elmer said. "Nobody's bouncing nothing on Elmer O'Neill."

"So his check was good?"

"Better than that," Elmer said proudly. "He paid cash. Up front."

"Cash don't bounce," I said.

"You got that right," Elmer said.

"And what, exactly, did he want?"

"Follow the wife. Tell him who she saw."

"Even another woman?"

"He wanted a full report." Elmer smiled. "Men, women, you know it could go either way."

"Elmer, you sophisticated devil," I said.

"Hey," Elmer said. "It happens."

"Yes it does," I said. "You have any help?"

"Me? No. I, don't see no reason to split a fee when all I got to do is work hard, and get it all."

"So you covered her day and night?"

"Picked her up in the morning, stayed with her until bedtime. Bedtime at home."

I nodded.

"Now," I said. "I'm going to take a guess, and you tell me if the guess is on the money or not."

"Yeah?"

"To make sure nobody got wind of it, you didn't report. He called you."

"Yeah, that's right."

"No phone number."

"No."

"Nothing in writing."

"No."

"That raise any flags for you?" I said.

"It did," he said. "It sent up a big flag that said, Elmer, you take that cash right down to the bank and deposit it in your account."

"How'd he happen to come to you?" I said.

"He wanted the best," Elmer said.

"But how'd he find that out," I said.

E lmer squinted at me again.

"There's something going on," he said. "What is it? What's going down?"

I thought about it.

"Same guy who hired you to follow Ellen Eisen hired somebody else to follow another woman."

"Maybe old Bernie's got a. . ."

E lmer stopped. He rocked back in his chair and pointed a forefinger which he jabbed at me gently.

"Old Bernie ain't old Bernie," he said.

I nodded.

"So who the fuck is he?" Elmer said.

"Don't know," I said.

"Then why'd you ask me to describe my guy?" Elmer said.

"Because I've seen Bernie."

"He tell the other guy that he was that woman's husband?"

"Yes."

"And you seen her husband too," Elmer said.

"Yes.

E lmer sat some more, squinting. He still had his forefinger extended but now he was slowly making circles with it in the air. You could sort of track his thinking with it. The closer he got to an idea, the smaller the circles.

"This has got something to do with that company," he said.

"You think?"

"Kinergy," he said. "Guy got killed out there."

"You don't miss much," I said.

"Can't. Not in this business. You involved?"

"I didn't do it," I said.

"You got a piece of the investigation?"

"I'm a curious guy," I said.

"You do have a piece," Elmer said. "You need any help on it, you let me know. Surveillance. Research."

He reached out and patted the computer on his desktop.

"I can surf that fucking Internet," he said. "I can find out a lot."

"Got no budget for you," I said.

"That could change," Elmer said. "There's a lot of money floating around over there."

"At Kinergy?"

"Yeah. Stock almost doubled last year in a bear market," Elmer said. "Anything you need? You know? Be nice to get a foot in that door."

I thanked Elmer for his help and promised that I wouldn't forget him, which was probably true. We shook hands. Elmer walked me three steps to the door. We shook hands again. And I left.