McNally's caper

THE DUEL

‘I understand you’re getting hairy around the heels,’ Dick Fleming said.

Jack Donohue shrugged. ‘When you’re hot, you’re hot; when you’re not, you’re not. Where did you say you were from?’

‘I didn’t,’ Fleming said. ‘Does it matter?’

‘Oh …’ Donohue said vaguely.

‘Kansas City,’ Dick told him, ‘originally. A little here and a little there since then.’

‘And what are you doing now?’

‘Anyone I can,’ Fleming said, and the answer seemed to satisfy Donohue.

We were sitting in a back booth at Fangio’s. The pleasing thought occurred to me that maybe I was the bone of contention. These two dogs were sniffing around what they considered to be a bitch in heat. No wonder there were snarls, snaps, and growls. It had gone on all during dinner.

‘I can’t work with the Tooth Fairy here,’ Donohue said finally, glowering at me. ‘I’ve got to have guys at my back I can trust. No insult intended, Fleming, but the chemistry is wrong.’

‘Suits me,’ Dick said. ‘You don’t impress me as being the kind of brainy pro we’re looking for. Let’s split, Bea.’

I decided to crack the whip.

‘You shitheads,’ I said coldly to both of them. ‘I’ve spent too much time on this campaign to blow it because you two can’t get along. I don’t expect you to like or trust each other. All I’m asking is that you work together just long enough to pull this off. Then you can go at each other with icepicks for all I care. But either you work together, or consider yourselves out, and I’ll find myself some other boys.’

The two men stared stonily at each other.

‘I’ll go along,’ Fleming said.

‘Strictly business,’ Donohue said.

‘All right,’ I said. ‘Remember that. I’m the boss lady, but we’re all in it together. One goes down, we all go down. So we work as a team. Agreed?’

They both nodded.

‘Jack,’ I said, leaning toward Donohue, ‘this is what I’ve got …’

I spelled it out for him: all about Brandenberg amp; Sons, the address, size, number of employees, daily schedule — everything Dick and I had been able to learn.

Black Jack listened intently, occasionally interrupting to ask sharp, one-word questions: ‘Cops?’ ‘Alarms?’ ‘TV?’ ‘Customers?’ I answered as fully as I could. I thought he was impressed but was trying not to show it.

‘When do you figure on hitting?’ he asked.

‘About two weeks before Christmas,’ Fleming said. ‘Early in the morning. Right after it opens. No customers in the store.’

‘Still,’ Donohue said, ‘we can’t handle it, just the three of us. Need a wheelman. Maybe a peteman if that safe is locked. Also, you’re talking about six or seven workers in the place. Too many for us to keep an eye on and sweep the joint at the same time.’

‘Right,’ I said, nodding. ‘I figure at least two more, maybe three.’

‘What take do you figure?’

‘A million,’ I said. ‘At least. That means two, three hundred thousand from the fences or insurance company, depending on how we want to handle it. We can decide that later. What’s important right now is to get this thing rolling. Get it planned down to the last detail. Recruit the help we’ll need.’

‘How do you figure on splitting.’

‘We can work out the fine print later,’ I told him. ‘But right now I’m planning a flat fee for the hired hands. As little as they’ll take. Their pay and expenses come off the top. The net we split, forty-thirty-thirty. Me, you, and Dick.’

‘Mmmmm,’ he said. ‘Well,’ he said. ‘I’ll tell you,’ he said, ‘I know you don’t expect a yes-no answer right here, now, this minute.’

‘Why not?’ Fleming said hotly. ‘It’s a good deal.’

‘Who for?’ Donohue said. ‘Let me decide. It’s my cock on the block. I’ll take a look at the place, Bea. Mosey around. See how it feels. There’s a lot I like about it, and a lot I don’t like.’

‘Such as?’ I said.

‘Such as early-morning customers wandering in or street cops strolling by. Such as hidden alarms you don’t know about. Such as those two repair guys in the back room slamming and locking the door the minute we come barreling in from the street. A lot to think about. Let me look the place over. Give me a couple of days. Then I’ll get back to you. Okay?’

I looked at Dick. He looked at me.

‘A couple of days,’ I agreed. ‘Then if you’re in, you’re in. If you’re out, you’re out, and no hard feelings. But don’t stall. I want to get this show on the road. 1 want it so bad I can taste it.’

Black Jack looked at me admiringly.

‘You’re something else again,’ he said. ‘I won’t stall. Two days, three at the most. If it’s as good as you make it sound, then we can go right ahead. I know a couple of heavies who might be just right for a job like this. Smart — but not too smart. And all the balls in the world.’

‘Sounds good,’ I said. ‘Let’s see — you figure two, three days to make up your mind? How about Friday night in my place at the Harding?’

‘Friday night is fine,’ Donohue said, grinning. ‘But why not make it my place? More chairs. And ice.’

We stood up to leave. I paid the tab. Neither of the men objected. Being a mob boss was becoming an expensive proposition.

Jack and I walked Fleming over to Broadway.

‘Where you kipping?’ Donohue asked casually.

‘The Village,’ Dick said, just as casually. ‘A crummy hotel. If this thing clicks, I figure on moving up.’

‘It’ll click,’ I assured him. ‘You can take that to the bank.’

‘We shall see what we shall see,’ Jack Donohue said.

We put Fleming in a cab. He wasn’t too happy at leaving the two of us together.

Donohue and 1 strolled. It was getting on to twelve, but that raunchy neighborhood was alive. The night people were out: the pimps and prosties, the pushers and hooked, the drunks and loonies. The streets were thronged with the pushing, noisy, brawling mob.

‘You trust him?’ Donohue asked.

‘As much as I trust you,’ I said.

He gave me another of his scintillating grins.

‘Fair enough. I’m just wondering if he’ll be there if push comes to shove.’

‘Sure he will,’ I told him. ‘He’s not a paper doll. He won’t fold.’

‘If you say so.’

Upstairs at the Harding, we went to his room. He fixed us drinks. We kicked off our shoes.

‘Where are you from, Jack?’ I asked him.

‘Originally?’ he said. ‘You wouldn’t believe.’

‘Sure I would.’

‘How about a good Irish-American family in Boston? Sister a nun and both brothers priests. Father and uncles in city politics. Plenty of cops in the family, too. How does that grab you?’

‘You’re the black sheep?’

‘Blacker than black.’

‘Ever go back?’

‘To the family? Now and then. The prodigal son returns. They kill the fatted calf. Always glad to see me. No questions asked. We have a ball.’

‘I can imagine.’

‘They think I’m going to hit it big one of these days.’

‘Sure you are,’ I said. ‘On Friday night.’

‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘We’ll see.’

He seemed vulnerable, sapped by the memories. Failure dogged him. Suddenly I felt guilty.

‘Let’s go to bed,’ I said.

‘Let’s go,’ he said.