The Underground Man

18

Steve Winslow paid off the cab at 66th and Broadway and headed for the subway station. Ordinarily it would have been faster just to take the subway there from the West Village where he lived, but at two in the morning it was apt to be a long time between trains and Steve was too impatient to wait.

Steve went down the subway steps, bought a token, went through the turnstile. The platform was more or less deserted, as it should have been at two in the morning. At the far uptown end, a lone cop stood in front of a section of platform that had been cordoned off with a yellow “Police Scene” tape.

As Steve stood looking, a voice said, “Psssst.”

Steve looked around and saw Mark Taylor and Tracy Garvin standing just out of sight in an alcove just downtown from the token booth. He walked over.

“Hi, Mark, Tracy.”

Taylor jerked his thumb in Tracy’s direction. “Thought we might need her.”

“Thought I might kill him if he didn’t call me,” Tracy said. “Remember when he forgot the last time.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve said. “So what’s the scoop?”

“Nothing doing,” Taylor said. “I pumped the token clerk. Media’s come and gone. It was too late to make the eleven o’clock news, but they shot footage for tomorrow. Treating it as a thrill-kill, like I said. Speculation is, teenagers out for kicks.”

“Speculation?”

“Yeah. No hard facts. Just guesswork.”

“What about the cops?”

“Long gone. Wrapped it up, posted a man, and split. Just routine once the news crews left.”

“Yeah, fine,” Steve said. “But what do they know?”

Taylor shrugged. “Just what I told you. No more, no less. They put it down as a thrill-kill of a homeless man. They’ve identified him as Jack Walsh, but as far as I know, the name means nothin’ to ‘em. Jack Walsh, John Doe, all the same to them.”

Steve jerked his thumb. “What about the cop down there? You make a pass at him yet?”

Taylor shook his head. “Thought I’d wait for you. See how you wanted to play it.”

Steve frowned. “We go ask him questions, he’ll wanna know who we are. When he finds out, he won’t talk.”

“We don’t have to tell him.”

“Yeah, but I hate that, and it’s not going to get us anywhere.”

Steve turned, peered at the cop down the station. Turned back, thought a moment. “The cop looks young and impressionable. Tracy, why don’t you go down there, get him interested in your bod, see what he has to say?”

Tracy gave him a look. “I consider that an obnoxious, sexist remark.”

Steve shrugged. “You’re right. You don’t have to do it.”

Tracy grinned. “What, are you nuts? Be right back.”

She turned and walked down the platform. While Steve and Mark surreptitiously watched, Tracy walked up to the young cop and started talking to him. From what they could see, she was doing just fine.

She was back in five minutes.

“So,” Steve said.

“Snowed him completely,” Tracy said. “He wanted my phone number.”

“I’m sure he did. What about the murder?”

“Strangely enough, he wasn’t that interested in the murder. I had to convince him I was.”

“And?”

“He still didn’t know that much. Just like Mark said-thrill-kill. Splash the guy with gas and set him on fire.”

“Yeah, but who?”

“Teenagers.”

“Teenagers. Black or white?”

“Apparently white.”

“Oh yeah?” Steve said. “And how does he know that?”

“There must be a witness of some kind. The guy didn’t know, but that’s the only way it figures. Because of what he said.”

Steve looked at her. “You’re doing this to pay me back for the sexist remark, aren’t you? I mean, there’s a punch line to this, right?”

“Yeah, and you’re not going to like it.”

“Oh shit.”

“What?” Taylor said. “What are you talking about?”

“That’s it, isn’t it?” Steve said. “That’s why he thinks it’s teenagers and how he knows they’re white. Right?”

“You got it,” Tracy said. “The story from the witness is real garbled. The cop didn’t know who the witness was, or what he said. Only one thing stood out.”

“For Christ’s sake,” Taylor said. “Will you tell me what it was?”

“Only one thing makes any sense, Mark,” Steve said.

Tracy nodded. “That’s right. All the guy knew was, it was something about green hair.”