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His face clouded "He died," he said "Just about two years ago Heart attack, he was just sitting at his desk and he bought it"

"I never heard That's a shaood coffee, too"

Chapter 16

My preliminary statement was sketchy The man who took it, a detective named Birnbaum, noticed as much I'd simply said that I had been assaulted by a person unknown to me at a specific place and time, that my assailant had been armed with a knife, that I had been unarmed, and that I had taken defensiveh I had not so intended, the ensuing fall had resulted in his death

"This punk knew you by naht"

"That's not in here" He had a receding hairline, and he paused to rub where the hair had previously been "You also told Lacey he'd been following you around past couple of days"

"I noticed him once I'm sure of, and I think I saw hi around while we trace the prints and try to figure out who he was"

"Right"

"You didn't wait to see if we turned up any ID on hi anything"

"Maybe it was just a hunch," I suggested "Man goes out to murder somebody, he doesn't carry identification around Just an assumption on ed "We can let it go at that, Matt Lot of times I check out an apartot careless and left the door open, because of course I wouldn't think of letting -and-entering"

"And ouldn't want that, would we?" He grinned, then picked up s you know about this bird that you don't want to tell Right?"

"No There's things I don't know"

"I don't get it"

I took one of his cigarettes froet the habit again I spent soht order

I said, "You're going to be able to clear a case off the books, I think A homicide"

"Give arette I said, "Let me do it my way for a little while I'll fill in part of it for you, but nothing goes on paper for the tih already to hat happened tonight as justifiable hoot a corpse with a knife in his hand"

"So?"

"The corpse was hired to tagto knoho hired hio, and when I know his naround I'll be able to coht into the person who's paying the check"

"And you can't open up on any of this in the meantiet the wrong person in trouble"

"You play a very lone hand, don't you?"

I shrugged

"They're checking don right now If he doesn't show there, we'll wire the prints down to the Bureau in DC It could add up to a long night"

"I'll hang around, if it's all right"

"I'd just as soon you did, matter of fact There's a couch in the loot's office if you want to close your eyes for a while"

I said I'd wait until the word ca to do, and I went into an euess I fell asleep, because the next thing I knew, Birnbau don, Matt Our boy's never taken a bust in New York"

"That's what I thought"

"I thought you didn't know anything about hi hunches, I told you that"

"You could save us trouble if you told us where to look"

I shook ton"

"His prints are already on the wire Might be a couple of hours anyway, and it's getting light outside already Why don't you go ho coot a full set Doesn't the Bureau do this sort of things by computer these days?"

"Sure But somebody has to tell the computer what to do, and they tend to take their tiet some sleep"

"I'll wait"

"Suit yourself" He started for the door, then turned to remind me about the couch in the lieutenant's office But the tie to sleep I was exhausted, certainly, but sleep was no longer possible Tooto turn, and I couldn't shut theer's boy It just had to add up that way Either he had soer was dead and out of the picture, or he was tied in close to Prager and wanted h an interer was a part of it So, because otherwise-

I didn't want to think about the otherwise