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THE LYDIA REYNOLDS CASE and DEATH IN HERALD SQUARE PAT NOVAK FOR HIRE
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Pat Novak
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Join now and immerse yourself in non stop fun and adventure with Chamba Casino. Get in on the action today@chambacasino.com and make every day a Chamba day. No purchase necessary. VGW Group void war prohibited by law 18/ DNC supply then pat Novak or higher sure, I'm Pat Novak for hire. Down around the Embarcadero, everybody's clawing his neighbor for a quick buck and everybody knows it. So if you call your work something else, who are you fooling? I rent boats when that pays off. And in between, I do what I can to keep something on my hip besides that handkerchief. You'd been along with me a few days ago, you'd have known that I was ready for work. A friend of mine called Ira had an inside tip on a hot horse in the third race at Bay Meadows. I gone down there to see if I could promote the news into currency. It was a good idea, except that my horse was still running in a third when they started the fourth. All I had left of my bankroll was an empty feeling. After checking through my pockets, I went out on a highway and started back to town. I was still unlimbering my thumb when a long, low roadster pulled up beside me. It was a very expensive job, including the driver. She was just about old enough to vote, and if she did and the candidates weren't blind, they'd have spent all their time on her. Corner is on my way, mister. I'd sure like to be. How do you know which way I'm going? The scenery is good wherever it's located. The shy type. You want me to stammer? No, but you could wait until we're Introduced Will Novak. Clear the air any? My name's Lydia Reynolds. Novak. Haven't I heard about you somewhere? If you have, you ought to change your friends. Oh, you're sort of a lone wolf detective or something. You got three of those there. One of them ought to win. Well, if you're any of those, maybe I could use you. You look like you could afford it. Oh, that's no problem. If money's no problem, you aren't really worrying. What do you call fear? Narrow it down. I can't just. Well, have you ever felt as if something were hovering over you and it you didn't know what it was? Could be a blackjack or second zombie. Will you help me? All I can do for nightmares, lady, is keep you up late. It's more real than that, believe me. So's the money. Hiring me will cost you. You'll do it then. You could be a sort of. Of a bodyguard. Do I get to fill in the pauses? Well, at least I won't have to worry about you keeping keeping your mind on your words. Wait here. I have to make a phone call. She walked away and it was smooth and easy to watch. Like a bird gliding on a bit of wind. When she got on her side, I began to think about the hire. I'd heard of rich dames doing crazy things, but this was crowding the record. Nobody hires a watchman to stand off a bad dream. I felt like a guy getting ready to fly with a pair of homemade wings. It could be thrilling. Then what else? But what else began to develop right away? A car pulled up near me with two men in it. One of them got out, a big guy with a kind of a face you see in ads for men's swing. Handsome and a little vacant. He came over to the car. He wanted to talk. Got a match, Buddy? Yeah. Here. Thanks, Buddy. It's a nice car you got there. Must have set you back three or four grand. It's only money. Yeah. What'd you say your name was? If you're selling anything, I don't want it. Give me back my matches. I didn't catch the name, Buddy. The wind's against you. Try shutting your mouth. You have to be nasty. You got the ways that make it come easy. I know I could teach you manners if I had time. You ain't built to teach me anything. I don't want to learn no. Well, I can try. Starting with what's this in my hand. So you're loaded. So let's drive down the road and see what else I can learn. You like remembering your name, for instance. Head right into the city. You do know where the city is, don't you? Look, sucker, if you're out to roll me, you grab the wrong goose. Don't tell me you're broke. Try the second five dollar window down at Bay Meadows. You're broke and three grand worth of auto. That makes about as much sense as stuttering Dan O'Brien. So you bet on the three legged horse. Let's break it up and forget it. We're coming into town now. I might as well ride it out. We're so side. This ain't my crate. I thumbed a ride from a dame. I was waiting for when you started waving around the artillery. You're telling me. Her name's Lydia Reynolds. Look, drive up that alley before you get lost your knucklehead. It's a dead end street. That's all right. From here on you're riding on a clock. When I came to, it was raining. Not much, just a faint drizzle. It felt nice on the back of my neck and my hair. As things came back into focus, I found out I was still behind the wheel. I was leaning like a flower. A week after the wedding. My head felt big enough for a size 30 hat. I could count every pulse beating. Aches didn't get any better when someone started shaking me. A big rough hand that have been a gold mine for a rug cleaning outfit. I turned my head enough to see a flock of vest buttons bulging over a belt. Come on, Novak, the show's a turkey. Go away, Helen. This ain't an apple car. Eric's no good, Novak. You'll never make Broadway stop shaking me. What do you think I am, a whiskey sour? Don't worry, you haven't begun to shake. Where't the judge start to read the papers at you? You think I stole the car? There's that. And they caught up with you. They took you off homicide and put you on a hot car detail. I can see now where insurance rates are going to zoom out of sight. I got you and the motor still warm. You couldn't catch a fever and a flu epidemic. And while the body's still warm, you couldn't find your way up an escalator. What'd you say? The body in the back of the car. And you hammed that act almost as much as you did. That fake blackout. She called it a nightmare. The body wasn't much to see. Just a standard model citizen with a little too much weight and a little too little hair. On his head he'd been anything special. When he was breathing, it had all gone away like a shout in a high wind. Hellman went through the suit, but all I turned up was a hole in the pocket and some chicken feed change. I needed to find out what was going on. I needed to find it fast. I figured a good place to start was to look up Lydia Reynolds. I'd taken her address off the car. It was a nice place. A cozy 16 or so rooms done in neat white marble. Set back from the rabble in St. Francis woods behind. Enough lawn outfit, a golf course. A butler answered my ring. An easy six feet of well collected muscles. He led me along a flock of Persian rugs. I ended up in the living room. A little small young museum. Lydia was over by a window. She wasn't glad to see me. She wasn't mad either, just polite. Did you have a pleasant drive? I'll settle for exciting. You always steal cars like that? Or is it something you just developed? What am I supposed to do with that? Is the question. Strange. You knew my neurotic friends. You know I have to ask things like that. Yeah, I met one of them. I phoned the police about the cop. But I'm glad you changed your mind. Everybody helped, including a friend of yours who held me up, made me drive away and then slug me. Friend of mine? He knew you're a tall, handsome citizen with a loud voice and nasty manners. You're describing most of my friends. That doesn't help at all. This one likes jokes. He planted a corpse in the back of the car. You're a joke, aren't you? I mean, this really didn't happen. No. All you gotta do is explain away my headache. It means those fears I had weren't just my imagination. Then what do you got? That's a good question, my dear. Maybe you ought to think about it. We were talking alone. You're forgetting your manners. Am I? Introduce us, Lydia. Mr. Novak, my uncle, Charles Reynolds. And then you'd better go up and rest. Don't you. I want to talk to Mr. Novak. Tomorrow would be better. I'm sure Mr. Novak will excuse me. I'll sit anywhere. It's not my ball game, so someday. Charles. Excuse me, patsy. A drink, Mr. Novak? Make it straight for a change. Perhaps I should tell you that I'm Lydia's legal guardian as well as her uncle. Today's full of news. Those fears of hers are really nothing. Just her imagination. She's a very nervous, high strung girl. Did you notice? I didn't Notice you tried to climb up the walls. Of course, it's not that bad. Well, I'll admit her imagination gives me trouble now and then. The job's tough, but the pay's good. I'll look after my niece. I hope it hasn't inconvenienced you, Emmie. Not so far. She hired me. I'll stick around till she fires me. I'm afraid that's impossible. They used to say that about flying. I told you, my niece is highly neurotic. She's not responsible for her acts. I'm willing to pay whatever you think. So she so far. I'll leave it that way till she hangs up. Before you're wrong about that. My niece is not coming down again tonight. You might as well go. Mind if I check that with her? Yes, I do. Are you leaving or will I have the butler show you out? Never mind the muscles. I'll play your cards this time at least. This time as the last time. That part is still with her. I tell you I run this establishment. Yeah. I'm beginning to wonder how the big butler showed me out. A nice guy to have around if you go for screams in the night. It was quiet and roomy outside. A big peaceful sky with a moon like a washtub. Little piece of wind playing with the trees on the grounds. Like some old ghosts whispering together. I heard Lydia call the first time she tried. It wasn't much above a breath. She was upstairs at a window. She told me to go to the guest house. Set on the back of the lot, hidden away in a clump of trees. It turned out to be a little toy cottage, like some out of a fairy tale. Lydia showed up while I was still fumbling with the door. I'm so glad you didn't go away. But my uncle tell you. Did he send you away? He didn't have to push hard. I was ready to throw in my hand anyway. But I need you, don't you see? I need you now more than ever. I didn't contract to play ducks and drakes with a dead body, a muscle bound butler and an uncle who goes around saying goodbye. That's one of the reasons I need you. My father left me a huge fortune. My uncle's been trying for years to get his hands on it. It gets even better. Next we'll be having poison in the highballs. How do I know how far I'll go? Already he's tried to put me in an asylum. Yeah, he was giving me that nervous talk about you. It's a job for the judge, baby. All right for the judge, then. Just stay and talk to me. I don't know about that either. Does it sound hard? The last time time we talk, someone else finished the sentences with a blackjack. I can make better memory than that. While we're in the files. How come the guy who slugged me knew so much about you? His name's Post. They call him Two Spots. You have to talk about him. I like lights when I'm ice skating. Had it wait till morning, don't answer. Maybe they'll go away. Time to retire, Miss Lydia. What do you mean coming here? Worried about your rescuing me? The doctor. Get out of here, you. Here. Leave me alone. Very well, miss. But the gentleman is leaving and I thought maybe you'd like me to see you back to the house. He isn't leaving. Your arms. You're a fight. The gentleman's leaving this. And now I'm on your payroll. The joint's full of guys giving orders. You want to walk out or stumble? Make up my mind for me. I was doing all right while I stayed away from him. When he got in close, the show ended and the band went home. When I came to, the bump on my head was matching aches with my jaw. He won that one the hard way. Novak, are you the prize? What are you talking about? That. That body over there. You must be out for the limit tonight. Help me up. He's a butler. What happened to him? He backed into a knife. It's illegal, you know. The town's full of knives. Anybody could have given it to him. I don't see any crowd around. But you're here, ain't you? Where's the dame? Why did you kill him? Novak? Yeah. Yeah, of course. Where's the dame? There's something going on around here that I'm not in on. You seem to know all the terms. Open up and I'm not fooling you. You got the story straight, Hellman. After I left you, I came out here to see the dame, Lydia Reynolds. We were in here and the play was beginning to warm up when the butler knocked and tried to throw me out. I took a swing and he swung harder. You woke me up. The girl must have done it. Oh, Lydia Reynolds. What do you think I'm talking about? Henny Lamar? You might as well be, Bob. This way, it's your word against 8 million bucks. It got even worse when we went after Lydia. Her uncle blocked us away from the door with a doctor looking over his shoulder. He said he followed the butler out to the Guest house and caught Lydia as she ran out. He'd seen us fighting and started in to stop us when Lydia fainted. When Hellman showed up with a stolen car, Reynolds talked in a very positive voice. Eight million bucks. Word. It takes more than an inspector's badge to interrupt that kind of talk. Pelman took it all down in a little book. Then he took me into the Kearney street station and booked me on suspicion of two murders in a car heist. He was happy and helpful. Even sent out and got Jocko Madigan to come to see me. Jocko was an ex medico and a boozer, but he was the best friend I had in town. If sympathy was a crowbar, I'd have been out of the place in 10 minutes. Patsy, my boy, I've never seen you look more at home. Go away, Jocko. You bother me. Endurance vile. There must you wake and weep and all your frowsy couching sorrow steep. To paraphrase Bobby Burr, go away my headaches. I've come to offer my aid. Anything I can do for you, Patsy? Say it and it's done. You can't help me, Jocko. Oh, don't tell me you really did it this way. No. Then why are you worrying? Have you no faith in justice? You can put together a death judge and a bought jury, you can. What bad is that? Oh, go away, Jocko. Weave in your beer for me. This isn't like you, Patsy Novak. I've called you everything in the way of being a disgraceful citizen. But I've always admired one thing about you. You were a fighter. You never quit fighting. How do you fight? 8 million bucks in a perfect frame up. 8 million bucks? There isn't that much money. Try and sell that to Lydia Reynolds. Oh, is she the one who built the frame? It's even better than that. I don't know who did it or why. Don't be mysterious, Patsy. I'm too old to play word games. Look, Jocko, I was coming to ride in from Bay Meadows. Lydia picked me up. Then I was hijacked by a guy Lydia said could be two spot post slugged and left with a dead body in Lydia's car. I would have to see her about it. The butler cooled me when I came to. He's dead. The girl must have a hard time keeping friends. She wanted to hire me for a bodyguard. She said she was being threatened, but she couldn't put her finger on it. That shouldn't be so hard. She starts out with $8 million worth of baitu. Anybody Might try for that kind of veil. Who's this Two Spot character? Anybody I know? There's nobody we can use. I think Lydia dreamed him up. Well, he might be worth looking up. You're wasting your valuable drinking time, Jocko. You can't put your finger on a ghost. Oh, you haven't had my experience with the little man. Patsy. So long, lover. I sat there after Jocko left and tried to put together something I could do. Used to tell my lawyer I was still thinking it over when the guard came along and opened up my cage. When I got out to the desk, the sergeant told me Lydia had sprung me. She phoned in and said I couldn't have done it. She also fixed bail. I walked out of the place and started down toward Pier 19, but I didn't get far. A car pulled up. It was Two Spot and he still had his gun. I was tired of arguing, so I got in. How do you like Los Angeles? If I liked it, I'd live there. It'll grow on you. What's the caper, Post? You got a dream, spread it out. I got better than a dream, Novak. I got the best racket since Robin Hood. Including dead bodies. They make you nervous. My racket's better than that. I don't need you lousing up the act. Now who's nervous? I won't be long. I'm gonna put you on a train full of saying, listen. Give you a thousand bucks. Stay down there till you spend it. You're full of dreams. Don't spend it too fast, Novak. You come scampering back here before the month's out you're liable to wind up looking at the inside of a luggage compartment like the private Dick did. Oh, you know the guy, huh? Here's the station. If you have any more questions, ask information. Remember, Novak, you're tired of breathing. Just show your face around town again before New Year. If I do, you'll be the first. First to know it. He followed me into the station and on the train he stayed right by me until the thing started to pull out. Yeah, it was wonderful. I had a thousand dollars, the name of the guy behind the killings and a free ride to Palo Alto. When I got off the train down there, I phoned Hellman. He was as helpful as a fireman in a sorority house. You're in Palo Alo. Good. Stay there. Before you go out and arrest some more wrong suspects. Maybe you'd like to know who did it. You're full of news, Novak. I guess you think you found him. Am I calling for help. You wouldn't know it if you needed help. The guy behind the caper is Two Spot Poles. You figure that out all by yourself? Lydia said it might fit him, but I needed proof. I got it. You haven't got the right time. Yeah? What's wrong with Two Spot? Having something on Lydia? Something that had quieter if he tried to kidnap grab. Are you trying to tell me how Two Spot works? We've known the guy for years. He runs a bowling alley and makes a little horse book in the side. Kidnapping isn't his style. Did you ever hear his style's changing? He has a $50,000 bowling alley. The two spot in O'Farrell Street. He's not going to risk that. You're gonna sit around with your fat hips and let Lydia be snatched while you check on the turkey tax rate of a bowling alley. I know who did it, bright boy. I just told you. Not unless he's put on a lot of weight. Who is it? You know everything. No, I wouldn't think of trying to steal you. Did you know that the body in the car was a private detective? Yeah, so was the butler. Don't worry so much about things. Who was it? Hellman. And have you allowed us up the act? We got the guy covered like a blanket. The next false move he makes will be on his last. And two spots on the town, I hear. Palo Alto. Nice place. Now you just stay down there and look it over. I'm gonna look just far enough to find a car. Listen, Novak, I don't want you to come around putting your big feet in the trap. Now stay out of this. I'm warning you. You ought to get a refit on your plate. Hellman, that sounded like you said you were warning me. I took a taxi back to San Francisco. The price is easy if you have a thousand dollars. We drove up to St. Francis Woods. Just as we were approaching the Reynolds place, I saw Lydia walking along the sidewalk. She was wrapped up in one of those long capes with a hood. She was walking in a hurry. I caught up with her. She seemed glad that she didn't slow down. Come on, Patsy, walk with me. You running after something or something? After you. Something's after me. Patsy, I'm frightened. You're full of half talk. Don't you ever open up? I saw a man, at least a shadow of man hiding near a corner of the guest house. Some more of those fears. This man was real, Patsy. He was waiting for me out there. I said, they're closing in and they are. You don't want my help. But I do. I need help desperately. Why don't you give me something to work with? All I get out of you is talk about goose peppers. I'm tired, P awfully tired. What you need's a drink. Come on downtown with me. Want to look up a friend of mine named Jocko Madigan? Can't we go to a bar? You don't know Jocko. We flagged a taxi and beat around town for a while. I finally located Jocko in a Market street trap up near the Civic Center. The place ran all the way through to the next street. I didn't pay much attention with Lydia headed for the back of the place. The joint had the kind of lights that made a girl want to fix her makeup. I was looking around for Jocko and it was only by accident that I noticed Lydia walked right past the powder room and out the rear door. I started after her and I wondered why I should. I figured if that was some more of her half talk, she could have it all herself. I'd had enough for one day. I turned back to Jocko in Walk the Dead Duck. I'm out of jail. So you're crying. You're out of gold, too. I saw you watching her leave. She's a restless type. She dropped you like leaf. Smart girl. Name's Lydia. The one I told you about. She sprung me out of jail. Oh, I. I take back the part about her being smart. I had two Spot Post bill for the part. Hellman says I'm crazy. He could be right, you know. Why did you pull down your bets on Post? All I had to go on was the fact that he was anxious to keep me out of town for two weeks. I could mean something was on the fire. I forget he was doing the cooking. You know, Paty, I'd like to talk to that Lydia person. There's something fishy in the past. I'd like to know what it is. With 8 million bucks, you can afford to be careless. Oh, this is something special. Two spot ties into it somehow. And then there's that uncle of her. Just naming them won't put him in jail. There's a lot of temptation when you have 8 million to manage for a young girl. Think of what you could do if it all became yours. You can't arrest a guy because he's dough hungry. You know, Peyton, a few months ago, Lydia used to run around occasionally with Tupac. He had a little bowling alley out near her home and she used to go there, so she needed exercise. Then Suddenly, Tusspot sells the little place and moves downtown to this super layout of his. Where do you think he got the money? You just said they ran around together. Well, it could be that, but what if it's something else? Is that all you're going to work with? Don't be abrupt. New bowling alley has a guy called Sackhead as manager. Well, good for him. And goodbye. Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute. Sackhead used to be a pin boy in the old bowling alley. When he was sober enough to stand up, that is. Now he's manager. There must be a reason. That's better. Let's go see Sackhead. When we reached the Two Spot alleys, the place was almost deserted. It was too late for the earnest bowlers and too early for the drunks. When I asked the bartender for the manager, he began to gulp air and turn white. I knew I couldn't get anything from him, so I looked around the place till I saw the door marked office. I started that way, but it was a short trip. The bouncer dropped a cigar on the floor and cut across my path fast. Where you going, bud? I don't need any help. It's private. You can't go in there. I just want to talk to Sackhead. Look that up in your rule book. He don't want to talk. He's out to lunch anyway. Let me find out these things myself. Nobody goes in there, understand? Everybody's throwing up stop signs tonight. I can't win all the time. Let's get out of here. Jocko, it's all a hurry. I've got to finish my drink. Come on, now. Oh, not even one for the road? One more package plant for your heart. You're bad for me all over. Hellman, I thought I told you to stay in Palawalo. Well, you two argue. I'll just go back and finish my drink. Stay here, Madigan. Now, what's the fast getaway all about? You can pick up your bets about 2 spot, not be in the 1. Is he in there? Yeah. Another knife job. Somebody must think it's still Thanksgiving. Look, Patsy, I was sitting at the bar. It's going to make it tough on you. Know that. Not any tougher than that bouncer. He saw me go in. If you weren't so busy being a wise guy, I tipped you off the Two Spot was a cold trail. All right, Hellman, come out from behind that veil. You knew who did it all the time. Now name him. What's odd about that? Reynolds, of course. What do you got for proof? Something out of a dream book. We checked up on those detectives who were killed. Reynolds hired them to work up a plan on Lydia. He wanted her jailed on suspicion of murder. That would give him control of the money. And it would. And he killed Two Spot because he beat him poorly. He hired Two Spot and some of his boys to do the killing. If those dicks began to turn up dead, we could get Lydia on circumstantial evidence. It's too bad you two didn't wait a while to be born. They're making a better grade of cement now. Your brain, it adds up pretty good, Jocko. If the killings were only on circumstantial evidence, Lydia wouldn't get the chair. They'd probably give her 20 years. And uncle could keep all of the family funds. I'm going out now to pick up Reynolds. I'd like to see either of you try and come along. Well, who'd it be, Jocko? A champagne hypo. Now, look, just because I'm buying. Guess who I saw when you were in Two Spots Office? A bottle of scotch. Yes. No. I also saw Olivia. Lydia. She ran out the side door. That could mean anything. She's crazy, you know. I could see it in her eyes right then. She was crazy. Did I see that? Oh, I hate to break up your and Hellman's dream, but a doctor's supposed to know insanity when he sees it. Also, there was blood on the hand. A doctor's supposed to be able to identify that too. If he's had the. She can't be crazy. I was talking to her. Oh, it could come and go. Besides, she's probably at the stage where drugs can still keep her. Calm down. I'll bet that's what Two Spot had on that she worked off the drug's effects while bowling. And something happened the Two Spot witnessed. Maybe she killed a pin Boy. That would fit. Sackhead seeing it too. And she did all the killing? Sure. And Two Spot was covering for her to keep the money coming in. You can't blackmail an insane asylum. Come on, we better warn Hellman. Warn Hellman? If we do that, the killer might get away. Come on, Jocko. Hellman gets killed, they might replace him with a cop of the Braids. We grabbed a taxi. $10 worth of persuasion made him forget the color of some of the stoplights and we were out there in no time at all. Even before we were out of the cab, I knew it was too late. I could see the guest house lit up in his own flames. The trees around it Looked like black smoke. Skeletons dangling in a firelight. We started running across the lawn, but Reynolds cut us off. It's no good, Novak. There's nothing we can do. Is it Lydia? Yes. We tried to get in, but she's barricaded herself in an inner room. The heat drove us away. It's a hard way to die. I'm sorry I had to lie about the butler's death. Put you on the spot like that. I knew she killed him. I was hoping I could get her in an asylum. She had a rough shuffle. With all that dough, all she could buy was a black ace. If you want to feel more connected to humanity and a little less alone, listen to Beautiful Anonymous. Each week I take a phone call from one random anonymous human being. There's over 400 episodes in our back catalog. You get to feel connected to all these different people all over the world. Recent episodes include one where a lady survived a murder attempt by her own son. But then the week before that, we just talked about Star Trek. It can be anything. It's unpredictable, it's raw, it's real. Get Beautiful Anonymous. Wherever you listen to podcasts. The American Broadcasting Company presents Fat Novak for Hire. Sure, I'm Pat Novak for hire. Down on the San Francisco waterfront, the only use they have for is to pick your pocket while you're saluting the flag. If you hang out around there as long as I have, you'll even learn to sleep with one hand on the cash box. So I wasn't expecting any cascade of lilies when Joe Adams drove down to Pier 19. He'd phoned that he was in a hurry and would stop by and pick me up in his car. He said he had a quick job for me to do. That was about all I knew about him. I wasn't worried about that either. In my work you get used to odd shaped hires, including those from guys who look like a bundle of twigs with shoes on and drove like they owned the keys to the city. Novak, this is a soft buck. All you gotta do is watch a joint. If you keep driving through red lights like that, we'll both end up looking at the ceiling of the morgue. So I disagree with the traffic department. Look, the joints in North Beach, Vallejo Street. Here's the number. I wrote it down so you can read and write. What do you mean? What's the pitch? You afraid of mice? No. And there's no extra cards in this deck. Yeah, so far it makes about as much sense as an eight fingered glove. Look, I have to meet a Guy in Los Angeles. I have much time to make my plane. I lost my key, so I had to bust in the door to get into my place. It was too late to get a locksmith, so I want you to watch till I get back tomorrow. Is that hard? The way you're driving, breathing's hard. You scare easy. I scare plenty. I like to live. Give me a good reason. You wouldn't understand. You expect visitors tonight? Look, I've got some stuff there I'd like to see you around when I get back. And stop trying to read between the lines in the steel. It's all on the Black Titan. You can say that about a funeral speech. You still worried about the way I drive? No. Only why take a plane when this is faster? Okay. If you can stop shaking long enough to walk, you can start here. On the way back, I'll look for your brains. Grab a cab. I'll pick up the check for it. And don't knock or right in. I'll be seeing you. Probably in four pieces. And keep awake, will you? Some of my neighbors would steal the handle off a blind man's cup. Don't worry, I'll keep both eyes open. You sound like you're saying one thing and thinking something else. About keeping awake. Yeah. What's worrying you, Ghost? I'm not buying the show the way you're staging it. Something sour in the deal? Yeah, that's all right too. Just as long as you don't get any fancy ideas of making me to patsy. Boy, you do scare easy. Yeah, and I pay off bum debts too. Now I'm getting scared. So long, sucker. Adam's joy turns out to be one of those walk up flats. A nice wooden place that made you want to run for the firebox every time someone dropped a cigarette ash on the floor. The door was smashed around the lock all right, and the lights were out. And I found the switch and began to look around. It showed four rooms full of fancy furniture and decorations that made you wonder about Adam's private life. After I found out where the whiskey was located in Pride, three cushions loose from the easy chair, I looked around for something too. There was a bookcase full of mystery stories and this and that. I passed the mysteries up without studying them. I knew that in every one of them the detective would come out on top. Yet I knew four private eyes who'd started out on just such trails and ended up in urns in Cyprus Lawn. There was one book with a purple cover called Reckless moonlight with pictures. I was on page 30 with pictures. When I was interrupted, they were too manly to make me glad. I jumped across the room and switched off the lights. And I stood just inside the door and waited. He didn't even knock. He came right in from the back. He looked big enough to be a 10 ton trailer. He was fumbling in his pocket when I broke up the act. I chill up on the pocket pick. And this is the gun in your back. If you shoot, you'll hit a policeman's badge. Think that over there's house breaking a sideline with you, Hellman, I'd know that voice in a nightmare, they blame gangsters for the crime wave. They don't know where to look. Just stand still, sweetheart, until I get my flash working. You want to borrow some burglar tools? I'll settle for some better manners right now. Where I come from, better manners started with knocking before you come cramming through a door. Where you came from, they didn't have doors, just a damp walk. What's the idea of turning out the light? How could I tell who was coming? You don't smell that bad. Will you tell me why you're here or do I bounce it out of you? Don't worry. You can't parlay it into anything to tell a judge. Guy named Adams lives here. He had to get in in a hurry. Broke the lock, grabbed some things and headed for the airport. He hired me to watch the place till he gets back tomorrow. He hired a bulldog to watch his steak. You don't like this story, huh? What do you want? Mad musician? You're mad enough without music. Tell me more. That's all there is till you started whipping into fancy trimmings. I could see that. And raise it without even straight. You couldn't raise a rumpus on New Year's Eve. No. And how about the murder of Thomas Van Dyke? I must have looked surprised. Hellman was pleased and mysterious. He kept prowling around the house, looking at books up on shelves and behind the furniture. Like he expected to find Van Dyke's body there, there. In the meantime, he filled me in on the case. Van Dyke had been a heavy money operator in show business, sports promotions and such. He ran around with a mink and diamond crowd and did enough charity work on the side to build up a reputation for being a pillar of the community. Everyone was surprised when he turned up dead, including the police. Someone had shot him without leaving any signature on the job. The case had remained unsolved for almost a year. Of course, at the speed Hellman thought he might have just found out about it now. He was passing out hints. The thing had grown hot again. I was checking through the evidence and file. And I ran across something with Miss Grand Piano. Some stuff in a diary. Have you been messing around in these books? Is that why you're here? To borrow a book? The diary didn't make any sense at the time of the death. But we turned up a vag the other day. Who worked with Van Dyke and some of his underground connection. And now Van Dyke's the King of the Thieves? Something like that. I put together the stuff this vag told us. With some of the things in the diary. And it began to look like pay dirt. There's a book missing. The Rover Boys. It's over your head, Hellman. Death in Herald Square, it's called. And don't play that innocent routine too hard or you'll tire it out. You're making about as much sense as a pig in a candy store. The vag tied this address into one of the clues. How do you like them apples? I wouldn't buy him a 10 cents a craze. Look, bright eyes. I don't like waterfront punks sticking their guns in my back in the dark. I don't like you messing in this racket. Are you unhappy? Nervous? Run down? I want you to keep your nose out of this, Scabernovic. And if you think that's just a lot of breath. Try me. Why should I leave this house? Just because you're having a nervous decline. Don't think I'm buying that routine. About some guy hiring you to watch his clothes while they went flying. You got a lead in this murder and you're trying to track it down. How much is the reward again? 10,000. Who said anything about a reward? So that's why you're nervous. Keep out of this, Novak. I'm warning you. You're hot for the payoff. I should have known you wouldn't get up off your fat. I'm giving you one more chance to get out, Novak. I was hired to do a job, Hellman, remember? All right, wise guy. Come on, open the closet. Your nose is itching. Open it yourself. Okay, Novak. See any men's clothes in there? Not in this year's style. Snap it up, Novak. Haven't you remembered by now that Joe Adams was a girl? All right, so the guy dealt me a joker. I don't mean I'm trying to crash your party. The dame lives here is named Dodo Sandberg. And she ain't lonely. But you're gonna Be Novakin soon. Dodo Sandberg. Maybe she'll come to see you in jail. You're not booking me, Hellman. I told you to stay out of this, Novak. You got nothing on me but a nervous twitch because you think I might beat you to that reward. I got nothing on you except housebreaking. Come on down to the station. Uh, Deal me out. You wanna argue? Hey. Hey. Who turned out the lights? I'm getting to like that Adams or somebody. Stand where you are, Novak. Sorry, Hellman. I just remembered a date with 10,000 bucks. Hellman chased me, but the way he's built, he didn't have a prayer. He hit the street, doubled around a couple of corners. I couldn't even hear him. When I got back my breath. I walked along for a while and tried to put what I had together. Any way I looked at it, one thing was clear. Joe Adams had played me for a country boy in some setup that had a whole lot more in it than showed on the table. I needed to see Adams to square that deal. But something Hellman told me seemed even more important. I liked the idea of trying my chances of cutting into that ten thousand dollar reward for Van Dyke's debt. All I had to work on was a dame called Dodo Sandberg and a book called Death in Herald Square. I looked at the clock and found I still had time to make it to the main library before it closed for the night. So I headed that way. When I got in the place at the Civic center, it took the librarians quite a bit of scrambling around to get the book. But they finally turned it up just before closing time. I tucked it under my arm and started out of the place when the dame fell in step beside me. A nice set of curves tucked away in one of those new style dresses with so many extra built in bumps it looked like a sack of potatoes. Didn't I meet you in Scarsdale? The shy type I used to be. I outgrew it. Keep right on growing somewhere else. You have to be that way. My hobbies? Books. I noticed. That's why I wanted to meet you. I like the books you choose before I pick that up. What's your name? Dodo Sandberg. Watch out for the stairs. So you're after the book too? I didn't say that. I know. It's my fascinating personality. A very good friend of mine wrote that book. Does my reading it strain your eyes or something? That's very interesting. Now let's talk about you. You get around, don't you? What do you Mean by that? What became a Joe Adams? That's a question for his mother to worry about. Patsy. I don't mind helping her. Do they have to be mothers? You need help like Midas needs go. There's help and help. What if a girl's lonely? You aren't built for the job. Let's get back to Adams. In the book, Adams is no problem. He lives at the Standard Hotel on Polk Street. Careless, isn't he, to forget that? And how did you suddenly get a yen to read Death in Herald Square? A cop told me about it. Why? Because there's a better book on the same subject. It's called Death Waits Ahead. Am I supposed to turn that into some kind of warning? Could be. And here's a sample of what I. She worked fast and smooth. A piston. And it was some kind of judo, I guess. I was too busy falling to be sure. The stairs didn't help any. By the time I picked myself up, she was out of sight. So was the book. I sat there a while and thought about women. And I went back to the library desk. I didn't buy me anything. Seems they only had one copy of the book. It wasn't popular, they said, and I seemed anxious about getting a copy. They sent me to a bookstore on Third street, which stayed open late. By the time I got there, there was nobody in the place. Except one of the hired help looking bored by the cash register. I asked him for the book and he quit looking bored right away, began to look nervous. He said he didn't have the book, he'd never heard of it, and they were closing anyway. Whatever the guy was, he didn't have a card in the Actors Union. I guess Crowley realized that as soon as I did. When I said I'd look around anyway, a curtain twitched in the back of the place. And he came out a big guy with a nasty disposition. You could do better than that. Did someone send you to tell me how to live? You're looking for Death in Herald Square. The words all over town. You ought to be out eating something. Instead of nosing around where you're not wanted. You ever heard of the prisoner eating a hearty breakfast? That's a warning. You're third in line. Yeah? Who else is interested? A cop and a dame. You ought to team up and work it into three part harmony. When they warned you, they were just trying to act like bad news. When I warn you, it's certified. You don't look 8ft tall. Put some meat on your skeleton. My name is Pete Crowley. Did you ever hear of me? I must read the wrong funny papers. Got connections around the city. You can say that about a sewer pipe. Something's making you twitch. Trot it out where I can see it. Dodo Sandberg tells me you got your nose up in the air over the Van Dyke killing. Does that worry you? I'm hiding right now in Mexico. What's the death's head routine for before you're under the cups of the finger? Listen carefully. I picked up Van Dyck's rackets when he dropped them. They pay off very nicely. I like the way they're moving along. I don't want you or any of the eager beavers from the Kearney street station to nose over the apple car. I came here for a book. You don't look like it. Also, I don't like anybody bothering Dodo. And that includes sailor salesmen and smart guys looking for a new home. She doesn't want anybody ringing her bell. Tell her to take the signs out of her windows. You look like a fairly bright boy. Take a tip. Fade out of this scramble while you're still in Mobile. And if I don't? Stick around and I'll show you my muscles. I'd rather look at dodos. Two of my muscles used to be wrestlers. Think it over. It began to look more and more like trouble. Doubled in spades. I began to get the feeling if I planned to sit in the game anymore. It was time to start counting up the cards and seeing how the mirrors were. The best guy for that sort of work was an old alcoholic friend of mine called Jocko Madigan. Jocko was a one time doctor around town who gave up his practice when he learned that alcohol made him feel better even when he wasn't sick. Finding him was like taking a phone survey of the downtown bars. I pitched a strike at a fifth one. I tried. At first he didn't like the idea of moving. But when I told him I was phoning from a Third street bar, he said he'd hop a cab. He came in while I was working on my second drink. Patchy, my boy, I'm glad to see you. Both of you. Or is that only two heads? I could use two. That's an involved way of saying you're in trouble. Goodbye. Listen, Jocko, I got my foot in the door of a deal that might pay off big. All you got your foot in is a dirty shoe, Patsy. And with your usual luck you'll probably end up with helmets stepping on it. He stepped on it already. Oh, he did Good. How is the old walrus anyway? That's what I've been trying to tell you. I bounced into him tonight and he was hot on the trail of the men who knocked off Van Dyke a year ago. They're safe. Hellman couldn't put his finger on a fire eater in the darkened room. What do you know about a book called Death in Herald Square? What do you know about the home life of the Macrocephalus Peony Bombix? As I was saying, before Thurston choked me off, some people collect seashells, some raise dogs, some go after goldfish or matchbox covers or pretty women. But not Patsy Novak. Oh, no. Patsy's different. Patsy wants to collect murders. Did you ever hear of the book? What book? You're talking too fast. Death and Herald Square. Van Dyke's murder ties into it somehow. Talk sense, Patsy. Things are blurred enough without you jabbering nonsense. Nonsense? I'm not on the right trail. Why have I been warned off three times already, including a threat from Pete Crowley? Are you asking me? Look, Jocko, there's 10,000 bucks reward for the murderer. Why didn't you tell me that 10 minutes ago? And avoid all this verbiage. If you'd get your nose out of that whiskey bottle. You skip the greeting, son. Let's get on to the money matters. What do you want me to do? It's an old book. You'd know where to find it. I tried the library, but a dame called Dodo Grab the Dice. I know just how to get it. A friend of mine in the Panhandle has a small bookstore and home distillery. Listen, there's a Joe Adams fits in there somewhere. See what you can get on him, will you? Do go on. You fascinate. Well, two other people were nervous about me since the thing broke. One is Crowley and the other is Dodo Sandberg. It seems to be tied to Crowley somehow. Can you get a check on him for me? For $10,000, I can get a count on the fillings in their teeth. The Is this Dodo Sandberg? Pretty. Why? I want to know where you'll be in case I have to phone. So long, lover. I paid for Jocko's drinks and went out to the Standard Hotel. The room clerk gave me Joe Adams number. He looks a little worried when he told me. But that could have been about a new boss or an old girlfriend. It could have, but it wasn't. Adam's room was on the fourth floor, and when I reached there in the elevator, Hellman almost ran over me trying to get my cage. He was a nice salmon pink and panting like a bloodhound on a deer trail. He had a gun in one fat hand. A mouthful of verbs and adjectives every time I turn a corner. Were you expecting Princess Elizabeth? Where did he go? You better shift to the overdrive. You're racing your motor. Where's Adam Snowbeck? Don't start testing your muscles on me, Hellman. You must think I'm your wife. This ain't Playland, Novak. Adams just left his room. Where is he? I'm not in the mood for company, Hellman. You're gonna talk. You're gonna talk plenty. What's all the pushing around about? Don't pretend you're a country boy. You don't know what's going on. Back up a bit and fill me in. Adams told me he hired you to knock me off. Yeah. And you believed it? I know you don't work that way. But I wouldn't put it beyond you to pretend to go along with the proposition. As long as you could milk a few dollars out of Adams with your head. It's a wonder you don't believe it that I did it with my head. I remember that you were Witten at a darkened apartment with a gun when I came in. That you ran out on me. And that you show up now just when Joe Adams is escaping. You put two and two together and get.22. You're just a sort of a lousy, conniving. What about Adams? Is he that turkey that knocked off Van Dyke? He got away when I started to dial the phone to call the wagon to take. I thought I told you to forget the Van Dyke murder. You're full of. Tell Hellman is Adams a one. Pin this into your hat, Norvak. I'm closing in on the one who did it. And I don't need you to help with a net like you closed in on Adams. Just let me stumble over you once more before I close this up and I'll bet my badge I'll put you where you'll stand still and it could be. Adam. Do you hear what I said? Yeah, I heard. Prices are going down too, but I haven't noticed it. I can fix that. You're going to a place where the fetus. On the house. Don't give me any more of that jail talk, helmet. Until you're ready to come in with some papers. All I need to put you in a cage is a key. Let's go. I'll get him. You stay where you are, Novak. He must Think I'm a boy scout? That was screwy. I was twice Hellman to try to jail me and twice someone had fixed a breakaway. Any way you looked at that, it still meant somebody wanted me in circulation for some reason. Unless you believed in good fairies. A reason wouldn't be nice. If I guessed hard, I could make it relate somehow to the Van Dyke killing. All I had for a trail on that would three people being nervous in a hard to get mystery book. From the way Adam saved me from Hellman he looked like a good man to know more about, and fast. I knew that after the gun work in the hotel I'd have to find him somewhere else. The only other lead I had on him was through Dodo. I headed back to her place on Vallejo Street. When she opened the door, she looked like something to fit in a fireplace ad she was wearing a negligee thin enough to roll up and stuff in a pipe. You bounce back fast. You grow on me. What do you want? Van Dyke's murderer. Who's Van Dyke? You're a stranger in town, you never heard of him? Come on in. I'm having coffee. Think you can risk drinking some? With arsenic and all? I got a strong stomach. You're a nice looking guy. You seem healthy. Why do you want to change? Your boy Adams likes to play tricks. If I didn't try to pay him off for the hot foot he gave me, he might feel neglected. Adams is just a flock of nerves looking for some place to break down. Forget him. He tried to put me on a spot where I'd end up killing a cop. The gag laid an egg. Nobody's laughing. Cream in your coffee? Yeah. I'm still guessing why he did it. Unless he killed Van Dyke. Sugar? Look, he didn't just pick this house out of the phone book. That puts you in line to do some explaining. I wouldn't explain how to turn over in bed until I've had a cup of coffee. You aren't shaken where it shows. Are you telling me how to live? I'd have to start with the way you say goodbye on stairways. You didn't learn that trick in a finishing school. It didn't finish you. But that's just because you're adorable. So's my longing for Adams. Where can I find him? I told you, Adams don't mean anything. He just acts busy. He's like a fly batting his wings off and ending up in the same place. What place? Do I twist it out of you? That book, Death in Herald Square. Did you find Another copy. That's for tomorrow. Tonight it's Adams. You're wasting your time chasing Adams. Concentrate on the book. I'm spreading my fire. How do I know that book isn't just a come on to get me off the trail? In the book, there was a millionaire businessman just like Van Dyke. He had connections in the racket, just like Van Dyke. He had a partner just like Van Dyke. When do I start padding? If you do, it'll be from running from the cops. That's all I'm giving you about the book. I'll get the rest when I pick one up tomorrow. You'll have a tough time doing that, Novak. The bookstores are all out of copy. You collected them all? Wasn't hard. A car, a telephone, little bustling about, a real sharp Crawley till you start looking at a map. I have friends across the bay. You might try Sacramento or Los Angeles. But that would take some time, wouldn't it? I guess time don't count after tomorrow. Not with what you know, sonny boy. Am I being confusing? You make a good try. Well, this won't confuse you. I thought I told you I didn't like Dodo to be bothered. She needs protection, like J. Edgar Hoover. Didn't I warn you off this caper? Leave him alone, Crowley. He's harmless. Are you all done in the other room? Yeah. Come on, Novak. I want to make you a little present. There are the books you've been looking for with only a few pages missing. Yeah, Novak, you can have them. All 50 of them. They're a little scarred, baby, but they'd still make a nice gift. Send them to your friends for Christmas. If any of them can read. You sound like you're ringing down a curtain. That's right. After tonight, you just keep right on guessing. About who killed Van Dyke? No, baby. About how you're going to prove anything. Mind if we sort of run along now? Soon as the lady gets dressed. After they'd gone, I went through the books. Page 187 was torn out of each one of them. I felt like a man in an earthquake. Something told me to run, but I didn't know where to go. Trying to make sense out of what I knew was like trying to put together a drop cake. I wandered around the place till I found a drink. I was just lifting the glass when the telephone rang. Yeah? Who's ahead, you or the moral squad? Everybody's out in front of me, including Dodo and Crowley. Adams is out of sight. You aren't alone. Dodo and Crowley. Just went out the door. I said goodbye to them and 10,000 bucks. Was Crowley that big or was it the girl? Crowley isn't worried. Neither is Dodo. That leaves Adams. Oh, I. I ran down that book of yours. Crowley said he bought every copy in town. Every copy? In the bookstores. My friend remembered where he'd sold one. My friend with the still. We borrowed it. Oh, by the way, Van Dyke wrote the book. Yeah. What's on page 187? Let's see now. Yes, a description of Van Dyke's double Life. On page 187 is a description of the. The front man, the. The gangster. A bad writing job. No wonder it didn't sell. What does it fit? It doesn't fit anyone, Patsy. He only said the. The person had a star tattooed on his chest. It's a horse. Now all you got to do is to get them in a game of strip poker. Get them? They're all gone. It's still a good idea, especially if Dodo sat in. So long, lover. Give me Helen. Inspector Hellman speaking. I got your killer for you. That's that. Who's this? Novak? Yeah. Don't start bubbling about my nose and your business. Business is picking up. You get Adams. Adams. That's good. No, Novak. My stool pigeon got him that vag I was telling you about. That leaves you the only one knowing. $10,000 worth. Don't think I'm coming after you, baby. You can stay there and rot. So far I feel healthy. You think he can drag me off the trail after you by this phony phone call? I know who did it. Oh, no, you don't, Novak, But I do. Yeah? Fill it in. I just got a phone tip where they're hanging out. So they're sending out invitations. I'll even tell you where they are. Is it the beach? Near a shooting gallery? I've got a siren on my car. Let's see you beat me out there. It's the first gallery below the ballroom. Look, Hellman, you're the only guy alive who knows a whole story. What if this is a gag? Oh, no, Novak. I'm not biting on any of your phony tricks. But listen, save your breath to sob with when you see me pick up that nice fat ch. I thought a while, and suddenly the thing fell together like a winning poker hand. As soon as I saw it, I started running for my car. I don't know how it happened, but I beat him out there. I went along the bridge. Arterials. And they're wide and fast. By stealing A flock of red lights and licking the paint off a couple of fenders. I was out through the Presidio and over to Golden Gate park in no time at all. When I hit the beach, it was foggy and empty. There was only one guy in the shooting gallery. When I got up near him, it turned out to be Crowley. He had a rifle in his hands and he saw me first down the barrel of the gun. Don't back up, Novak. Come on in. You were looking for Adams, weren't you? I was looking for a lot of things. He's here, behind the counter. Look. On the floor, that is. You kill him, those bullet holes could be.22s. Yeah, I killed him. Just as I'll kill you if you got any fancy ideas. Like trying to grab a gun. What are you saving me for Christmas? Yeah, you dress up the joint. I want Hellman to walk into the trap just like you did. That's why I'm shooting at the targets like this. Bullseye. I'm good. You'll have to be good to get away with killing a cop. I hired Adams to do it. But he thought he'd get some smart and frame you into the Rep. That's why you hired you. Did he expect me to kill Hellman that night? That's one of his bright ideas. He's full of bright ideas. Or he was. Didn't mean to. Smart, he'd still be breeding. It's really very simple. Hellman got on the trail and he was the only one in town who knew there was a trail. So he had to be killed. He ain't dead yet. You're betting a.22 against a police special? I'm live bait. You ought to see the gun Dodo has in the car. You're gonna dry gulch him, huh? He'll be watching me. And I'll be watching you. Let's see you beat that hand. You're forgetting the books. We're forgetting nothing. Books don't mean anything unless you put it together with what Hellman knows. Hellman and his stool. Pigeon Stool's dead. And here comes Hellman. Adams thought of everything, including mirrors. You thought of everything except a quarter. What for? To pay for the reload on that gun. Now, these other guns are only loaded. Hi. You win a cigar, Hellman. You got her. She'd have had me if you didn't spray the windshield. When was the deal? While you were crazy creeping up on Crowley, Dodo was going to pat you on the back. Crowley? Where's Adams? He quit the game. Crowley helped him. Come on. Crowley's coming, too. Don't worry. He won't like these odds. What odds? 38 to 22. It wasn't much of a trial. Crowley got a gas chamber. I got 10,000 bucks. The tax collector took half. Jocko got some. And there was even some left for me. Oh, yeah. Dodo was the one who killed Van Dyke. She and Crowley were a sort of a team. But she was the contact and the real boss. Hellman never knew how. I was assure. I never told him. I thought it was a man, too. Till Jocko told me about the killer being tattooed. After that, it was easy. That negligee of Dodo's only left one thing to wonder about. That was how she kept warm. And now, an important announcement for your listening pleasure. Next week, Pat Novak for hire. And all your KGO programs will come to you by the new power of 50,000 watts. Here's what that means for this program. For instance, Pat Novak will reach a million new listeners all the way from the state of Washington to the Mexican border. The new power and the new transmitter, the finest science can build or money can buy, will make KGO the most powerful station on the West Coast. This is abc, the American Broadcasting Company. 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