“listentomecareful,cheapie—”

“wereyoueverinengland,mendy?youandrandystarrandpaulmarstonorterrylennoxorwhateverhisnamewas?inthebritisharmyperhaps?hadalittleracketinsohoandgothotandfiguredthearmywasacooling-offspot?”

“holdtheline.”

iheldit.nothinghappenedexceptthatiwaitedandmyarmgottired.iswitchedthereceivertotheotherside.finallyhecameback.

“nowlistencareful,marlowe.youstirupthatlennoxcaseandyou’redead.terrywasapalandigotfeelingstoo.soyougotfeelings.i’llgoalongwithyoujustthisfar.itwasacommandooutfit.itwasbritish.ithappenedinnorway,oneofthoseislandsoffthecoast.theygotamillionofthem.november1942.nowwillyouliedownandrestthattiredbrainofyours?”

“thankyou,mendy.iwilldothat.yoursecretissafewithme.i’mnottellingittoanybodybutthepeopleiknow.”

“buyyourselfapaper,cheapie.readandremember.bigtoughwilliemagoon.beatupinfrontofhisownhouse.boy,washesurprisedwhenhecomeoutoftheether!”

hehungup.iwentdownstairsandboughtapaperanditwasjustasmenendezhadsaid.therewasapictureofbigwilliemagooninhishospitalbed.youcouldseehalfhisfaceandoneeye.therestofhimwasbandages.seriouslybutnotcriticallyinjured.theboyshadbeenverycarefulaboutthat.theywantedhimtolive.afterallhewasacop.inourtownthemobsdon’tkillacop.theyleavethattothejuveniles.andalivecopwhohasbeenputthroughthemeatgrinderisamuchbetteradvertisement.hegetswelleventuallyandgoesbacktowork.butfromthattimeonsomethingismissing—thelastinchofsteelthatmakesallthedifference.he’sawalkinglessonthatitisamistaketopushtheracketboystoohard—especiallyifyouareonthevicesquadandeatingatthebestplacesanddrivingacadillac.

isatthereandbroodedaboutitforawhileandthenidialedthenumberofthecarneorganizationandaskedforgeorgepeters.hewasout.ileftmynameandsaiditwasurgent.hewasexpectedinaboutfive-thirty.

iwentovertothehollywoodpubliclibraryandaskedquestionsinthereferenceroom,butcouldn’tfindwhatiwanted.soihadtogobackformyoldsanddrivedowntowntothemainlibrary.ifounditthere,inasmallishred-boundbookpublishedinengland.icopiedwhatiwantedfromitanddrovehome.icalledthecarneorganizationagain.peterswasstillout,soiaskedthegirltoreroutethecalltomeathome.

iputthechessboardonthecoffeetableandsetoutaproblemcalledthesphynx.itisprintedontheendpapersofabookonchessbyblackburn,theenglishchesswizard,probablythemostdynamicchessplayerwhoeverlived,althoughhewouldn’tgettofirstbaseinthecoldwartypeofchesstheyplaynowadays.thesphynxisaneleven-moveranditjustifiesitsname.chessproblemsseldomruntomorethanfourorfivemoves.beyondthatthedifficultyofsolvingthemrisesinalmostgeometricalprogression.aneleven-moverissheerunadulteratedtorture.

onceinalongwhilewhenifeelmeanenoughisetitoutandlookforanewwaytosolveit.it’sanicequietwaytogocrazy.youdon’tevenscream,butyoucomeawfullyclose.

georgepeterscalledmeatfive-forty.weexchangedpleasantriesandcondolences.

“you’vegotyourselfinanotherjam,isee,”hesaidcheerfully.“whydon’tyoutrysomequietbusinesslikeembalming?”

“takestoolongtolearn.listen,iwanttobecomeaclientofyouragency,ifitdoesn’tcosttoomuch.”

“dependsonwhatyouwantdone,oldboy.andyou’dhavetotalktocarne.”

“no.”

“well,tellme.”

“londonisfullofguyslikeme,butiwouldn’tknowonefromtheother.theycallthemprivateenquiryagents.youroutfitwouldhaveconnections.i’djusthavetopickanameatrandomandprobablygethornswoggled.iwantsomeinformationthatshouldbeeasyenoughtoget,andiwantitquick.musthaveitbeforetheendofnextweek.”

“spill.”

“iwanttoknowsomethingaboutthewarserviceofterrylennoxorpaulmarston,whatevernameheused.hewasinthecommandosoverthere.hewascapturedwoundedinnovember1942inaraidonsomenorwegianisland.iwanttoknowwhatoutfithewaspostedfromandwhathappenedtohim.thewarofficewillhaveallthat.it’snotsecretinformation,oriwouldn’tthinkso.let’ssayaquestionofinheritanceisinvolved.”

“youdon’tneedaforthat.youcouldgetitdirect.writethemaletter.”

“shoveit,george.imightgetananswerinthreemonths.iwantoneinfivedays.”

“youhaveathoughtthere,pal.anythingelse?”

“onethingmore.theykeepalltheirvitalrecordsoverthereinaplacetheycallsomersethouse.iwanttoknowifhefiguresthereinanyconnection—birth,marriage,naturalization,anythingatall.”

“why?”

“whatdoyoumean,why?who’spayingthebill?”

“supposethenamesdon’tshow?”

“theni’mstuck.iftheydo,iwantcertifiedcopiesofanythingyourmanturnsup.howmuchyousoakingme?”

“i’llhavetoaskcarne.hemaythumbitoutaltogether.wedon’twantthekindofpublicityyouget.ifheletsmehandleit,andyouagreenottomentiontheconnection,i’dsaythreehundredbucks.thoseguysovertheredon’tgetmuchbydollarstandards.hemighthitusfortenguineas,lessthanthirtybucks.ontopofthatanyexpenseshemighthave.sayfiftybucksaltogetherandcarnewouldn’topenafileforlessthantwo-fifty.”

“professionalrates.”

“ha,ha.heneverheardofthem.”

“callme,george.wanttoeatdinner?”

“romanoff’s?”

“allright,”igrowled,“ifthey’llgivemeareservation—whichidoubt.”

“wecanhavecarne’stable.ihappentoknowhe’sdiningprivately.he’saregularatromanoff’s.itpaysoffintheupperbracketsofthebusiness.carneisaprettybigboyinthistown.”

“yeah,sure.iknowsomebody—andknowhimpersonally—whocouldlosecarneunderhislittlefingernail.”

“goodwork,kid.ialwaysknewyouwouldcomethroughintheclutch.seeyouaboutseveno’clockinthebaratromanoff’s.telltheheadthiefyou’rewaitingforcolonelcarne.he’llclearaspacearoundyousoyoudon’tgetelbowedbyanyriffrafflikescreenwritersortelevisionactors.”

“seeyouatseven,”isaid.

wehungupandiwentbacktothechessboard.butthesphynxdidn’tseemtointerestmeanymore.inalittlewhilepeterscalledmebackandsaiditwasallrightwithcarneprovidedthenameoftheiragencywasnotconnectedwithmyproblems.peterssaidhewouldgetanightletterofftolondonatonce.