Part 11 (1/2)
”w.i.l.l.y!”
”Want me to fix you one of your crazy gin on the rocks, or do you want to do it?”
”w.i.l.l.y!”
”What I can do, pal, I can send up this Barbara I've got doing some PR for the place, living here in the house, little bit of a thing, she learned ma.s.sage in Tokyo, and it's the d.a.m.nedest thing, she uses her feet. She walks on your back. You wouldn't believe. Let me send her up, you'll never regret it. Pretty little thing.”
”Sit the h.e.l.l down!” I roared.
He backed up and sat down and wiped his mouth. ”I was only-”
”w.i.l.l.y, the room, the bottle, a girl walking on me... What in G.o.d's name has gotten into you?”
”Anything you want in this hotel is yours. It is only to ask. Okay?”
”What makes me so important all of a sudden?”
”You've always been important to me, McGee.”
Then light dawned. I stared at him. I laughed. He didn't. I said, ”w.i.l.l.y, your grapevine works too fast.”
”I hear what I have to know.”
”Like I'm working for Frank Sprenger?”
”Remember one thing. This is the first time his name has ever been mentioned between us.”
”Why should you and I have ever talked about Sprenger?”
Some of the tension went out of him, and his shoulders came down about an inch. ”I'm not asking you what you're doing for him, am I?”
”I'm not doing anything for him, w.i.l.l.y.”
The shoulders went up again. ”You took his money. That I know.”
”I took his money.”
”Some of the things you've done haven't been all the way bright, McGee, but if you are saying what you seem to be saying, then you are being a hundred and ten percent stupid. If you take Sprenger's money, you do something he wants done. If you don't do it, you don't get to give the money back. You don't jerk around with any Frank Sprenger.”
”We're involved here in semantics, w.i.l.l.y.”
”You said you're not doing anything for him.”
”I'm not doing anything against him.”
Shoulders went all the way back to normal. ”Oh! Then that's what you're doing for him. Not doing anything to screw him up. Which means he thinks you can or will be able to.”
”One small item and not much money.”
He nodded. ”Like that thing we-” He stopped himself. ”Like if he was involved in some kind of investment and didn't get what he thought he was buying, and somebody wanted you to help with the real stuff.”
”Are these rooms bugged without you knowing for sure?” I asked him.
”People are in and out all day. I do the best I can for the owners. And the owners would want me to tell you this, Travis. And you tell Frank Sprenger for me. Any friend of his, any time, the best we got is what he gets. I personally guarantee it.”
”I'll tell him what a d.a.m.ned good job w.i.l.l.y Nucci does for the owners. But I'd wager he knows that already.”
”I try my best. What do you want? Just ask.”
”I might want something later. Maybe later we could take a little walk together by the ocean and talk.”
”I'll tell the switchboard, when you phone me it goes through right away.”
”Thanks, w.i.l.l.y.”
At the door he paused and turned. ”Even if the only part you want is the ma.s.sage, I'd recommend her. You'll sleep like a baby.” I declined. He shrugged and left.
I tried Mary Alice for ten more rings. I tried Hirsh Fedderman. The woman said, ”This here is Mrs. Franck speaking, a neighbor, I am sitting with Mr. Fedderman who is now sleeping at last, thank G.o.d.”
”Was Mary Alice McDermit there? Or is she still there?”
”Here there is only me, Mrs. Franck, and there is Mr. Fedderman, like I said already, sound asleep. Who did you ask?”
”Mrs. McDermit. She was there today. When did she leave?”
”How should I know if I don't know her? I didn't meet everybody that comes here. This dear old man, he is blessed with friends. All day long too many people coming to see him, tiring him out, bringing enough food, we could feed Cuba maybe.”
”Mary Alice works for him. She's a young woman with long black hair, six feet tall.”
”Ah! Oh! You should say so. That one. Yes. Such a size person they are growing these days. It is something in the food. What time is it now? Nearly nine? So she left at four o'clock, five hours ago. You missed her by a little. If she ever comes back, who shall I say is calling?”
”Thank you, never mind. How is Hirsh?”
”How do you think he is? That nice woman being killed in her own home by wicked children, fifteen years she worked for him, a faithful loyal person. His heart is broken in two. That's all that is wrong.”
”I know it would be wrong to wake him up, and you wouldn't even if I asked you. So would you happen to know if a woman who used to work for him is still alive. I think her name is Moojah.”
”Of course Miss Moojah is alive! Wasn't she here today, bringing a hot ca.s.serole? She's in the book. Why don't you look? How many Moojahs are there going to be? She lives in Harmony Towers, that has a three-year waiting list for senior singles. Miss Moojah will be alive when all of us have pa.s.sed away, believe it.”
After I hung up, I checked the directory. Yes indeed. A. A. Moojah. I wrote the number on the phone-side scratch pad, just as the phone rang.
”h.e.l.lo?”
”Oh, great! Just dandy!”
”I called you twice. No answer. How did you find me?”
”Meyer told me.”
”Meyer phoned you?”