Trip Wire_ A Cook County Mystery - Charlotte Carter [43]
He only laughed, mouth opening like a new wound. “You come around to see me anytime,” he said. “I told you, I love to get female company.”
6
When you want to pick up six pairs of crew socks for a buck fifty, or maybe buy a gross of Bic ballpoints for not much more, you go to the open-air market at Maxwell Street. Poor people from every corner of the city flocked there to haggle with street merchants over baby clothes and factory-second brassieres, phony Swiss watches and shower curtains. Black folks used to salivate over the Polish sausages and the foot-long frankfurters the street vendors served up there. Of course, Maxwell Street was the polite term for the hundred-year-old bazaar. But I grew up hearing it referred to as Jewtown. I don’t know who coined that nasty bit of anti-Semitism, but the moniker was ancient and ubiquitous.
I fought with myself for only a few seconds before making the call. I was a little confused when Jack Klaus told me to meet him on Maxwell Street. Then he explained that he was going to grab a bite at Harry’s, the brightest star in the galaxy of delicatessens in that neighborhood.
I found him wiping mustard from the corner of his mouth. On his plate was a whopping pastrami sandwich and a potato knish big enough to feed the Foreign Legion.
“Have a seat. Hungry?” he asked.
“No. I need to talk to you. Are you eating alone?”
“I usually do. Gets lonely sometimes. I think I remember you turning me down.”
“You sound like you’re in a good mood, today, Detective Klaus. Very playful.”
“Oh, I forgot. Everything’s real serious with you. You got an emergency or something?”
“You wanted me to tell you about Barry Mayhew. Well, I have something to say about him now.”
“Ah, now you’re ready to rat him out. Is that it?”
I was also ready to slap Jack Klaus. But I beat down the impulse and asked if I could have a cream soda.
“Barry hasn’t been back at the apartment since yesterday morning. I don’t know where he is or what happened to him. But I think he’s found Dan Zuni, and I think they both might be in serious danger.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. I saw Barry yesterday afternoon, not long after I spoke to you. He was driving Dan’s Volvo.”
“Very interesting,” he said, nodding sagely.
“Did you hear what I said? He was in Dan’s Volvo. I thought you were looking everywhere for that car.”
“Go on.”
“You were right; he does sell grass, and a few other things. He thinks he’s the sharp one, likes to treat everybody else like an asshole. But now I think he’s in over his head, mixed up with some people who don’t play. Barry can be pretty oily sometimes, but I don’t want to see him get hurt. Anyway, I’m much more worried about Dan.”
“I bet.”
“You bet? What the hell is this? You’re not really listening to a thing I’m saying, are you?”
“Sure I am. But you can stop worrying about Dan Zuni.”
My heart froze. I thought the sadistic bastard was going to tell me I needn’t worry about Dan anymore because he was dead.
“Mr. Zuni is safe and sound. We took good care of him.”
“You what?”
“He’s been in custody since the night of the murders. But he was released a few hours ago.”
“You son of a bitch.” Tears rose to my eyes. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know. But he’s a free man now.”
I couldn’t help letting out a sob.
I guess that touched his so-called heart. “I couldn’t tell you, Cass. I couldn’t. There’s reasons for it, though.”
“What reasons? Whose?”
He didn’t answer.
“Police bullshit. That’s the reason, isn’t it? Jesus Christ, I knew something was crazy about the way you guys were acting.”
“I have nothing to do with the way this case is being handled. All I could do was try to look out for you a little, to the extent you let me. I’m still not free to tell you why things shook out the way they did.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I’m sure you have a very good reason for throwing a man in prison when you know he didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Look, I told you. I didn’t make that decision.”
“Okay, so not you personally. It was that pig Norris who decided. He knew Dan was innocent, though,