Edward leaned back and lit the second cigarette of the conversation. The pungent yet not unpleasing smell of butane filled the private investigator's nostrils. It put him in mind of the times he had worked the middle watch, the men sleeping rough on the ground, the pregnant quiet, the waiting.
"I don't do cases like this. Not divorces. Not cheating dames. Not anything of the kind. It ain't personal. I just don't mess with matters of the heart. Period. Ain't worth the grief," He blew out a cloud of smoke, "It's the one kind of job that even if you give the client exactly what he wants, he still nurses a grudge."
David Thayer did not move. He stared at Edward Leer beneath heavily lidded eyes. The rattle of a nearby El and the groaning of the old water heater filled the detective's ears. Leer felt himself being weighed on the scales and found wanting. It was not a sensation he was accustomed to or particularly enjoyed.
"James Paulson. He's good. Discrete. We go way back. I'll give him a call first thing."
Thayer's lip twitched. "I'm not interested in Paulson. A great deal of care has been taken in your selection. A great deal. Whatever...inconveniences might be created by taking a case outside of your normal specialty, you would be more than adequately compensated."
Leer cleared his throat and was about to tell Thayer where he could shove his "compensation," gun or no gun, when Thayer wordlessly passed the detective another folder.
Leer looked at the folder in his hands and did not open it. He'd give the shrimp some credit. He was persistent. "It ain't a matter of money. Last case I took like this, I got someone's ex wife shooting at me with one of them cute little lady's pistols. She couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Still, I don't like getting shot at by cheating dames or getting screamed at about how I just ruined some sad bastard's life. You wanted me to track down employee fraud? I'm there. This? No. I don't care what you're offering. Comprende?"
"And does Mrs. Leer feel the same way?" Thayer said softly, "It seems to me she might have different thoughts on the matter." He looked meaningfully at the cot stashed in the corner of the room and then back at Leer.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll leave my family out of this." Leer's voice was monotone, his affect controlled. In his mind's eye, Thayer was bleeding on the floor.
Thayer laughed soundlessly. "Just read it. I think you will find my offer most...agreeable."
Leer flipped open the folders. Thayer hadn't been kidding. The compensation was good. Too good even for a public scandal. What was the catch? There had to sbe something the hotel magnate was hiding. Eddie Leer reflected on the gnawing pain in his gut and on his wife and decided he didn't care.
"Fine. I start when I see the advance wired to my account. Not a second sooner."
Thayer smiled once again, "Naturally."
"I don't do cases like this. Not divorces. Not cheating dames. Not anything of the kind. It ain't personal. I just don't mess with matters of the heart. Period. Ain't worth the grief," He blew out a cloud of smoke, "It's the one kind of job that even if you give the client exactly what he wants, he still nurses a grudge."
David Thayer did not move. He stared at Edward Leer beneath heavily lidded eyes. The rattle of a nearby El and the groaning of the old water heater filled the detective's ears. Leer felt himself being weighed on the scales and found wanting. It was not a sensation he was accustomed to or particularly enjoyed.
"James Paulson. He's good. Discrete. We go way back. I'll give him a call first thing."
Thayer's lip twitched. "I'm not interested in Paulson. A great deal of care has been taken in your selection. A great deal. Whatever...inconveniences might be created by taking a case outside of your normal specialty, you would be more than adequately compensated."
Leer cleared his throat and was about to tell Thayer where he could shove his "compensation," gun or no gun, when Thayer wordlessly passed the detective another folder.
Leer looked at the folder in his hands and did not open it. He'd give the shrimp some credit. He was persistent. "It ain't a matter of money. Last case I took like this, I got someone's ex wife shooting at me with one of them cute little lady's pistols. She couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Still, I don't like getting shot at by cheating dames or getting screamed at about how I just ruined some sad bastard's life. You wanted me to track down employee fraud? I'm there. This? No. I don't care what you're offering. Comprende?"
"And does Mrs. Leer feel the same way?" Thayer said softly, "It seems to me she might have different thoughts on the matter." He looked meaningfully at the cot stashed in the corner of the room and then back at Leer.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll leave my family out of this." Leer's voice was monotone, his affect controlled. In his mind's eye, Thayer was bleeding on the floor.
Thayer laughed soundlessly. "Just read it. I think you will find my offer most...agreeable."
Leer flipped open the folders. Thayer hadn't been kidding. The compensation was good. Too good even for a public scandal. What was the catch? There had to sbe something the hotel magnate was hiding. Eddie Leer reflected on the gnawing pain in his gut and on his wife and decided he didn't care.
"Fine. I start when I see the advance wired to my account. Not a second sooner."
Thayer smiled once again, "Naturally."
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