The Assassin Part 46

And then he realized that H. Richard Detweiler didn't believe a word Penny had told him.

He has no idea where we really were, but he knows d.a.m.ned well we were not not at GiGi's. So why isn't he mad? Aren't fathers supposed to be furious when young men screw their daughters? at GiGi's. So why isn't he mad? Aren't fathers supposed to be furious when young men screw their daughters?

As a general rule of thumb, yes. But not when the young gentleman is an old, dear, and more importantly, responsible responsible friend of the family, and the young lady in question has previously been involved in things that make a night between the sheets seem quite innocent, indeed. friend of the family, and the young lady in question has previously been involved in things that make a night between the sheets seem quite innocent, indeed.

"I really have to go."

"I'll have Jensen bring your car around," Detweiler said.

"Just get me the keys, please, I can get it myself."

"Thank you for a lovely evening, Matt," Penny said. "Ask me again, soon."

When she was sure her father's back was turned, she winked lewdly at him.

At two minutes before eight, Matt Payne pushed open the door to the Special Investigations Section. Two sergeants were waiting for him.

"Payne," Sergeant Maxwell Henkels said, "I told you once before. This is the second time, I'm not going to tell you again. I want to know where you are located all the time."

Somebody, obviously, has been looking for me.

"I wasn't aware that applied when I'm off duty," Matt said.

"Yeah, well, now you do. You understand me, I'm not going to tell you again?"

"I understand, Sergeant."

"Payne," Sergeant Jerry O'Dowd said uncomfortably, a strange smile on his face. "You have thirty-one minutes to meet Inspector Wohl at Chief Marchessi's office in Internal Affairs."

"What?"

"What are you, deaf or what?" Sergeant Maxwell Henkels demanded.

"I'll handle this, Sergeant," O'Dowd said. "And to make things easier for everybody concerned, I'll keep track of Detective Payne's whereabouts. Will that be all right with you?"

"The inspector asked me where he was, and I felt like an a.s.shole when I didn't know."

"Well, that won't happen again. Payne will keep me advised of his location, on and off duty, won't you, Payne?"

"Right."

Henkels left the office.

"You'd better get moving, Payne," O'Dowd said. "With the early morning traffic, you're going to have to push it."

"Do you know what this is all about?"

"No. But right now, you're not one of his favorite people. He made that pretty clear."

Matt tried to figure that out, but came up with nothing.

"I guess nothing happened overnight? About the lunatic?"

"Not a thing."

"Well, Sergeant," Matt said. "You know where I'll be."

Jerry O'Dowd nodded.

TWENTY.

At twenty-nine minutes after eight, Matt entered the outer office of Chief Inspector Mario Marchessi, of the Internal Investigations Bureau, which was housed in a building about as old as the Schoolhouse, literally under the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, which connects Philadelphia with Camden, N.J.

Staff Inspector Peter Wohl and Officer Jesus Martinez were already there.

"Good morning, sir," Matt said.

Wohl did not reply. He gestured for Martinez and Payne to follow him out into the corridor.

"I want to make this clear before we go in to see Chief Marchessi," Wohl said. "This is to see what, if anything, can be salvaged as a result of you two going off like you thought you were the heroes in a cops-and-robbers movie on TV. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"No, sir," Matt said. Martinez shook his head no.

"Jesus!" Wohl said disgustedly. "Martinez, you were sent to the airport to keep your eyes and ears open, and to report what you thought you heard or saw to me . . ."

What does he mean, "Martinez, you were sent to the airport"?

". . . but when I asked you to tell me your gut feelings, you decided, to h.e.l.l with him, I'll play it close to my chest; I'm Super Cop. I'll catch this dirty cop by myself."

Matt looked at Martinez, who looked crushed.

"And you!" Wohl turned to Matt. "Whatever gave you the idea that you could, without orders, surveil anyone, much less a police corporal of a district you have absolutely no connection with at all, anywhere, much less to somewhere in another county, for Christ's sake, where you knew illegal gambling was going on?"

"Inspector, I didn't . . ."

"Shut up, Matt!"

". . . follow anyone anywhere."

"I told you to shut up," Wohl said. "I meant it."

He went back into Chief Marchessi's outer office.

Matt looked at Jesus Martinez.

"What did he mean when he said you were sent to the airport?"

Martinez raised his eyes to his, but didn't reply.

"Well?" Matt asked impatiently.

Wohl put his head back out into the corridor.

"Okay, let's go," he said.

They followed Wohl into Chief Marchessi's office. He pointed to where he wanted them to stand, facing Marchessi's desk, then closed the door to the outer office, then sat down on a battered couch.

"Okay, Peter, what's going on?" Chief Marchessi asked.

"My primary mistake, Chief, was in a.s.suming that Detectives Martinez and Payne . . ."

Detectives Martinez and Payne? Martinez and Payne?

". . . had a good deal more common sense than is the case."

"I don't follow you, Peter," Marchessi said.

"At two o'clock this morning, Detective Payne, having followed him there, observed an Airport Unit corporal signing a marker for two thousand dollars in a gambling joint in the Poconos."

"What gambling joint?" Marchessi asked.

"What was the name of this place, Payne?" Wohl asked.

"The Oaks and Pines Lodge," Matt replied. "Sir, I didn't follow . . ."

"Speak when you're spoken to," Wohl said.

"Let him talk," Marchessi said. "What were you saying?"

Wohl didn't let him.

"The reason he followed this fellow to the Oaks and Pines," Wohl went on, "was because Detective Martinez asked him to."

Marchessi put up his hand, palm out, to silence Wohl.

"Did you follow this Corporal . . . have we got a name?"

"Lanza, sir. Vito Lanza," Martinez said.

"Did you follow this Corporal Lanza to this place in the Poconos?" Marchessi asked.

"No, sir."

"Inspector Wohl thinks you did."

"The inspector is mistaken, sir. May I explain?"

"I wish somebody would."

"Officer Martinez believes . . ." Matt began.

"Detective Martinez," Marchessi interrupted. "Let's get that, at least, straight." Martinez," Marchessi interrupted. "Let's get that, at least, straight."

Jesus! That means Hay-zus was working the Airport undercover, and and as a detective. as a detective.

"Detective Martinez became suspicious of Corporal Lanza, sir," Matt started again.

"Whoa!" Marchessi said. "Why were you suspicious of Corporal Lanza, Martinez?"

"His life-style, sir," Martinez said. "He had too much money. And a new Cadillac. And he gambles."

Marchessi looked at Wohl.

"That's all?" he asked.

"He had almost ten thousand dollars in cash in the glove compartment of his Cadillac, Chief," Martinez said.

"How do you know that?"

"I saw it."

"He showed it to you?"

"No, sir."

"Does this Corporal . . . Lanza . . . know you know he had all this cash?"

"We hope not," Wohl said sarcastically. "We think Detective Martinez's breaking and entering of Corporal Lanza's personal automobile went undetected."

Marchessi snapped his head to look at Martinez. He was on the verge of saying something, but, visibly, changed his mind.

"And with all this somewhat less than incriminating evidence in hand," Marchessi said, "you enlisted the aid of Detective Payne to surveil Corporal Lanza, and he followed him to this lodge in the Poconos?"

"Not exactly, sir," Jesus said.

"Tell me, exactly exactly."

"I asked Detective Payne if he would be willing to follow Lanza there if I found out he was going."

"Why?"

"You mean why did I ask Payne?"