Free One or the Other by John McFetridge Page B

He’d just have to keep it a secret from his mother. And his father.
    In the back by the washrooms, Dougherty found a pay phone and called in.
    Ste. Marie answered, “Where the hell is Caron? I called him three times.”
    â€œI can find him.”
    â€œCan you find him in the next five minutes?”
    â€œYeah,” Dougherty said, “he’s here with me now. You want us to come in?”
    â€œNo, we’ll pick him up, where are you?”
    â€œYou know the Disco-Salon, on LeRoyer?”
    â€œShould have known you’d be in a strip club. Sober him up and wait out front, we’ll be there in five minutes.”
    Dougherty pulled Caron out from under a dancer and dragged him out to the sidewalk in front of the club. He was thinking along the way how Ste. Marie had said to sober “him” up and that they’d pick “him” up but it didn’t really register until the unmarked car pulled up and Ste. Marie, in the passenger seat, said to Caron, “Let’s go.”
    Caron climbed in the back and as Dougherty leaned in he saw Paquette in the driver’s seat. Dougherty said, “Where to?” but he had a feeling what was coming.
    â€œIt’s not the whole squad,” Ste. Marie said. “We got a tip on the shooter from Peg’s, we don’t want to spook him.”
    â€œJust you three going?”
    â€œA couple others, they’re watching his place now.”
    â€œWhose place?”
    Ste. Marie said, “We’ll bring him in tonight, let him sweat, talk to him tomorrow. Be at the office by ten.”
    Then Paquette pulled a U and Dougherty watched the car turn onto St. Laurent and gun it. He was pissed off and feeling like he was being pushed out of the special squad but he didn’t know what to do about it.
    He started to walk back to Bonsecours, thinking he’d just go home, but he saw a pay phone and called Judy.
    She said, “Yeah, sure, we can complain about your job and my lack of a job.”

CHAPTER
SEVEN
    Dougherty got to the bank office at ten but there was no one there, so he went down to the greasy spoon on the corner and had eggs and sausages and toast. He was finishing his second cup of coffee when Caron came in and sat down on the next stool.
    â€œ
Tabarnak
, did you hear everything?”
    â€œI didn’t hear anything.”
    â€œ
Juste un café.
To go.” He turned to Dougherty. “What a fuck-up, where you been?”
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œIt was crazy.”
    â€œHave you been up all night? Why didn’t you call me?”
    The guy behind the counter put a couple of paper coffee cups with plastic lids on them in front of Caron and Dougherty put down a five-dollar bill.
    On the way to the bank office, Caron said, “It was Big Jim Sadowski.”
    â€œYou’re sure?”
    â€œOh yeah. We had his place staked out last night, apartment building on Sherbrooke, corner of Benny, you know it?”
    â€œYeah,” Dougherty said, “new one, fifteen storeys, all concrete.”
    They went into the bank building and passed the elevator, taking the stairs up to the fourth floor.
    â€œWe waited in the garage below the building. Big Jim was at Peg’s, we knew that.”
    Caron was out of breath by the second floor. Dougherty was a few steps ahead, and he stopped and looked back. He had a feeling what was coming, but he let Caron tell it.
    â€œWe waited for a couple hours, it was after three when he got there.”
    â€œTo the garage,” Dougherty said.
    â€œYeah.” Caron started up the stairs again, passing Dougherty. “Fucker started shooting as soon as he saw us.”
    Dougherty said, “Shit, anybody hurt?” But he was glad Caron was ahead of him then and not looking at his face. Dougherty knew what had happened and he listened while Caron told him how Sadowski got out of his car and Ste. Marie told him to put up his hands and Sadowski