Free [Mike Hammer 03] - Vengeance Is Mine by Mickey Spillane Page A

notified of his death.
    “When I dug up his business friends I got nowhere. His business was fine, he was making a lot of money, and he had no worries at all.”
    I clamped my teeth together. “Like hell you got nowhere,” I said softly. My mind drifted back over that little conversation with Pat. A little talk about how a guy named Emil Perry said Wheeler had been depressed because business was rotten. “You’re sure about his business?”
    “Yes. I checked his credit rating.”
    “Nice going. Continue.”
    “Well ... the only lead I saw was this place called the Bowery Inn. I did some fast quizzing when I got home and found out what it was all about. The man who runs the place you seemed to know. I put on an act and he fell for it. Hard. He didn’t seem to like you much, Mike.”
    “I can’t blame him. I shot him once.”
    “After you left he couldn’t talk for five minutes. He excused himself and went into the back room. When he returned he seemed satisfied about something. There was blood on his hands.”
    That would be Dinky, all right. He liked to use his hands when he had a couple of rods backing him up. “That all?”
    “Practically. He wants to see me again.”
    I felt the cords in my neck pull tight. “The bastard! I’ll beat the pants off him for that!”
    Velda shook her head and laughed. “Don’t you get to be the jealous type too, Mike. You don’t wear it so well. Is it important that I see him again?”
    I agreed reluctantly. “It’s important.”
    “Is it still murder?”
    “More than ever, sugar. I bet it’s a big murder, too. A great big beautiful murder with all the trimmings.”
    “Then what do you suggest I do next?”
    I gave it a thought first, then looked at her a moment. “Play this Clyde. Keep your eyes open and see what happens. If I were you I’d hide that P.I. ticket and leave the gun home. We don’t want him putting two and two together and getting a bee in his bonnet.
    “If you follow me on this you’ll see the connection. First we have Wheeler. We have the fact that he might have taken a model out that night and he might have gone to the Inn where he might have run into something that meant murder. If Clyde didn’t enter into this I’d skip the whole premise, but he makes it too interesting to pass up.
    “There’s only one hitch. Juno found the girl he left with the night of the party. She didn’t go out with him!”
    “But, Mike, then ...”
    “Then I’m supposing he might have gone with somebody else some other time. Hell of a lot of mights in this. Too many. At least it’s something to work on, and if you stick around this Clyde character long enough something will turn up one way or another.”
    Velda rose, her legs spread apart, throwing out her arms in a stretch that made her jacket and skirt fill up almost to bursting. I had to bend my head down into a match to get my eyes off her. Clyde was going to get a hell of a deal for his money. I slapped my hat on and opened the door for her.
    When we reached the street I put her in a taxi and watched until she was around the comer. It was just nine-thirty, so I headed for the nearest phone booth, dropped a nickel in the slot and dialed police headquarters. Pat had checked in, but he couldn’t be located at present. I told the switchboard operator to have him meet me in a spaghetti joint around the corner from headquarters in a half-hour and the guy said he’d pass the message on. I found my heap and climbed in. It was going to be a busy day.
    Pat was waiting for me over a half-finished cup of coffee. When he saw me come in he signaled for another coffee and some pastry. I threw my leg over the chair and sat down. “Morning, officer. How’s every little thing in the department?”
    “Going smoothly, Mike.”
    “Oh, too bad.”
    He set his coffee cup down again. His face was absolutely blank. “Don’t start anything, Mike.”
    I acted indignant. “Who, me? What could I start that’s not already