「listentomecareful,cheapie—」

「wereyoueverinengland,mendy?youandrandystarrandpaulmarstonorterrylennoxorwhateverhisnamewas?inthebritisharmyperhaps?hadalittleracketinsohoandgothotandfiguredthearmywasacooling-offspot?」

「holdtheline.」

iheldit.nothinghappenedexceptthatiwaitedandmyarmgottired.iswitchedthereceivertotheotherside.finallyhecameback.

「nowlistencareful,marlowe.youstirupthatlennoxcaseandyou’redead.terrywasapalandigotfeelingstoo.soyougotfeelings.i’llgoalongwithyoujustthisfar.itwasacommandooutfit.itwasbritish.ithappenedinnorway,oneofthoseislandsoffthecoast.theygotamillionofthem.november1942.nowwillyouliedownandrestthattiredbrainofyours?」

「thankyou,mendy.iwilldothat.yoursecretissafewithme.i’mnottellingittoanybodybutthepeopleiknow.」

「buyyourselfapaper,cheapie.readandremember.bigtoughwilliemagoon.beatupinfrontofhisownhouse.boy,washesurprisedwhenhecomeoutoftheether!」

hehungup.iwentdownstairsandboughtapaperanditwasjustasmenendezhadsaid.therewasapictureofbigwilliemagooninhishospitalbed.youcouldseehalfhisfaceandoneeye.therestofhimwasbandages.seriouslybutnotcriticallyinjured.theboyshadbeenverycarefulaboutthat.theywantedhimtolive.afterallhewasacop.inourtownthemobsdon’tkillacop.theyleavethattothejuveniles.andalivecopwhohasbeenputthroughthemeatgrinderisamuchbetteradvertisement.hegetswelleventuallyandgoesbacktowork.butfromthattimeonsomethingismissing—thelastinchofsteelthatmakesallthedifference.he’sawalkinglessonthatitisamistaketopushtheracketboystoohard—especiallyifyouareonthevicesquadandeatingatthebestplacesanddrivingacadillac.

isatthereandbroodedaboutitforawhileandthenidialedthenumberofthecarneorganizationandaskedforgeorgepeters.hewasout.ileftmynameandsaiditwasurgent.hewasexpectedinaboutfive-thirty.

iwentovertothehollywoodpubliclibraryandaskedquestionsinthereferenceroom,butcouldn’tfindwhatiwanted.soihadtogobackformyoldsanddrivedowntowntothemainlibrary.ifounditthere,inasmallishred-boundbookpublishedinengland.icopiedwhatiwantedfromitanddrovehome.icalledthecarneorganizationagain.peterswasstillout,soiaskedthegirltoreroutethecalltomeathome.

iputthechessboardonthecoffeetableandsetoutaproblemcalledthesphynx.itisprintedontheendpapersofabookonchessbyblackburn,theenglishchesswizard,probablythemostdynamicchessplayerwhoeverlived,althoughhewouldn’tgettofirstbaseinthecoldwartypeofchesstheyplaynowadays.thesphynxisaneleven-moveranditjustifiesitsname.chessproblemsseldomruntomorethanfourorfivemoves.beyondthatthedifficultyofsolvingthemrisesinalmostgeometricalprogression.aneleven-moverissheerunadulteratedtorture.

onceinalongwhilewhenifeelmeanenoughisetitoutandlookforanewwaytosolveit.it’sanicequietwaytogocrazy.youdon’tevenscream,butyoucomeawfullyclose.

georgepeterscalledmeatfive-forty.weexchangedpleasantriesandcondolences.

「you’vegotyourselfinanotherjam,isee,」hesaidcheerfully.「whydon’tyoutrysomequietbusinesslikeembalming?」

「takestoolongtolearn.listen,iwanttobecomeaclientofyouragency,ifitdoesn’tcosttoomuch.」

「dependsonwhatyouwantdone,oldboy.andyou’dhavetotalktocarne.」

「no.」

「well,tellme.」

「londonisfullofguyslikeme,butiwouldn’tknowonefromtheother.theycallthemprivateenquiryagents.youroutfitwouldhaveconnections.i’djusthavetopickanameatrandomandprobablygethornswoggled.iwantsomeinformationthatshouldbeeasyenoughtoget,andiwantitquick.musthaveitbeforetheendofnextweek.」

「spill.」

「iwanttoknowsomethingaboutthewarserviceofterrylennoxorpaulmarston,whatevernameheused.hewasinthecommandosoverthere.hewascapturedwoundedinnovember1942inaraidonsomenorwegianisland.iwanttoknowwhatoutfithewaspostedfromandwhathappenedtohim.thewarofficewillhaveallthat.it’snotsecretinformation,oriwouldn’tthinkso.let’ssayaquestionofinheritanceisinvolved.」

「youdon’tneedaforthat.youcouldgetitdirect.writethemaletter.」

「shoveit,george.imightgetananswerinthreemonths.iwantoneinfivedays.」

「youhaveathoughtthere,pal.anythingelse?」

「onethingmore.theykeepalltheirvitalrecordsoverthereinaplacetheycallsomersethouse.iwanttoknowifhefiguresthereinanyconnection—birth,marriage,naturalization,anythingatall.」

「why?」

「whatdoyoumean,why?who’spayingthebill?」

「supposethenamesdon’tshow?」

「theni’mstuck.iftheydo,iwantcertifiedcopiesofanythingyourmanturnsup.howmuchyousoakingme?」

「i’llhavetoaskcarne.hemaythumbitoutaltogether.wedon’twantthekindofpublicityyouget.ifheletsmehandleit,andyouagreenottomentiontheconnection,i’dsaythreehundredbucks.thoseguysovertheredon’tgetmuchbydollarstandards.hemighthitusfortenguineas,lessthanthirtybucks.ontopofthatanyexpenseshemighthave.sayfiftybucksaltogetherandcarnewouldn’topenafileforlessthantwo-fifty.」

「professionalrates.」

「ha,ha.heneverheardofthem.」

「callme,george.wanttoeatdinner?」

「romanoff’s?」

「allright,」igrowled,「ifthey’llgivemeareservation—whichidoubt.」

「wecanhavecarne’stable.ihappentoknowhe’sdiningprivately.he’saregularatromanoff’s.itpaysoffintheupperbracketsofthebusiness.carneisaprettybigboyinthistown.」

「yeah,sure.iknowsomebody—andknowhimpersonally—whocouldlosecarneunderhislittlefingernail.」

「goodwork,kid.ialwaysknewyouwouldcomethroughintheclutch.seeyouaboutseveno’clockinthebaratromanoff’s.telltheheadthiefyou’rewaitingforcolonelcarne.he’llclearaspacearoundyousoyoudon’tgetelbowedbyanyriffrafflikescreenwritersortelevisionactors.」

「seeyouatseven,」isaid.

wehungupandiwentbacktothechessboard.butthesphynxdidn’tseemtointerestmeanymore.inalittlewhilepeterscalledmebackandsaiditwasallrightwithcarneprovidedthenameoftheiragencywasnotconnectedwithmyproblems.peterssaidhewouldgetanightletterofftolondonatonce.