The other players were surprised to see the little man again.
“I thought you went bust,” the snide guy said.
“I went to get cash. I’m buying in again, as soon as I go to the john.”
The little man went in the bathroom and locked the door. He whipped out his cell phone and brought up his contact screen, and he clicked on Ace. There were two numbers listed, his office and his home number. He often got leads after hours and the detective didn’t want to wait.
Of course he didn’t usually call him at two AM.
Ace was groggy and pissed. “Listen, dipshit, this better be good.”
“It’s a hot tip, but it isn’t good. I’m calling to warn you. There’s a guy on your tail. I think he’s private.”
“You think?”
“He showed up at the club posing as a rube. Cleaned me out and confronted me in the parking lot. He’s after the Tessa Tweed video.”
“You gave him my name?”
“He would have killed me. I had no choice. He told me not to warn you, but I am.”
“What does he look like?”
“Long hair, dressed like a hippie, but he’s not. Twenty bucks it’s just for effect.”
“Did you give him my home address?”
“I didn’t give him any address. I said you ran the Ace Detective Agency. He’ll come during business hours, assuming he comes at all.”
“All right. Call me if you hear anything.”
Ace hung up and called Mason Kimble. Ace had done a couple of jobs for Mason and knew he was interested in Centurion Pictures. A scandal involving one of their leading actresses figured to be a juicy tidbit, particularly one involving the wife of the head of the studio. Ace had been right. Mason had paid and paid well. He’d want a heads-up about this new development. And he’d pay for that, too.
Mason was disoriented. “What the hell time is it?”
“It’s two in the morning. Sorry to call you, but it’s important. This is Ace Vargas. There’s a private dick looking for the Tessa Tweed tape.”
Mason was suddenly awake. “Really? Did he talk to you?”
“No, but he’s on his way. Probably tomorrow during working hours. I’ll keep your name out of it, but I’m going to take a pounding, and I may need compensation.”
“Come in to work an hour early, I’ll send you some cash. I don’t want my man to cross paths with this guy.”
“You got it.”
Mason hung up and called Gerard Cardigan. Gerard processed the information with his usual understated aplomb. “That’s unfortunate,” he said.
“It is,” Mason said.
“Would you like me to handle it?”
“I would.”
“Don’t give it another thought.”
“It has to be done early, before this detective gets there.”
“How early?”
“Vargas will be there at eight.”
“So will I,” Gerard said.