FIFTY

‘Are we gonna go and see Philip now?’ Jerry asked.

‘Sure, why not?’ I asked. ‘There’s no point in waiting, is there? Especially since he still might call ahead.’

‘Maybe,’ Jerry said, ‘we should go and see DeStefano first?’

‘Do you recognize the name?’

‘No.’

‘I think maybe we should find out just how connected DeStefano is before we go and see him,’ I suggested. ‘So let’s see big brother first.’

He started the car and said, ‘I gotta warn ya, Mr G. I’m gonna wanna smash his face in as soon as he opens his mouth.’

‘I gotta warn you, Jerry,’ I said. ‘I’ll probably let you.’

Philip Arnold had offices in a more businesslike section of town. His building was surrounded by other office buildings.

On the lobby directory he was listed as Philip Arnold Consultants. Adrienne had said his business was investments.

We waited for the elevator, stepped aside when it arrived to allow three men in suits to exit. They didn’t look like accountants or lawyers. I had a feeling that while the building might be in a better neighborhood than Eric Arnold’s was, the clientele was not much better. We got in and rode to the 3^rd floor.

‘This is a good floor,’ Jerry said.

‘Why’s that?’

‘If I have to hang him from the window by the ankles it’s high enough to scare him, but low enough that he might survive if I accidentally drop him.’

We found his door and entered. He had a reception area, but there was no receptionist. That was probably good, because if she had been there she might have been underneath the overturned desk.

‘I had a bad feelin’ when those guys left the elevator,’ Jerry said.

I nodded. We approached the closed door of Arnold’s office, wondering if we were going to find another dead member of the family.

As we entered, we saw that he wasn’t dead, but he was definitely the worse for wear.

‘Whatayou want?’ he demanded from behind his desk. He was holding a washcloth to his bruised and battered face.

‘I think we ran into your friends in the lobby,’ I said. ‘Three guys with bad-fitting suits?’

He probed his mouth and said around his big hand, ‘I think they loosened some teeth.’

‘Why didn’t you show them your muscles?’ Jerry asked.

‘Or sic your muscle buddies on them?’

‘What the hell do you guys want?’ he demanded. He opened a drawer and took out a bottle of scotch and a glass.

‘No, thanks,’ I said.

He ignored me, poured himself a drink, sipped it and then hissed as the liquor hit his sore lips and gums.

‘We just came from seeing Eric,’ I said.

‘Oh yeah? What’d that pussy tell you?’

‘He was very talkative,’ I said. ‘But I hope your friends didn’t get all that you have to give already. Jerry would be really upset if you had nothing left for us.’

‘Adrienne send you?’ he asked, giving Jerry a wary look.

‘We’re working on her behalf,’ I said.

‘You guys ain’t cops, and you ain’t private detectives. Whataya want?’

‘We’d like to know who killed your brother Chris,’ I said, ‘and who took some shots at us today out in Red Rock.’

‘Well, for the first question, I don’t know,’ he said, ‘and for the second, probably somebody who don’t like you.’

‘And that would be . . . you?’ I asked.

Phil Arnold laughed, then hissed.

‘Don’t make me laugh,’ he said. ‘It hurts. You guys think I sent a shooter after you? I ain’t got that kind of juice.’

‘Balls,’ Jerry said.

‘What?’

‘You ain’t got that kinda balls.’

‘So yeah,’ Arnold said, with a shrug, ‘maybe I ain’t.’ He poured himself some more scotch, sipped it carefully. His suit was disheveled, and there was blood on his white collar. ‘But I also wouldn’t have any reason to.’

There were two overturned chairs on the floor. We righted them and sat down.

‘So who were the guys who roughed you up, Phil?’ I asked. ‘Collectin’ on a bad debt, or do they work for Vinnie DeStefano?’

He was in the act of lifting the glass to his mouth, and stopped short to give me a sharp look.

‘Where’d you hear that name?’

‘We heard you’re in business with him,’ I said. ‘We also heard that your brother keeps your phony books. But you don’t trust him enough to let him keep the real ones.’

‘I don’t trust him to know enough to stay out of the rain. The fact that you bozos are here tells me I’m right. He can’t keep his damn mouth shut.’

‘Well, don’t blame him too much,’ I said. ‘It was kinda hard for him to keep quiet with Jerry standin’ on his chest.’

‘You wanna see?’ Jerry asked, with a smile.

‘Hey, fellas,’ he said, ‘I been worked over enough for one day, don’t you think?’

‘Not by me,’ Jerry said.

‘Look,’ he said, ‘why don’t we have a drink and talk about it, huh?’

‘Sure, Phil,’ I said, ‘let’s have a drink.’

‘I got some glasses in the john,’ he said. ‘And I need to wash my face.’ He pointed to the bathroom door.

‘Go ahead.’

He got up, opened the door and went in. We heard the water turn on, and run . . . and run . . . and run . . .

‘Crap!’ I said, springing out of my chair.

It was a bathroom, all right, with another door that led to a back hallway. I ran out, looked both ways, listened for his footsteps, but he was gone.