in detail.”
Pat reached for a cigarette and laid it in his lips. The tip of the flame from the lighter wavered when he held it up. “I hope it made an impression. This country is too fine to be kicked around. Deamer is the man to stop it if he can get that far.
“Politics never interested you much, Mike. You know how it starts in the wards and works itself right up to the nation. I get a chance to see just how dirty and corrupt politics can be. You should put yourself in my shoes for a while and you’d know how I feel. I get word to lay off one thing or another ... or else. I get word that if I do or don’t do a certain thing I’ll be handed a fat little present. You’d think people would respect the police, but they don’t. They try to use the department to push their own lousy schemes and it happens more often than you’d imagine.”
“And you, Pat, what did you do?” I leaned forward in my chair, waiting.
“I told them to go to hell. They can’t touch an honest man until he makes a mistake. Then they hang him for it.”
“Any mistakes yet?”
Two streams of smoke spiraled from his nostrils. “Not yet, kid. They’re waiting though. I’m fed up with the tension. You can feel it in the air, like being inside a storage battery. Call me a reformer if you want to, but I’d love to see a little decency for a change. That’s why I’m afraid for Deamer.”
“Yeah, you were telling me about him.”
“Twins. You were right, Mike. Lee Deamer was at that meeting the night he was allegedly seen killing this Charlie Moffit. He was talking to groups around the room. I was there.”
I stamped the butt out in a tray and lit another. “You mean it was as simple as that ... Lee Deamer had a twin brother?”
Pat nodded. “As simple as that.”
“Then why the secrecy? Lee isn’t exactly responsible for what his brother does. Even a blast in the papers couldn’t smear him for that, could it?”
“No ... not if that was all there was to it.”
“Then ...”
Pat slammed the glass down impatiently. “The brother’s name was Oscar Deamer. He was an escaped inmate of a sanitarium where he was undergoing psychiatric treatment. Let that come out and Lee is finished.”
I let out a slow whistle. “Who else knows about this, Pat?”
“Just you. It was too big. I couldn’t keep it to myself. Lee called me tonight and said he wanted to see me. We met in a bar and he told me the story. Oscar arrived in town and told Lee that he was going to settle things for him. He demanded money to keep quiet. Lee thinks that Oscar deliberately killed this Charlie Moffit hoping to be identified as Lee, knowing that Lee wouldn’t dare reveal that he had a lunatic for a brother.”
“So Lee wouldn’t pay off and he got the treatment.”
“It looks that way.”
“Hell, this Oscar could have figured Lee would have an alibi and couldn’t be touched. It was just a sample, something to get him entangled. That doesn’t make him much of a loony if he can think like that.”
“Anybody who can kill like that is crazy, Mike.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Before he could answer me, the bell rang, two short burps and Pat got up to push the buzzer. “Lee?” I asked.
Pat nodded. “He wanted more time to think about it. I told him I’d be at home. It has him nearly crazy himself.” He went to the door and stood there holding it open as he had done for me. It was so still that I heard the elevator humming in its well, the sound of the doors opening and the slow, heavy feet of a person carrying a too-heavy weight.
I stood up myself and shook hands with Lee Deamer. He wasn’t big like I had expected. There was nothing outstanding about his appearance except that he looked like a school-teacher, a very tired, middle-aged Mr. Chips.
Pat said, “This is Mike Hammer, Lee. He’s a very special, capable friend of mine.”
His handshake was firm, but his eyes were too tired to take me in all at once. He said to Pat very
Pat reached for a cigarette and laid it in his lips. The tip of the flame from the lighter wavered when he held it up. “I hope it made an impression. This country is too fine to be kicked around. Deamer is the man to stop it if he can get that far.
“Politics never interested you much, Mike. You know how it starts in the wards and works itself right up to the nation. I get a chance to see just how dirty and corrupt politics can be. You should put yourself in my shoes for a while and you’d know how I feel. I get word to lay off one thing or another ... or else. I get word that if I do or don’t do a certain thing I’ll be handed a fat little present. You’d think people would respect the police, but they don’t. They try to use the department to push their own lousy schemes and it happens more often than you’d imagine.”
“And you, Pat, what did you do?” I leaned forward in my chair, waiting.
“I told them to go to hell. They can’t touch an honest man until he makes a mistake. Then they hang him for it.”
“Any mistakes yet?”
Two streams of smoke spiraled from his nostrils. “Not yet, kid. They’re waiting though. I’m fed up with the tension. You can feel it in the air, like being inside a storage battery. Call me a reformer if you want to, but I’d love to see a little decency for a change. That’s why I’m afraid for Deamer.”
“Yeah, you were telling me about him.”
“Twins. You were right, Mike. Lee Deamer was at that meeting the night he was allegedly seen killing this Charlie Moffit. He was talking to groups around the room. I was there.”
I stamped the butt out in a tray and lit another. “You mean it was as simple as that ... Lee Deamer had a twin brother?”
Pat nodded. “As simple as that.”
“Then why the secrecy? Lee isn’t exactly responsible for what his brother does. Even a blast in the papers couldn’t smear him for that, could it?”
“No ... not if that was all there was to it.”
“Then ...”
Pat slammed the glass down impatiently. “The brother’s name was Oscar Deamer. He was an escaped inmate of a sanitarium where he was undergoing psychiatric treatment. Let that come out and Lee is finished.”
I let out a slow whistle. “Who else knows about this, Pat?”
“Just you. It was too big. I couldn’t keep it to myself. Lee called me tonight and said he wanted to see me. We met in a bar and he told me the story. Oscar arrived in town and told Lee that he was going to settle things for him. He demanded money to keep quiet. Lee thinks that Oscar deliberately killed this Charlie Moffit hoping to be identified as Lee, knowing that Lee wouldn’t dare reveal that he had a lunatic for a brother.”
“So Lee wouldn’t pay off and he got the treatment.”
“It looks that way.”
“Hell, this Oscar could have figured Lee would have an alibi and couldn’t be touched. It was just a sample, something to get him entangled. That doesn’t make him much of a loony if he can think like that.”
“Anybody who can kill like that is crazy, Mike.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Before he could answer me, the bell rang, two short burps and Pat got up to push the buzzer. “Lee?” I asked.
Pat nodded. “He wanted more time to think about it. I told him I’d be at home. It has him nearly crazy himself.” He went to the door and stood there holding it open as he had done for me. It was so still that I heard the elevator humming in its well, the sound of the doors opening and the slow, heavy feet of a person carrying a too-heavy weight.
I stood up myself and shook hands with Lee Deamer. He wasn’t big like I had expected. There was nothing outstanding about his appearance except that he looked like a school-teacher, a very tired, middle-aged Mr. Chips.
Pat said, “This is Mike Hammer, Lee. He’s a very special, capable friend of mine.”
His handshake was firm, but his eyes were too tired to take me in all at once. He said to Pat very
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