Ill-Fame (A Detective Harm Queen Novel Book 2) (20 page)

Baum’s involvement with the Anderson family certainly both surprised and dismayed him. He’d always hated Baum, and seen him for the despicable bloodsucker he was. Baum’s insistence on side business, business that did not fit into the natural flow of city graft, had been the reason for his dismissal. It had angered Queen that Baum had been running his own rackets, rackets that took advantage of the innocence of girls, and the idea that he’d snatched Maisy under the nose of his best friend made his blood boil in fury. Maisy said Baum had insisted that he hadn’t been able to protect her from the men that took her, but Queen’s intuition told him something completely different. He knew, he just knew, that Baum had arranged for them to enslave her, and he’d been paid a pretty penny for the service. If Baum wasn’t tucked away in jail right now, Queen would find him and kill him.

He’d also learned about how contemptible a slug Jiggs Kilbane was. If anyone deserved a gut-shot it was him. But as much as he hated Baum, Queen realized that his actions might well have saved Maisy’s life on a washroom floor.

The other two men Maisy mentioned piqued his interest the most. He’d just met Moonlight Darling earlier in the week, and had been impressed with his quick thinking and ready smile, but it was hard to believe that he was Kilbane’s son. How on God’s green earth did a kid with a head on his shoulders like Moonlight ever spring from the seed of that ridiculous gangster? She mentioned that the young athlete was sitting outside, questioning the cops in the assembly room about the life of a policeman. He was eager to shake the young man’s hand and introduce him to Doc, who would be tickled to have the sports star in the rank and file. It would be a publicity coup to end all publicity coups to have Moonlight Dick Darling battling bad men on the streets of Minneapolis.

His questions to Maisy, however, focused on the man she called Henri. The only thing he knew about the man was that he had worn a turtle necklace, and that he’d worked for Jiggs. When she’d told Queen that this Henri had given Baum the gun to kill Kilbane, his brain was racing with possible reasons why.

“Tell me what the man is capable of, Miss Anderson, if you please.”

“He’s not as bad as he seems, despite his carrying me away on his shoulder,” she replied, with an embarrassing little smile that revealed how silly her words sounded. “He tried to protect me. He was a gentleman.”

A gentleman? Out of respect for Maisy, he bit his tongue. This man was no more a gentleman than the janitor who scrubbed out the latrines at City Hall. And at least the janitor put in an honest day’s work.

“Tell me what you learned about him, during your short time together. Did he have any quirks? Any distinguishing features?”

“He speaks French, I assume because he is. He insisted on giving me money.”

“Anything that would tell you about his past?”

Queen saw the reaction to his question on her face. She remembered something.

“Please, Miss Anderson, if you can.”

“Just before he gave Martin Baum the gun,” she started slowly, pursing her lips as if to recollect better, “he mentioned something about growing up in a family of fur traders. My heart was beating too loudly to hear every word, but I remember him pulling out a tool, and showing it. He said it was for stitching leather, but suggested it could be used on the human body. An awl, I think.”

A gentleman with a sadistic side? Queen wondered what kind of stitching he did in his spare time. For a man to replace Jack Peach, he had to have some measure of cold-bloodedness inside him.

“Is there any other reason he gave you, besides the mention of his skill with an awl, that would lead you to believe this Henri is something more than he seems? Perhaps someone with a radical bent?”

She thought again for a moment, and again, her face flashed with realization.

“Yes, there was something else he said.”

“What?”

“I don’t remember the exact words, but he’d suggested that he had far bigger plans in his future than as a henchman. I’m not sure how radical that is, but it struck me as queer.”

“And from what you know of him, do you believe that’s true?”

“He is very smart, Detective Queen. And he seemed sincere in his claim.”

With every bit of information gleaned about this man, Queen decided, he was more and more worried.

CHAPTER 26

Maisy didn’t know what to make of Harm Queen. He was vaguely handsome. Not youthfully, charmingly handsome like Dick Darling, or handsome in a crippling, disturbing way like Emil Dander, but he had his own formidable presence. It wasn’t height, or girth, or muscle that made him good-looking. He was attractive instead, she thought, because he was comfortable being who he was. His dark, fierce eyes and graying hair were born of experience. Cold, hard experience, dealing with society’s worst elements. She felt nothing wrong with him. In fact, the very opposite. He was a defender. Someone who watched over the weak, and it drew her to him. But something else drew her, too. He was troubled and dark, in some way, and that intrigued her.

His questions finally seemed to be finished, as he leaned back in his chair, and gave a small, unexpected sigh. He had something else on his mind, she thought, besides all that went on today. There was something personal, a look in his eyes that bordered on sadness. It wasn’t her place to ask, but it made her curious.

“You’ve been most helpful, Miss Anderson. Do you have a place to stay the night?” he asked.

“Dick is arranging our rooms, at the Pioneer Hotel, across the street.”

“Those are comfortable lodgings. Doesn’t he have a place of his own near the University?”

“He does, but women are not allowed there.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Anything you need? Notions, clothes?”

“I’m fine, Detective Queen.”

“Good.”

“I will be looking for this Henri, as you might imagine, vigorously. I hope you’ll be staying in town for a while?”

“Dick and I haven’t discussed our plans, but he has his examinations this week, so I’ll be left to my own devices. He’s asked that I not leave the hotel.”

“I can’t imagine, now that you have your freedom, that you’d be so willing to promise that.”

“It’s only until he graduates. Then we’ll see what happens.”

“And if he were to be offered a position on the force? What then?”

Detective Queen was a barrage of questions, and she now understood why he had risen to Chief of Detectives. She had nothing to hold back from him, but didn’t have answers either. She didn’t want to stay in Minneapolis if she could help it, but she and Dick were still in the infancy of their relationship, and had had no opportunity to seriously discuss their future. He’d make a good policeman, she thought firmly. And while a life of anxiety over his safety was not ideal, at least he’d take the opposite side of the law from his father.

“We’ll see, I suppose. I will telegraph my grandmother as soon as I can, to see her.”

Queen’s face immediately betrayed him, and her heart smashed into pieces.

“I’m so sorry for more bad news, but I’m afraid that she’s passed on as well. According to Sheriff Anderson, it was her heart.”

It was all too much to bear, and she closed her eyes for a moment, to collect herself. Her sweet grandmother, who had raised her, was also gone.

“I can see that you’re tired, Miss Anderson, and I regret that I had to deliver that news to you. Perhaps you should rest, now, and we can talk again soon. Let me escort you out to your beau. And here is my business card,” he said, taking one from his desk drawer. “Please call on me if you ever need me. Ever.”

“I do need to think, Detective Queen, on all of this. But may I ask you a question, before we part?”

“Certainly.”

She took a deep breath. “Can you tell me how my grandfather died? Do you know what happened?”

“I was there. Outside the door, anyway. He’d been sitting on a porch, cleaning his gun, when a man named Jack Peach gunned him down. Peach was Kilbane’s right-hand man.”

“That is not how I would have imagined my grandfather’s demise, being taken like that.”

“He was at an extreme disadvantage, and couldn’t get a draw. But you should have seen him minutes before.” Detective Queen’s eyes suddenly gleamed. “He took down a twisted, disgusting man, who had kidnapped a small boy that he’d befriended. It was, my dear—and I never give unwarranted compliments—it was spectacular.”

Maisy nodded. That was the grandfather she knew and loved.

Her head filled, suddenly, with a thousand more questions. She wanted to know the details of her Grandpa Dix’s last days on earth. Where was he buried? What had happened to the farm in Bemidji? So many things needed to be sorted. And she knew she would have to call on Mr. Queen again soon.

“Very well,” she said. “Thank you for your time, sir.”

She held her hand out, and he kissed it this time.

“I have a lifelong commitment to your welfare, Miss Anderson. So believe me when I say, any time. And I have something else for you.”

He reached, once more, into his desk, and withdrew something heavy, wrapped in cloth. It clunked when he put it on the desk, and he gave her a nod to remove the fabric.

My God, she thought, as she slipped it off, and looked at the glistening barrels of her grandfather’s pistols. He placed the retired star she knew so well next to them.

“They’re yours,” he said. “Out of my safe-keeping and back to the family they belong to.”

Maisy stared at them, imagining them in her grandfather’s holsters, strapped around his lean waist, and couldn’t keep back her tears.

“Wrap them up,” he said gently, “and keep them safe.”

When they walked into the assembly room, Queen was amused to see Mayor Ames at a table, sitting across from Moonlight, with a look of joy on his face. A score of policemen had also gathered around, enthralled by the presence not only of Moonlight, but of their own mayor, who rarely visited the assembly room.

“Damn it, Queen!” he roared. “Why didn’t you tell me that Moonlight Dick Darling would grace us with his presence tonight!”

“Well, here he is,” Queen said, “and this, sir, is Maisy Anderson. Do you remember back in January...”

“Of course I do!” He jumped up and took her hand. “I hadn’t had a chance to meet your grandfather on the last visit, but I’d read about his accomplishments in his obituary. What a hero he was! A bona fide hero! His service during the war was exemplary, along with his time in the Dakotas.”

“Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for your nice words.”

“Think nothing of it. And now, I hear, you’ve met a football hero, and stolen his heart,” he said with a knowing wink.

“She has, sir,” Moonlight said, giving his half-curled grin. “And so nice to see you again, Detective Queen!”

“This boy wants to be a policeman, Harm,” Doc blurted. “Have you heard?”

“In passing, sir.”

“When can I swear you in?” Doc’s face was earnest and serious. “You have a job, my boy, whenever you want it.”

“After the graduation ceremony,” said Moonlight, unable to contain the excitement on his face. “I want to discuss it with Miss Anderson, first, of course.” He looked at her imploringly, and she gave back a slightly forced smile.

“The commencement! The day after next! You will be there! I’m giving the address!” Doc’s expression turned from anticipation, suddenly, to disappointment.

Queen knew what was going on in his head. Colonel Ames had forbidden any appearances, and Doc was now realizing that this probably included a speaking engagement at Minnesota’s most prestigious university. Doc turned to Queen, and Queen could read his mind.
Find the man who threatened me as soon as you can
. Queen raised his brow to Doc, to affirm that he had received the message clearly.

Queen saw them out, and onto Hennepin Avenue. Their hotel was only a block away, but he still sent one of the two patrolmen guarding the door to escort them to their rooms.

Day had given way to night, and the electric lamps that lined the streets were glowing under the cool night air. As he walked to the streetcar stop he saw the White Elephant Saloon across the avenue, and recognized a couple of acquaintances smoking cigars in front.

What did Karoline’s departure mean, he suddenly wondered, about his promise not to imbibe in a touch of the bottled courage? If there was a single moment in his life where a double whiskey would right a mass of ills, it was now. Even a single, just to ease his knee joints, he thought, would service.

“Thinking of going in there?” came a voice from behind him. He turned back and looked down to a slight fellow, holding a pencil and notepad in his soft-looking hands. “If you go, I’ll be happy to accompany you,” the man said with a toothy grin. “The notorious Harmon Queen, out for a night on the town, gets pitched out of a window for insulting some poor joe while in a jingled stupor. Read all about it in the morning edition!”

“Who the hell are you, again?” Queen asked. His hand instinctively curled into a fist.

“Freddy Bonge. Crack rag reporter for the
Tribune
. I follow you in the papers, detective. You make good copy.”

“Well, there’s no story here. Go bother someone else.”

“Well, there could be a story,” Bonge said, with cheer in his timbre. “There are two guards posted to each door of City Hall, out of the blue sky. What would ever lead to a decision like that?”

“Why do you care?”

“Because the
Tribune
has an office here! And if something sinister is going on, those of us who work here, along with our readers, of course, have a right to know.”

This was the last thing in the world Queen needed to deal with.

“It’s nothing. Go away. Make tracks.”

“But it is something, and I will not.” He licked the tip of his pencil, and posed himself to write. “From what I can see, Detective, you have two choices. Either you tell me what is going on, or I focus my attention on your little escapade in Saint Paul today.”