Chapter 4

I followed Sergeant Martinez out of the Busy Bee dry cleaners and into the bright sunlight. I had briefly considered refusing to cooperate, but you just can't win that game, especially if you're a private dick. Besides, I was curious to know what they wanted.

I got into the passenger side of the white Ford LTD, which was easily recognizable as a police car without the decals and light bar. They still haven't quite figured out the plainclothes/undercover thing yet when it comes to cars.

"Who exactly wants to talk to me?" I asked as we pulled out of the lot.

"Detectives Rank and Callahan."

"Wonderful. So Rank has nothing better to do than to stake out my office. What sort of lame excuse did he give for hassling me?"

Martinez gave me an apologetic glance. "I'm really not supposed to say anything."

"So Tina Callahan made detective?" I asked.

"Yep. Just last month." He gave me a sidelong look. "Say, you got busted a few months back, didn't you?"

"Who, me?"

"Yeah, I remember hearing about something. A private dick busted for indecent."

"Stop playing around Martinez. I know everyone in the Fourth is aware of all the details. Thanks to my buddy Barry Rank."

A grin appeared on his face, which he quickly smothered. "I got Rank's side of the story, yeah. I wouldn't mind getting your side."

I sighed. "There's not much to tell. I was on the job, working an adultery case. I had the wife's lover's house staked out, and I hit paydirt. They were going at it in the bedroom with the light on and the shade up six inches or so. I was taking pictures from my car from about twenty yards away. Then I got greedy and decided to go in for some closeups."

"Uh-huh. Rank didn't mention you were working a case."

"I'm not surprised. Anyway, it just wasn't my night. A beat cop had spotted my van parked on the street in a nice area and run my plates. When it came up as me, Rank drove out himself, snuck up on me, took pictures, and then arrested me for trespassing."

"And indecent."

"That came later, when the lover understandably decided not to press charges."

Martinez shook his head. "Between you and me, I think it was shitty what he did with those pictures."

I didn't say anything. Rank had caught me dead to rights with my dick in my hand under the bedroom window, and had taken Polaroids. That much I couldn't really fault. But then he had put the Polaroids up on a bulletin board over his desk, complete with my name and a funny caption contest that everyone was encouraged to participate in. My face was flushed just thinking about it. The fact that he had been forced to drop the indecent exposure charges because of the stunt had been a very small consolation.

"If it makes you feel any better, he got an official reprimand," Martinez told me. "Didn't do his career much good."

I hadn't known that. In a sense it was bad news. Guys like Barry Rank never blame themselves for anything bad that happens to them. Now he would have it in for me even worse than before.

Martinez pulled into the precinct house and stopped in front of the entrance. "I'm just droppin' you off, Stern. See ya later."

I got out and walked into the modern brick building. Tina Callahan spotted me from her desk and waved me over. I had dealt with her a few times over the past few years, and we were on friendly terms. She was a petite woman about my age, with light blonde hair and eyebrows and Nordic features. She was very sharp and very ambitious, and I wasn't surprised to hear that she had been promoted. She and Rank were an odd couple indeed.

"Hello Frank." She stood up and shook my hand. Her grip was surprisingly strong. "Thanks for coming in. Let's go somewhere we can talk."

She led me down the hall to a pleasant, brightly-lit room with comfortable chairs arranged around a formica table. This was where they questioned witnesses and took complaints - suspects were interviewed in slightly more grim surroundings. Although I hadn't done anything illegal recently, I was still relieved.

I took a seat and eyed Tina as she sat down next to me and carefully arranged her short skirt. She had very nice legs. In fact, she was more attractive than I had remembered, having seen her only in uniform before now.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Detective."

"Thanks. The best part is getting out of that ugly uniform," she said with a smile, as if reading my mind. "How's business these days?"

"Picking up a little. I'm keeping afloat. So what's up?"

She glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Barry should be here any minute. Why don't we wait."

"So you and Rank are partners."

She nodded, not meeting my eyes. "Yeah. You know, you don't get to pick who you work with when you first make detective."

That was a pretty clear statement of what she thought of Rank, and I had to grin. I found myself wondering whether Tina Callahan had contributed to the caption contest.

Rank walked in, carrying stack of folders. He's a thickset, jowly man in his fifties, with a nose like a potato. He was wearing a wrinkled brown suit and a stained tie. His macho persona surrounded him like cheap cologne.

He made an ominous show of closing and locking the door, and then he leaned his back against the wall and said "How's my favorite pervert?"

I saw Tina cringe out of the corner of my eye. I didn't say anything.

"Let's get started," said Tina, her voice neutral and businesslike. "Stern, a woman named Claire Ingleford, a well known actress, was seen entering your office inside the Busy Bee dry cleaners about an hour ago. We're interested in finding out what why she was there."

"To discuss a business matter."

"Don't play games with us, Stern," said Rank. "What did she want?"

I said "Are you aware that as a licensed private investigator, I'm not required to divulge private information about a client unless you show due cause?"

"We're aware of that," said Tina quickly, before Rank could say anything. "Had Claire Ingleford been your client previous to today?"

"No."

"Had you ever met her before today?"

"No." I was skating on thin ice, but telling the truth.

"Bullshit," said Rank. You're telling me this famous TV star just waltzed into your grimy little office and hired you out of the blue?"

"I was pretty surprised when she knocked on my door, I'll tell you that much."

Tina smiled. "I'll bet. Can you give us some idea of the nature of her case?"

I shifted uncomfortably on my chair, unsure of what to do. If I told them the truth, I ran the risk of having the undeveloped film of Claire confiscated by the police. Bye-bye to the two grand. On the other hand, I could get in big trouble by holding out. I had an uneasy suspicion that Claire had complained to the police about my taking pictures of her, in which case they knew everything.

"You put me in a difficult position, legally speaking," I said. Rank let out a snort, which I ignored. "If you could tell me why you're interested in the activities of Ms. Ingleford, that would be very helpful. For example, if I knew she was a suspect in a criminal investigation, that would untie my hands and let me cooperate."