Chapter 5

My sleep was not exactly restful. I still had to figure out what to do about Marks. The smart money said to leave him alone, but I hadn't been called smart since Mrs. Rutger's third grade class. I stashed three of the C notes in my room for a rainy day. I noticed it was already raining out, so I stashed the other C note in my shoe, just in case. It was the usual oatmeal and day old bread for breakfast, so I made short work of it and headed out. Before I could reach the door, the Ether pronounced another bit of sunshine.

Concerned over German activities in Morocco, the French ambassador to Berlin, André Francois Poncet was assured by Chancellor Hitler that Germany had no designs on the territorial integrity of Spain or its possessions.

Walking down to the subway platform just reinforced my dislike for January weather. I was climbing the stairs to my 'office' on the third floor, when I heard the sound of my radio playing some jazzy tune I had not heard before. Slipping my .45out of my waistband and chambering a round, I crept forward as quietly as I could, expecting the worst. Slamming the door to my 'office' open only made things worse. The door crashed into the back of the office chair sending its occupant sprawling over my desk and spilling hot coffee everywhere!

A cursing police sergeant was trying to get off of the desk and get to his feet. I pulled my roscoe out of his kidney and helped him up. "Hi Bricker, what brings you out of the clubhouse on such a fine January Morning? You didn't just come to brighten my day, did you?" Luckily for him none of the spilled coffee had landed on my radio.

Bricker spent the next few seconds sputtering and wiping coffee off his suit. "What do you think you're doing, shoving a rod into my side? I should take it for your own good! Can't I even come visit a pally of mine without being assaulted?"

I cleaned off my chair and sat down. "Well, when you break into my office, make yourself at home, turning on my radio, who should I expect?"

He didn't answer me. "You need to get a better lock on your door, my three year old niece could pick it. You're gonna need all the breaks you can get, going up against Marks. And don't tell me you are not, I know you. Stan Malone, you're a hard headed Irish gee and the Lieutenant is going to pull your ticket if he finds out that you're not dropping this. Now would be a lovely time to go to Florida and relax. I hear you just came into a bunch of dough, spend it while you can.' He then left with this final warning, "Don't say I didn't wise you up on the score."

I'll lay odds that Bricker had the low down on my next two visitors when he passed them in the hallway. See, a copper can always spot another dick when he sees him. These were government dicks, G-men, they didn't even have to flash their buzzers. I invited them in, there was only one chair, but I was sure they could figure it out.

"We're here to come to an understanding. You have an unhealthy interest in someone we're interested in. We don't want you to gum up the works, so back off, understand?"

They had me shaking in my boots. The G-men didn't even wait for an answer, they just went out the way they had come. Their message was delivered and I was on notice. I knew that any mistake on my part would result in the entire weight of the Federal Government coming down on me. Perhaps a vacation in Florida wasn't such a bad idea. When I got home that evening, all thoughts of backing off went out the window.