Archangel Mike Conner(1)

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operating inside some kind of moral armor. It was bad enough he d sat there eating his fucking cabbage
roll!
He was getting up to leave just as Theo came back from his phone call.
I don t think it s gonna work, Theo, Willson said.
Hold on, Chief, Rostek said. You remember our talk the other day?
What about it?
Well, it came to my attention that the Klan has been pulling some of our folks off the street.
Willson sat down. Spill it, he said.
Rostek smiled. I thought you might be interested. He sat on the edge of the table. Now, I personally
went over to see one of those white-sheet boys yesterday, and he told me what I was hearing was true.
Who did you see?
That really doesn t matter, anymore, Chief. I m afraid I had to put a little how should I put it?
pressure on him. And now, I guess you might say he s in no shape to wear his hood. Theo laughed.
But what s really good is that I just found out that one of the other boys who was in on it happens to be
a roommate of that reporter friend of yours.
Constantine?
That s right. Danny Constantine.
Constantine doesn t have anything to do with the Klan, Willson said flatly.
Oh? And how do you know that?
Because I know him. He s a fair-minded man.
Whooo! Listen to that! Mr. Constantine, why, he s a fair-minded man! He would never do nothin to
hurt us colored folks! No, sir! Theo s smile faded and he leaned close to Willson. You listen to me,
Chief. That man has one of the Klan living under his own roof. You think he doesn t know about it? Bull
shit! He knows, and he knows something else that you d better start learning, too. He knows how to
take care of his own!
Willson tried to look away, but Rostek came around to face him. Look here, Willson. I know you been
working on these disappearance cases for a year now. And I m telling you, this boy, Lou Ravelli, was
part of the gang that kidnapped four men and a lady Saturday night. I m also telling you that I had some
people looking for him, and I know where he is right now! You say you know how to take care of your
own? Prove it. Put your high and mighty attitude aside and come with me right now.
I ain t going nowhere with you!
Oh, fuck you, Dooley! I m just trying to get by, just like you. You ain t any better than I am. It s all
about pushing people around, and there s the ones doing the pushing and the ones getting pushed. You
and I push. Stop hiding behind the law! At least I m honest about what I do. These people been
murdering, Chief. You want em or not?
I want em, Willson growled.
Rostek clapped his hands together. Damn right!
But I m going to make an arrest and see he s booked.
You turned in your badge.
I can still make a citizen s arrest.
You gonna keep hiding til you can t hide anymore.
That s the way it s got to be, Theo.
Rostek shrugged. Okay. Won t make no difference. You want to ride with me?
We ll take my car.
Won t make no difference, either, Theo said.
Where are they?
The old Crockett Mill, Theo said.
Downtown in the offices of the Journal, Bing Lockner was working the baseball ticker. He sat with his
feet up, pulling the yellow tape through his fingers. Only two scores had come over, one of them a Negro
league game in Pittsburgh between the Crawfords and the Homestead Grays. The other contest had been
played in Pawtucket, where what was left of the Red Sox had played their minor league affiliate for the
eighth day in a row. That was all he had to go on today.
Under his feet, on the desk, was the chart he had been keeping since the start of the season, showing the
games that, according to the schedule, ought to have been played, and the standings. Bing had
Philadelphia ahead in the American, and St. Louis in the National. St. Louis had already won forty-seven
games this year. Bing had felt, before the season began, that 1930 would be a good year for the young,
scrappy St. Louis team with their hillbilly pitchers, young Dizzy and Daffy Dean. And they had got off to
a great twenty-and-four start before the league shut down for good. Bing thought it was only right that [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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