Phantom Point
by Gary Inbinder
July 1907: Chicago is sweltering, and hard-boiled detective Max Niemand has a hot, new case. A wealthy socialite hires Max to rescue her wayward artist brother from the clutches of a femme fatale and her dubious California artists’ colony. The job is lucrative, with the promise of a large bonus for good results.
Arriving on the West Coast, Max becomes embroiled in a murder case and a fight over oil rights. In the course of his investigation, he encounters hard-nosed cops, gangsters, an Old West marshal, a tycoon, a cagey lawyer, fast cars, faster women and a malevolent gold-toothed hitman. Before long, Max realizes the odds of living long enough to collect his bonus are definitely not in his favor.
Chapter 14: The Lawyer’s Files
Max’s plan to examine Williams’ files depended on two essential components: Virginia Moore’s cooperation and Max’s ability to evade his shadow. Virginia’s anticipated phone call and their subsequent meeting would determine if the first element of the plan would be satisfied; Max called on George to help with the second.
Max spotted George on the landing and motioned to him. George came over and followed Max into the room.
Max took a strip of paper from his pocket. “When you get a break, I want you to do a little shopping for me.” Max handed the bellhop a list of items and enough money for expenses plus a generous tip.
George glanced down at the list and money, then looked to Max and said, “When do you need the stuff, Mr. Matt?”
“Early this evening will do. Can you handle it?”
“Sure can, boss.” George grinned, pocketed the list and the money and exited the room.
Max walked to the table by the window, sat and opened a deck of cards. He amused himself, practicing his mechanic’s skills: false shuffling, bottom-dealing and dealing seconds. He had spent hours in quiet rooms perfecting the card sharp’s tricks in front of a mirror, watching for telltale errors and listening for the slightest snap or pop of a card that might give him away. Now, he was just playing as a distraction-killing time. He put down the cards, uncorked a bottle and poured a double. He would not drink too much; he needed a sharp edge for the job at hand.
Max drained half the glass, set it down and lit a cigar. Then he picked up the cards and set up a game of solitaire. It was the one game in life he never lost.
* * *
The call came at four-thirty. Williams was on the northbound train headed for San Francisco; Virginia would meet Max at five. He had planned a route to shake the shadow, but that was for later. Now, he exited through the lobby as usual, walking past the guy on his tail as though he didn’t exist.
The shadow, a slightly built young fellow, clean-shaven with sandy hair and blue eyes, followed Max out onto Main Street. Max was tempted to lead the kid into an alley where he could scare, or if necessary beat information out of him, but he would resist that temptation at least for the time being.
Among other things, Max wondered if the kid was taking his orders from Doyle or Duke Placco. Since, according to Marshal Rivers, the gangsters were at odds, there was a chance Placco was acting independently from his boss.
When he arrived at the park, Virginia was waiting for him on the same bench where they’d last met. He noticed something different about the young woman; there seemed to be more color in her face, a brighter look of anticipation in her eyes. She wore a yellow dress and ribbon-trimmed straw hat that seemed out of place beneath a cloudy, slate-colored sky. She gave the appearance of a flower begging to be rescued from a patch of weeds.
Max sat down close to her; he got a whiff of her modest perfume. She immediately took him by the hand, as though she no longer cared who was watching. At that moment, the shadow came up the opposite side of the pathway and took his seat on the other side of the fountain.
“That young man is still following you,” she whispered.
“Forget about him. He can’t hear us, and what he sees won’t tell him much.” Max smiled and stroked her hand gently.
She nodded and said, “Mr. Williams will be gone for two days. What’s your plan?”
“Did you locate the files?”
She nodded in the affirmative.
“Did you take a look at them?”
“No, I didn’t get a chance. I... I was afraid Mr. Williams might see me.”
“I understand. But you’re sure they’re the right ones?”
She nodded again without speaking.
“All right. I want you to go back to the office, pull the files and leave them on your desk.”
“What about the young man watching us?”
“I’m going back to the hotel. He’ll follow me, not you.”
“I understand. Is there anything else?”
“There’s a fire escape exit near the office. See to it that the window is open a crack. Do you have a spare key?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Leave it under the doormat.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes, just those three things. I’ll take care of the rest. I’ll contact you tomorrow morning. We’ll meet, I’ll return the key and you can go to the office and put the files back where they belong. Any questions?”
“No.” She looked down for a moment and tightened her grip on his hand. “Promise me you’ll be careful,” she said without looking up.
“Sure, I promise.” He stroked her cheek, lifted her chin and kissed her lips. “Now,” he whispered, “I’ll go first. The guy over there will pick up the tail. Wait a minute, until we’re out of sight, and then go to the office. OK?”
“All right,” she sighed. She watched and waited until Max and the shadow left the park. Then she got up from the bench, smoothed her skirts, and started walking in the direction of the law office.
* * *
Two in the morning. Clouds covered the moon; an intermittent drizzle enveloped Santa Teresa in a fine mist. Max gathered the items that George had purchased the previous afternoon. He put on a black cotton shirt, blue jeans and crepe-sole canvas shoes. Then he placed batteries in a flashlight and pressed the switch. Satisfied with the results of his test, he hooked the compact tubular light to his belt.
The shadow had taken the graveyard shift. Max switched off the bedside table lamp and walked to the window. Standing to one side of the jamb, he drew back the curtain slightly and peered out. The gangster had established his stakeout in a narrow passageway between two buildings on the opposite side of the street. Max could barely make out the contours of a shadowy form in its hideout. Stay put like a good watchdog, he thought.
He proceeded to the door and opened it a crack so he could scan the hallway. No one around. Max stepped out to the landing, closed the door noiselessly and snuck up the corridor to the fire escape exit. He raised the window and climbed out onto the damp ironwork. He scanned the surroundings to make sure he wasn’t being observed. All clear, he thought. He crept down the stairs, grabbed onto the final stage and hung by his hands for an instant before dropping a few feet into the alley below.
He landed in a puddle making a small splash that splattered his jeans. He glanced around and then scampered into the shadows away from the bright beam cast by an electric lamp on a nearby utility pole. Secure in the belief that he wasn’t being followed, Max started up the alley in the direction of the lawyer’s office.
He followed a route he had reconnoitered the previous day after first evading the shadow. The early morning stillness was broken by the yowling of a pair of cats. Aside from the feline racket, he heard nothing but the sound of his own breathing and the light splash of crepe soles on wet pavement.
I’m all right, he thought, as long as Virginia has done her bit. For the purposes of this job, Max had categorized Virginia: she was a lonely, bored young woman stuck in a small town. He had brought a little spark of adventure and romance into her life. For that reason alone, he guessed she would not let him down, let alone betray him. And even if he were wrong in his assumption, she had an incentive to help him. Williams, the ostensibly friendly benefactor, might have taken unfair advantage of her father, a wrong that Max could right to the young woman’s benefit.
Max spotted the fire escape that led to the office hallway. With a well-timed leap, he sprang upward, grabbed hold of the ironwork and pulled himself onto the landing. The second story window was open a crack as planned. So far, so good. He lifted the window, climbed through and entered the dark hallway. When he reached the office entrance, he hunkered down, felt under the mat and retrieved the key. Confident that Virginia had played her part as instructed, he opened the door and entered the office.
Immediately upon entering, Max sensed an unwanted presence in the room but, before he could react, a sap struck the back of his head and knocked him out cold.
Copyright © 2022 by Gary Inbinder
