FBI, the only reason for Reggie’s being there.
Reggie had a sack of deli sandwiches and chips, and Mark spread them on a crowded table by Ricky’s bed. He left the room to get drinks. They hardly noticed.
He bought two Dr Peppers in the waiting area and returned to the room without being stopped by cops, reporters, or Mafia gunmen. The women were deep into a conversation about McThune and Trumann trying to interrogate Mark. Reggie was telling the story in such a manner that Dianne had no choice but to mistrust the FBI. They were both shocked. Dianne was alive and animated for the first time in many hours.
JACK NANCE AND ASSOCIATES WAS A QUIET FIRM THAT AD-
vertised itself as security specialists, but •was in fact nothing more than a couple of private investigators. Its ad in the Yellow Pages was one of the smallest in town. It did not want the run-of-the-mill divorce cases in
which one spouse was sleeping around and the other wanted photos. It did not own a polygraph. It did not snatch children. It did not track down thieving employees.
Jack Nance himself was an ex-con with an impressive record who’d managed to avoid trouble for ten years. His associate was Cal Sisson, also a convicted felon who’d run a terrific scam with a bogus roofing company. Together they scratched out a nice living doing dirty work for rich people. They had once broken both hands of the teenaged boyfriend of a rich client’s daughter after the kid slapped her. They had once deprogrammed a couple of Moonies, the children of another rich client. They were not afraid of violence. More than once, they had beaten a business rival who’d taken money from a client. They had once burned the downtown love nest of a client’s wife and her lover.
There was a market for their brand of investigative work, and they were known in small circles as two very nasty and efficient men who would take your cash, do your dirty work, and leave no trail. They achieved amazing results. Every client came by referral.
Jack Nance was in his cluttered office after dark when someone knocked on the door. The secretary had left for the day. Cal Sisson was stalking a crack dealer who’d hooked the son of a client. Nance was around forty, not a big man, but compact and extremely agile. He walked through the secretary’s office and opened the front door. The face was a strange one.
“Looking for Jack Nance,” the man said.
“That’s me.”
The man stretched out his hand, and they shook. “My name’s Paul Gronke. Can I come in?”
Nance opened the door wider and motioned for
Gronke to enter. They stood in front of the secretary’s desk. Gronke looked around the cramped and messy room.
“It’s late,” Nance said. “What do you want?”
“I need some fast work.”
“Who referred you?”
“I’ve heard of you. Word gets around.”
“Give me a name.”
“Okay. J. L. Grainger. I think you helped him on a business deal. He also mentioned a Mr. Schwartz who was also quite pleased with your work.”
Nance thought about this for a second as he studied Gronke. He was a burly man with a thick chest, late thirties, badly dressed but didn’t know it. Because of his clipped drawl, Nance immediately knew he was from New Orleans. “I get a two-thousand-dollar retainer up front, nonrefundable, all in cash, before I lift a finger.” Gronke pulled a roll of bills from his left front pocket and peeled off twenty big ones. Nance relaxed. It was his fastest retainer in ten years. “Sit down,” he said, taking the money and waving at a sofa. “I’m listening.”
Gronke took a folded newspaper clipping from his jacket and handed it to Nance. “Did you see this in today’s paper?”
Nance looked at it. “Yeah. I read it. How are you involved?”
“I’m from New Orleans. In fact, Mr. Muldanno is an old pal, and he’s very disturbed to see his name suddenly show up here in the Memphis paper. It says he has Mafia ties and all. Can’t believe a word in the newspapers. The press is going to ruin this country.”
“Was Clifford his lawyer?”
“Yeah. But now he has a new one. That’s not important, though. Lemme tell you what’s worrying
him. He has a good source telling him these two boys know something.”
“Where are the boys?”
“One’s in the hospital, a coma or something. He freaked out when Clifford shot himself. His brother was actually in the car with Clifford prior to the shooting, and we’re