come you know Chief Wohl. To look at you, I’d guess—no offense—Augie retired when you were in grammar school.”
“I work for Chief Wohl’s son, sir. Inspector Peter Wohl.”
“Peter’s an inspector? God, I remember him in short pants. Really. We had a convention of the National Association of Chiefs of Police in Atlantic City. I’d just made chief, and it was my first convention. Anyway, Augie brought Peter along. In a cop suit. He was a cute little kid, serious as all get-out.”
Matt was unable to restrain a smile at a mental image of a cute little kid named Peter Wohl dressed up in a cop suit.
“Yes, sir. He commands the Special Operations Division.”
Agnes delivered the coffee and left, leaving the door ajar. Chief Mueller got up from his desk, walked to the door, and closed it.
“Does Chief Wohl know about this—what do we call it?—‘cooperative effort’ you’re doing with Walter Davis?”
“I don’t know, sir. I don’t think so, but Inspector Wohl may have told him.”
“He didn’t mention it on the phone, so we’ll presume he doesn’t know. Okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That means on this police force I’ll be the only one to know. It’s been my experience, generally, that when more than one person knows something, you can forget about it being a secret.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mueller walked back to his desk, opened the drawer, took out a business card, wrote something on it, and handed it to Matt.
“In case you have to get in touch with me in a hurry,” he said. “The first number is my unlisted number at home, and the second is the number of the officer in charge of the radio room. They always know where I am.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“It might be a good idea if you called in here at least once a day. The third number on there is Agnes’s private line. If I have any messages for you—you get the idea.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll check in with Agnes at least once a day.”
“Now, before I call Deitrich in here, let’s make sure we have all our balls lined up in a straight line. Officially, what you’re doing here is looking for dirty money the Vice Squad lieutenant may have stashed up here. Is that about it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Are you really going to do that, or is that just for public consumption?”
“I’m going to be doing that, sir.”
“I guess I don’t have to tell you that if he does have money, or anything else, hidden up here it doesn’t have his name on it?”
“No, sir. I have a list of names of people who might be cooperating with him.”
Chief Mueller nodded.
“I hope you find something,” Mueller said. “It rubs me the wrong way when crime pays. Especially when the bad guy used to wear a badge.”
“I’m sure that’s the reason Inspector Wohl sent me up here, sir,” Matt said.
“And then this cooperation with Walter and the FBI just came along?”
“That’s about it, sir.”
“Well, I hope that works, too. For the same reason. It also rubs me the wrong way when people who’ve killed people just thumb their noses at the rest of us. And get away with it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“If you need anything, Payne, to help you along, all you have to do is ask.”
“Thank you very much, sir.”
Mueller went back to his office door and opened it.
“See if Lieutenant Deitrich’s got a minute, will you, please, Agnes?” he ordered, and then turned to Matt. “Deitrich, a good man, heads up our White Collar Crime Division. He can get you into the banks.”
Deitrich, a very large, nearly bald man in his forties, came into Mueller’s office two minutes later.
“Paul, say hello to Detective Matt Payne of the Philadelphia Police Department,” Chief Mueller said.
Deitrich examined Matt carefully before putting out his enormous hand.
“How are you?” he said.
His handshake was surprisingly gentle.
“You remember reading in the papers about that dirty Vice lieutenant—what was his name, Payne?”
“Meyer, sir,” Matt furnished.
Deitrich nodded his head, confirming Matt’s snap decision that Lieutenant Deitrich was a man who didn’t say very much.
“The Philadelphia Police Department thinks that ex-Lieutenant Meyer may have some money and/or some property hidden up here,” Mueller went on. “And sent Payne up to see if he can find it.”
Deitrich nodded again.
“That’s a righteous job so far as I’m concerned, so I have offered him our full support.”
Deitrich nodded again.
“And Detective Payne comes with a first-class recommendation from a mutual friend of ours. You getting the picture, Paul?”
Again the massive head bobbed once.
“And, for the obvious reasons, he wants to do this as quietly