Slowly. Hands on the glass and spread 'em."
Sweet relief was flooding Graham.
"I'm not armed, Stan. You'll find my ID in my breast pocket. That tickles."
A confused voice loud on the telephone. "Who am I speaking to?"
"Will Graham, FBI."
"This is Sergeant Stanley Riddle,Chicagopolice department." Irritated now. "Would you tell me what the hell's going on?"
"You tell me. You have a man in custody?"
"Damn right. Freddy Lounds, the reporter. I've known him for ten years... Here's your notebook, Freddy... Are you preferring charges against him?"
Graham's face was pale. Crawford's was red. Dr. Bloom watched the tape reels go around.
"Can you hear me?"
"Yes, I'm preferring charges." Graham's voice was strangled. "Obstruction of justice. Please take him in and hold him for the U.S attomey."
Suddenly Lounds was on the telephone. He spoke fast and clearly with the cotton wads out of his cheeks.
"Will, listen - "
"Tell it to theU.S.attomey. Put Sergeant Riddle on the phone."
"I know something - "
"Put Riddle on the goddamned telephone."
Crawford's voice came on the line. "Let me have it' Will."
Graham slammed his receiver down with a bang that made every-one in range of the speakerphone flinch. He came out of the booth and left the room without looking at anyone.
"Lounds, you have hubbed hell, my man," Crawford said.
"You want to catch him or not?I can help you. Let me talk one minute." Lounds hurried into Crawford's silence. "Listen, you just showed me how bad you need the Tattler . Before, I wasn't sure - now I am. That ad's part of the Tooth Fairy case or you wouldn't have gone balls-out to nailthis call. Great. The Tattler 's here for you. Anything you want."
"How did you find out?"
"The ad manager came to me. Said yourChicagooffice sent this suit-of-clothes over to check the ads. Your guy took five letters from the incoming ads. Said it was 'pursuant to mail fraud.' Mail fraud nothing. The ad manager made Xerox copies of the letters and envelopes before he let your guy have them.
"I looked them over. I knew he took five letters to smokescreen the one he really wanted. Took a day or two to check them all out. The answer was on the envelope.Chesapeakepostmark. The postage-meter number was forChesapeakeStateHospital. I was over there you know, behind your friend with the wild hair up his ass. What else could it be?
"I had to be sure, though. Thats why I called to see if you'd come down on 'Mr. Pilgrim' with both feet, and you did."
"You made a large mistake Freddy."
"You need the Tattler and l can open it up for you. Ads, editorial, monitoring incoming mail, anything. You name it. Ican be discreet. I can. Cut me in, Crawford."
"There's nothing to cut you in on."
"Okay, then it won't make any difference if somebody happened to put in six personal ads next issue. All to 'Mr. Pilgrim' and signed the same way."
"I'll get an injunction slapped on you and a sealed indictment for obstruction of justice." "And it might leak to every pape in the country." Lounds knew he was talking on tape. He didn't care anymore. "I swear to God I'll do it, Crawford. I'll tear up your chance before I lose mine."
"Add interstate transmition of a threatening message to what I just said."
"Let me help you, Jack. I can, believe me."
"Run along to the police station, Freddy. Now put the sergeant back on the phone."
* * *
Freddy Lounds's Lincoln Versailles smelled of hair tonic and aftershave, socks and cigars, and the police sergeant was glad to get out of it when they reached the station house.
Lounds knew the captain commanding the precinct and many of the patrolmen. The captain gave Lounds coffee and called theU.S.attorney's office to "try and clear this shit up."
No federal marshal came for Lounds. In half an hour he took a call from Crawford in the precinct commander's office. Then he was free to go. The captain walked him to his car.
Lounds was keyed up and his driving was fast and jerky as he crossed the Loop eastward to his apartrnent overlookingLake Michigan. There were several things he wanted out of this story and he knew that he could get them. Money was one, and most of that would come from the paperback. He would have an instant paperback on the stands thirty-six hours after the capture. An exclusive story in the daily press would be a news coup. He would have the satisfaction of seeing the straight press - the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the