Chapter 20: Missing Persons
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Captain Gregory knocked his pipe out and refilled it and tamped the tobacco down with his thumb. He lit it, blew smoke and began to talk again. "Well, there could be people who would know he was sweet on Eddie Mars's frau. Besides Eddie himself. For a wonder he knew it. But he don't seem to give a damn. We check him out pretty thoroughly around that time. Of course Eddie wouldn't have knocked him off out of jealousy. The set-up would point to him too obvious." "It depends how smart he is," I said. "He might try the double bluff." Captain Gregory shook his head. "If he's smart enough to get by in his racket, he's too smart for that. I get your idea. He pulls the dumb play because he thinks we wouldn't expect him to pull the dumb play. From a police angle that's wrong. Because he'd have us in his hair so much it would interfere with his business. You might think a dumb play would be smart. I might think so. The rank and file wouldn't. They'd make his life miserable. I've ruled it out. If I'm wrong, you can prove it on me and I'll eat my seat cushion. Till then I'm leaving Eddie in the clear. Jealousy is a bad motive for his type. Top-flight racketeers have business brains. They learn to do things that are good policy and let their personal feelings take care of themselves. I'm leaving that out." "What are you leaving in?" "The dame and Regan himself. Nobody else. She was a blonde then, but she won't be now. We don't find her cruiser, so they probably left in it. They had a long start on us - fourteen days. Except for that car of Regan's I don't figure we'd have got the case at all. Of course I'm used to them that way, especially in good-class families. And of course everything I've done has had to be under the hat." He leaned back and thumped the arms of his chair with the heels of his large heavy hands. "I don't see nothing to do but wait," he said. "We've got notices out, but it's too soon to look for results. Regan has fifteen mill we know of. The girl had some, maybe a lot in rocks. But they'll run out of dough some day. Regan will use a credit chip, drop a marker, write a letter. They're in a strange place and they've got new names, but they've got the same old appetites. They got to get back into the fiscal system." "What did the girl do before she married Eddie Mars?" "Torcher." "Can't you get any old professional pictures?" "No. Eddie must have had some, but he won't loosen up. He wants her let alone. I can't make him. He's got friends in this habitat, or he wouldn't be what he is." He grunted. "Any of this doing you any good?" "You'll never find either of them. Saturn's clouds are too close." "What I said about my chair cushion still goes. We'll find him. It may take time. It could take a year or two." "General Sternwood may not live that long." "We've done all we could, brother. If he wants to put out a reward and spend some money, we might get results. The habitat don't give me the kind of money it takes." His large eyes peered at me and his scratchy eyebrows moved. "You serious about thinking Eddie put them both down?" I laughed. "No. I was just kidding. I think what you think, Captain. That Regan ran away with a woman who meant more to him than a rich wife he didn't get along with. Besides, she isn't rich yet." "You met her, I suppose?" "Yes. She'd make a jazzy weekend, but she'd be wearing for a steady diet." He grunted and I thanked him for his time and information and left. A grey ground car tailed me away from the habitat management offices. I gave it a chance to catch up with me on a quiet street. It refused the offer, so I shook it off and went about my business.
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Part 2