“Your Mister MacIver could have been caught in the same deal at the track. Take a look at the ambulance records. You’ll probably have trouble getting them. So would I, so would the district attorney, so you’d better forget it if the doors close. That’s the way things are out there. Then again, you might be onto something big, so keep a record of the trouble you have, and who caused it.

“You know why the taps are on. The smart alecs have bugged offices before. They could have their reasons. A lot of little things have been happening for no reason anybody can see. We’ve been getting the needle on the Shoftel case. They want it solved in a hurry. You remember the last time we had that?”

“How is Herby Davis these days?”

“Quiet. All he wants now is to extend Lewis Park two miles in both directions. People are hoping he’ll drop dead. He’s over sixty-five now. The city has been fighting for years for a larger share of the East Coast shipping, and he wants to limit the number of piers the city can have. He has his reasons, too, but they’re malarkey. He wants another monument to himself. They’d change the name to Davis Park.

“The other day I had lunch with Fregosi, who’s over at the Fourteenth now. He told me a joke about the politician who forgot the number to his Swiss bank account. It made me ask myself, ‘Where did he hear it? Who would think it was so funny?’

“Excluding Davis, who doesn’t change, these are some of the things that are going on lately. The last time the department heard from Davis was at the budget hearing when he wanted a police force of his own for his parks. We’ll hear it again next year. On the other thing, you see what it is. Somewhere along the line the pipe with the money in it has sprung a leak, and they’re coming from far and near to catch some of it.”

“I’ve heard enough. Let’s get out of here.”

His father turned off the faucets and followed him into the other room. “So say hello to Karen for us. And Stephanie.”

Leland smiled. “I almost forgot. They may be down on Friday night. Do you think you can put Steffie up in my room if I ask you?”

“That’s the most tentative thing I ever heard. I guess so. Check with your mother. How long do you think you’ll be staying on?”

“I’m going through the lady’s money at better than two hundred a day, so the middle of next week is about the limit.”

The telephone rang. Captain Leland listened a moment, then put his hand over the mouthpiece. “You driving a Cadillac?”

“It belongs to my client.”