Too Darn Hot Read Online Free PDF

friend, Detective John Lake, was my boyfriend, but I didn’t like using him on my cases. He told me I could but I didn’t wanna mix business with pleasure. I was seeing Johnny that night and I’d tell him about this cause we’d agreed we had to be able to yak about our work. But I wouldn’t ask for his help even though I knew he’d offer.
    Back at the office after I hung my limp hat on the rack I saw that Birdie was eating a sandwich at her desk, which made me realize I hadn’t had anything since breakfast.
    “What kind?” I asked.
    “Pastrami on rye. Ya want half, Faye?”
    “Nah.”
    “Ya want I should order ya somethin?”
    “Okay. Same as you, Bird.”
    “Comin up.”
    “How ya doin with the Rhode Island kettle of fish?”
    “So far I tried all the so-called big cities and there weren’t any Ladds.”
    “Ya got more places to call?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Keep on it.”
    “What happened at the Commodore? Ya find Private Ladd?”
    “I mighta.”
    “Huh?”
    I told her the story.
    “So ya don’t know who the lucky stiff is?”
    “Not yet. I gotta track down Ladd’s buddy who came on leave with him. Trouble is I only know his first name. Did ya get a number for George Cummings yet?”
    “I called the college, like ya said. It’s in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in case ya ever wanna know. It took a little doin but I finally got a dame to tell me where Cummings is from.”
    “How’d ya do that?”
    “I got my ways.” She gave me a wink.
    An annoying thing about Birdie was she wouldn’t tell her sources. As her boss I coulda pressed her, but so far I hadn’t really needed to know.
    “So where’s he from?”
    “Right here in good old New York City.”
    “Did yer
source
tell ya if he came back here after graduation?”
    “She didn’t know, but she said he wanted to be a stockbroker so he probably did.”
    “That makes sense. So have ya found him?”
    “I’m gonna start on that after lunch.”
    I didn’t wanna tell her to look in the phone book cause that’d be insulting and since I didn’t need his number right away, I could wait until she finished her pastrami.
    “Gotta make some calls,” I said.
    “Right.”
    I went into my office, put my pocketbook on the floor next to my chair, opened the drawer, took out my in-house Camels, lit one, and picked up the phone.
    I tried Marty at his precinct but he wasn’t there so I dialed Smitty’s, his favorite gin mill. The day guy, Lupino, answered and I asked for Marty. I had to go through a rigmarole with some of the bartenders cause they protected Marty from Bridgett, his wife. But the main guys, Lupino and Coburn, knew me now.
    “Hey, Faye,” Marty said.
    “I need yer help.”
    “Shoot.”
    I told him the story. He said soon as there was an ID on the John Doe, he’d give me a jingle. Or if I was out burning shoe leather, ring him.
    Next I dialed Van Widmark’s number. A man picked up on the first ring.
    “Mr. Widmark?”
    “Who’s calling?”
    “Ya don’t know me. My name’s Faye Quick. I got yer name and number from Claire Turner.”
    Silence.
    “You there?”
    “What is it you want?”
    “I’d like to come over and talk to ya.”
    “Why? Who are you?”
    “Sorry. I shoulda said right off. I’m a private investigator and I’m on a case.”
    “What kind of case could have anything to do with me?”
    “Probably no kinda case, Mr. Widmark, but I hafta check out a few things with ya.”
    “Are you working for Claire? Miss Turner?”
    “I can’t tell ya that.”
    “Then I can’t see you.”
    “Wait a minute, Mr. Widmark. I told ya I got yer number from Miss Turner. Isn’t that enough for ya to know I’m legit?”
    Silence.
    “You there?”
    “I’m thinking.”
    I waited.
    “All right,” he said. “When do you want to come?”
    “Soon as possible.”
    “How about in an hour?”
    “Fine. Thanks.”
    Right after I hung up Birdie came in with my sandwich. “I got ya an RC, too.”
    “Thanks. You been outside,