Riggs is Here | Page 8

ago as the egg who'd been pulling these jobs; so he got a couple
of his agents up here from the south, a man and his sister. The girl got
to work on Setter, got him so he was shooting his mouth off to her."
"This guy--this agent of Carey's," Tommy's voice was weak. "What'd
they call him? Dipper?"
"Yeah!"
"Oh," Tommy said. Then: "Go on!"
"Well that's about all," Barnelley said. "The only thing that went wrong
was Pop Dillon getting killed. The poor old boy must have got panicky
and gone for his gun or something. We didn't know where Setter hid
the furs, but Carey's agents and a couple of my boys were watching him,
ready to jump him as soon as he tried to move them."
"I see." Tommy put his hand on the door handle. "Look, lieutenant, I
better get out here. You can go on to that address without me. I... I
guess I don't feel so good."
Barnelley looked at him sympathetically "You've had quite a time of it
tonight at that."
"Yeah!" Tommy said. "I guess that's it." When Barnelley let him out,
he shuddered a little bit. He was thinking about Carey, in his pajamas,
tied up with tape on the cement floor of the garage.
THE next afternoon Tommy was sitting in the bar in Ryan's restaurant.
Over a glass of beer, he was telling Mac behind the bar:
"Carey's a funny guy. I've been thinking that maybe he's going to be
sore for a while. But if I crack another case and show him--"
A voice behind him grated out: "Like hell you will!"

Tommy turned around and saw Carey's bleak, hawklike face.
"Oh!" Tommy said. "Eh-- hello, Mr. Carey."
"Bourbon!" Carey strode to the bar. "Strong and straight." He scowled
at Tommy. "So you think you're a shamus!"
"Yeah!" Tommy admitted. "Look at what I did last night." When Carey
grunted and scowled harder, he said: "Maybe I did make one mistake.
But I got Setter didn't I? I--"
"Luck!" Carey sneered. "Nothing but plain, damn-fool luck!"
Tommy leaned forward suddenly. "Say, Mr. Carey! That's something
I've never told you. Me! I'm lucky, lucky as hell. A cop without luck
isn't much good--but I've got plenty of it. If you'd think about that, and
forget about what happened--"
Carey snorted. "Forget!" He picked up his bourbon, tipped it. "Like hell
I'll forget! I don't have to learn a lesson twice. You come around
tomorrow, Riggs--I'll have a job for you. I can keep you outta my hair
that way--maybe."
So the next morning Tommy showed up at the International Agency's
office. He grinned at the secretary and said: "Tell the boss, Riggs is
here."

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