CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
"The Lieutenant said to bring the wolf."
"We did bring him," Huey replied. He looked back at the car. Inside, Diefenbaker looked plaintively back at them. "I don't want him barking up a storm."
"He's not gonna be much help in the car," Guardino said. "Awww, look at him." Dief, his head cocked to one side, was pawing the window. "Reminds me of Poochie."
"Poochie?"
"My dog when I was growing up," he said, wistfully. "I loved that mutt."
Huey couldn't take the puppy-eyed look from both Dief and Louis, and gave in. "OK, but keep him quiet."
Guardino bent down so that he was face to face with Dief through the glass. He pointed at Dief, then ostentatiously put a finger to his lips. Dief bobbed his head. "See?" he told his partner, and opened the door. Dief jumped out, wagging his tail.
They were parked in one of the many lots that served Brannigan's Wharf. This time of day, it had been hard to find a space on the busy working waterfront. They had circled a couple of times looking for a spot, keeping an eye out for Vecchio's green Buick. They didn't find it.
As they walked toward the pier, Dief sprinted ahead. "Hey," Huey called, but he paid no attention.
"He's deaf, remember? He has to be looking at you." Guardino said, trotting after the wolf.
"Hey, Louis!" he called after his disappearing partner. "So, what's your excuse?" he muttered.
Diefenbaker led them to a cluster of storage containers, the kind that stacked on the big container ships. It was like navigating a maze. As they rounded the corner of one stack, they spotted a green 1971 Buick Riviera in mint condition.
"Good wolf," Huey muttered. They approached the vehicle cautiously, but it was empty and locked. They peered through the driver's window. Two styrofoam cups were nestled in the console between the front seats, a frozen brown substance in one. "Coffee's cold," Guardino said, stating the obvious. He pointed out the Stetson on the front passenger seat to Huey. Dief tugged at his pants leg. He walked forward a few paces, then looked back over his shoulder.
"I think Lassie wants us to follow," Huey said, drily, taking a dutiful step.
"Did you know Lassie was really a Laddie?" Guardino said, conversationally, as they followed the white wolf through the canyons of containers.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, boy dogs make better actors," he said, authoritatively. "It's a known fact."
They caught up to Dief at the end of the last container where he waited patiently for them. From this vantage, they had a good view of the layout of the pier and the buildings that occupied it, including warehouses, a boatworks, and a bar.
"I've been in there," Huey said, suddenly, pointing to the Redeye Bar. "The name was different, though." His brow furrowed in thought, but he couldn't recall it. It was several years back. "One of my snitches tipped me to a guy who wanted to be just like Al Pacino in Scarface."
"I love that movie," Guardino enthused, miming holding a machine gun. "Say hello to my li'l frien." He sprayed the pier with imaginary bullets.
Dief and Huey looked at him.
"It's a great movie," he said defensively.
Dief whined.
"Anyway, it was a rough place. Biker bar," Huey explained. "Good chili," he added, after a beat.
"Maybe Vecchio and Fraser are in there having lunch. We should check it out." Guardino said. At Huey's exasperated look, he shrugged. "I'm hungry."
"Later," he said.
Dief moved forward out of the cover of the containers. Then, turned and looked over his shoulder.
Guardino said, "One of us should go with him. Just stroll along like we're walking the nice doggie."
"You go," Huey said. "I'll call in. Let the Lieutenant know that we found the car."
"OK," he said. He removed his tie, unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, rumpled his hair and otherwise managed to look thoroughly dissolute in the space of sixty seconds. "Lead on, boy," he told Dief. As he sauntered out onto the pier, Dief kept pace with him. They both assumed a casual air, but made their way inexorably down to the docks. Dief kept his nose down the whole way.
Huey returned to their vehicle. He used the radio. "Elaine?"
"I'm here, Jack," she said, quickly.
He told her about the car.
"Oh, Jack," she said, upset. "Ray would never leave the Riv in a place like that. Unless, he had no choice."
"I know," he said, "but there could be lots of reasons why they left the car here."
"Like a hot lead," she said, not believing it.
"Yeah."
"So, what kind of lead could they be following without a car?"
"I don't know."
"I can get the spare keys off of Frannie. Bring the Riv home for Ray, if you think that's a good idea."
"I do," Huey confirmed. "It's a wonder it wasn't stripped last night."
"You think it was there all night without them?"
"If Diefenbaker carried the note from the Wharf all the way across town and was on the Consulate doorstep in the morning ..."
She sighed. "I see your point. I'll pass this on to the Lieutenant, and meet you."
"Don't come here. Meet us at the Wendy's on Foster in an hour."
"I will. You and Louis, be careful!"
He promised they would, then signed off. He thought for a moment, then reached into his breast pocket and removed a small black book. He flipped through it, then dialed a number on his cell phone. He got an answering machine. "Reg. It's Jack. Call me back. It's important." He locked up the car and returned to the container area.
Louis and Diefenbaker were taking their time, looking for all the world like a seedy, slightly inebriated man walking his dog. As he watched, Diefenbaker's casual posture changed. He stared at a warehouse at the end of the pier, looked over his shoulder at Louis, and tossed his head repeatedly. It couldn't have been clearer if the wolf stood up and pointed with a paw. Louis looked back, spotted Jack watching him, and looked meaningfully at the warehouse. Jack gave him a short wave. Dief resumed his casual demeanor, sniffed around in an apparently random fashion, and worked his way back to Jack's position, Louis weaving in his wake.
Huey bent and lifted Dief's muzzle so he looked directly into his eyes. "The ware - house?" he enunciated slowly.
Dief yipped in the affirmative.
"Can he do undercover or what?" Louis enthused. "He was perfect! I told you male dogs make the best actors."
"Good boy," Huey said, patting his head.
They drove to the fast food restaurant several blocks away from the Wharf area and used the drive-thru. Huey ordered a cheeseburger for Dief, then a second one, when that disappeared in one gulp. After a while, a taxi pulled up alongside their car. Elaine stepped out and paid the driver. She squinted up at the leaden sky before climbing into the back seat of their car.
"Hi," she said, then "Hey, Dief." Dief wagged his tail excitedly and whined at her until she petted him. "I think there's a storm coming." Dief nodded. He could smell it on the air. "Frannie's worried," she continued, "but she gave me the keys." She sat forward between the two seats. "Can I have some fries? I didn't have any lunch."
Guardino handed her a small paper bag. "We got you a chicken sandwich."
"Thanks," she said, gratefully, then took a bite. "So, what's the plan?"
"Dief fingered the warehouse at the end of the pier. We're gonna stake it out," he said. He pointed a thumb at his partner. "Jack's got a snitch working the bar."
She nodded thoughtfully as she chewed. "I checked the dock records. It's murky. But, I think the Nardo family has a finger in every pie on that pier through a couple dummy corporations." She took another bite. "Including the Redeye Bar. That's notorious."
"Yeah," Guardino said, "Two stiffs there already this year." He slurped Coke noisily through a straw.
"Did you see any barges?"
"There's a decrepit one in the boatyard," Huey said. "But that's it."
They finished eating and drove back to the Wharf. Jack and Elaine walked casually into the area of the stacked containers, while Dief and Louis stayed in the car. Without the wolf's guidance, they wandered around a little while before Jack spotted the Riviera. It really was like a maze in here. She used the key to open the door and they climbed in. He found a small pair of binoculars under the driver's seat. She picked up a crumpled paper bag from the back. She peered inside at wadded up sandwich wrappings, before picking up the Stetson. She looked inside and under the brim. Nothing.
She was disappointed. "I don't know what I was hoping for. Another note saying 'we went thataway'?"
Huey chuckled. "Or maybe trailblazes cut into the walls of the containers."
They both looked suddenly at the container walls, then laughed at their foolishness. Elaine drove the vehicle back to the parking lot where Huey got out and climbed in his car. They said their goodbyes and she drove away. Then, Huey, Guardino and Dief moved their car into the spot that the Riv had vacated. It had a perfect vantage for the pier and the warehouse. Louis felt the hairs rising on the back of his neck as he realized that the missing men had positioned themselves here for that exact purpose. He shivered, then lit a cigarette. Jack settled back with a cigar. Dief, accustomed to stakeouts, curled up in the back seat, covering his nose with his tail to keep out the smoke. He was asleep in an instant and dreamt of swimming after barges and biting bad men. It was a good dream.
