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information, period. You‟re a
    lawyer and you always stick to due process. I‟d like a little of that to rub off on Stick.”
    “I got a feeling he‟s not going to get a lot of help in that respect from Morehead‟s bunch.”
    “That‟s what I mean,” Cisco said. “Give the lad a little balance, okay?”
    “What if I need some professional backup?” I asked.
    “He wouldn‟t be in the Freeze if he wasn‟t first class, and you know it,” Cisco growled. “You get in
    trouble, he‟s as good a man to have at the back door as you could ask. All I‟m saying is, if we do
    happen to turn up a RICO case, I want it to be airtight. No illegal wiretaps, no hacking their
    computers. Nothing that won‟t hold up in court.‟
    “Yeah, okay,”! said.
    Cisco couldn‟t resist throwing in a little jab.
    “Maybe he can get you to file a report now and again, once a week or so, y‟know.”
    “Mm-hmm.”
    “Dutch has a computer setup. You can tie directly into our terminal in Washington.”
    “Right,” I said, and before I could move on to something else, he added sarcastically, “Maybe he can
    help you a little in that area.”
    “Sure thing.”
    “Stick sent the „Tagliani photos up to me in his weekly report; that‟s how we made them.”
    I was beginning to hate this kid they called Stick, already. He sounded like a miserable little eager
    heaver.
    “How long you in town for?” I asked.
    “I‟m in town to say hello,” Cisco answered. “I head back to Washington tomorrow.
    “Aw, and just when the fun‟s starting.”
    “Somebody has to put food on the table. We‟re in the middle of the annual battle of the budget—
    which reminds me, you‟re two months behind in your expense reports and you haven‟t filed a field
    report for—”
    “Tell me more about this Stick fellow,” I said, trying to avoid another issue.
    Mazzola paused. “I want those expense reports,” he said. “Clear?”
    “Right. You got „em.”
    “Now, about Parver. Before he came with us, he was a D.C. plainclothes, then a narc, then he worked
    on the D.C. mob squad. Before all that he did time in Nam. Army intelligence or something. He‟s
    tough enough.
    “Not too jaded, huh?”
    Cisco chuckled like he‟d just heard a dirty joke. “I loaned him to Dutch. I don‟t think anybody else in
    the outfit knows he‟s one of us. Dutch‟ll fix it so the two of you can pair up. You‟ll like him.
    “Says who?”
    “All the ladies do.”
    “Great.”
    “Sorry about Tagliani,” Mazzola said. “I know how long you been working on his case.”
    “Well, saves the Fed a lot of money, [ suppose,” I said. “But it would have been nice to put the
    bastard in Leavenworth with his brother.”
    “One more thing,” Cisco said before hanging up. “You‟re not here to solve any murder cases. You‟re
    h ere to find out if there were any outside mob strings on Tagliani and who holds them. That‟s number
    one. We could have a classic case working here, Jake.”
    “Morehead said something funny,” I told him. “He said, „I‟ve got the whole thing on tape.”
    “What whole thing? You mean the Tagliani hit?”
    “I guess so. He was evasive when I asked him.”
    “Well, ask him again. You can fill me in at breakfast.”
    “Sure.”
    “I‟ll meet you in the hotel restaurant. Eight o‟clock suit you?”
    “Nine might be better.”
    “See you at eight,” he said, ending the conversation.

    6

INSTANT REPLAY
    When I got back to the Kindergarten, Dutch Morehead‟s SOB‟s were beginning to gather in the room,
    One or two had drifted in. Dutch had a handful of photographs which he was about to pin on a
    corkboard. A quick glance confirmed that the Tagliani gang was in Dunetown and was there in force.
    Only two pictures were missing: Tuna Chevos and his gunman, Turk Nance. And as I told Cisco, I
    knew they had to be in Dunetown somewhere.
    “That‟s Tagliani‟s outfit all right,” I told Dutch. “All but two of them. Otherwise