Read The Staked Goat - Jeremiah Healy for Free Online Page A

name."
    "Oh, you mean Carol. Carol Emmer. I mean,
Krause. Emmer was her married name." I could sense her thinking.
She gave a little laugh. "John, are we setting up some sort of
long-distance blind date?"
    I clamped down hard on my jaw to retard the gagging
reflex. "I'm afraid not. Are you alone right now?"
    Her pause on the other end told me she thought it was
an odd question. "Yes, except for A1 Junior, of course. He's
napping. I was afraid the phone might have woken him up, but I don't
hear him."
    A darkening. "John, what's the matter?"
    "Martha, when I'm finished talking with you, I
want you to call Carol right away, and ask her to come stay with you
.... "
    "Why?"
    "Martha, Al is dead. Somebody killed him, here
in Boston. I was with the police .... " But I was talking into a
dead line. I hung up and dialed again. Busy.
    Twice. I called long-distance information. Pittsburgh
directory assistance had eight "C. Krauses" and three "C.
Emmers." I explained the situation to the directory assistance
operator, who said she could not help, but would switch me to a
supervisor. As I waited for the connection, I cursed myself for not
pursuing the blind date opening and getting Carol's number from
Martha.
    "Hello, Supervisor Seven speaking, may I help
you'?"
    I re-explained the situation to Supervisor Seven.
    "I'm sorry," she replied, "but I
cannot provide any information beyond that listed in the directory."
    When you face that kind of answer, your options are
several but limited. You can blow up and slam down the receiver. You
can ask to go above that person's head, with the person usually
poisoning his or her superior against you before you get to speak to
the superior. Or you can try a different tack.
    I decided to tack. "Look," I said, "my
best friend from the service was killed here. I'm really concerned
for his wife, widow, but I'm not about to send a police car to her
home. Can you do this? Can you cross-check the addresses of the "C.
Krauses" and "C. Emmers" against the address of "A.
Sachs" and tell me which Krause or Emmer lives closest?"
    I heard the supervisor speak to someone off the
phone. The supervisor came back on. "If this is a test by
Internal Operations, I will personally rip your dialing finger off."
    I gave a little laugh. I had discovered a human
being. "It isn't, and I really appreciate your help."
    Twenty seconds or so passed before the supervisor
came back on. "We show a C. Krause on the same street as A.
Sachs, probably just a few houses away. Here's the number."
    I took it down and thanked her again. I called the
number and got a pick—up on the fifth ring.
    "Hullo." The voice of a small boy.
    "Can I speak to your mom?"
    "She's at work."
    "It's very important that I reach her. Can you
give me her telephone number there?"
    "No. Mom said never to give out that
information. "
    Click.
    This time I chose option number one. I slammed down
the receiver.
    I kept trying Martha's line every fifteen minutes or
so. Busy for two and a half hours. I finally got a ring through about
eight o'clock.
    "Sachs residence." It was a lilting male
voice.
    "May I speak with Martha Sachs, please?"
    "I'm so sorry, but she can't come to the phone
just now. Who is this please'?"
    "John Cuddy. If you're there, I take it you know
about Al."
    "Yes." There was a catch in his voice.
"You're the bastard from Boston who gave her the news
sledge-hammer style."
    Before I could respond, I heard a brief muttered
argument and another male voice came on. "Hello, Mr. Cuddy?"
    I sighed. "Yes, who is this?"
    "Dale Palmer. Please excuse Larry, we were all
close friends and neighbors of Al, and . . ."
    "That's all right. Forget it. Is Martha in shape
to talk?"
    "Ah, yes." He lowered his voice and said,
"But I don't . . . When Carol—do you know Carol'?"
    "Only by name."
    "Well, when Carol called from the lounge, she
got me. Naturally, I rushed over, leaving a note for Larry. I've been
with her, Martha that is, since five, and she hasn't shed a tear.