ight boxer and hands half again as big
as mine. He had dark hair, a square face, a dimpled chin, and
calculating blue eyes.

"What'll it be?" he said in a friendly voice.

"Couple of beers," I told him.

I waited until he came back before I identified myself. Officer
McCaffery had told me that the bartender was trustworthy, but I wanted
to make sure I had the right man.

"You Lee Darcey?" I asked when he brought back the beers.

"That's right."

I flashed my badge. "Is there anywhere we can talk?"

"Sure. The back room, right through there." He turned to the other
bartender. "Take over for a while, Frankie." Then he ducked under the
bar and followed the Duke and me into the back room.

We sat down, and I showed him the picture of Lawrence Nestor. "I
understand you've seen this guy."

He picked up the picture and cocked an eyebrow at it. "Well, I
wouldn't swear to it in court, Inspector, but it sure looks like the
fellow who was in here this afternoon--this evening, rather, from six
to about six-thirty. I don't come on duty until six, and he was here
when I got here."

It was just seven o'clock. If the man was Nestor, we hadn't missed him
by more than half an hour.

"Notice anything about his voice?"

"I noticed the lisp, if that's what you mean."

"Did he talk much?"

Darcey shook his head. "Not a lot. Just sat there and drank, mostly.
Had about three after I came on."

"What was he drinking?"

"Whisky. Beer chaser." He grinned. "He tips pretty well."

"Has he ever been in here before?"

"Not that I know of. He might've come in in the daytime. You'd have to
check with Mickey, the day man."

"Was he drunk?"

"Not that I could tell. I wouldn't have served him if he was," he said
righteously.

I said, "Darcey, if he comes back in here ... let's see--Can you shut
off that big sign out front from behind the bar?"

"Sure."

"O.K. If he comes in, shut off the sign. We'll have men here in less
than a minute. He isn't dangerous or anything, so just act natural and
give him whatever he orders. I don't want him scared off. Understand?"

"I got you."

His Grace and I went outside, and I used my pocket communicator to
instruct a patrol car to cover Flanagan's Bar from across the street,
and I called for extra plainclothesmen to cover the area.

"Now what?" asked His Grace.

"Now we go barhopping," I said. "He's probably still drinking, but it
isn't likely that he'll find many little girls at thi