I'm sold. I accept."

By that time, we had left several dollars worth of untasted beers
sitting around in various bars on the West Side, so when I arrived at
my apartment on the East Side, I decided that it was time for two
tired cops to have a decent drink. The Duke relaxed on the couch while
I mixed a couple of Scotch-and-waters. He lit a cigarette and blew out
a cloud of smoke with a sigh.

"Here, this will put sparks in your blood. Just a second, and I'll get
you an ash tray." I went into the kitchen and got one of the ash trays
from the top shelf and brought it back into the living room. Just as I
put it down on the arm of the couch next to His Grace, the buzzer
announced that there was someone at the front door downstairs.

I went over to the peeper screen and turned it on. The face was
big-jawed and hard-mouthed, and there was scar tissue in the eyebrows
and on the cheeks. He looked tough, but he also looked worried and
frightened.

I could see him, but he couldn't see me, so I said: "What's the
trouble, Joey?"

A look of relief came over his face. "Can I see ya, Inspector? I saw
your light was on. It's important." He glanced to his right, toward
the doorway. "Real important."

"What's it all about, Joey?"

"Take a look out your window, Inspector. Across the street. They're
friends of Freddy Velasquez. They been following me ever since I got
off work."

"Just a second," I said. I went over to the window that overlooks the
street and looked down. There were two men there, all right, looking
innocently into a delicatessen window. But I knew that Joey Partridge
wasn't kidding, and that he knew who the men were. I went back to the
peeper screen just as Joey buzzed my signal again. "I buzzed again so
they won't know you're home," he said before I could ask any
questions. "Freddy must've found out about my hands, Inspector.
According to the word I got, they ain't carrying guns--just blackjacks
and knucks."

"O.K., Joey. Come on up, and I'll call a squad car to take you home."

He gave me a bitter grin. "And have 'em coming after me again and
again until they catch me? No, thanks, Inspector. In one minute, I'm
going to walk across and ask 'em what they're following me for."

"You can't do that, Joey!"

He looked hurt. "Inspector, since when it is against the law to ask a
couple of guys how come they're following you? I just thought I oughta
tell ya, that's all. So long."

I knew there was no point in