May 15, 2025 • 19 mins
In the grimy underbelly of the city, a girls lifeless body is discovered in a desolate lot, horrifyingly beaten and with an eye brutally gouged out. Across town, another young woman is found dead under similar circumstances. Lieutenant Mendoza is convinced theres a chilling connection. As he delves into this twisting mystery in this first riveting installment of the Lt. Mendoza series, he navigates a colorful landscape of intriguing characters, veiled secrets, and stark realism that resonates with the modern reader. (Summary by Ben Tucker)
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Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter fourteen of case Pending by Del Shannon. The slibrivox
recordings in the public domain. Chapter fourteen. Morgan stepped inside
the dark, smelly front hallway of the apartment building and
shut the door after him. This was it, here and now,
and it was the damnedest thing. He had expected it
to feel like going into action, but instead, a little ludicrously,
(00:24):
he felt exactly the way he had when he had
been in that senior play in high school, walking out
on the stage, all the lights, painfully conscious of every breath,
he drew, every slightest gesture, and yet somehow divorced from himself,
so that he moved with a stranger's body, spoke with
a stranger's voice. This was it, This was it, stark
(00:47):
now remember, And as he went up the first half
dozen steps, sudden sharp panic stabbing at the back of
his mind, the way it had been that time on
the high school auditorium stage. Oh God, suppose I forget that,
he'd forget, just the one detail of his plan that
would bring the whole thing down like a house of
cards on top of him. Think about what you're doing.
You'll be all right. You're getting keyed up to it.
(01:10):
Now you know what you've got to do. You've decided,
and now times run out. You're on move quick because
you've been watched in every second counts. Now the timing
is the important factor here. You'll be all right. You
can do it. He went fast up the stairs. There
were sixteen steps and a tiny square landing uncarpeted, and
(01:31):
then you turned up six more steps to the left
to the second floor hall. The door to the Lindstrom's
apartment was just across there, and the next flight right
around from the top of those stairs. Left again. He
got to the landing and his breath was coming too short. God,
he'd never do it out of condition. Another flight and
he wouldn't have strength to aim the damn gun. But
he had to hurry. He had to. A woman screamed
(01:54):
ten feet away in the dark hall and screamed, and
the third scream shut off sharp and final cut off
as the knife. After that, it was mostly reflex action
for Morgan. The only conscious, complete thought he remembered having
was not destiny. I should kill Smith every time something
happens to stop it. That in his mind while the
(02:14):
screaming sounded, and then he was across the landing and
plunging up the six additional steps, and in the hallway
behind that door there no noise, now no screams, and
then other sounds in a boy's frantic voice. No, don't, Eddie,
don't please. He expected the door to be locked. He
pounded on it to let them know someone was here coming. Afterward,
(02:36):
he remembered it wasn't Until then he realized it was
the Linstrom's door. And now no voices insighed, but a
queer grunting thrashing, a round noise that raised the hair
on his neck, and he put his shoulder to the door,
shouting warning it was not locked. It swung in under him,
almost threw him head foremost feet on the stairs below,
a voice calling something. He didn't see the woman not
(02:58):
then only one lamp in the dingy room, A body
on the floor, A big, dark figure crouched over it
with hands reaching. What's going on here? What? He was
half way across the room, he stopped seeing the woman
then twisted limp figures sprawled across the threshold of the bedroom.
He looked away from her, dry throated saw the big
figure had straightened to come at him, lumbering, and the
(03:20):
full light then coming with guttural mouthings, and Morgan saw
what it was. Saw blind instinctive. He clawed for the
gun in his pocket. The butt caught in the pocket.
Lining hands took hold of him and slammed him back
against the wall, and he thought all the breath was
knocked out of him. He couldn't animal gruntings, fetid breath,
hot in his face. He tugged desperately at the gun
and it came free. The pocket tearing loose as he
(03:42):
went down full length on his back and hands lifting, holding,
smashed his head down against a chair leg. Dark exploded
inside his head. He was blind, he was done, but
the gun in his hand, and he jammed it into
what was on top of him, just at random, and
pulled the trigger. Johnny Branahan had been riding patrol cars
from New twenty years. He was growing a spare tire
(04:02):
around his diaphragm, and he wasn't quite as quick on
his feet as he had been when he was a rookie.
He wasn't a particularly ambitious man or the brainiest man
in uniform, but he was a good cop within certain limits.
He did the job he was supposed to do the
way it was supposed to be done, and he wasn't.
One of those did just as little as he could
get away with either. He was conscientious about studying the
(04:24):
lists of hot cars and wanted men. The call came
over at six minutes past seven, and they were quite
away off, so even with the siren going, they were
the fourth car to get there. An assault. It was
by the code number and must be a three star
business some sort, with four cars called in. The ambulance
was already there in quite a crowd. Honest to god,
you'd think they grew up out of the ground. Let
(04:45):
anything happen. Wilkinson and Petty Slainy and Gomez handling the crowd.
He spotted them as he braked the car, and Gomez
caught his eye and called to him as he and
his partner got out. Upstairs, Johnny, second floor. Lieutenant's up
there right, said Branahan. He was puffing a little when
he got to the top of the stairs. It was
the apartment right there, door open, and he could see
(05:06):
the white coated interns inside just lifting a stretcher. That's
one's day away too, said one of them. We'll come
back for those. Okay, boy, let's get the show on
the road. Goldstein and Costello were handling the smaller crowd
up here, tenants trying to get in to see the blood,
see the corpses. Honest to God, you wondered what got
into people? All right, folks, let the doctors through now.
(05:29):
As the interns came out, with the first stretcher of
the crowd parting reluctantly, he caught a glimpse of another
man in there, one of the downtown men, Lieutenant Mendoza
from Homicide. Quick work, he thought, and moved back himself
to give room to the interns at the top of
the stairs. That put him at the foot of the
stairs to the next floor, and out of the corner
of his eye he saw a man crouched half way
down those stairs, and got a flicker of movement as
(05:51):
the man retreated a little way farther into the dark
up there. It wasn't brains made Bernahan go up after him,
any conscious process of reasoning. It was just that, as
an experienced cop, he knew there must be something funny
about anybody who didn't come rushing up to join the
crowd when anything like this was going on. He started
up the stairs and above him heard sudden movement, and
(06:12):
then the fellow began to run light and fast up
toward the next floor. So then, of course Branahan ran
too and caught up with him at the door. The
man was fumbling at and swung him around. It was
damn dark up there, and he had his flash out ready.
He shot it in the man's face and said, hold it, brother,
let's see what you look like. The man swore and
swung on him, so Branahan belted him one on the
(06:33):
side of the head with a flash, and the man
staggered back against the wall. Branahan took a second look
and was pleased he had had reason to remember this
name and face on the wanted lists again, because he'd
picked this hood up once before, five six years back. Well,
if it isn't Ray Dalton, he said, up on your feet, boy, Hey, Andy,
up here, I got a deal for us. It's just
(06:54):
a damn shame. Ray so homesick for California. I couldn't
wait to head west. But New York's kind of mad
at you on accout. Don't you spurn their hospitality? You
ought to learn better manners, right, No, you don't mean, bucko.
Just hold it now, and the bracelets clicked home as
Andy came pounding up the stairs. By nine o'clock, the
excitement was about all over. They were tying up loose
(07:14):
ends there at the General Hospital. If you could say
anything like this really ended or ended satisfactorily, maybe this had.
The woman was dead and the murderer was dead. The
boy wasn't badly hurt. Morgan had a slight concussion and
could go home tomorrow, they said. The reporters had come
and gone after the usual back chat with the nurses
about flash shots and noise. This would make the front
(07:36):
page tomorrow morning, just once, and not as a lead story.
People would talk of it a little and then soon
forget it. Also, said Mendoza to hack it lighting a
fresh cigarette. We can't claim to have done much about
winding this up, can we? Just the way the deal ran.
Sometimes you get a hands you can't do a damn
thing with. That's the way it goes sometimes. But I
don't know, Luise, you'd link this up in the process
(07:58):
of time, I think so. Oh yes, it only needed
somebody with official excuse to get into that apartment for
any length of time, you know, sooner or later. Such
an outsider would have heard her, seen something to rouse suspicion,
and then the lid would have been blown with what
we had already one hell of a thing. Who'd have?
And damn lucky in a way it ended like this,
nothing worse. I've got no sympathy for that woman that
(08:21):
I'll say she got what she asked for. But when
you think what it must have been like for that kid,
for the husband, all these years, seven years, the husband said,
since they had come west, away from home where everybody knew.
Mother love, said Mendoza and laughed. They had quite a
lot from the husband about that, by now incoherent, poured
(08:41):
out in sporadic bursts, jumbled together with self apology. I
knew it was awful wrong, Tobee, But I got to
a polace where I just couldn't stand no more, And
I thought if I wasn't there, it'd be bound to
come out. They'd make her put him away somewhorse account.
It was getting where she couldn't handle him herself. Well
I could do to manage him times, he was so big.
You know. They were silent a while thinking about it.
(09:03):
Mother love maybe also pride, shame, ignorant, conviction of guilt,
an obsession if he was to be put away, questions, forums,
people knowing an also habit, also familiarity, saying the doctor
back home was wrong, no danger, Poor Eddie just like
a little kid. He'd never a little kid, Twenty years old,
(09:23):
six feet four and stronger than most men. Ashamed of him,
but refusing to send him away, and quite possibly aggravating
the whole mental state by the unnatural secret life she
forced on him, in consequence on all of them, moving
in or out of places by night, watching, waiting so
that none would see, keeping him in by day, close,
(09:44):
watched if she had to go out, the husband home
from work, the boy home from school to keep watch,
taking him out like a dog for exercise after dark,
keeping to unlighted side streets, training him like a dog,
no noise inside the apartment building. Three lives around the
one unproduct of life, everything else subordinate to looking after
Eddie and keeping Eddie a secret from everyone else. I
(10:06):
figured she'd have to give it up if I wasn't there.
He got into well like rages they was at times.
Any little thing had set him off. Wanted to smash things,
you know, And she couldn't handle the same time, he
knew lots of things you wouldn't expect. And it was
like that doctor said, when he got to be fourteen fifteen,
you know, getting to be a man like he, it
got harder. He kept wanting to get out away by himself,
(10:29):
and then when you bring him back, say no, he
just got terrible mad and couldn't see why. Of course,
Lenstrom had argued with her. Not the kind of man
to be very articulate, not the kind of woman to listen, reason,
understand clearly what she was doing and why. And I
never did think he'd ever turn on any of us
on his own. Mah, it didn't seem possible if I
(10:52):
thought that I'd never seen this worl go off like
I did. I knew it was off of bat for
Martie sleep in the same room, and all twasn't fair.
But she wouldn't have listen. I just got to a
place where Mendoza dug his cigarette into the tub of
sand in the corner there and repeated mother love people,
contributed Hackett rather savagely. The pretty blonde nurse came out
(11:14):
and said they could see the boy for just ten
minutes if they wouldn't let him get too excited. He'd
been in shock after all, and needed to rest and quiet.
The boy had tight hold on the father's hand, sitting
up in bed, looking at them, a little uncertain, a
little scared. Still, we don't bite, said Mendoza, smiling down
at him. There's just a few little questions where he
wanted to ask, and then we'll let you go to sleep. Yes, sir,
(11:38):
I want to tell you how it was. It was
my fault. I know that let him get away. When
I knew how he was, he'd maybe get in trouble,
but but I that first time it was all account
of that doll. It was awful, silly, but he wanted
it so bad. He saw it in the store window.
There was a light left on even when it was shut,
(11:58):
you know, in times of time took him out nights.
We went past a couple of times, and I couldn't
hardly get him away from it. He took funny notions
like that, said Lindstrom. Don't you get excited, Marty. I'm
right here to watch out for you now. And all
they want to know, I guess, is about about today.
He looked still a little dazed and shaken, but his
voice was reassuringly solid. But I want to tell about everything.
(12:24):
Have it over. She'll be awful, Matt. I made things
happen like they did. He hadn't been told about his
mother yet. There was time I was scared to tell
her first that time over on tapping, and then I
had to, kind of knowing what he'd done, MA said
she told him she'd buy it for him. See the doll.
(12:45):
She'd saved up the money. Waste, waste, muttered Lindstrom. Foolish,
but she'd do such whatever. And then I guess she
couldn't somebody else. And that night I was out with him.
He ran off and I couldn't catch I looked everywhere.
I went to that store, but they'd taken the doll
out of the window a while before. He wasn't And
(13:06):
when I found him he had it a great big box,
and inside I thought he'd stole it. I shouldn't have
let him get away like that. You take it easy now,
said Hackett, soothing. He glanced at Mendoza. They could both
reconstruct that one. Brooks now Edie peering in the shop window,
seeing Carol come out with the doll, his doll that
(13:28):
he had been promised that she had no right to
following working up to anger at her thievery. When I
heard about that girl, and I remember there was a
little spot on his shirt like blood. I had to
tell Mop, but she wouldn't listen. She wouldn't believe he'd
she said, I just forgot she had so bought the
(13:49):
doll and I was making up bad stories. Mendoza sighed
to himself. He had heard that animal mothers, too, always
gave more attention to the runt of a litter, the
sickly one. I'd like to hear something about the skating
ring muddy this girl this time, Yes, sir, that was
even more my fault, because I knew how bad he
could do. Then I shouldn't have. But Ma got kind
(14:13):
of sick. She was doctoring at the clinic and couldn't
go out with him anymore nights. I had to every night,
and sometimes it was kind of hard. Things I want
to do with other fellas, like movies. Sometimes, you know,
he got away a couple of times more, and once
when I found him, he was at that place. He'd
found a sort of little back door that was open,
and he was getting in and I had to go
(14:33):
after I had an awful time getting him to come away.
He liked the music, and he liked to watch them
go round and round and that, you know how when
he liked anything, he'd be good and quiet, just sit
there still as could be hours. Sometimes I thought it
was all right. I went with him a couple of
times and he never moved, just sat there watching and listening. See,
(14:54):
so I thought, he do like that as long as
that place was open at night, never bother nobody, nobody
knew he was there at all. And Dad, it wasn't
like cheating to sneak in without paying like that, because
we wasn't using it, I mean, didn't go to skate.
I thought I could just sort of leave him there
and it'd be all right. He just sit and never
do nothing. And I did a lot of times. I
(15:16):
went off into a movie or somewhere, not to see
it all through, but mostly you know, and came back
to get him, and he was fine right where I'd
left him. And at the rink, said Mendoza softly. He
saw a girl, a pretty girl who looked like his
beautiful doll. How did I know that? Why? I'm a detective, Marty.
(15:37):
He was funny about the doll, said the boy with
a little gasp. I mean, I guess he sort of
loved it, but same time he did things to it,
bad things. Yes, sir, it was like that. At that
place he saw this girl. He got terrible excited about it,
kept talking about her. I mean what he meant for talk.
(16:01):
He could never talk real plain, you know. It was
really that sort of that tell you what he was like.
Because just to look at him me, yes, not until
you looked twice, saw the eyes, the lumbering walk, or
heard the guttural attempts at speech, would you know? Otherwise
to the casual look, just a big young man, maybe
(16:21):
a little stupid. Once down on Commerce, when I was
with him, I saw her too. He tried to go
up and talk to her. I got him away then,
and I guess she was a little scared, remembered me anyways.
I mean what I looked like, even if it was dark,
because a couple of days after, in the daytime, I
saw her in the street again, and she may like
to say something to me, but she never. Danny was
(16:44):
with me. He you're doing fine, but don't try to
tell everything. Just take it easy. He wanted to skate
with her round and round to the music, said the
boy faintly. I should never have left him there that night.
I got sort of scared about it in the movies.
I thought i'd better, and he was gone. I looked everywhere,
(17:07):
but it was so dark, and I didn't dare call
at him very loud people. And when I did find him,
it was right there that lot where I didn't know
then I didn't. I never saw her. He had a
lady's hand back. I didn't see that until we was
down the street aways. I thought he'd stole it. I
just dropped it, like didn't know what else. He didn't
(17:28):
mind when I took it. He so that built up
Ramirez for them. He saw the boys she was with
taken out and the girl left alone. So now was
his chance to go skating round and round with his
pretty doll who had come alive for him, And that
was all probably. He'd followed her for to tell her
that ask her, and the girl confronted there in the dark,
alone in the empty lot, with the animal mouthings and
(17:51):
the eager pawings, losing her head, struggling to get away,
and that was all it had needed. Mendoza said, all right, Mary,
that's all for right now. You just try to stop
thinking about it, go to sleepin, don't worry any more.
He was just wild finding doll was gone this mornin
(18:11):
the boy lay back tiredly on the pillows, his eyes closing.
I think even Ma was real scared. Then so was I,
and tonight, well, she'd been telling him all the while
I'd get it back for him. And when I said
I couldn't, he yes, we understand all that. Don't worry
about it now, everything's over. As they turned to the door,
(18:32):
Lindstrom said, rather desperately, please, sir, I gotta ask you,
will they will they do anything to my boy or
me for being to blame about this. I mean, I
want to do what's right. I ain't trying to get
out of anything. But Mendoza turned back to him. There's
no legal responsibility involved here, really, now the boy's dead,
mister Lindstrom. I couldn't say it's an academic question. Under
(18:55):
other circumstances. Very likely the DA and the grand jury
might have decided to call a criminal negligence as it is.
I scarcely think so. Certainly not the boy. A miner
couldn't be assumed responsible. I might add, however, that at
any time these seven years, you could have taken action
if and when it seemed indicated a word to any
(19:17):
number of agencies, Police, County, Health, doctor, Hospital. She made
us promise, burst out the boy. She made us promise
on the Bible. Mendoza looked at them a minute more, smiled,
said good night, and followed Hackett out to the corridor.
Then he come in. He asked very softly and amused.
(19:37):
Na die, said Hackett heavily. Just people leave it there
are we wound up here? I want to see Morgan.
End of chapter fourteen.
Chapter fourteen of case Pending by Del Shannon. The slibrivox
recordings in the public domain. Chapter fourteen. Morgan stepped inside
the dark, smelly front hallway of the apartment building and
shut the door after him. This was it, here and now,
and it was the damnedest thing. He had expected it
to feel like going into action, but instead, a little ludicrously,
(00:24):
he felt exactly the way he had when he had
been in that senior play in high school, walking out
on the stage, all the lights, painfully conscious of every breath,
he drew, every slightest gesture, and yet somehow divorced from himself,
so that he moved with a stranger's body, spoke with
a stranger's voice. This was it, This was it, stark
(00:47):
now remember, And as he went up the first half
dozen steps, sudden sharp panic stabbing at the back of
his mind, the way it had been that time on
the high school auditorium stage. Oh God, suppose I forget that,
he'd forget, just the one detail of his plan that
would bring the whole thing down like a house of
cards on top of him. Think about what you're doing.
You'll be all right. You're getting keyed up to it.
(01:10):
Now you know what you've got to do. You've decided,
and now times run out. You're on move quick because
you've been watched in every second counts. Now the timing
is the important factor here. You'll be all right. You
can do it. He went fast up the stairs. There
were sixteen steps and a tiny square landing uncarpeted, and
(01:31):
then you turned up six more steps to the left
to the second floor hall. The door to the Lindstrom's
apartment was just across there, and the next flight right
around from the top of those stairs. Left again. He
got to the landing and his breath was coming too short. God,
he'd never do it out of condition. Another flight and
he wouldn't have strength to aim the damn gun. But
he had to hurry. He had to. A woman screamed
(01:54):
ten feet away in the dark hall and screamed, and
the third scream shut off sharp and final cut off
as the knife. After that, it was mostly reflex action
for Morgan. The only conscious, complete thought he remembered having
was not destiny. I should kill Smith every time something
happens to stop it. That in his mind while the
(02:14):
screaming sounded, and then he was across the landing and
plunging up the six additional steps, and in the hallway
behind that door there no noise, now no screams, and
then other sounds in a boy's frantic voice. No, don't, Eddie,
don't please. He expected the door to be locked. He
pounded on it to let them know someone was here coming. Afterward,
(02:36):
he remembered it wasn't Until then he realized it was
the Linstrom's door. And now no voices insighed, but a
queer grunting thrashing, a round noise that raised the hair
on his neck, and he put his shoulder to the door,
shouting warning it was not locked. It swung in under him,
almost threw him head foremost feet on the stairs below,
a voice calling something. He didn't see the woman not
(02:58):
then only one lamp in the dingy room, A body
on the floor, A big, dark figure crouched over it
with hands reaching. What's going on here? What? He was
half way across the room, he stopped seeing the woman
then twisted limp figures sprawled across the threshold of the bedroom.
He looked away from her, dry throated saw the big
figure had straightened to come at him, lumbering, and the
(03:20):
full light then coming with guttural mouthings, and Morgan saw
what it was. Saw blind instinctive. He clawed for the
gun in his pocket. The butt caught in the pocket.
Lining hands took hold of him and slammed him back
against the wall, and he thought all the breath was
knocked out of him. He couldn't animal gruntings, fetid breath,
hot in his face. He tugged desperately at the gun
and it came free. The pocket tearing loose as he
(03:42):
went down full length on his back and hands lifting, holding,
smashed his head down against a chair leg. Dark exploded
inside his head. He was blind, he was done, but
the gun in his hand, and he jammed it into
what was on top of him, just at random, and
pulled the trigger. Johnny Branahan had been riding patrol cars
from New twenty years. He was growing a spare tire
(04:02):
around his diaphragm, and he wasn't quite as quick on
his feet as he had been when he was a rookie.
He wasn't a particularly ambitious man or the brainiest man
in uniform, but he was a good cop within certain limits.
He did the job he was supposed to do the
way it was supposed to be done, and he wasn't.
One of those did just as little as he could
get away with either. He was conscientious about studying the
(04:24):
lists of hot cars and wanted men. The call came
over at six minutes past seven, and they were quite
away off, so even with the siren going, they were
the fourth car to get there. An assault. It was
by the code number and must be a three star
business some sort, with four cars called in. The ambulance
was already there in quite a crowd. Honest to god,
you'd think they grew up out of the ground. Let
(04:45):
anything happen. Wilkinson and Petty Slainy and Gomez handling the crowd.
He spotted them as he braked the car, and Gomez
caught his eye and called to him as he and
his partner got out. Upstairs, Johnny, second floor. Lieutenant's up
there right, said Branahan. He was puffing a little when
he got to the top of the stairs. It was
the apartment right there, door open, and he could see
(05:06):
the white coated interns inside just lifting a stretcher. That's
one's day away too, said one of them. We'll come
back for those. Okay, boy, let's get the show on
the road. Goldstein and Costello were handling the smaller crowd
up here, tenants trying to get in to see the blood,
see the corpses. Honest to God, you wondered what got
into people? All right, folks, let the doctors through now.
(05:29):
As the interns came out, with the first stretcher of
the crowd parting reluctantly, he caught a glimpse of another
man in there, one of the downtown men, Lieutenant Mendoza
from Homicide. Quick work, he thought, and moved back himself
to give room to the interns at the top of
the stairs. That put him at the foot of the
stairs to the next floor, and out of the corner
of his eye he saw a man crouched half way
down those stairs, and got a flicker of movement as
(05:51):
the man retreated a little way farther into the dark
up there. It wasn't brains made Bernahan go up after him,
any conscious process of reasoning. It was just that, as
an experienced cop, he knew there must be something funny
about anybody who didn't come rushing up to join the
crowd when anything like this was going on. He started
up the stairs and above him heard sudden movement, and
(06:12):
then the fellow began to run light and fast up
toward the next floor. So then, of course Branahan ran
too and caught up with him at the door. The
man was fumbling at and swung him around. It was
damn dark up there, and he had his flash out ready.
He shot it in the man's face and said, hold it, brother,
let's see what you look like. The man swore and
swung on him, so Branahan belted him one on the
(06:33):
side of the head with a flash, and the man
staggered back against the wall. Branahan took a second look
and was pleased he had had reason to remember this
name and face on the wanted lists again, because he'd
picked this hood up once before, five six years back. Well,
if it isn't Ray Dalton, he said, up on your feet, boy, Hey, Andy,
up here, I got a deal for us. It's just
(06:54):
a damn shame. Ray so homesick for California. I couldn't
wait to head west. But New York's kind of mad
at you on accout. Don't you spurn their hospitality? You
ought to learn better manners, right, No, you don't mean, bucko.
Just hold it now, and the bracelets clicked home as
Andy came pounding up the stairs. By nine o'clock, the
excitement was about all over. They were tying up loose
(07:14):
ends there at the General Hospital. If you could say
anything like this really ended or ended satisfactorily, maybe this had.
The woman was dead and the murderer was dead. The
boy wasn't badly hurt. Morgan had a slight concussion and
could go home tomorrow, they said. The reporters had come
and gone after the usual back chat with the nurses
about flash shots and noise. This would make the front
(07:36):
page tomorrow morning, just once, and not as a lead story.
People would talk of it a little and then soon
forget it. Also, said Mendoza to hack it lighting a
fresh cigarette. We can't claim to have done much about
winding this up, can we? Just the way the deal ran.
Sometimes you get a hands you can't do a damn
thing with. That's the way it goes sometimes. But I
don't know, Luise, you'd link this up in the process
(07:58):
of time, I think so. Oh yes, it only needed
somebody with official excuse to get into that apartment for
any length of time, you know, sooner or later. Such
an outsider would have heard her, seen something to rouse suspicion,
and then the lid would have been blown with what
we had already one hell of a thing. Who'd have?
And damn lucky in a way it ended like this,
nothing worse. I've got no sympathy for that woman that
(08:21):
I'll say she got what she asked for. But when
you think what it must have been like for that kid,
for the husband, all these years, seven years, the husband said,
since they had come west, away from home where everybody knew.
Mother love, said Mendoza and laughed. They had quite a
lot from the husband about that, by now incoherent, poured
(08:41):
out in sporadic bursts, jumbled together with self apology. I
knew it was awful wrong, Tobee, But I got to
a polace where I just couldn't stand no more, And
I thought if I wasn't there, it'd be bound to
come out. They'd make her put him away somewhorse account.
It was getting where she couldn't handle him herself. Well
I could do to manage him times, he was so big.
You know. They were silent a while thinking about it.
(09:03):
Mother love maybe also pride, shame, ignorant, conviction of guilt,
an obsession if he was to be put away, questions, forums,
people knowing an also habit, also familiarity, saying the doctor
back home was wrong, no danger, Poor Eddie just like
a little kid. He'd never a little kid, Twenty years old,
(09:23):
six feet four and stronger than most men. Ashamed of him,
but refusing to send him away, and quite possibly aggravating
the whole mental state by the unnatural secret life she
forced on him, in consequence on all of them, moving
in or out of places by night, watching, waiting so
that none would see, keeping him in by day, close,
(09:44):
watched if she had to go out, the husband home
from work, the boy home from school to keep watch,
taking him out like a dog for exercise after dark,
keeping to unlighted side streets, training him like a dog,
no noise inside the apartment building. Three lives around the
one unproduct of life, everything else subordinate to looking after
Eddie and keeping Eddie a secret from everyone else. I
(10:06):
figured she'd have to give it up if I wasn't there.
He got into well like rages they was at times.
Any little thing had set him off. Wanted to smash things,
you know, And she couldn't handle the same time, he
knew lots of things you wouldn't expect. And it was
like that doctor said, when he got to be fourteen fifteen,
you know, getting to be a man like he, it
got harder. He kept wanting to get out away by himself,
(10:29):
and then when you bring him back, say no, he
just got terrible mad and couldn't see why. Of course,
Lenstrom had argued with her. Not the kind of man
to be very articulate, not the kind of woman to listen, reason,
understand clearly what she was doing and why. And I
never did think he'd ever turn on any of us
on his own. Mah, it didn't seem possible if I
(10:52):
thought that I'd never seen this worl go off like
I did. I knew it was off of bat for
Martie sleep in the same room, and all twasn't fair.
But she wouldn't have listen. I just got to a
place where Mendoza dug his cigarette into the tub of
sand in the corner there and repeated mother love people,
contributed Hackett rather savagely. The pretty blonde nurse came out
(11:14):
and said they could see the boy for just ten
minutes if they wouldn't let him get too excited. He'd
been in shock after all, and needed to rest and quiet.
The boy had tight hold on the father's hand, sitting
up in bed, looking at them, a little uncertain, a
little scared. Still, we don't bite, said Mendoza, smiling down
at him. There's just a few little questions where he
wanted to ask, and then we'll let you go to sleep. Yes, sir,
(11:38):
I want to tell you how it was. It was
my fault. I know that let him get away. When
I knew how he was, he'd maybe get in trouble,
but but I that first time it was all account
of that doll. It was awful, silly, but he wanted
it so bad. He saw it in the store window.
There was a light left on even when it was shut,
(11:58):
you know, in times of time took him out nights.
We went past a couple of times, and I couldn't
hardly get him away from it. He took funny notions
like that, said Lindstrom. Don't you get excited, Marty. I'm
right here to watch out for you now. And all
they want to know, I guess, is about about today.
He looked still a little dazed and shaken, but his
voice was reassuringly solid. But I want to tell about everything.
(12:24):
Have it over. She'll be awful, Matt. I made things
happen like they did. He hadn't been told about his
mother yet. There was time I was scared to tell
her first that time over on tapping, and then I
had to, kind of knowing what he'd done, MA said
she told him she'd buy it for him. See the doll.
(12:45):
She'd saved up the money. Waste, waste, muttered Lindstrom. Foolish,
but she'd do such whatever. And then I guess she
couldn't somebody else. And that night I was out with him.
He ran off and I couldn't catch I looked everywhere.
I went to that store, but they'd taken the doll
out of the window a while before. He wasn't And
(13:06):
when I found him he had it a great big box,
and inside I thought he'd stole it. I shouldn't have
let him get away like that. You take it easy now,
said Hackett, soothing. He glanced at Mendoza. They could both
reconstruct that one. Brooks now Edie peering in the shop window,
seeing Carol come out with the doll, his doll that
(13:28):
he had been promised that she had no right to
following working up to anger at her thievery. When I
heard about that girl, and I remember there was a
little spot on his shirt like blood. I had to
tell Mop, but she wouldn't listen. She wouldn't believe he'd
she said, I just forgot she had so bought the
(13:49):
doll and I was making up bad stories. Mendoza sighed
to himself. He had heard that animal mothers, too, always
gave more attention to the runt of a litter, the
sickly one. I'd like to hear something about the skating
ring muddy this girl this time, Yes, sir, that was
even more my fault, because I knew how bad he
could do. Then I shouldn't have. But Ma got kind
(14:13):
of sick. She was doctoring at the clinic and couldn't
go out with him anymore nights. I had to every night,
and sometimes it was kind of hard. Things I want
to do with other fellas, like movies. Sometimes, you know,
he got away a couple of times more, and once
when I found him, he was at that place. He'd
found a sort of little back door that was open,
and he was getting in and I had to go
(14:33):
after I had an awful time getting him to come away.
He liked the music, and he liked to watch them
go round and round and that, you know how when
he liked anything, he'd be good and quiet, just sit
there still as could be hours. Sometimes I thought it
was all right. I went with him a couple of
times and he never moved, just sat there watching and listening. See,
(14:54):
so I thought, he do like that as long as
that place was open at night, never bother nobody, nobody
knew he was there at all. And Dad, it wasn't
like cheating to sneak in without paying like that, because
we wasn't using it, I mean, didn't go to skate.
I thought I could just sort of leave him there
and it'd be all right. He just sit and never
do nothing. And I did a lot of times. I
(15:16):
went off into a movie or somewhere, not to see
it all through, but mostly you know, and came back
to get him, and he was fine right where I'd
left him. And at the rink, said Mendoza softly. He
saw a girl, a pretty girl who looked like his
beautiful doll. How did I know that? Why? I'm a detective, Marty.
(15:37):
He was funny about the doll, said the boy with
a little gasp. I mean, I guess he sort of
loved it, but same time he did things to it,
bad things. Yes, sir, it was like that. At that
place he saw this girl. He got terrible excited about it,
kept talking about her. I mean what he meant for talk.
(16:01):
He could never talk real plain, you know. It was
really that sort of that tell you what he was like.
Because just to look at him me, yes, not until
you looked twice, saw the eyes, the lumbering walk, or
heard the guttural attempts at speech, would you know? Otherwise
to the casual look, just a big young man, maybe
(16:21):
a little stupid. Once down on Commerce, when I was
with him, I saw her too. He tried to go
up and talk to her. I got him away then,
and I guess she was a little scared, remembered me anyways.
I mean what I looked like, even if it was dark,
because a couple of days after, in the daytime, I
saw her in the street again, and she may like
to say something to me, but she never. Danny was
(16:44):
with me. He you're doing fine, but don't try to
tell everything. Just take it easy. He wanted to skate
with her round and round to the music, said the
boy faintly. I should never have left him there that night.
I got sort of scared about it in the movies.
I thought i'd better, and he was gone. I looked everywhere,
(17:07):
but it was so dark, and I didn't dare call
at him very loud people. And when I did find him,
it was right there that lot where I didn't know
then I didn't. I never saw her. He had a
lady's hand back. I didn't see that until we was
down the street aways. I thought he'd stole it. I
just dropped it, like didn't know what else. He didn't
(17:28):
mind when I took it. He so that built up
Ramirez for them. He saw the boys she was with
taken out and the girl left alone. So now was
his chance to go skating round and round with his
pretty doll who had come alive for him, And that
was all probably. He'd followed her for to tell her
that ask her, and the girl confronted there in the dark,
alone in the empty lot, with the animal mouthings and
(17:51):
the eager pawings, losing her head, struggling to get away,
and that was all it had needed. Mendoza said, all right, Mary,
that's all for right now. You just try to stop
thinking about it, go to sleepin, don't worry any more.
He was just wild finding doll was gone this mornin
(18:11):
the boy lay back tiredly on the pillows, his eyes closing.
I think even Ma was real scared. Then so was I,
and tonight, well, she'd been telling him all the while
I'd get it back for him. And when I said
I couldn't, he yes, we understand all that. Don't worry
about it now, everything's over. As they turned to the door,
(18:32):
Lindstrom said, rather desperately, please, sir, I gotta ask you,
will they will they do anything to my boy or
me for being to blame about this. I mean, I
want to do what's right. I ain't trying to get
out of anything. But Mendoza turned back to him. There's
no legal responsibility involved here, really, now the boy's dead,
mister Lindstrom. I couldn't say it's an academic question. Under
(18:55):
other circumstances. Very likely the DA and the grand jury
might have decided to call a criminal negligence as it is.
I scarcely think so. Certainly not the boy. A miner
couldn't be assumed responsible. I might add, however, that at
any time these seven years, you could have taken action
if and when it seemed indicated a word to any
(19:17):
number of agencies, Police, County, Health, doctor, Hospital. She made
us promise, burst out the boy. She made us promise
on the Bible. Mendoza looked at them a minute more, smiled,
said good night, and followed Hackett out to the corridor.
Then he come in. He asked very softly and amused.
(19:37):
Na die, said Hackett heavily. Just people leave it there
are we wound up here? I want to see Morgan.
End of chapter fourteen.
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