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“Who is in the gutter currently?” he asked.
“The Hudson Dusters, the Marginals, and the Pearl Buttons. The Eastmans are in trouble, what with Monk Eastman at Sing Sing, and making it worse for themselves by continuing to feud with the Five Pointers.”
“They had a wonderful shoot-out under the Third Avenue El the other night,” remarked a detective. “No one killed, unfortunately.”
“In Chinatown,” Harry continued, “the Hip Sing are clawing ahead of the On Leongs. On the West Side, Tommy Thompson’s Gophers are riding high. Or were. The sons of bitches have their hands full since you sicced the railroad police on ’em for ambushing little Eddie Tobin.”
This was met by enthusiastic nods, and a remark in grudging admiration, “Those western cinder dicks are about the worst bastards I ever seen.”
“They’ve got the Gophers so discombobulated that the Hip Sing tong opened a new opium den right in the middle of Gopher Gang territory.”
“Not so fast,” Harry Warren cautioned. “I saw Gophers in a Hip Sing joint downtown. Where Scully was, Isaac? I got a feeling that something was up between the Hip Sing and Gophers. Maybe Scully did, too.”
A few muttered agreement. They’d heard rumors.
“But none of you can tell me anything about Louis Loh?”
“That don’t mean much, Isaac. Chinatown criminals are just plain more secretive.”
“And better organized. Not to mention smarter.”
“And hooked up to Chinatowns throughout the United States and Asia.”
“The international connection is intriguing, this being a spy case,” Bell admitted. “Except for one big thing. Why send two men from New York all the way across the continent when they could have used local San Francisco Chinatown men who knew the territory?”
No one answered. The detectives sat in uncomfortable silence broken only by the clink of glass and the scrape of a match. Bell looked around the room at Harry’s team of veterans. He mi
ssed John Scully. Scully had been a wizard in a brain session.
“Why the whole charade on the train?” he demanded. “It doesn’t make sense.”
More silence ensured. Bell asked, “How’s little Eddie doing?” “Still touch and go.”
“Tell him I’ll get up there soon as I can for a visit.”
“Doubt he’ll know you’re in the room.”
Harry Warren said, “That’s another weird thing, as far as I’m concerned. Why would the Gophers go out on a limb to fire up Van Dorns against them?”
“They’re stupid,” a detective answered, and everyone laughed.
“But not that stupid. Like Isaac says about Louis Loh crossing the continent. Beating up the kid didn’t make sense. The gangs don’t pick fights outside their circle.”
Isaac Bell said, “You told me it was strange that the Iceman went to Camden.”
Harry nodded vigorously. “Gophers don’t leave home.”
“And you said that Gophers don’t send warning messages or take revenge that will bring down the wrath of outsiders. Is it possible that the spy paid them to take revenge, just like he paid killers to go to Camden?”
“Who the hell knows how spies think?”
“I know someone who does,” said Bell.
COMMANDER ABBINGTON-WESTLAKE sauntered out of the Harvard Club, where he had wrangled a free honorary membership, and signaled for a cab with a languid wave. A red Darracq gasoline taxi zipped past a man hailing it outside the New York Yacht Club and stopped for the portly Englishman.
“Hey, that’s my cab!”
“Apparently not,” Abbington-Westlake drawled as he stepped into the Darracq. “Smartly now, driver, before that disgruntled yachtsman catches up.”
