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"Deal you in, Peter?" Chief Wohl asked.
"Why not?" Wohl said.
"You want a drink, Peter?" Coughlin asked.
"I better not," Wohl said. "I want to go back to the Schoolhouse before I go home. I hate to have whiskey on my breath."
His father ignored him. He made him a drink of Scotch and handed it to him.
"You look like you need this," he said.
"I corrupt easily," Peter said, taking it, and added, "In case anybody's been wondering, we have come up with zilch, zero."
"That include the airport too?" Coughlin asked.
"Yeah. I gave them this number, Chief, in case something does happen."
"What's going on at the airport?" Larkin asked.
Peter Wohl looked at Coughlin.
"I'm afraid we have a dirty cop out there," Coughlin said.
"I'm sorry," Larkin said.
"We're playing seven-card stud," Chief Wohl said. "Put your money on the table, Peter."
Peter had just taken two twenty-dollar bills and four singles from his wallet when one of the telephones rang.
Coughlin grabbed it on the second ring.
"Coughlin," he said. "Yes, just a moment, he's here." He started to hand the telephone to Peter and then changed his mind. "Is this Dickie Lowell? I thought I recognized your voice. This is Denny Coughlin, Dickie. How the hell are you?"
Then he handed the phone to Peter.
"Peter Wohl," he said, and then listened.
"Have you spoken with Captain Olsen?" he asked. There was a brief pause, and then: "Thank you very much. I owe you one."
He hung up.
"Dickie Lowell?" Chief Wohl asked as he dealt cards. "Retired out of Headquarters Division in the Detective Bureau?"
"He got a job running security for Eastern Airlines," Coughlin said. "He's got his people watching our dirty cop. Peter set it up."
"Chief Marchessi set it up," Peter said. "Lowell's people just saw our dirty cop take a suitcase off Eastern Flight 4302. Specifically, remove a suitcase from a baggage trailer after it had been removed from Eastern 4302."
"So what are you going to do, Peter?" Coughlin asked.
Wohl hesitated, and then shrugged.
"Resist the temptation to get on my horse and charge out to the airport," he said. "Where I probably would fuck things up. I sent Sergeant Jerry O'Dowd… you know him?"
His father and Chief Coughlin shook their heads, no.
"He works for Dave Pekach. Good man. He's going to follow our dirty cop when he comes off duty. We already have people watching his house and his girlfriend's apartment."
"Sometimes the smartest thing to do is keep your nose out of the tent," Coughlin said. "I think they call that delegation of authority."
