Johnny Stool Pigeon Page #2

Morton, Narcotics Bureau.

Oh, yeah.

This way, please.

Show him the report.

Do you identify the body?

She was his wife.

I knew she was sick.

But I never knew she...

She wasn't sick.

She was murdered.

Not your way, not with a gun,

but she was murdered just the same.

And she was mrdered for money.

You know what the score is. You know the racket and the kind of guys that are in it.

They killed her.

They killed her for the few bucks

they could squeeze out of her

every week to get the stuff she needed.

You know how they die, Johnny?

You got any idea what it's like?

What they go through from that first time

they find they can't get along without it?

How they have to have more and more

until every cent they can lay hands on

goes into it?

How they begin to hit the skids

when they can't raise the money any more

They'll do anything for it then, Johnny.

Anything.

Shut up.

They can't get enough now.

Pretty soon every nerve in their body

is screaming

and they're tearing off their clothes

and they're tearing at their skinny bodies

with their nails and screaming.

That's how they die, Johnny.

Screaming.

Shut up!

That's how she died.

All right.

But I haven't forgotten a thing.

And if you got any idea you're gonna

come back here

and brag about how you made a stool pigeon

out of Johnny Evans, forget it.

Because my chance will come.

And when it does, I'll get you, copper.

And good!

'35, robbery, one year suspended.

Come on, come on.

'36, armed robbery, Indianna, two to five.

'43, sent to the Rock for...

What names does he use?

Real name, Michael R. Doyle.

In Chicago, Mike Doyle.

Indianna...

Come on, it's my neck too if you ever

come up with the wrong answer.

Indianna, Manny Dayton.

On the Coast, Mike Doyle.

James Ruhl, James J. Hamlin.

Your clothes are wrong.

Get a pair of 30 dollar shoes

and a couple of suits.

Something sharp.

You can't carry these,

they got your initials on them.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

This thing is no good.

It's got copper written all over it.

Get another one.

And put some bullets in it.

Your train leaves at 10:45.

Here's your tickets.

And money.

You can get more if you need it.

But try and make it last.

You know how the budget is.

There's a phony record on you

going into the files tonight, just in case.

Here's a copy of all the Canadian boys have

on the Vancouver push and McCandles.

There's not much there

and I don't think it'll do you any real good

but I thought you might want to look at it

on your way up.

And...

Here's the type of gun you wanted.

Okay?

Okay.

You sure you wanna go ahead

with this, Mort?

Hm-hmm.

Well...

I wanna tell you something, Evans.

I don't like this and I don't like you.

There'd better not be anything go wrong.

Goodbye, copper.

Once we'd crossed the border into Canada

I began to think of all the things

that could go wrong.

I had a promise from Johnny.

It was a double promise, and I knew

he'd keep both ends of it if he could.

From now on my life would be

in his hands 24 hours a day.

I thought of the kind of men

we were going up against.

And what they'd done to Pete Carter

just to make sure he'd keep his mouth shut.

I thought of all the ways they could figure out

to dispose of a certain federal cop

if they ever caught him.

But it was too late to worry

about that now.

Can I help you?

Is Mr McCandles in?

Tell him it's Johnny Evans, from the States.

There's a Johnny Evans to see you,

Mr McCandles, from the States.

Mr McCandles will see you in his office.

Thank you.

I'm Evans.

Hi, Johnny.

This is my partner, Mike Doyle.

Hello, Mike.

Sit down, fellas.

Well, well, Johnny Evans.

I've heard a lot about you.

Been away, haven't you?

Yeah.

What are you doing

in this part of the country?

We're travelling. Just making

a few business connections.

Is that why you came to see me?

Yeah. You're sort of on our list.

What kind of business?

Buying, selling.

You mean you'd like to trade

in the kind of merchandise I handle?

If your stuff is up to standard

and we can make a deal.

You understand, of course,

I'm strictly wholesale.

I don't keep anything here

but a few samples for show.

Here's a lovely item.

I can get these now too.

I can make you a pretty good proposition

on stuff like that.

Yeah, that's real nice.

But it isn't exactly

the kind of stuff we had in mind.

Mike Doyle.

Seems to me I used to know

a guy by that name.

Kansas City.

I was there for a while.

What outfit?

Willy Green. I don't remember

ever seeing you before, though.

Maybe you know a guy I knew in Frisco.

Pete Carter.

Pete Carter, eh?

Didn't he get in some kind of trouble?

Who do you think you're talking to, McCandles,

a couple of saps?

I just spent three years on the rack,

he spent two. You wanna check it?

Take it easy.

I'll take it the way I see it.

We came here to talk a business deal.

If you don't wanna hear it, say so.

But don't try to play games.

Take it easy, Johnny.

Just like to make sure

who I'm dealing with, that's all.

Well, now you know.

You fellas gonna be in town long?

Long enough.

There's a joint called The Frontier Club,

down in Columbia street.

Meet me there tonight and

maybe we can work something out.

That's better.

Get Terry on the phone. Tell her

I wanna see her up here right away.

Yes, gentlemen?

Mr McCandles come in yet?

We're supposed to meet him here.

Oh, yes, this way, please.

He's not here yet, but he asked me

to have you wait for him.

Your table, gentlemen.

Hey, Jimmy, get me another one,

will you?

What are you, a couple

of new recruits for the goon squad?

We're just here to do a little business

with Mr McCandles.

Are you a friend of his?

Yeah, I'm a friend of his.

Lucky fella.

Well, his luck is about to run out.

What kind of business are you fellas in?

Oh, furs.

You know something?

You're kinda cute for a fur merchant.

What's your name?

Mike Doyle.

I'm Terry Stewart.

You wanna dance, Mike Doyle?

Thanks, we got business.

Come on.

Hm, the gallant type.

You better hold this for me.

So the ice won't melt.

Don't be scared.

I bruise easy but I don't break.

This is the first time

I've danced with a girl in three years.

What's the matter,

you got something against girls?

Where I've been

they didn't have any girls.

Oh.

Who's your friend?

Just a business partner.

He's nice.

I mean, he seems kind of different

than the usual bunch of crumbs

that hang around an outfit like this.

If you know what I mean.

Yeah, I know what you mean.

Not that there's anything wrong

with you either.

What's your name?

Johnny Evans.

Where are you from, Johnny?

The States. California.

Oh, California.

You mean there's still a place where it's warm

and they got palm trees

and you can lie out

on that lovely hot sun all the year around.

I guess so.

You know California?

No... I was brought up in... Tucson.

Arizona.

Wish I'd never left it.

Been in this dump for two years.

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