"Well?"
"If necessary," I said, "I'll testify under oath that that book came from Geiger's store.
The blonde, Agnes, will admit what kind of business the store did.
It's obvious to anybody with eyes that that store is just a front for something.
But the Hollywood police allowed it to operate, for their own reasons.
I dare say the Grand Jury would like to know what those reasons are."
Wilde grinned.
He said: "Grand Juries do ask those embarrassing questions sometimes — in a rather vain effort to find out just why cities are run as they are run."
Cronjager stood up suddenly and put his hat on.
"I'm one against three here," he snapped. "I'm a homicide man.
If this Geiger was running indecent literature, that's no skin off my nose.
But I'm ready to admit it won't help my division any to have it washed over in the papers.
What do you birds want?"
Wilde looked at Ohls. Ohls said calmly:
"I want to turn a prisoner over to you.
Let's go."
He stood up.
Cronjager looked at him fiercely and stalked out of the room.
Ohls went after him.
The door closed again. Wilde tapped on his desk and stared at me with his clear blue eyes.
"You ought to understand how any copper would feel about a cover-up like this," he said.
"You'll have to make statements of all of it — at least for the files.
I think it may be possible to keep the two killings separate and to keep General Sternwood's name out of both of them.
Do you know why I'm not tearing your ear off?"
"No.
I expected to get both ears torn off."
"What are you getting for it all?"
"Twenty-five dollars a day and expenses."
"That would make fifty dollars and a little gasoline so far."
"About that."
He put his head on one side and rubbed the back of his left little finger along the lower edge of his chin.
"And for that amount of money you're willing to get yourself in Dutch with half the law enforcement of this county?"
"I don't like it," I said. "But what the hell am I to do?
I'm on a case.
I'm selling what I have to sell to make a living.
What little guts and intelligence the Lord gave me and a willingness to get pushed around in order to protect a client.
It's against my principles to tell as much as I've told tonight, without consulting the General.
As for the cover-up, I've been in police business myself, as you know.
They come a dime a dozen in any big city.
Cops get very large and emphatic when an outsider tries to hide anything, but they do the same things themselves every other day, to oblige their friends or anybody with a little pull.
And I'm not through.
I'm still on the case.
I'd do the same thing again, if I had to."
"Providing Cronjager doesn't get your license," Wilde grinned. "You said you held back a couple of personal matters.
Of what import?"
"I'm still on the case," I said, and stared straight into his eyes.
Wilde smiled at me. He had the frank daring smile of an Irishman.
"Let me tell you something, son.
My father was a close friend of old Sternwood.
I've done all my office permits — and maybe a good deal more — to save the old man from grief.