The Investigators (Badge of Honor 7)

His handshake was surprisingly gentle.

“You remember reading in the papers about that dirty Vice lieutenant—what was his name, Payne?”

“Meyer, sir,” Matt furnished.

Deitrich nodded his head, confirming Matt’s snap decision that Lieutenant Deitrich was a man who didn’t say very much.

“The Philadelphia Police Department thinks that ex-Lieutenant Meyer may have some money and/or some property hidden up here,” Mueller went on. “And sent Payne up to see if he can find it.”

Deitrich nodded again.

“That’s a righteous job so far as I’m concerned, so I have offered him our full support.”

Deitrich nodded again.

“And Detective Payne comes with a first-class recommendation from a mutual friend of ours. You getting the picture, Paul?”

Again the massive head bobbed once.

“And, for the obvious reasons, he wants to do this as quietly as possible,” Mueller said.

“I told him, for openers, that you can get him into the banks,” Mueller went on, “and—I just thought of this—you have friends in the county courthouse if he wants to check property transfers.”

“When do you want to start?” Deitrich asked.

“How about tomorrow morning?” Chief Mueller answered for him. “Get him a chance to get settled in his hotel. The Penn-Harris.”

The massive head bobbed.

“I’ll make some calls this afternoon,” Deitric

h said.

“Thank you.”

“You’ll be moving around,” Mueller said. “What kind of a car are you driving?”

“A Plymouth.”

“Yours, or the department’s?”

“An unmarked car.”

“What year? Does it have official plates?”

“A new one,” Matt said. “Blue. Regular civilian plates.”

“They must like you in Philadelphia,” Deitrich said. “Before you leave, get me the plate numbers. I’ll have the word put out that a suspicious, not-one-of-ours unmarked car is to be left alone.”

“Thank you.”

Deitrich wordlessly took a business card from his wallet and handed it to Matt.

“Thank you,” Matt repeated.

“Nine o’clock?” Deitrich asked.

“Nine’s fine with me.”