Orchid Blues (Holly Barker 2)

"That Mr. Hoover's boys want all the meat for themselves and their agency, and if you deal with them, you end up with the bones and gristle."

"I was afraid you were going to say something like that," she replied.

"You think the Feds are trying to screw you?"

"I don't think my friend Harry would do that, but I think he's trying to screw every other government agency."

"They'll do that, too."

"What should I do about it?"

"Do you have anything solid that would justify bringing other agencies into it?"

"Sort of, but nothing hard."

"Then you're going to have to ride the pony you rode in on," Stone said. "If you try to bring other agencies into it, your sweet Harry is going to cut you off at the knees, believe me."

"I don't think he'd hurt me," she said.

"Oh, he won't hurt you, he'll just box you in, well away from your case, until he's milked all the credit he can out of it. It's not just Harry, believe me; it's the way the Bureau works. They'll put themselves up front every time."

"I worked with them once before, and it came out all right," she said.

"Yeah, I read all about that. You brought them into it, didn't you?"

"Yes, and we worked on it side by side."

"But no other federal law enforcement?"

"No."

"Then they didn't have anything to worry about. If you'd gotten in their way, they'd have patted you on the head and sent you home, while the big boys in the Bureau did the heavy lifting."

"You're a cynic, you know that?"

"Me? I'm Sunny Jim; I've just had experience with them. I've had them walk into a case, steal my collar and confiscate the evidence my partner and I collected. I got to read about it in the papers later, and my name didn't get mentioned."

"Stone, don't get me wrong, I'm not worried about getting credit My father is up to his neck in this, and I'm afraid that they're not putting enough resources into this case to protect him if he gets into trouble. I don't want to go into detail, because it's all confidential."

"I understand. Well, it sounds like you're going to have to give them some more rope, and hope they don't hang themselves and your father. If it's an important case to more than one agency, then a time will come when your Harry will have to call them in, whether he likes it or not. I think what he's doing is maneuvering to be in a position to keep the case from being taken away from him by some other bunch of Feds."

"I think you're right," she said.

"Is he a smart guy, this Harry?"

"Yes, very."

"Then you're going to have to trust him for a while longer. If he screws up, then you can always threaten to go elsewhere, or over his head."

"I guess you're right," she said.

"Are you all right otherwise?"

"Oh, I haven't had time to worry about myself; I've been too busy worrying about Ham."

"Who?"

"My father."