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Dalton File #11

After our impromptu meeting, Flip Callahan and I decided to work together. I would have to trust him. Trust probably isn’t the right word, at least not yet, but we would have to work together if we wanted to help Mary. We met Babs at the Automat near the police station to discuss what we had.

Hank wasn’t there this time. That was good. We were meeting Babs outside of work because I didn’t want to get Hank involved. He would just monkey up the works.

We gave Babs the ledger page. I kept the note Flip had given me. And we explained the whole story to her. Flip told her that if a warrant was issued, he could lead them to where the books were hidden. They were in a safe behind a picture on the wall.

Babs thanked us and said she would see what she could do, and then she looked at me and added, “Don’t forget our date.” I knew that was coming. I smiled and said, “It’s etched up here.” I pointed to my head. Flip looked a little baffled.

I said, “Babs, you might not want to use my name, just in case. My reputation is not good there. Just tell the chief you have a confidential informant. I hope that will be enough.”

Babs brought the ledger page to Chief Higgins. The man who fired me! It looks like everybody I knew was still on the police force.

Of course, Chief Higgins wanted to know how she got it. She explained to him that Flip had flipped on Handsome Dan and was ready to testify. She left my name out of it.

This was enough for the chief. He went to the judge, and the judge issued a search warrant. The police moved quickly before Donovan had time to notice the missing page.

Turns out initialing every entry with HDD wasn’t so smart, I thought to myself and laughed. The police probably didn’t have to move quite as fast as they did. His nickname was ‘Handsome Dan’ not ‘Einstein Dan’ but the sooner he was in jail the better, as far as I was concerned.

I went to the raid along with Flip and the police team. Chief Higgins and the rest of the team, were surprised to see me there. They didn’t realize I was involved in the case and they didn’t like the fact that I was there. But it was the evidence I gave them that made the raid possible, and I wasn’t going to miss it. The only way to stop me from being there was to arrest me.

“I have an interest in this case and I am going in whether you like it or not! In fact, you wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for me!” Chief Higgins stared at me with a face that said, How are you involved in this? I knew what he was thinking. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “I’m going in!”

The police tried the secret knock I gave them, knock knock… knock, but nothing happened. We heard some movement behind the door. The police knocked again and announced themselves. Again, we could hear movement from the other side of the door. This time it was getting louder.

The police kicked in the door and I saw Handsome Dan’s stunned face as Bonnie and Clyde started reaching inside their coats.

I said before, they were all brawn and no brains. Well, it turns out they weren’t very quick either. The police were on them, and had subdued them before they even realized what happened.

I can still see the look on Handsome Dan’s face when they grabbed him. His cigar fell to the floor as they pushed him down over the desk, and threw the bracelets on him. He looked at Flip and a stunned realization came over his face, “Flip, how could you after all I did for you?”

Flip tauntingly said to Donovan, “I did it for Mary. She’s going home with me… if she’ll still have me.”

“Mary!” Dan yelled, “You know where that little vamp is?”

“Of course I do. I knew where she was all along, Dan. I kept you from her. We loved each other. How do you like that?”

Flip went toward Donovan as he said this, but one of the officers subdued him. They didn’t want any slip-ups at this point. Donovan cartoonishly tried to kick Flip and fell on his ample backside.

A realization seemed to come over Donovan’s face as it slowly dawned on him that if Flip testified against him he was in trouble. He would be a three-time loser and he knew what that meant.

Then he looked up at me, recognized me, and said only one word, “You!”

I looked him in the eyes and said, “Mary says hi.” That was the final straw. He snapped.

They dragged him kicking and screaming to the door, but there was nothing he could do. “That bit–” Flip slammed the door as they led him away.

We got back to the police station with our cargo.

When I walked into the police station the first time during this investigation it was as an outcast, and with fear and trembling. I had pulled my hat down low and raised my collar high. I hoped I wouldn’t be recognized. But today when I walked in I was actually looking for Hank.

While the police were wrangling Donovan out of the squad car, I burst through the doors loudly with Flip Callahan by my side. Hank wasn’t there! But… but, he never takes a day off. My euphoria suddenly dissipated and I began to feel disappointed. How could Hank do this to me! Then I remembered, this wasn’t about me and Hank.

I’m sorry, God, for making this about me.

Just as I finished that little prayer, Hank came through the door with a sandwich and a bag of chips. I said, “Thank you God.” I just couldn’t help myself.

Hank looked up at the commotion, stunned, and recognized me first, “You again–” and he trailed off when he recognized Flip. After a stunned second, he continued, “And what are you doing with him? Have you finally lost it completely? Are you on the bottle again?”

“Hank, put your sandwich down, today we’re having a party. Where’s the cake? I have a present for you.” At that moment the police brought Dan Donovan through the door. All Hank could muster was an embarrassed, “I can’t believe it.”

I responded with, “Praise God.”

Hank answered with a “Hallelujah, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.”

I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic. But then I heard him mutter, “pal,” and I knew he was.

Coming September 5th: The Dalton Files: The Next Day