Ackie groaned and shut his eye. “He’s dead now, ain’t he?
“This guy Richmond,” I said, selecting my words, “I guess he had more enemies than Vessi?”
“Yeah, he’d more enemies than most guys. Richmond was a heel. He had it comin’ to him.”
“There was a woman hangin’ to the killin’, wasn’t there? They never turned her up.”
Ackie lifted his shoulders. “There were hundreds of women,” he said indifferently. “That guy had women in his hair all day long.”
“Who was she?” I asked softly.
Ackie raised his head. “Nothin’ doin’,” he said. “Richmond’s dead an’ Vessi’s dead; both those guys were rats. It’s washed up… forget it.”
“Why the hell should everyone want to play this business down?”
Ackie grinned a little. “Do they?” he said.
“Now listen, Mo,” I said. “There’s somethin’ you know an’ somethin’ I know. Suppose we go round to my place an’ talk about it?”