“Some of the gambling element,” Mason asked, “wanting to get a line on what’s happening in this vice crusade?”
“Not a chance,” Drake told him.
“Why not?”
“The gamblers aren’t worried.”
“Why?”
“Because they aren’t. They’re too strongly entrenched.”
“That Citizens’ Committee was digging up a lot of evidence,” Mason said.
“Not evidence that would convict anybody of anything. Just evidence that gives rise to a lot of suspicion. Gamblers, and all forms of organized vice, figure on that stuff, Perry. Every so often there’s a clean-up and a shakedown. Some of the small fry try to fight back. They struggle against the stream. The big fish don’t; they just drift along with the current and wait for the police to clear things up.”
“The police?” Mason asked.
“Sure,” Drake said. “Figure this, Perry. Whenever there’s a recognized vice district, or open gambling, there’s police graft. That doesn’t mean all of the policemen are in on it. It means some of the policemen are, and it means some of the higher-ups are. Whenever there’s a squawk, the big shots in the vice game simply sit back and say to their cronies on the police force, ‘Okay, you birds tell us when it’s safe to open up again. In the meantime, we’re both losing income, so you’d better hurry.’ ”