“There was trouble between Monk and those two boys,” said Borrango smoothly. “Maybe they were after him — and he got them instead.”
“They were after him, all right,” admitted Larrigan. “But he was laying for them, and he got them where he wanted them. All right.
“If he knew they were after him, why didn’t he clear out — back to New York, maybe? Why was he staying around here in Chicago, with guys trying to put him on the spot?”
“There’s a lot of good torpedoes who are dumb, Mike,” said Borrango, by way of explanation.
“Listen” — Larrigan was getting to the point of his argument — “after that trouble down in Marmosa’s, there was a lot of talk that you fellows were trying to get Monk Thurman to work for you.
“There was more than that. They say that Monk Thurman came here. They say he was working for you. That’s what I want to find out. Was he working for you, or wasn’t he?”
The question was put to Savoli. The big shot was indirect in his reply.
“I shall tell you, Larrigan,” he said. “You want to know if I was after Schultz and Spirak. I answer you — No! Why should I want them on the spot?”
“They tried to stick up Marmosa’s,” replied Larrigan.
“I know that,” returned Savoli. “But that was not the first trouble they made for me. I have let many things pass. Why should one more trouble me? They did not stick up Marmosa’s after all. Marmosa is not my man.”