“What are you going to do about it, Barney?” he demanded. “What does Weaver say?”
“We’re going to let them alone,” replied the assistant detective commissioner.
“What! All those mobsters?” questioned Kirklyn.
“We’ve got nothing on them, Jerry,” replied Higgins. “Of course, we’ll have men outside the Goliath Hotel. If we see any gunmen that are wanted, we’ll pick them up. But those fellows will stay away.”
“How about Savoli and Borrango? How about Larrigan? Are you going to let them get away with this merger?”
“Call it a merger if you want, Jerry,” laughed Higgins. “To us, it’s just a meeting of men that might bear watching. Some of the gorillas that will be there are murderers, right enough; but they’ve all been acquitted.
“This dinner may mean a lot to us — later on; but right now, there’s no reason for us to stop it. It’s a mistake to pick up any of these big gangsters without full provocation. Sooner or later we’ll get them — “
“Sooner or later they may get each other,” interrupted Kirklyn. “That’s the old police formula. Let them shoot each other. The trouble is, they increase faster than they drop off. If this peace racket works, they’ll multiply more rapidly than ever.”
“Perhaps so, Jerry. But we can’t do anything tonight.”
“What does Morris Clarendon think about it?” demanded Kirklyn.