CRONIN stared sharply at the other man. Joe le Blanc smiled. His words had created the impression that he had desired. He knew that Steve Cronin’s interest was now aroused.
He waited quietly, anticipating an exclamation of surprise from Cronin, and he was not disappointed.
“Savoli wants Thurman?” cried Cronin. “What does the big shot know about Monk Thurman? How does that guy figure in Chicago?
“Why, I heard that he was finding things pretty tough in New York — that he was in wrong all around!”
“Well, he’s in right here,” retorted Joe le Blanc. “When I say that Nick Savoli wants him, I mean that Mike Borrango wants him, and that amounts to about the same thing.”
This new statement did not please Steve Cronin. There was an anxious expression on the dark man’s face, and he looked at Le Blanc as though demanding further details.
“Here’s the low-down, Steve,” said the proprietor of the Gray Mill. “There was a fracas at Frank Marmosa’s, last night.”
“I heard about it,” said Cronin. “Somebody plugged Eddie Heeny, while he was in the restaurant. They say that Schultz and Spirak were mixed up in it.
“But what has that got to do with Monk Thurman?”
“Just this.” Joe le Blanc leaned across the table and spoke emphatically. “Heeny was killed in the restaurant. But the real blow-off was in the gambling joint. Schultz and Spirak tried to stick up the place.”