“The Commissioner’s upset,” Coughlin said.
“He just called here,” Wohl said. “As soon as you’re through with me, I’m going to return his call.”
“What about assigning officers to find witnesses to clear the Highway cop?”
“Guilty,” Peter said. “Except that I didn’t assign them. They volunteered. Off duty, in c
ivilian clothes. If they turn up a witness, there will be an anonymous telephone call from a public-spirited citizen to AID. It was actually Dave Pekach’s idea, I want you to understand that I’m doing the opposite of laying it off on Pekach. If I had thought of it first, I would have done it first. And I’ll take full responsibility for doing it.”
He heard Coughlin grunt, and there was a pause before Coughlin asked, “Was that smart, under the circumstances?”
“If I could have sent them to find the Woodham woman, I would have,” Wohl said.
Matt Payne appeared at his office door. Wohl made a gesture for him to go away, together with a mental note to tell him to learn to knock before he came through a closed door.
“How’s that going?” Chief Coughlin asked.
“The first fifteen, maybe sixteen, volunteers just showed up for duty. I turned them all over to Washington and Harris to ring doorbells. That’s where I was when you called.”
“Maybe, until you get the Woodham woman back, you better put the people who were looking for witnesses to the car wreck to work ringing doorbells, too.”
“I will if you tell me to, Chief,” Wohl said, “but I’d rather not.”
“You want to explain that?”
“Well, for one thing, I think they did all they could, and drew a blank, about finding anyone who saw Mr. McAvoy run the red light.”
“Damn,” Coughlin said.
“And for another, I don’t think having Highway cops going around ringing doorbells is such a good idea. The guy we’re looking for is already over the edge. I don’t want to spook him.”
“You want to go over that again?” Coughlin asked.
Wohl covered the mouthpiece with his hand, and demanded, “What the hell do you want, Payne?”
“Sir, the Commissioner’s on Two Six, holding for you,” Matt replied.
“Okay,” Wohl said, and Matt backed out of the office, closing the door after him.
“Chief, the Commissioner’s on the other line. Can I get back to you?”
“Call me when you get something,” Coughlin said, impatiently, and then added, “Peter, frankly, I would have a hell of a lot more confidence in the way you’re doing things if you had at least been able to keep that Peebles woman from being burgled again.”
“I was just talking to Charley Emerson about that—” Wohl said, and then stopped, because Chief Inspector Dennis V. Coughlin had hung up.
He pushed the flashing button on the telephone.
“Good morning, Commissioner,” he said. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I was talking to Chief Coughlin.”
“Hold on for Commissioner Czernick, please, Inspector Wohl,” a female voice Peter did not recognize replied.
“Czernick,” the Commissioner snarled a moment later.
“I have Inspector Wohl for you, Commissioner,” the woman said.
“It’s about time,” Czernick said. “Peter?”
“Yes, sir. Sorry to keep you waiting, sir. I was talking to Chief Coughlin.”