Detective

true.”
    PLUTO: “The guy said Forrester would be calling up to tell you this?”
    TONY: “Yeah.”
    PLUTO: “Then get off the fucking phone so Forrester can call you and we can find out what the fuck is going on around here.”
    The next call was even better. Pluto answered it himself, a good indication of his interest in the matter.
    PLUTO: “Tony?”
    TONY: “Yeah. He just called.”
    PLUTO: “And?”
    TONY: “Same thing. Exactly what the guy said. Some guy forced him off the West Side Highway and took the suitcase.”
    PLUTO: “What guy?”
    TONY: “He doesn’t know. He was wearing a ski-mask.”
    PLUTO: “Well, what the fuck does he know?”
    TONY: “The guy was in a black car of some kind. He doesn’t know the make or year. He had a light on top and a siren. He pretended he was a policeman and pulled Forrester over. When he got out, he was wearing a ski-mask and holding a gun. He put Forrester on the floor and ripped him off.”
    PLUTO: “That’s all he knows?”
    TONY: “So he says.”
    PLUTO: “Would he recognize the guy’s voice?”
    TONY: “Probably not. He said the guy just grunted and growled.”
    PLUTO: “Sound like the guy who called you?”
    TONY: “Yeah. It does.”
    A pause.
    PLUTO: “Any chance Forrester is in on this?”
    TONY: “Not a chance in the world. He wouldn’t have the guts to rip his grandmother off. It was all I could do just to talk him into making the run.”
    PLUTO: “O.K. He’s probably clean. Tell him to go home and forget it. Tell him to keep in touch.”
    TONY: “That’s gonna scare the shit out of him.”
    PLUTO: “I can’t help that. We got our own problems.”
    TONY: “Yeah.”
    PLUTO: “Is he where you can reach him?”
    TONY: “Yeah. He’s hanging out at a pay phone, shitting in his pants.”
    PLUTO: “O.K. Tell him to go home. Then get the hell over here.”
    They hung up. I figured the next important conversation would be on the room bug, but I ran the telephone tape ahead anyway. I was right. There were two phone calls from the next morning, rapidly terminated by Tall, Dark, and Ugly. Neither caller got through to Pluto.
    I switched to the other tape. I had to wade through a lot of meaningless shit from the day before before I got what I wanted. It was Pluto ushering Tony into the room.
    PLUTO: “So? Anything new?”
    TONY: “Not yet.”
    PLUTO: “What about Forrester?”
    TONY: “I sent him home.”
    PLUTO: “He give you any trouble?”
    TONY: “No. He’s scared to death.”
    PLUTO: “You tell him not to talk?”
    TONY: “Sure. I read him the riot act. Don’t worry. I told you he’s scared to death.”
    PLUTO: “Yeah. O.K.” (shouted) “Carlos!” (that would be Tall, Dark, and Ugly) “Get in here!”
    I heard the sound of Carlos entering the room.
    PLUTO: “Sit down, Carlos. We gotta talk something over. I want you here.”
    TDU: “Sure, boss.”
    PLUTO: “Briefly, someone ripped off the shipment last night.”
    TDU: “So I gathered.”
    TONY: “How you know that?”
    TDU: “Come on. That’s my job.”
    PLUTO: “Yeah, fine, stop congratulating yourself and be some help to me. O.K. we gotta figure out who did this and we gotta figure it out fast. I’m gonna have to call Ospina on this. He’s not gonna want to have any part of it. It was my messenger, my fuckup, so I’m gonna have to eat it. He’s got his money, he’s not gonna wanna split the loss. But I’ll have to call him. Now, before I do, I wanna know what the hell’s been going on around here.”
    TONY: “What do you mean?”
    PLUTO: “Am I not making myself clear? Our man got ripped off en route. Aside from us, who the fuck knew he was bringing in the stuff? ’Cause one way or another, there’s been a fucking leak.”
    TONY: “That’s right.”
    TDU: “Yeah.”
    PLUTO: “So who the fuck was it?”
    TONY: “How about Forrester himself?”
    PLUTO: “You think that?”
    TONY: “No. I don’t. I mean, I’d like to think that, it would be nice, but, realistically, not in a million years. He’s just too scared.”
    PLUTO: “He might not brag a little? To someone he wouldn’t think would know what he was talking about?”
    TONY: “No. Someone else might, but not him.”
    PLUTO: “Not even to his wife?”
    TONY: “Especially not to his wife. Believe me, I know his type.”
    PLUTO: “O.K. You’re sure, you’re sure. I gotta go with that.”
    TDU: “How about at the other end?”
    PLUTO: “Well, that’s the other thing, and that’s why