Doherty’s War & Against the Ropes: Two Pulp Thrillers (Charlie Doherty Book 1) by Terrence McCauley

Author:Terrence McCauley [McCauley, Terrence]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781647347833
Publisher: Wolfpack Publishing
Published: 2021-10-13T04:00:00+00:00

4

Round Four

Quinn found Officer Charles Doherty sitting all alone in the far corner of the bar, nursing a Cutty on the rocks. He knew Doherty from when the Kaye Klub had been in the part of town that had been Doherty’s beat as a patrolman the year before. That didn’t mean he protected the Kaye Klub from drunks or criminals. It meant he came by once a week to collect the Tammany payoff Kaye was forced to pony up to stay in business.

It had been a nice, orderly system. Kaye paid off Doherty, who took his cut and then passed the payoff on to the captain down at the precinct. He took his cut and kicked the rest up to the ward boss, who took his cut before giving the rest to The Tammany Tiger. That money made sure the Kaye Klub could still serve booze without fear of getting raided. The Tiger’s paw was greased, the boys got their money, and everyone was happy.

Although Quinn hadn’t seen Doherty since he’d been transferred to headquarters, he certainly didn’t look like a man who was celebrating anything. Then again, he never did.

He had a droopy, hangdog expression about him. He was only about forty, but too many cigarettes and too much bootleg booze at places like the Kaye Klub made him look much older. He kept his hair cropped short and it was beginning to gray at the temples. He was a little guy as far as cops went—short and thin. Just north of being skinny. But Quinn knew he was no pushover. He’d seen Doherty take down men twice his size with a pair of brass knuckles. He was also an artist with a sap.

Everyone else at the bar was busy talking loudly over each other to be heard by the person right next to them. Doherty was the only one by himself, mindlessly spinning something on the bar next to his scotch.

“Evening, Charlie. Haven’t seen you around here since forever.”

Doherty gave him a boozy smile over his shoulder. “Forever’s a long time, but sometimes, it’s not long enough.”

Quinn didn’t know what Doherty’s comment meant and was too busy trying to get a drink to care. He caught the bartender’s eye and asked for a scotch on the rocks, then motioned for him to give Charlie another of whatever he was having.

“I’m kind of surprised to see you tonight,” Doherty said. “Thought you’d be out on the town, celebrating your big night. Caught a bit of it on the radio before I got here. Hell of a show you put on tonight.”

“Thanks, I came to work, but Mr. Kaye gave me the night off, so here I am.”

“Sometimes, life works out that way, I guess. You show up to dinner expecting beans and cold coffee and Lady Luck serves up a turkey dinner, complete with gravy, mashed potatoes and all the trimmings.”

The bartender set two fresh drinks in front of them, and the two men clinked glasses.

“Sláinte,” Quinn said.

Doherty belched and took a sip.

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