Expect anyone to break into the apartment, but it had happened and I felt responsible.
At last the police finished with me and took the body away. I took last book round. What had my cousin hidden in his apartment? My mind jumped to Paige Carrington. Love letters? How well had
she known Boom Boom, really? I needed to talk to her again.
I drove to the Windy City Ballet, stopping on the way for a sandwich and a Coke. The Ballet was an old building, but inside it had been modernized. Some dancers were practicing on the stage, but Paige wasn’t there. I went backstage, and no one stopped me. I waited, and a few minutes later, Paige came down the hall from the shower, a white towel wrapped round her head.
‘Vic! What are you doing here?’
‘Hi, Paige. I came to talk to you. When you’re dressed I’ll take you out for a coffee.’
Her gold- coloured eyes widened. ‘I’m not sure I have time.’
‘Then I’ll talk to you here.’
She shrugged. ‘I’ll only be a few minutes.’
The few minutes stretched into forty. At least she appeared in a gold silk shirts and a white skirt. She wore a gold and diamond necklace and her make-up was perfect.
‘Sorry to keep you waiting,’ she said.
We went out into the cold spring air and ordered coffee at a little coffee shop around the corner.
‘What were you looking for in my cousin’s apartment?’
‘My letters, Vic. I told you that.’
‘How did you meet Boom Boom?’
‘At a Christmas party. Someone interested in buying shares in the Black Hawks invited some of the players.’ Her voice was cold. ‘What are you thinking? I don’t like these questions.’
‘The watchman at Boom Boom’s building was killed last night when someone broke into Boom Boom’s apartment.’
‘The night watchman? Henry? Oh, I’m so sorry. Was anything stolen?’
‘Nothing was taken, but they tore the place apart. I can’t imagine what they were looking for.’
She shook her head, her eyes troubled. ‘I can’t either.’ She put her hand on my arm. ‘I know it sounds crazy about the letters, but it’s true.’
We left after that, and I took myself home. I needed some peace and quiet after all that had happened that day. Over dinner I thought about things I needed to do next. Find out about Paige Carrington’s background. Talk to Boom Boom’s best friend, a star player with the Black Hawks called Pierre Bouchard. And get back to the Port of Chicago.