I asked Murray about Mattingly.
‘a small-time criminal. No good. Avoided prison. Desperate for money. Out of town before his death.
‘What shoes was he wearing?
There was silence. ‘you ‘re thinking of the footprint in BoomBoom’s apartment,’ Murray said at last. ‘I don’t know, but I’ll find out.’
There was nothing more I could do until tomorrow. I went outside and got BoomBoom’s papers and pictures from the trunk and took them up to my apartment. As I unlocked the door, I dropped everything. The trophy and pictures fell with a crash. The glass over the pictures shattered and I got a box for the pieces of glass. As I took the broken glass from the photo of me, two pieces of paper slid out from behind the picture.
One piece of paper was an in invoice from the Grafalk Steamship Line to the Eudora Grain Company, showing loads by ship, date of departure and arrival. The second piece of paper, written in BoomBoom’s tiny handwriting, listed six dates when Pole Star had lost contract to Grafalk.
I poured myself a drink. BoomBoom had called me about his information and had put the papers behind my picture to prevent anyone else from finding them. I wanted to cry, but no tears would come.
I wondered if it was time to let the police question everyone. The answer to everything lay in BoomBoom’s papers. I’d give myself twenty-four more hours, then turn it over to Bobby.