Kefauver chuckled once, but his grin was endless. He gestured with both big hands. “I know — beggars can’t be choosers, I guess. I never did figure to be popular in Chicago... But we do have the use of a conference room, and we’ll have hearing room space, as well.”
“I understand you’re getting started soon.”
“Next week... And
I shrugged, grinned back at him. “Let’s just say I’m not anxious — on the other hand, I haven’t come down with a case of Kefauveritis.”
A nod and another wide smile. “Ah yes — that mysterious new ailment... the most pronounced symptom of which is an irresistible urge to travel.”
“But I do know my constitutional rights, Senator — I can decline to answer on the fifth amendment; and I can protect my clients on grounds of confidentiality.”
He nodded some more; his goofy-looking combination of hayseedish and professorial qualities was oddly appealing. “That’s true — as I understand it from my associates, your standard operating procedure with criminal cases is to work for the attorneys of the client, not the clients themselves.”
“That’s right.”
“Well that’s a very clever approach. You’re serving your clients effectively, and that’s exactly what you’re supposed to be doing... You can’t be faulted for that. And I wouldn’t dream of asking you to betray your profession’s code of ethics.”
I tried to find sarcasm in that, without success.
“Senator, if I might explain myself further...?”
“Certainly.”
“I don’t mean to be a hostile witness. It’s just that I don’t approve of your committee’s methods. Your traveling circus rolls into town, you make a lot of noise, cause a lot of trouble, and move on, leaving the rest of us to clean up after the elephants.”
He was sitting back in his swivel chair, arms folded; friendly though his expression was, he was clearly appraising me. “I can understand your point of view, Mr. Heller — but you need to understand mine: my aim is to expose the influence of the underworld on American life.”
“That simple, is it?”
“And that complex. This is the fullest, most public investigation of organized crime ever attempted in America — and we have captured the attention, and more importantly the imagination, of the press and the public. By the time we hit New York — the climax of our ‘circus’ — we will be fully televised. The average American, for the first time, will be aware of the national crime syndicate — thanks to our efforts, the word ‘Mafia’ is already entering the national vocabulary.”
I sighed. “I don’t mean to knock you off your high horse, Senator — but if you really meant that, you’d be going after more than just gambling.”
Sitting forward, he fixed a penetrating gaze on me. “Let me tell you something, Mr. Heller — it’s the tie-up between crime and politics that most makes me sick... the rottenness in public life. But from what I hear and read about you, you’re a pragmatic man... and you’ll understand that I have to start somewhere.”
“Plus you don’t want to alienate these political machines that you’re gonna depend on when you run for the presidency.”
He grunted a humorless laugh. “Oh, I already have alienated them — and will further, here in Chicago, by moving the hearings up before the election.”
“Well... I have to admire your balls for that. Senator. If you’ll excuse the crudity.”
“I appreciate the compliment. Also, that you seem to understand what’s at risk for me, personally.”
I shrugged. “You may do fine without the political machines — after all, the public dearly loves a gangbuster.”
That seemed to amuse him, and he leaned his elbow against the desk and his chin against his hand. “Would it surprise you, Mr. Heller, to find out I’m a gambler myself? I do relish a good horse race.”
“I’ve heard that, Senator.” I didn’t mention I’d also heard this father of four had an eye for the skirts.
“So you might think I’m a hypocrite.” He leaned back in the chair again, rocking a little. “But it’s a bit like the situation your friend Eliot Ness was in, back in Prohibition days. Mr. Ness, I understand, likes to take a drink now and then.”
These days, Eliot was damn near a lush.
But I just said, “You could say that.”
“Still, Ness knew the Mafia underworld was tied up in bootlegging... and that every other sin that can be marketed to man, from prostitution to dope peddling, was part of the same vile syndicate. So he went after the bootleggers. Here in Chicago — do I have to tell you? — you have the national race wire, the manufacture and distribution of coin-operated machines, including slots, and the numbers racket and every other manner of illegal gambling you can think of, flourishing openly.”
“That’s Chicago, Senator. Do you really think you’re going to change it?”
He shook his head. “I can’t change human nature...” But then he began to nod. “We can, however, expose these vicious, homicidal thugs... who think murders like those of Bill Drury and Marvin Bas are just the price of doing business.”
