Comfort to the Enemy (2010) by Elmore - Carl Webster 03 Leonard

you can tell things about a person by the kind of car they drive? And the color?"
    Shemane said, Really?
    "I saw you in that green Lincoln Zephyr, I said to myself, there's a girl has seen the elephant, knows her way around. I bet she wouldn't mind going to Hot Springs some weekend.
    Shemane said, Hon, where're you from?" "West Memphis, Arkansas."
    ****
    What Teddy heard coming in was Shemane saying, "You poor thing." The door wasn't all the way closed. Teddy pushed it open and was looking at the three of them on the sofa, Shemane holding the hand of the GI next to her, the guy lounged back in the cushions. Shemane looked this way and dropped the hand and jumped up glad to see him, always, from the time he took her out of that house and they got to know each other. Teddy smiled at her coming over. She always made him smile.
    He kissed Shemane on the mouth, went over to the sofa to kiss her mom on the cheek and shake hands with PFC Larry Davidson, who didn't get up.
    Teddy had no idea what the guy was doing here and didn't care.
    Larry was grinning now, saying to Teddy, Are you one of the Ritz Brothers? I bet you get asked that a lot, huh?
    Teddy said to Shemane, "Make me a drink, a manhattan," and followed her to the kitchen. She started to tell about Larry, how he'd stopped by--Teddy said, "I don't care about Larry, anything you have to say. I want to meet this Kraut friend of yours, Jurgen."
    Shemane held up pouring the vermouth.
    "You'll have to wait till he escapes." "When'll that be?"
    "Who knows? He was just here."
    "If you can't get him to bust out, I'll have to visi t h im," Teddy said. "I want to see the camp anyway--take a look at these Krauts living like kings.
    "Why would they let you visit?"
    "I'll say I'm a good friend of his."
    "I think you have to be related. Or you're a writer."
    "Yeah--I'll say I'm doing a story for the Star." He saw Shemane roll her eyes and he said, "They have tours?
    "Hon, it's a prison camp." Shemane handed him his manhattan. Teddy raised it, took a sip and another, a good one. He said, "You know who I bet could get me in?"
    Shemane said, "Carl Webster?"
    Chapter Nine
    Teddy Ritz, White Slaver
    They were driving back to Okmulgee in the Chevy they'd been using, Carl at the wheel this time. Gary knew Teddy Rit z h ad called to see about getting in the POW camp, then called again to say he'd be staying at the Parkinson Hotel, but not under his own name. Gary asked Carl what name he was using. Carl said Teddy wouldn't tell him. Gary said then how do we find him? And Carl said, Teddy? You kidding?
    Carl said Teddy wanted to visit the camp to ask Jurgen Schrenk why the Germans were trying to kill all the Jews.
    Gary thought of asking, Why were they? but said, "How's Teddy know about Jurgen?"
    "Every time Jurgen escapes, Carl said, he stays with Teddy's ex-girlfriend a few days, Shemane, one of Teddy's girls in Kansas City. So we'll hear what Jurgen has to say about the mass-murder of three-hundred thousand Jews, all the ones that lived in Warsaw taken out and shot or sent to the gas chamber. I checked with McMahon, it's okay with him. He'd like to hear how a Kraut explains the death camps.
    Gary thought of saying, I don't know what you're talking about.
    But now Carl was saying, "McMahon wanted me to bring you along, you'll get to meet your first big-time gangster."
    Now he had something he could ask. "If we know Teddy Ritz is breaking the law, why isn't he doing time?"
    "On what charge? Carl said. "He has strong-arm guys with no brains do it for him. It's how you get to be big time in the business of crime, keep your hands clean."
    Now Gary was frowning, still confused.
    "You respect this guy, what he does?"
    Carl shook his head. "I get a kick out of talking to him. Still, I'm gonna put him away, the time comes.
    *
    Gary believed Carl should've told him before they left Tulsa, sat him down and laid out what was going on and what they'd be doing. They got to Okmulgee and angled in next to a