Nine
The large bus trundled through the night. I had started the night in a warm, soft bed, and was now perched sideways on a hard padded plastic seat, trying not to bang my head against the window too many times. There were five other people on board at first, but the number would vary as the bus stopped at every jerkwater town on its route. I was always being wakened by the hiss of air brakes, and the stops and starts associated with this type of transportation.
Some of the people were quiet, some weren’t. Everyone was trying to get some sort of sleep, with varying degrees of success.
I finally gave up on sleeping and remembering my reclaimed billfold, decided to have a look at it. There was no money in it. The few items that it retained were in disorder, but all accounted for. It was good to know that I need not reapply for my driver’s license.
Even without a vehicle to my name, it was nice to know that I could rent a car, or borrow one should the need arise. Checking the contents of my other pocket, I still had about fifty dollars left. I resolved to give this back to Roy as well as the rest of the two hundred he had so generously shared with me to buy my silence. I wasn’t planning on turning him over to anyone, but I didn’t want to ‘owe’ him anything either. The rest of the trip was spent with me sitting miserably by the window, waiting for the sun to appear. When it finally showed, I wondered why I had wished for it, as I was tired and it promised to be a long day ahead.
We got into the larger town near Hustle around 11:30 AM, and I still had to navigate my way back home. Hustle is an older town, no industry to speak of, and was now basically a bedroom community to the larger towns in this part of the state. People left town by 6:30 in the morning and returned by 6:30 at night.
I was about 20 miles away, and I decided that I could walk until someone took pity on me. The first few miles weren’t bad, a few semis tried to blow by me and send me to oblivion, but after a while, that wasn’t a problem. I got used to it, and besides, my feet were killing me. I had left Felicity’s place without socks and my feet were chafed at this point. By concentrating on them and trying to hobble along on the gravel shoulder, I was barely aware of the trucks going by. I was about to give up when a large car pulled in front of me, stopping rather abruptly and causing a slight panic to well up in me. If some bad guys were still after me, I was dead meat, as I sure couldn’t run, and fighting was never an option. The car looked familiar, and a blonde angel alit from the driver’s side. “Hi After!” the angel said.
I recognized the girl from the doughnut shop…what was her name? Oh yes! “Hi Gloria.” She beamed at me, no doubt for my startlingly good memory. I didn’t become a Private Investigator for nothing. I generally remembered cute girls’ names. I was even getting a handle on the old fossil’s name, and knew I’d have it down pat in the next month or so.
Placing her hands on her shapely hips, Gloria asked in a mockingly stern tone, “Where are you coming from this time? The river’s the other direction.”
“Almost as bad,” I replied, “I just got off the bus from Chicago.”
“Do you need a lift?”
“I’ll say, that would be terrific. Do you remember where I live?”
“Oh sure, in fact I drove by there yesterday evening, they said you were at work though, nothing about Chicago. I guess they try to cover for you, huh?”
“Nothing like that, they didn’t know I’d left. It was sort of a surprise to me too.” I got into the other front seat.
“Wow! P. I. Work must really be a thrill!” She grinned as she spun daddy’s good tires in the soft shoulder and fishtailed into the traffic.”
“There are other things more thrilling.” I said as I tried to fasten my seat belt while retaining some equilibrium. She was a maniac, but no one seemed to mind as she weaved her car in and out of the paths of the various other cars and trucks. She’d wave gaily at the other drivers. The guys would wave back while the women would stare in astonishment that one of their own kind was so reckless. I was beginning to think that the Lieutenant would be the least of my problems, and wondered if Pastor James would be eloquent at my funeral.
We came back to earth just outside Hustle, and she slowed to sub-light speed. We managed to end up in front of Mother’s, by some miracle, and I opened the door with all that was left of my strength, then managed a weak thanks as I fell out of the metal monster.
“Don’t mention it….but…there is a price for my services.” She waited, mouth parted, looking stunning.
“Sure, whatever, I’ll pay it.” I grinned, feeling better now that the ground I was on was no longer moving.
“I’ll be by tonight at quarter to seven, you’re taking me to the movies.” She squealed off before I could respond. I was supposed to work, I had no way to get a hold of her and I knew that bad things were going to come of this.
I went up the stairs, and entered the house. It was generally quiet near noon, and today was no exception. My feet hurt on every step to my room, sending needles up both legs as I wearily advanced.
I approached my bedroom door, and found a note taped to it. It read; ‘After, Please call Lieutenant Howard when you get in. He needs to speak with you. Mother’. I dreaded the walk back down the stairs, but had to do it. I got to the phone, slumped into a chair and dialed the station. I asked for the Lieutenant, but he wasn’t in.
I left a message and somehow negotiated the stairs up again. I took a detour and went straight to the bathtub, poured some nice hot water, and got my shoes off, placing my feet in the water for a good soaking. Not as good as the last bathtub I was involved with, but definitely safer. In a few minutes, the ache had subsided, so I poured more water in, and removing the remainder of my soiled clothes, cautiously lowered myself in.
I soaked for 15 minutes, then got out, dried off and wrapped a towel around myself. I limped into my room, and fell into bed. I figured someone would awaken me when the Lieutenant arrived, or until the next disaster happened. I slept for about an hour, when there was a knock on the door. Mother asked if I was in, and I made some sort of noise that she must have taken for a ‘Yes’ as she said that the Lieutenant wanted me downtown in an hour. I mumbled something else that must have passed for an affirmative answer, as she left with a cheery laugh.
I managed to find a thick pair of socks with only a few holes in the toes, but I figured the cushioning effect would ease the pain of walking. I had left my other good jeans in Chicago, so I found my tan slacks, as well as a blue shirt with all of its buttons, and walked down the treacherous steps again, to find the feline contingent at the base of the stairs.
I warned Soot, “Don’t try anything today smart aleck. Just remember, if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have found the little princess here.” Soot was his usual unimpressed self, and proved it by yawning in my general direction, then walking off in a stifflegged fashion. His admirer followed suit, and I gave them no further mind and began to think about my immediate future in jail.
I went through the now familiar routine, and ended up at Lieutenant Howard’s desk, this time as a penitent. I was forced to stand nearby while he pointedly ignored me. He read several pages of typewritten copy, then giving me the briefest of stares, indicated that I should sit down. I did so, relief flooding the soles of my feet.
He didn’t glance at me again for several minutes, and seemed intent on intimidating me. It worked too, I was intimidated, though I had no idea how much he knew. Finally, he sat up, took me in and said, “We need to go downstairs, to the interrogation room.”
“Why?” I asked. “I’m cooperative.”
“Because, I am going to book you, as a material witness.”
That got my attention, but I wasn’t surprised. I offered though, “Isn’t there a better way to do this?”
“I could take you out back and work you over, but that wouldn’t be professional, now would it? I trusted you, and you let me down.
Let’s go.” Then he rose, and started walking without looking back, so I got up and followed, like the whipped puppy I was.
We went through the maze of halls, cubicles and desks, finally ending up in a little room off the main entrance to the headquarters building. We entered the room, the Lieutenant turning on an overhead light and having me sit on one side of a large library desk, while he sat on the other side. He opened a drawer on his side, pulled out a tape recorder, checked to see if it was working and spoke into it, describing the particulars of our situation, explaining again that I was being booked as a material witness, and that I was considered a risk to flee.
After the preliminaries, he looked at me, had me state my name, then read me my rights, asking if I understood the charges and if I wanted a lawyer. I said I did, and didn’t.
“OK, After, where were you last night?”
“Chicago.”
“Why were you there?”
“I was trying to locate a friend of mine.”
“Did you remember that I asked you not to leave town.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you inform me that you were leaving?”
“The situation arose quickly, and I just left, that’s all.”
“You do realize that we have two murders, another person dead and two people missing, don’t you?”
“I found one of the people,” I offered.
He raised an eyebrow. “Who did you find?”
“Felicity Jeffries.”
“Where is she now?”
“I have no idea, I left her after I found her, and whether she intends to get in touch again, I have no idea.”
“Is there anything else I need to know?”
“Probably, but if you don’t mind, this is probably a good time for me to consult an attorney.” We were getting near the point where I was going to have to come clean about the break in at Felix’s, and once I started down that road, there would be no turning back.
“OK”, he stated into the recorder. “The interview with After Coffman is terminated pending his acquiring an attorney.” He shut the machine off.
“Would you like to hear some things off the record?” I asked.
“Love to,” he grunted, “but I think we’ll go by the book. You can make your phone call now.”
I was torn between calling Roy or Mother Teresa, and decided on the latter, as Roy may not be whom I wished to be associated with criminally. I got to the phone, told Mother I was booked and if she could find an attorney willing to work with me, I’d appreciate it. She clucked and said that she’d see what she could do, and hung up.
The Lieutenant led me to another officer, and told him I was about to become a guest there. The officer took me to a small room, took the mug shots, redid my fingerprints and was about to give me some state issue clothing, when he was interrupted by a phone call.
He answered, got a bit offended by what he was hearing, glared at me a few times, then said, “I guess you know someone important, you are apparently free to go. Don’t go out of the city unless you check with the Lieutenant first.”
“Does the Lieutenant know about this?” I asked.
“That was him on the phone, guess you have friends in high places.”
I looked confused, and it must have shown, as he finally gave a quick grin, and showed me the door. I walked out, went to the front desk and asked, “Do you know when I am to be in court?”
The officer looked at me and said, “There are no charges anymore, so no court either.” I got out of there before he could change his mind. I was walking back to Mother’s when I decided that it was time I treated myself.
I went into the local clothing store and bought myself six pairs of socks, the good ones, with the gold toes. They were all one color, in case I needed to appease the washing machine gods again. I was learning the ways of the world; women, washing machines and cats were slowly coming into focus. I felt that an offering or two to all of them might make life easier for me.
I got home without further incident, and as it was only midafternoon, I decided to fix the dead bolt on the back door. I had already fixed the front door, and I wanted to return Roy’s tools tonight.
Mother came back to see what I was doing, and I told her that I had found a mysterious benefactor. She smiled at me, and said that she knew.
“Was it you?” I gushed.
“No, it was Carol, she is the Mayor’s grandmother, you know, and she vouched for you.” “Who is Carol?” I asked.
She looked shocked and stated, “The nice lady that lives on the bottom floor here. You break bread with her every day.”
“Oh…that Carol,” I stammered, red faced. Mother just looked at me, shook her head and prepared to leave. Then she turned around as if to ask me something, thought better of it, and stopped.
“What is it, Mother?” I asked her.
“I was worried about Felicity, is she what all the commotion is about?” “She’s involved, but it isn’t the entire story,” I said.
“Will we see her here again?”
“I doubt it,” I replied.
She shook her head again, then walked back to her kitchen. I finished the dead bolt, got the tools together and went back to the front of the house, looking to thank Prunella.
I didn’t find her anywhere, but I would surely thank her when I got the chance. I decided to watch a little television and rest my feet for a bit. Things were very quiet, and I found myself sliding in and out of sleep, my head falling to my chest from time to time. I had just decided to get up and take a breath of fresh air when I heard a knock at the door. Mother bustled to it and I heard her give a gasp, then talk excitedly to our visitor. She came in with the newcomer in tow. I couldn’t have been more surprised, as it was Felicity! I got up quickly, but Felicity motioned for me to sit. Mother smiled and backed out of the room.
Felicity asked, “May I sit down?”
“Sure,” I managed to croak. “What are you doing here? How did you get here? Why did you come back?”
“Last question answered first,” she said. “I came back to take care of whatever business I have to, whether it is the cops, or my brother. I don’t really want to confront Mr. Gibbons. I was hoping you’d be able to help me with that.”
“I just got out of jail, I don’t think I’ll be much help to you.”
When she gave me a questioning look, I continued, “The Lieutenant didn’t like me skipping town.”
She nodded, then said softly, “I guess you want to know about the billfold in my drawer?”
I guessed that she was correct, and nodded my head.
“Well, it’s like this, I was going to my brother’s apartment, and I saw the door open a bit. I heard someone in there, so I took off my shoes and sneaked in as quietly as possible. I saw you snooping around, and all of a sudden, you seemed aware of my presence. I did the first thing that came to mind and hit you with a shoe. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know who you were or why you were there. I thought you might be one of Mr. Gibbons’ men. I took your billfold and got out of there. I didn’t know what I was going to do about you, whoever you were. Imagine my surprise when I saw you at ‘The Green Frog’, and associated you with my phone call and the apartment. I had to get to know you before I’d admit to hitting you. Once I knew you, things were going so well, I just kept putting it off. After, I am so sorry. I wouldn’t hurt you,” she pleaded, with wide-open eyes.
I was elated, the explanation made sense. I was relieved and happy. I could relax around her again, but I had to ask, “Is there anything else I need to know? Any more surprises?” “I honestly don’t think so,” she said, looking straight at me. “If I think of something, I won’t make the same mistake, and I’ll tell you….OK?”
“Sounds good to me!” I allowed myself a smile. The smile was returned, and things got even better, as Mother came in with cookies and milk. What a woman! Felicity and I both thanked her, and she smiled back, informing Felicity that she was welcome for dinner.
Felicity looked at me, and I nodded yes. Mother bustled out of there, saying that she needed to go to the store and for us to just relax and get ‘caught up’.
“How did you get here?” I ventured.
“ I rode the bus to town. I don’t see how you got here though, that’s the only one that comes here all the way from Chicago.”
“I took an earlier bus, and hitched the rest of the way in.”
“Do you think we can start all over again?” she asked, giving me the big eye treatment again.
I melted, “Of course, and the first business are these cookies!”
We dove in, then relaxed and watched some television, just making small talk. I told her I bought some socks. She laughed and said that we might go back to the Laundromat again tomorrow. She got up, went to the front door and returned with my plastic bag full of clothes.
She smiled and handed them to me, saying, “Honestly, it took me awhile to figure out why you left. I went looking for you, and even asked Thomas if he’d done something to you. He said ‘No’, and when I went back upstairs, I saw the drawer open, saw what was missing, and figured it out. I told Sugar that I was leaving for good, and I’d get back to her as to where to send my things. I don’t think I’ll ever go back there. My next stop is the police station, maybe they’ll give me my car back, do you think?”
“ I doubt it, not right away, it’s associated with a murder. Let me call the Lieutenant, and see if I can smooth things over.”
“Thanks, After,” she said and took my hand. We were getting close to kissing, when the front door opened and Hal barged in.
“Hi guys,” he waved as he strode up the stairs. We waved back, but the mood was broken. I walked to the phone and dialed up the Lieutenant.
“What do you want, Coffman?” Lieutenant Howard growled.
“Would you be interested in speaking with Felicity Jeffries?” I asked triumphantly. “You bet, just name when and where.”
“She’s here at Mother’s, and wants to speak with you.”
“Put her on, After!” he cried. We were back on a first name basis again; I could sleep better now.
Felicity went to the phone, talked for a few minutes, then came back in. “I have to see him tomorrow, and he’ll see what he can do about getting my car back then!” “Sounds great!” I gushed. “Looks like things may work out after all.”
“Maybe,” she replied evenly. “I am going back to my rented room, as I paid through the month anyway. I’ll go do that now, and see you for dinner!”
“Great!” I exclaimed, as I showed her to the door.
I was relieved that things were OK with the Lieutenant, and that Felicity was back in the picture. It had been worth the trip to Chicago to get all those loose ends tied up. My feet didn’t hurt at all as I danced up the steps to my room, carrying the bag full of my clothes and bathroom supplies. I made short work of returning things to their proper places, and had time to clean up and shave. I was determined to let the Lieutenant handle the rest of the case, as Mr. Gibbons was a bit out of my league anyway.
I heard the phone ring, and Hal came to my room a few minutes later, saying that there was a crying woman calling me. I wondered what could have befallen Felicity, and raced to the phone to see what it was all about. To my surprise, it was not Felicity.
“After?” the lady sobbed.
“Yes,” I answered, mystified by the unfamiliar voice.
This is Bitsy, Jocko’s wife, do you know who I am?” Her voice was unrecognizable through the tears and shaking.
“Sure, is something wrong with Jocko?”
“I’m not sure, and I don’t know who else to call,” she wailed.
“OK, calm down if you can, and tell me about it.” I tried to sound professional and reassuring.
“Well,” she began, “I called for him last night, and his watch commander said he didn’t show for work…again. I asked what he meant by that, and he stated that Jocko had missed quite a few nights lately. Jocko didn’t come home this morning, hasn’t called and his supervisor claims that it is an ‘Internal’ problem, and that they are working on it.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I just asked, “What would you like me to do?” “I really don’t know,” she sobbed, “but you need to do SOMETHING.”
I told her I would get on it, ask around, and for her to call me if anything came up. I decided to go into work early and get Roy caught up with developments, and ask his advice about Jocko.
I told Mother that I was going to be leaving early, and she said she’d fix me a sandwich to go. I sat at the table and tried to figure out just where I was. I figured I had paid Felicia back, and the Lieutenant knew all he needed to know anyway, except for Gibbons’ potential role. I planned on asking Felicity to tell him about all of that, and I didn’t care if she told him about finding me in the apartment. I felt that perhaps I had heard the last of the case after all, and could concentrate on Jocko. I remembered what Roy had told me about Jocko’s start in life, and his more recent past before Bitsy came into his life, and I was sort of worrying that he might show up in a crack house somewhere.
Mother came out with a large brown bag and a thermos. I got up and hugged her and told her thanks. She grinned, then said, “You know, I think we will name the new kitty ‘Mudsy’, it does sort of go with Soot, don’t you think?”
“It sounds fine to me,” I said, not really caring. I was sure I’d have new names for both, even though they had behaved themselves so far. I was ready to go, and was actually out of the door, when I thought of one thing, that led directly to another. I retraced my footsteps and went back to the kitchen.
“Mother,” I began, “I forgot that Felicity was to show up for dinner. She has no phone and I can’t reach her anywhere. When she shows, could you tell her I went to Roy’s early to work on a new case?”
“A new case?” she beamed, then looked concerned, “I hope it’s less dangerous than the last one.” I didn’t have the heart to tell her it concerned her precious Jocko, so I shrugged and said it may amount to nothing, just a temporarily missing husband.
She grimaced, then smiled and said, “I had already thought about Missy Felicity, and I was going to tell her that you were at Roy’s. I packed a double meal for you two.”
What a saint! I hugged her again, then got to topic number two. “Uh, Mother, that little blonde girl that dropped me off this morning wanted to return tonight, and I don’t know how to reach her either. I will try her work, but if that fails, please give her my regrets and get her phone number.”
She looked at me, smiled and said, “You and Paul, with your girlfriend problems.”
I replied, with a question in my voice, “Paul has a problem? I haven’t even seen him for days. I thought things were going well.”
“His girl wanted him to get his eyes fixed, then a nose job, then yesterday she said to perm and change the color of his hair. Today she suggested elevator shoes to make him taller.”
“Has he done any of this?” I gasped.
“He can’t, not on his salary,” she said. “I think it will be over soon, and she hasn’t even been over to eat.”
What a cad that Paul was, to deprive Mother of a new female to feed! Mother said that she’d tell Gloria that I was on a case, and tender my regrets. I thanked her again, and headed to Roy’s, planning on stopping by the doughnut shop on the way.
It was a nice night, and I felt pretty good about everything but Jocko. I hoped that it was something he had to do, and that there would be a good explanation for it, but I had my doubts. I was going through things in my mind as I approached the doughnut shop and I almost missed it. I came to my senses when the smell assaulted me, and entered the door. There was a man behind the counter, looking bored. I went up to him and asked, “Is Gloria here?”
“You her father?” he asked.
I bristled at that, as I was maybe 5 years older than her, tops! “No,” I replied, “just a friend, but I need to get a hold of her.”
“She’s probably home, why don’t you call her there?”
“I don’t have her number.”
He squinted at me, and asked suspiciously, “If you are her friend, why don’t you have her number?”
I shrugged and replied that we hadn’t gotten around to it yet.
He glared at me, and decided that might get rid of me. It didn’t.
“I’d appreciate the number, as we were to meet this evening, and I won’t be able to manage it.”
He said, “I would never give out a number without her permission, all I can say is that you’re on your own and unless you want to buy something, I’d prefer that you leave.”
I turned and went to the door, unable to block the sound of his laughing at some private joke he must have thought up. I left with as much dignity as I could. Her father! Indeed! I got to Roy’s about 5:00, and I heard him bustling about in the back, so I went to my office and sat down to think. He came by a moment later, and peeked in. “I was hoping that was you. I heard the bells over the door, and thought I’d check though. Everything turn out OK in Chicago?”
“I found my friend, and she’s back in town. You may get to meet her this evening, and I have a few things to run by you.”
He was preparing to come in and chat when I heard the bells tinkle over the door again, and he shrugged and went out to service his visitors.
Things got quiet for a bit, and I was thinking that I might be able to use Felicity’s car tomorrow if she got it back. I was intending to ask Roy about Jocko’s old friends and where I might find them.
Some were out of town, I remembered, and I thought a set of wheels might come in handy.
I began to hear raised voices and there was some sort of argument going on, then all sound stopped. I got up and went out the door of my office, and looked around the corner. As I’ve stated before, my office door is somewhat hidden from the main counter, so I was able to observe what was going on. There were two men with their backs to me, and they seemed to have guns pointed at Roy, who was staring calmly back at them. If Roy saw me, he gave no notice. I had no idea what was going on, but I owed Roy, and we’d figure out what this was about later. I grabbed a lamp stand by my door, and walked quietly behind one of the goons. Roy surely saw me now, so I figured he was on his own with one of them. I raised my weapon and conked the guy on his head with what I hoped was enough force to put him out of commission, but not permanently. Roy ducked down, and the other guy shot at the spot Roy had just been. He turned to look at what had happened to his partner, saw me, raised an eyebrow, drew the gun on me, and I thought it was over, when Roy’s voice said, “I’ve got a bigger gun than you have.”
The goon glanced at Roy, and looked into a 10-gauge shotgun leveled at his pointy head. Discretion being the better part of his limited valor, he wisely dropped the gun.
Roy glared at him, then said, “You tell your boss that if he wants to see me, he comes here himself, without his friends, talks nice and polite, and we’ll get something worked out….got it?” I swear, he still looked like Santa Claus, but with an attitude. The now cowed man nodded yes.
Roy said, “Thanks for the two new guns, I appreciate them, now take this trash out of here.” Roy pointed at the unconscious man, who twitched slightly, and let out a groan. Good, I hadn’t killed him. The man picked up his partner by the shoulders, and dragged him out. Roy looked at me and winked. I fainted.
When I came to, Roy was over me, with a concerned look. “After, are you OK, buddy?” “I think so, what happened?” I groaned.
“I believe you may have gotten carried away in the excitement.”
“What was that all about?” I asked, sitting up gingerly.
“Just the cost of doing business.” He handed me one of the guns he had just acquired. It was a .45, and it looked large enough to blow down a tree. “He won’t be needing this anymore, but you might consider packing it. I notice that it is unmarked. Some one, probably a criminal, filed the numbers off.” He winked at me again.
“Criminals…” I muttered. “Where would we be without them?”
I took the gun, hefted it, and resolved to get out in the country soon, practice shooting it, and see if the recoil would break my wrist.
“That’s the spirit!” Roy said, slapping me on the back.
“Roy, there are a few things we need to discuss,” I started. “First, I don’t want to be involved with you and Grits, so I’m paying the two hundred dollars back, and I don’t want to know anymore about it.”
“Fair enough,” Roy said. “Let’s just say that you paid your debt off tonight, I think that’s more than fair.”
“OK.” We shook hands. “I need to find out more about Jocko too. He’s missing and Bitsy is worried.”
Roy looked concerned, and sat down. “You’d better fill me in.”
I began by telling of the trip to Chicago, leaving out a bit or three. Then, I told him about