Ten
I sat at the counter and waited. It was 6:30 P.M.
when the door opened and Felicity waltzed in. She’d done whatever it was that she would do and looked elegant again. I couldn’t see exactly what it was precisely, but she was able to manage it. No one else had come in and I was sure our two visitors would not return, so I felt comfortable with spreading the repast out on the counter for us to eat. Mother had packed turkey sandwiches, heaping with onions, lettuce and tomato, plus that fancy gray mustard. There were homemade chips, steamed vegetables that were still a bit warm, and the thermos was filled with tea. For the finale, there were two large slices of chocolate cake. How she ever packed all of that into that sack, I’ll never know. I would have to find another bag just to pack the trash out. There were also napkins and plasticware to supplement.
She even had two of those little wet cloths to wash our hands with when we were through.
“Wow!” I gushed, when it was all laid out.
“That’s not all,” Felicity said with a grin. She had a bag with her, and she pulled out a chilled bottle of Zinfandel and two plastic glasses. This was going to be a treat indeed.
We were well into it, and basically just had the cake to eat, when she opened the bottle and poured us both a drink. We raised our glasses for a toast, when the bell tinkled over the door. I smiled apologetically, and she smiled with understanding. I looked to see who entered and was shocked to see Gloria there. She had her hair all piled up on her head, beautiful make-up, a short pink miniskirt that showed five miles of great legs, and a neat tube top that showed off the rest of her body and her tan. I was sure I had stopped breathing.
She was carrying a bag with her.
“After, I stopped by the house, and Mother said you had to work. I guess you didn’t have time to tell me before I raced off.” She smiled, and I felt dizzy. What a knockout! Then, Gloria’s eyes seemed to become accustomed to the darker room, and she noticed the situation, and took it all in at one glance.
The air turned 50 degrees colder as she said frostily, “I didn’t realize you had company.” Barbie doll had turned into the Abominable Snowwoman just that quickly.
“Gloria, meet my friend, Felicity,” I offered. After all, this wasn’t my fault; I was an innocent bystander, but was afraid I would be the only real casualty. It certainly looked that way. I turned to meet Felicity’s eyes, looking for a friendly smile. I saw Godzilla’s eyes.
They could also have been the eyes of a large cat just before it devoured its prey. I couldn’t tell if I was the prey or if Gloria was.
“How do you do?” Gloria asked in a quavery voice.
“I do very well, thank you,” Felicity said, the edge in her voice very plain.
“Gloria,” I said, “I was never going to be able to go tonight, and I had no way to contact you.”
“I understand, After,” she replied, and then it looked like all of the air went out of her, and she placed the bag down, turned and walked out the door.
I turned again, to see Felicity gathering things up. “What are you doing?” I asked. “I can see that I am not welcome here,” she stated.
“Oh Felicity,” I started. “She picked me up the morning after I was kidnapped, and again this morning as I was hitching back into town.”
“How convenient,” she almost whispered. “Both times you had just gotten rid of me. I’ll bet you were simply crushed.”
“Now wait a minute,” I said, but that’s all I got out because she floated to the door, opened it, stood there in silhouette and slammed it behind her as she left. I waited until the vibrations and quakes in the building stopped, and until the temperature of the place went up a few degrees, then I took a look at the food, and the bag that Gloria had left forlornly by the door. Our wine was still untouched as I went to pick up the bag, which I intended to return it to Gloria.
I soon discovered that it wouldn’t be necessary, as she had brought food as well. It was Chinese, with another bottle, this time of champagne.
There were days that I was so hungry I would have almost eaten out of trashcans. There were days I had met beautiful women that I would love to spend some time with. So, how did I end up with two gorgeous girls and two great meals at one time, and then….to be suddenly bereft of both.
I raised my plastic wineglass to the door and saluted, “To lousy timing,” I said. I drank the entire bottle, but didn’t enjoy it at all. I didn’t enjoy the entire bottle of champagne either. The walk home was interesting, and I must have heard something funny in my head, as I giggled all the way there, occasionally breaking into a loud chuckle. I noticed that the other people who were still abroad at 10:00 that night gave me a wide berth. I navigated the steps to Mother’s, placing the empty bottles in the trash, and the two pieces of cake on the counter. I put the uneaten Chinese in the refrigerator and trudged to the stairway. I was halfway to my room when I accidentally stepped on Mudsy’s tail, causing her to emit a loud screech.
She literally ran up my leg, using her claws to dig into my flesh, and then jumped off out into space, landing with a thud in the living room below. Soot came out of nowhere and gazed at me with a promise in his eyes. Hal, James, and the fossil came out of their rooms to see what had happened. I looked at all of them, then shook my head and dragged my injured leg the rest of the way to my room.
I took off my clothes and was preparing to fall into bed when Paul barged in. “After, something must have happened. Mother and the rest of the folks are all downstairs. Something about an accident and Chinese food, and wine bottles. Do you think a truck overturned in the street and killed a Chinese person?”
“Worse.” I moaned and rolled over, falling asleep instantly.
The next morning, I awoke to hammering noises. I went slowly to my door, looking to see where it was coming from. It wasn’t in the hallway. It seemed to be behind me. I turned quickly, and the room was revolving in a strange manner. I fell to the ground and realized the hammering was the pulse inside my swollen brain. I crawled back to bed, found my trash can and threw up in it. I felt a bit better then. I took inventory to survey the damage. My leg was swollen around the claw marks left by Mudsy. My heart was swollen from Gloria’s and Felicity’s claw marks. My head hurt and I was in foul temper. Now the room stank as well. I tried to stand again, it was OK if I didn’t move too fast. I gathered up the trashcan, took it into the bathroom, flushed the contents down the toilet, rinsed it in the bathtub and ran that mess down the toilet as well. I found some aspirin and iodine in the medicine cabinet. I dabbed some of the iodine on my leg, thought about drinking some, but decided to stop feeling sorry for myself. I took a few aspirin, and managed to get back into the bedroom, where I fell asleep again.
Late that morning, Mother knocked on the door and came in. I told her what had happened, and she sighed.
“I guess I wasn’t meant to have nice friends and nice food, at least not at the same time,” I said softly. She had somehow known that I was hung over as she had come prepared with tomato juice and something else mixed up together. She urged me to drink it, then told me to come down for lunch in about one half an hour.
She said I’d feel better soon, and I said that I couldn’t feel worse.
Amazingly, the stuff seemed to work. I belched a few times, and got up at the prescribed time, put some loose jeans on, pulled on a tee shirt, and went downstairs. I looked terrible, I knew, but I had lost my pride. I sat down to vegetable soup and tea. There were crackers too. After a bit, the old fossil joined me and asked how I was. I told her that I was feeling a bit better, and that I decided to live a bit longer.
I remembered her act of kindness on the previous day. “I really want to thank you for yesterday,” I said. “I had no idea how I was going to get out of that situation.” She patted my hand and said, “You remind me of my son at your age. Don’t worry, he turned out just fine, and I expect you will too, eventually.”
I took it as a compliment, and smiled. She ate her soup and left quietly. I went upstairs to change and noticed that the cats had rearranged my dresser top contents, knocked over the trash can and messed all of my new socks up. I got down to retrieve them, and only counted nine. I had apparently just made a sacrifice to the cat god, and I hoped it was sufficient.
I gathered up two of the socks, some clean underwear and trundled off to the bathroom for a shave and shower. Those went well, and except for a slight headache and the sores on my leg, I felt I might survive.
I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do next, when there was a knock on my door. I went to it, and Felicity danced past me into the room, sitting on my bed.
“ I came to apologize,” she began, “I was wrong last night. You had no commitment to me, and when that bimbo…I mean…young lady showed up, I just sort of lost it. I hope that you’ll forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive, and I was as surprised as you were when she showed.” “Mother told me about it, she had no idea that the girl would follow you there. What is she, twelve years old?”
“I think more like twenty, but it doesn’t matter.”
“Let’s go to the Laundromat, you need some clean clothes,” she offered.
This was getting back on familiar ground, so I acquiesced easily and we gathered up my slim pickings, and worked our way downstairs.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, we were met by the cats, who wrapped themselves through Felicity’s legs and generally made asses of themselves. She bent to pet them and they closed their eyes, purred and fell on their backs to have their stomachs scratched. I was not convinced, but decided to scratch Mudsy in apology for stepping on her tail last night. She was doing fine until I actually touched her, then she growled at me in warning. Standing up as fast as my wounded leg would allow, I granted her her personal space back. The spell was broken, however, and the two sulked away.
Felicity laughed at them, then at me, saying, “After, you sure have a way with females, don’t you?”
“I don’t think females should be legal,” I growled.
“Oh, we have our uses,” she purred, and taking me by the elbow, led me to the clothes, and we walked out to her car.
“You got your car back!” I shouted, feeling idiotically happy.
That had to be a good sign, apparently the Lieutenant wasn’t too upset with her. The car looked good, I did notice that there was some baling wire holding the trunk closed.
“Yes, I talked to the Lieutenant about my brother, and he said that I was to stay in town, not do anything rash, and tell him anything else I might remember. I didn’t tell him about meeting you in Felix’s apartment, and I didn’t tell him much about those two jerks I had dealt with. Charlie and Patrick. I expect he’ll want to follow up on all of that. He was mainly interested in Felix’s whereabouts, and I told him that I was too, even though we were no longer close.”
“Did you tell him about Harold Gibbons’ men, and his pos sible involvement?” I asked. “You bet I did.”
“Well, he ought to be able to finish things up then,” I said hopefully.
“Are you off the case?” she asked.
“If the Lieutenant has anything to do with it, I am. Frankly, I think your mother got her hundred dollar’s worth.”
“I think so too,” she said, as she squeezed my arm. “However, we may still have to deal with Gibbons, he may not let this slide.”
“I doubt he’ll do much with us,” I opined, but not terribly sure of myself. “We’re the only links that he has though.”
We entered the Laundromat, and spent the next ten minutes sorting clothes and loading washers. I got change and soap, and we got three machines going. We sat down together, and I rested my head on her shoulder. She smelt good, and I was tired, but all in all, things were OK. I had to get back with Roy and see what he found out about Jocko, and a phone call to Bitsy was in order as well. I was thinking these things and must have fallen asleep, for I woke in a bit finding my head propped on a pair of my folded jeans, and I saw Felicity folding the rest of my freshly laundered clothes. I didn’t let her know I was awake, as she had her back to me, and she was wearing gloriously tight jeans. So, I sat back, relaxed and admired the view.
In a bit she noticed I was awake, as she turned to me, and gave me a knowing look. I must have blushed, for she laughed, came over and with a peck on my cheek, asked, “See anything you like?”
“You bet, and I’d like to take it out to a movie tonight.”
“That would be super!” She glowed.
“I have to do a few things, and run by Roy’s, but I ought to be able to shake free by five,” I said.
“Great, we’ll get you home, I’ll go clean up, and then I’ll come back for you then. I’ll drive, you treat at the show.”
“It’s a deal,” I said laughing, “but you sure don’t need to freshen up, you look great!” “Shows what you know.” She sniffed good-naturedly.
With that, we gathered all the clothes, piled them into the car, and got back to Mother’s, chatting and laughing about nothing important at all.
We got up to my room, got the clothes put away, she helped me make the bed, then she sat down on the side, patting for me to sit next to her. I complied and was greeted with an earth-shattering kiss that went on for a long time. She hugged me, and I hugged her.
I was just about to go exploring when she got up, and said, “That’s my apology for last night. There’s another apology you’ve got coming for me hitting your head at Felix’s. I think you’ll like that one better. Do you think Mother will mind if I spend the night?”
“I don’t know, that’s uncharted waters around here. Paul doesn’t bring his gal here, and I’ve never seen Hal with anyone. James is hardly ever here, and as far as I know, Mother and the dear old lady on the first floor don’t have sleepovers. At least not in the past forty years!”
“I guess we’ll just have to see how she responds in the morning then, I have a new little nothing I’ve been dying to wear.” Then, she smiled that great smile, and walked out the door, and I think she may have added a bit more sway to her hips.
I sat there for a bit, savoring the moment, but soon felt guilty about Jocko, so I went downstairs and called his number. It rang and rang, and just as I was about to give up, it was answered. It wasn’t Bitsy, I thought it was the mother.
“Hello,” I started, “This is After Coffman. Is Bitsy or Jocko there?”
“This is Bitsy’s mother. She went to the store. She said that if you called, she hasn’t heard a thing. She’s terribly worried. What can we do?”
“I’m working on something,” I replied, “and I’m leaving to get started on it right now.” “Thank you, young man,” she said, sounding a little relieved and hung up.
I got my shoes on, put my billfold in my pocket, as it had somehow fallen onto the bedspread during the gropefest, and headed out the door.
I was walking along, minding my own business, when all of the sudden, I was flanked by two men, and a rather large car pulled alongside us. The man on my right stuck what appeared to be a gun into my ribs and suggested with his eyes, that I might want to get into the car. I thought about struggling, but realized that there was no use in it. These two had picked their spot well; they obviously knew my routine and had planned it all too carefully. Running would only get me shot.
I got into the car, and the two guys slid in on either side of me.
I was frisked right on the spot, but as I was clean, there were no problems. The driver didn’t even turn around. None of them talked to me, and I was in no mood to speak with them. We drove on, and presently entered the parking lot of ‘The Green Frog’. This was when I opened up, saying, “Guys, I think there’s been a mistake.
Mr. Gibbons told me never to come back here again.”
That didn’t get a rise, or even a glance. They were obviously not ready for light repartee. We drove right up to the door, they got out, and I followed. We went in, and the first one in turned and sucker punched me as I entered the door. “No more smart talk,” he said with cold eyes boring into me. I gasped, trying to stand, but I gave up and sat on the floor. The other guy picked me up, and half dragged, half carried me into the large room where I had first been introduced to Mr. Gibbons. I noticed that we walked past Joe, the bartender, who was drying glassware. He gave me a quick, sad look, then went on with his drying.
The two creeps who had picked me up were the two bodyguards from that earlier, fateful night. The only major difference was that one wore a green shirt, and the other one, the one that punched me, wore a blue shirt. Both had greased back hair, and the kind of bodies and looks that would have made them Chippendale material, had they been a bit younger.
Mr. Gibbons was at his table, and rose when he saw me stagger in. He looked at his hired help and tried to look aggrieved, “I told you he wasn’t to be injured.”
The blue shirt said, “He slipped coming in the door, musta been the light.”
Mr. Gibbons looked at me, and I stood my ground, staring back, not saying a word. These tough guy tactics were intended to intimidate, but I was OK, as long as I kept my wits about me. I knew that this was a planned session, and that they were in no hurry.
“Sit down, sit down, Mr. Coffman,” Mr. Gibbons offered. “We like our guests to feel comfortable. What was it, double Chivas on the rocks?” He tilted his head and green shirt went to the bar. Not a word was spoken until he returned with two drinks. He placed one in front of his boss, and one in front of me.”
Mr. Gibbons raised his glass in salute, and when I didn’t follow suit, drank from his with a shrug. He looked at me again and said, “I understand you are looking for a former employee of mine, a Mr.
Felix Jeffries?”
I was a bit taken aback, I wasn’t surprised that he knew this, but why would he care? He shouldn’t, if he had dusted Felix, as Felicity had suggested.
I nodded, saying, “I was hired to find him, yes…but I’ve had very little luck. He was gone well before I was on the scene.”
“Yes.” Mr. Gibbons nodded. “He seems to have disappeared into thin air. Perhaps you assumed I had something to do with that?”
“The thought had crossed my mind.”
“Well, I haven’t. Do I look like a magician, someone who can make people disappear?” He smiled, then looked at his boys, who both laughed half-heartedly at his sense of humor.
I waited, not sure what to make of this.
Mr. Gibbons took another drink, then motioned me to do the same. “Come on, Mr. Coffman, that’s good stuff, don’t let the ice melt.”
I took a small sip, then sat back and waited again.
“So, you say you haven’t found him yet?” Mr. Gibbons asked. “I understand you have been doing a little work with my old friend Roy Mack.”
I nodded warily.
“He doesn’t pay too well, does he?”
I shrugged, “It gets me by.”
Mr. Gibbons laughed. “You come in here with buttons missing, old shoes, you live at Mother Teresa’s, and walk everywhere. Really, Mr. Coffman, that is not getting by. That is not even existing.” He stopped, tried on a smile, saw that it didn’t fit his face, gave up on the smile, then continued. “In spite of the unusual circumstances involving your trip to see me, I mean you no harm. I understand that you are working with Lieutenant Howard on this situation.
He’s a fine man, and not one I’d care to cross, and I am sure that you feel the same way.” I nodded.
“I do have a proposition for you though, and as you are already on the job, so to speak, it should only come as a small inconvenience to you.”
I waited.
He continued, “All that I am asking, is should you find Mr. Jeffries first, that you tell me one hour before you tell the Lieutenant.
We are all happy that way, are we not?”
I didn’t move, as I waited for the punch line.
It was not long in coming, “In return for this small favor to me, you will have my undying gratitude; not a small compensation in these trying times. Also, there will be a slight bonus of five thou sand tax free dollars finding there way into your wallet that same day.”
I still didn’t move, I sat and waited.
He finished up, “Think about it, Mr. Coffman.” He got up and started away. “Show Mr. Coffman to the door, and try to make sure he gets out of here without further injury.”
The two jerks got me up, and green shirt made a show of brushing off my clothes, and they escorted me to the door. I waved at Joe as we passed. He just looked at me as we left the building.
The car was still there. Blue shirt opened the door and indicated I was to enter. I shook my head and began walking, figuring they would leave me alone. As I reached the end of the parking lot, I turned back. The two bodyguards and the driver hadn’t moved. I guessed that they were making sure I didn’t take anything off the property.
I was thinking that the situation had just gotten interesting again.
Just when I had things all wrapped in a tidy little ribbon, Mr. Gibbons tosses a wrench into the plans. I wondered how he knew so much about me. I wondered if Roy was talking and playing both sides, or if there was a snitch on the police force. Mr. Gibbons knew entirely too much to suit me though.
I got to Roy’s and was gratified to see that he was there. He had mentioned that weekends were hit and miss, there were times he’d be at a sale, and not open up. I was happy to see that this was not one of those days. I walked in as he was placing some antiques into a small box for a happy couple.
“These ought to suit you just fine,” he said to them.
“Oh yes, Mr. Mack, these are just great. I can’t believe that you’ve been around the corner all this time and we had no idea of all of the marvelous things you have here.” The middle aged couple left in a bustle of bags, boxes and smiles.
“I’m glad to see you, After,” Roy said.
“I’m glad to see you as well,” I answered. I wanted to see if he knew that Mr. Gibbons was on my tail, so I told him what happened.
He didn’t seem too surprised, but didn’t look guilty either.
“I’d stay away from that snake, if I were you,” he said, after I had completed my tale. “I’d come to that conclusion too, but he sort of got the jump on me.”
“Watch your back, and I’ll keep my ears open. Speaking of which, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. I may have news about Jocko.”
I got interested and sat at the counter, like a puppy about to receive a treat.
“Now, this may or may not amount to anything,” Roy said, “but apparently one of Jocko’s boyhood friends got out of prison a few weeks ago, and has been seen in the area. A friend of mine says that he and some other bad people are holed up north of town on Route H, a gravel road that dead ends in a forest. Word has it that there are people there with guns and that actions of a questionable nature occur after dark. I thought that maybe you, me and Grits could pay it a visit tonight, once it’s dark.”
“I think that’s in order,” I agreed. “I had a date with Felicity tonight, but she’ll understand.”
“OK,” he said, “I’ll be here with Grits at eight sharp. That will give us time to go over things, but it will be dark soon after. Wear the darkest clothes you own.”
“Gotcha,” I said, and got out of there. I supposed I was getting good at breaking dates with girls, so I was hoping that Felicity wouldn’t have a huge problem with me canceling this one. After all, it was for a friend of mine, and he had been there for me. I was hoping that the situation wouldn’t call for Jocko going to jail. I was also hoping that the situation wouldn’t call for me going to dead.
I got home by six, only to find that Felicity was in the kitchen, helping Mother with dinner. I went in and gave both of them hugs, then motioned for Felicity to follow me out for a minute. Mother shooed us out, and told Felicity to take her time.
I told Felicity about my visit with Gibbons, leaving out the part where I was offered money, just saying that it was a feeling out sort of meeting. She grimaced, and asked how I felt about it. I suggested that I was still on the case, like it or not. I then told her that I needed to help a friend out tonight, that there could be danger, and outlined the problem, but not telling her who the friend was.
She gave me a funny look, not what I expected, then said, “Of course you must go. There is one small condition though.”
I waited for the other shoe to drop. It didn’t take long to drop, as she then looked me straight in the eye and said, “I’m going too.”
My jaw dropped, and I protested, “You are NOT!”
She stood her ground and said, “I won’t go to the house, but I can handle a gun, I have street smarts, and I can drive the car. If something goes really wrong, I can come get help.”
I tried various arguments, but she wouldn’t budge, so I compromised, telling her she could go with me to Roy’s and let him decide what to do. That suited her, and I could almost sense her strengthening her eye-batting muscles. We went into the dining room where the usual characters were assembled and had a nice supper of chicken, fresh tossed salad, baked potatoes and strawberry pie for dessert.
Everyone was happy to see Felicity, and she seemed in great spirits.
Once supper was over, she helped Mother with the dishes, then she told me to go up and change my clothes for the evening. She waited downstairs while I put on black jeans, a black tee shirt and black socks with my loafers. I didn’t feel all that equipped, but it would have to do.
Going back downstairs, I met Felicity at the foot of the stairs and we went out to her car. We got in and drove to her little apartment by the supermarket. We entered, and I saw that there was not much there at all. There was a small entry room, with doors leading to a small kitchen and another to a bedroom. The bedroom had a bath off of it. There was only a dilapidated bed with a sheet on it, and no other furniture. No closet that I could see either. “Nice place,”
I lied.
She shrugged. “I’ve lived in worse, at least it is quiet.”
“You weren’t planning on staying here long, were you?” I asked.
“No,” she said, “ I was hoping to move in with mom, but that never happened.”
“Why don’t you move to her place now? You might even get some answers about Felix if you look hard enough.”
“That’s a great idea, After!” She cried, throwing her arms around me in a hug. I was hoping for another great idea, but must have reached my limit, as my brain went as blank as it usually did around her.
“I need to sell her house, sell the furniture and get things settled, it would be best for me to move there while I do that, then I can do as you suggested, and look around a bit. Plus…” she winked, “It will take care of the sleepover problem at Mother’s”
Obviously, one good idea had led to another, and I was very satisfied. She went into the other little room of her tiny apartment, and came out with similar garb to mine.
“We still have about a half hour, do you want to smooch a bit?”
She asked.
It didn’t take a half-hour, but was close to that by the time we got our clothes back on and she ran a brush through her hair. We got out to the car, both still a little sweaty from our exertions, and she managed to navigate our way to Roy’s.
We entered at 8:00 sharp, as directed. Roy and Grits were sitting near the counter. They both nodded at me, then stared at Felicity.
Roy stood up, beaming, and said, “My gosh girl, I’d have recognized you anywhere.” He went to hug her.
“Hi Roy.” She smiled as she hugged him back. “It’s been a long time.”
“It has, at that, but you look great!”
Grits made a noise, and we introduced the two of them. Grits was impressed, and made no effort at hiding it, calling her ‘Gorgeous’ and ‘Miss Sexy’ and other terms whenever he could. Felicity took it all in stride, and didn’t budge when Roy thanked her for dropping me off, but suggested that we had other items on the agenda tonight.
“I’m going,” she stated flatly and firmly.
“What?” Grits yelled. Roy stood by and laughed.
“I’m going, and that’s final. I’ll bet I can outshoot either of you, and you need a lookout, as well as a babysitter.”
Roy laughed again and said that it was all right with him. Grits looked at me, and I smiled back. “She’s OK, Grits,” I said.
There was nothing else for him to do, so he agreed grumpily and we waited around until dark fell, about nine o’clock. We got into two cars, agreeing that Felicity would stay down the road a bit, while we took Roy’s car nearer to the property. Felicity and I got in her car and trailed them to a dark spot in the road, where Roy pulled over. He got out of his car, came back to us, and handed me my .45, saying, “I thought you might need this tonight.”
I got out, gave Fel