Twelve
It was quiet at Mother’s. She must have gone to the store, and not one of the others was around either, so I figured that she took the old fossil with her. Maybe it was to time to get more blue in her hair. Lately it had been a nice shade of gray, and very soft looking. I liked it, but blue seemed to be in. When I was younger, my hair was longer, and all the old ladies with blue hair in tight curls would tell me how unnatural it was to have long hair. I held my temper, but it was difficult at times. Now, with my receding hairline and thin hair, it isn’t a problem and the old ladies love me.
I personally think it’s unnatural to lose hair, but I can’t appeal to a higher court, and I live with it. I have even noticed that some of the older ladies have got a decidedly pink look to their hair now. Maybe they are getting hip after all.
I tossed a sandwich together out of cold cuts, mustard and lettuce, threw some potato chips on a plate, grabbed a can of soda pop and sat down to eat. I was trying to piece the entire case together, and I had just about decided that Harold Gibbons was throwing me a red herring. He must know what had happened to Felix, and was covering his steps along the way by pretending to hire me. The last thing he needed was an investigation into his business, so by intimidating me and having me off on a wild goose chase, some of the pressure might go elsewhere. I had no illusions that he thought I was capable of solving the case, I figured that he knew I was talking to Lieutenant Howard and Jocko, so perhaps I would unintentionally throw them on the wrong scent.
The sandwich was finished. My feet hurt, so I thought I’d stop by the department store and get a new pair of shoes while I was on my way to see the Lieutenant. I cleaned up my mess and walked out the door. It was another great late August day. Fall was approaching, but the humidity was near zero, there was a light breeze and autumn’s colors were shouting at me. The kids in the neighborhood had worn down for the summer, and were about to go back to school, so the streets were relatively empty except for an occasional bike rider. I loved walking, it reminded me of the days of my youth when you knew what grass smelled like, and which gutters would have the water stopped up deep enough to wade in after a good rain. One knew where the good worms were, which neighbors had rhubarb growing in the back yard, where all the good cherry and apple trees were and when to harvest their fruit. Anyway, I was thinking all of these mellow thoughts as I entered the department store. I was greeted by a chirpy young salesgirl, and was informed that I was in the middle of the ‘Back To School’ sale. I ended up with a nice pair of loafers, some new tennis shoes, and I still had a few dollars left in my pocket.
I wore my new leather loafers, placing the old tennis shoes in the bag with my new ones and headed out to the police station, hoping to find the Lieutenant. I felt as though I was walking on air, the shoes were that wonderful.
I arrived at the police station in good shape and in record time.
I was in luck, the cop at the door waved me back and I was soon in the crowded upper room, nearing the only neat desk in the area.
“Hi Lieutenant,” I offered as I neared him.
He looked me over and said, “After, for all you’ve been through, you don’t look that much worse than the first time I met you.” He laughed.
I remember what I looked like the first time he met me, so this was no compliment. I sat down without comment, and waited for any new developments.
“We have Jocko’s jailers in custody, but they were only following orders from the man you fought. I need to ask again, was he alive when you went in after Jocko?”
I nodded yes, and he sat back to digest this. I said, “He had been shot, maybe more than once. I could have been as well, but was just lucky, I guess. Anyway, I was looking right at him when he told me where Jocko was, and he was hurting at that moment, but not dying. I didn’t see what happened after I left him.”
“Well,” the Lieutenant said, “He was shot in the side, and a leg, then in the middle of the forehead. I’ll bet you can guess the type of bullet.”
I must have opened my mouth in amazement, but was unable to speak for a second, and then I managed to squeak, “A .22?”
He nodded, and said, “The ballistics check out, it was the same gun used to kill Charlie Underhill and Patrick Bacon. Your shooter was in the area.”
I had just figured that out as well. I was trying to make the connection. Someone was involved with saving me from my kidnapper as well as the man I was fighting with Saturday night. Who could it have been? I instantly thought of Roy, but he would have had to have foreknowledge of the kidnapping in order to be on that gravel road. I couldn’t see him involved to that extent. The only solution was that one of Harold Gibbons’ men was more involved than I had previously thought. I determined to factor this in for any future dealings. I also wondered why they would wish to keep me alive. I must be more useful to them this way, as they had had ample opportunity to take me out. The Lieutenant could see me pondering all of this, and he let me work through it.
“Lieutenant,” I began, “I think someone is keeping me in the picture to throw you off the real track.”
He nodded, saying, “I think so too, but what IS the real track? Is it Harold Gibbons’ underworld dealings, or is it just the disappearance of Felix Jeffries? I have a feeling that we don’t know the entire motive in the case.”
I agreed with a nod of my head. “Is there anything else you can share with me?” I asked. “Actually, I think you are as up to date as I am,” he said.
I got up to leave, grabbing my bag. He got up with me and walked me to the door. He stopped as I was about to leave, then said, “Be sure to look around more, watch your back, re-evaluate your friends, your enemies and your situation. I think we are nearing a crisis point here. Basically, take care of yourself.”
He seemed a bit embarrassed by this, and I was too. A little bit anyway. I needed to get some things done though. I also needed to go to Baltimore, so I said, “There are a few things I need, maybe you can help.”
He looked at me, saying nothing.
“One,” I began, “I need to talk with Jocko’s friend, Greg, if possible, but you need to tell the officer at the door that it’s OK.”
“I’ll do it right away,” he assured me.
“Now, I also need to know if it’s OK for me to leave town for a day or two. Felicity and I wanted to go to Baltimore. I won’t lie to you, it may have something to do with the case, and it may not. I want to be able to go though, will it be alright?”
“You can come and go as you please, After. You are obviously no longer a suspect, and after what you did for Jocko, you are a bit of a hero around here. I would be laughed out of the department if I treated you as a suspect now.”
“Thanks,” I said, as I shook his hand. He gripped mine and said to be careful again, and that it might not hurt to let him know when I left and when I returned. I told him I would do so, and left the building, on my way back to the now familiar hospital.
I made my way to the elevator, and walked down the hallway, taking a peek into Jocko’s room. It was empty, I hoped he had been sent home, as there were no flowers, or anything else to indicate he had been there. The alternative was that he’d been transferred. It wasn’t a big enough hospital to move people around that much, so I felt sure he was home with his family. I proceeded to the officer in front of Greg’s room. He nodded, and I told him who I was. He got up, and shook my hand, and told me the Lieutenant said that I could have 30 minutes of Greg’s time. I told him thanks, and that it would probably be far less than that.
I entered the room and met Greg formally for the first time. He was in his 30s, a well built, dark haired man. He had a few tattoos on his arms, but otherwise he seemed to pass as your normal neighborly type. I introduced myself and he grinned. “I was hoping you’d stop by, I owe you my life and want to repay you, however I can,” he said.
“All I require is information,” I responded.
“Did Jocko tell you about me? Did he tell you we’ve been friends for 20 years, but that I made some mistakes and landed in prison?”
“Yes,” I replied. “He did. He also said that you were helping him on a case, but that your cover was compromised somehow.”
“I was living at the Boulevard Estates, and Jocko would come by and check on me. I think someone there blew my cover. Not the best clientele live there, you know.” “I know,” I said. “That’s where I met Jocko for the first time. I always wondered what he was doing in the neighborhood that morning.”
“Looking after me, I suppose.” He winced a bit, then said, “Say, could you pull that cord closer to me, I need to call the nurse for more medication. Got some bad burns on my chest and legs. I need something for the pain.”
I pulled the call cord to him, and pushed the call button. He then laid back and gathered himself. The nurse entered quickly and took his order cheerfully. She bustled out again, saying she’d be right back.
I asked Greg, “So, what do you think tipped them off?”
“Well, this cat from Buffalo recognized me, and he put two and two together and came up with our plan. He was already paranoid, and this threw him totally over the edge. It was torture.”
At this point the nurse returned, and gave him a shot. She said that he’d probably get dozy fairly quickly. I nodded and thanked her, as did Greg.
“Anyway, I thought we were goners until you showed up. I am sorry I ran out on you there, but I just panicked, after being tied up for two days, and feeling terrible, then the explosion and the smoke.
I thought you might even be one of them, trying to kill me.”
“No problem,” I said, “I understand totally. Have you ever heard of Harold Gibbons?”
“That’s a bad man,” Greg said, “however, I don’t believe I’d heard of him until they started to question me. I don’t know how he is involved here, except that he might be a rival of my captors, because of his own drug deals.”
“How about Felix Jeffries?” I asked.
“Oh, I’ve known Felix all my life,” Greg responded. “Not the brightest bulb in the box, but a decent guy. His name never came up in this incident. Why, is he involved in this too?”
“I’m not sure. He’s been missing, and it may have something to do with Mr. Gibbons.”
He shook his head, and I noticed that he was getting slower to respond. I decided that I had all I was going to get. I stood up to leave. He looked at me and smiled, saying, “Come on back anytime, After. Thanks again, and let me know if anything comes up.”
“I will, Greg,” I said. “You get better, and we’ll get caught up some other time.”
He was asleep as I left the room. I went back down the hall, down the elevator and out into the sunny afternoon sky. There was time for a quick walk past Felicia’s old house and then home for supper, before I went to work at Roy’s.
I enjoyed the walk immensely, and really liked my new shoes. I wanted to show them to Felicity. I got to Felicia’s house, but there was no old green car there. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I waited for a few minutes, then gave up and made it back to Mother’s.
I entered my room, and noticed that Hurricane Soot, or Typhoon Mudsy had been at it again. My trash was dumped, all the contents from my dresser top were on the floor and the bedcovers had been totally disheveled. I sniffed to see if either had urinated in the room, but it seemed fresh. I considered myself lucky, and cleaned up the mess before I went downstairs for supper.
There were no extra females there, and James was off to wherever it was he went, so Hal, Paul, Estrella, Mother and I were the contingent for supper. Also, since there were no female guests, the food was bland, by Mother’s standards. Cold ham, baked potato and leftover vegetables, along with assorted beverages was the fare for the evening. Nevertheless, it filled me up, and I considered the day to have been a success.
Estrella got my attention near the end of the meal and said, “After, your young lady called this afternoon, but I had no idea where you were. She said she’d drop by work tonight.”
I said thanks and told her she looked particularly nice this evening. Her hair wasn’t blue after all, but had received a perm.
Mother beamed at me, as did Estrella. Hal snorted and asked me if two women weren’t enough. This earned him reproachful glares from Mother and Estrella, and I gave him a quick wink, which he disregarded.
I did notice that I got the largest slice of pie for dessert, and this fact was not wasted on Hal, as I saw him doing the mental math, conceding me the larger arc of pie; or was it pi? I took my dishes into the kitchen and headed out the door, on my way to work.
I arrived shortly before six, to find Roy sitting at ease behind the counter. He greeted me with that Santa Claus dimply smile and said, “It’s good to have you still alive and kicking.”
“I feel the same way, and thanks for all of your help and assistance that night.” “It won’t do me any harm to have a friend on the police force,”
he retorted. “Besides, I’ve always had a soft spot for Jocko, known him since he was a baby.”
“Speaking of Jocko,” I warmed to the subject, “he told me that the man that was killed was asking about a gun running operation that was supposedly running out of Hustle.”
Roy was surprised at this, and mused, “I guess all good things must come to an end. I was closing it down anyway, but now I should get it done tonight. Better call Grits.” He rose and went to the phone, dialing a number from memory. He spoke with Grits, asking him how he was and suggesting that Grits come over to his house tonight as they had things to discuss.
I was very relieved, knowing that I would not have to lie to Jocko, or anyone else about illegal doings at Roy’s Shoppe. I figured that Roy was probably up to other things as well, but so far I was unaware of any other nefarious goings on.
Roy busied himself for a few more minutes, took some items out of the drawer and said his good-byes. I didn’t ask about taking time off to go to Baltimore yet, as I wasn’t exactly sure when Felicity would want to leave. I busied myself, sold a few items and generally goofed off until 9:00 o’clock when the bells over the door tinkled and Felicity entered. She was in jeans and a tee shirt, somewhat dusty and dirty looking.
“Hi After!” She called out as she entered. “Excuse my appearance, but I’ve been all over mom’s house looking for more clues on Felix. She’s got some old stuff in the attic, and basement, but nothing we can use. I think she was pretty organized. I didn’t see anything of mine, except those photos we saw earlier.” This last phrase was said somewhat sadly.
“Well, I guess that’s what we’ll have to deal with then,” I said.
“We have the key and a destination. When would you like to go to Baltimore?”
“How about Wednesday morning?” she asked. “I could stand to do a bit more cleaning, then I thought I’d turn the place over to Pastor James and mom’s church. They could sell it or use it in some manner, don’t you think?”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” I exclaimed, sincerely impressed. “I think you should consider all the implications though. You could use the money, and Felix may show up to claim some of it.”
“He could, but I doubt he’ll care too much, it isn’t worth all that much, and the church could really use it. If Felix is alive and two million dollars richer, he won’t want the house, and he won’t want to come back to see Mr. Gibbons anyway. I just want to find him, and see what he’s really up to.”
That was about all there was to it. We rummaged through Roy’s desk, and discovered an old road map and discerned that it would be about a ten-hour trip to Baltimore. I took my money out of the cash drawer, and gave her a few dollars, telling her to get her car looked over, and maybe change the oil. She asked me to come by the next day and help her move a few things. I told her I’d be happy to. She then looked me over, told me I wasn’t using my medicine and to shape up. I saluted and told her I would. She left Roy’s with a cheery wave, blowing me a kiss and wiggling her hips as she walked out the door. I decided that it was time to invest in a deck of cards for the strip poker match.
I closed up the place, and, as the Lieutenant had suggested, was being extra cautious about locking the place, making sure doors were secured, and insuring that the coast was clear before I headed out the door. In case I was being followed, I took a different route to Mother’s. There were no surprises, and I got home by fifteen after ten. Hal was watching the news, and I sat down to join him.
He glanced at me, and asked if I wanted some tea or lemonade, stating that there were fresh pitchers of both in the refrigerator. I told him that was a good idea, got myself some lemonade, and grabbed a handful of cookies, as well. I offered him some, and he accepted, so we snacked our way through weather and sports, and made our separate ways back to our rooms. I folded my clothes and got into bed, where I had an uneventful night’s sleep.
I awoke the next morning, feeling pretty good. I went into the bathroom, found Paul’s glasses in the sink and took them to him.
He was blundering through his room, apparently looking for them.
He thanked me, and I asked him how Niki was.
“She’s wonderful, After!” Paul exclaimed. “Tonight we are painting her apartment, then I am buying her a few new pieces of furniture for it. She really can’t afford anything at this time, so I’m helping her out.”
“Did you come home last night?” I asked casually, not really caring either way. “Yes, her cousin was in town and they decided to visit, so she was unavailable last night,” he said.
“Oh, is she pretty too?” I asked innocently.
“Is who pretty?”
“Her cousin.”
“Her cousin is a guy, she hasn’t seen him in months, and he was staying at her place last night. He’s going back home today.”
It didn’t sound all that great to me, but it was none of my business, so I let it slide, wished him a good day, and went back to the bathroom, where I shaved, showered and put on my medicine. I am generally a fast healer, and lately that’s turned out to be a godsend, so I was feeling better than I had in quite some time when I went downstairs in my best shirt, clean jeans, a new pair of gold toed socks, and my new shoes.
Breakfast was pancakes, eggs, and fruit, so I was in good shape after eating. Mother asked me what the plans were for today, and I told her that as far as I knew, just helping Felicity clean up her mother’s house. She thought that was nice and said I needed a day off just to clear out my mind.
I had to ask, “Mother, would you happen to have a deck of cards I could borrow?”
She raised an eyebrow, then said that there ought to be a few decks in the hutch next to the television in the front room. I wandered in there after clearing off my dishes and found several newer looking decks, as well as one older set. I grabbed one of the newer sets, and counted the cards. They were all there, so I put them in my pocket and sauntered out the door, again, after looking in all directions to insure that it was safe to venture forth.
Just as I was leaving, Paul came running out the door, asking me to stop. I stopped, turned to ask him why, and he smiled shyly, reminding me that I had promised him an interview.
“I thought you were going to paint Niki’s apartment,” I said.
“Oh, I am, but this shouldn’t take too long, come back in, I’m all ready to go.”
I couldn’t refuse him, so I trudged back in, and went with him up to his room where he had a pad of paper and several pencils of varying lengths at the ready. He sat on the edge of his bed and looked at me expectantly.
I looked back at him. He looked at me. I felt that this could go on indefinitely, so I decided to break the ice. “What do you want to know?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “This is the first interview I’ve done.”
“It’s my first one as well,” I told him.
“OK,” he said, “let’s start with your name.”
I looked at him in astonishment, “Paul, you know my name!”
“Oh yeah, I guess we can skip that part, and where you live too, and even what you do, I guess I can fill all that in later.”
“Good,” I said. “Maybe I’ll just tell you what happened, at least the part I can share without breaching any confidentiality.”
“Maybe I should call you an unnamed source. They like unnamed sources, more mysterious!”
“Sure, do whatever you like.” I then proceeded to tell him about getting information about a local policeman being held prisoner in a little house outside the city. I told him that three friends went along. I told him about the fight, the fire and the rescue. I told him about the hospital and that things should work out OK for the cop and his friend. He asked me who the other three were. I told him Roy and Grits, and let it go at that.
Paul was satisfied, and went back over a few points, as he didn’t write especially quickly, and his pencils kept breaking. “This will get me out of obituaries for sure,” he gushed.
I was more than happy to get him out of obituaries, and I hoped it would help him gain esteem in the eyes of Niki, to the point where he might not need as much cosmetic surgery.
I went downstairs, grabbed a few pieces of toast and some orange juice and strolled out the door, feeling pretty good. I made my way to Felicia’s house, knocked on the door, and hearing a cheery “Come in,” decided to do just that! The place was looking better. The windows were open, and were freshly cleaned. Felicity had been polishing the woodwork and the house had that lemony smell, mixed in with that fresh outdoor scent.
The curtains had been washed and re-hung. It was amazing how much it had improved in looks and smell.
“The place is really looking good,” I remarked.
Felicity came up, threw her arms around me and gave me a dusty kiss, as her face was somewhat streaked with the removed grime and dirt. “Thanks, After. Would you care for a drink? I have tea, lemonade or water.”
“Lemonade sounds very good,” I said, and she promptly went to the refrigerator and took out a big glass pitcher of the stuff, poured me a glass, tossed in some ice cubes and gave it to me. It tasted wonderful.
“I haven’t cleaned the refrigerator or the stove yet, been concentrating on the walls and floors.”
“Let me do those two then, and you keep doing what you are doing.”
She handed me some gloves, some scouring powder and a bucket of water, and I went to work. The two appliances weren’t in bad shape and it didn’t take me long to get both gleaming and clean. I then went to work on the cabinets, removing all the remaining food and tossing whatever looked hopeless. There were a few bugs and mice droppings, so I figured the cleaning was overdue. Through all of this work, Felicity and I took extra care to keep an eye out for any clues or information that Felix or Felicia may have left behind. We found nothing new. By noon, we were a bit back weary, so I suggested we go out for lunch. She agreed, and went to her room to freshen up. It just took a few minutes, but she managed to transform herself again, and suddenly I was going out with a pretty sexy number. I felt inadequate and told her so, but she assured me that all I needed to do was wash my face. I went into the bathroom, and determined that it would be the next room to clean. The tub was old, there were stains by the drain, and the tile was falling apart in places. I knew that we weren’t spending a lot of money, just to turn the house over to the church, but I thought a little expenditure might be worthwhile. I cleaned up and we left the house, walking up the street to a fast food hamburger joint. We walked hand in hand and I thought that I might actually get used to this before long.
I told her that I wanted to pick up some grout at the hardware store after we ate, and she thought it was a marvelous idea. We ate lunch, and she surprised me by pulling out a hundred dollars, and saying that she had found a stash of her mother’s money while cleaning the house. She insisted that lunch was on her mother, as was the grout, so I accepted and thanked Felicia silently.
We went to the hardware store and bought the grout, some tiles, and a hammer that she thought she needed. We then proceeded to the grocery store where we bought a few necessities, and Felicity bought a nice bottle of wine. She suggested that I come over to drink it after I finished work for the night. I pulled out the deck of cards, and she had the courtesy to blush. We both grinned, and I said I’d be over.
We returned to the house and I busied myself in the bathroom, replacing the bad tiles and using the new grout. The job wasn’t difficult, the old grout was crumbly and I had the job done by 4 o’clock.
Felicity came in after a bit and kept me company. She asked me again when I thought we should head out to Baltimore, and I told her I’d ask Roy that night if he could spare me for a few days. Felicity also thought I should get a phone for my office and get the number listed. She had found an old answering machine in her mother’s bedroom, and gave it to me. I promised her that I would make the phone a priority, and that was about it.
I needed to go to Mother’s, get cleaned up and eat supper before going in to work. I gave Felicity a hug and a quick kiss, and she led me to the door. She thanked me a few more times, and I told her I hadn’t had that much of a good time in quite a while. I left her at the door, and returned along the route to Mother’s, thinking about how nicely my life was going for a change. Things stayed upbeat until I turned the last corner, and as I approached Mother’s house, I ran right into Harold Gibbons’ goons.
“Hello, Mr. Coffman, would you have a few minutes for Mr.
Gibbons?” one of the guys asked politely. He was not the one who had sucker punched me, so I thought about it for a moment, trying to conjure up an excuse. Thinking of none, I decided to go along.
They seemed friendly today, and I truly had nothing new to tell Mr. Gibbons. We got into their car and headed back to ‘The Green Frog’.