Chapter 2

"Thanks Sam, but I don't want a job. I want to take it easy for a while. You know kind of get my bearing again." I gave him my sheepish look.

"That my boy is the beauty of this. It isn't a job. They want someone to run erands for them. You know pick up a death certificate, make a couple of pictures of a fire, that kind of thing. It is a contract thing. They call you on the phone ask you to do a job for a certain amount of money. Hell you can probably negotiate the price. As long as it is cheaper for them to send you, than someone from Charlotte they will use you. Of course, we are going to have to set you up as a business. Eventually we are going to probably have to get you an investigators license. You know, just in case they have a need for you to look into something for them. Hell you can probably get a few more clients. That is when you feel like working again. In the mean time call this woman for me please."

"Okay Sam, only because my Mama thinks I need a job of some kind. I came home to be a beach bum." I said.

"Hell kid, be both." he laughed. "Look, I would like to spend the day shooting the bull with you but I got a court date in ten minutes. Say 'hey' to your mama for me." He said as he rose from the desk.

I never made it to the mall that day. I drove home to call the insurance lady. She sounded about fifteen on the phone. She took my personal information, then told me to expect the contracts in the mail shortly. Once she recieved the signed contracts she could put me on her list of agents.

"I am not going to sell insurance, am I?" I asked.

"Of course not. We call all our field men agents. Don't worry, the only people you will speak to will be trying to sell you something." she said.

"And what might that be?" I asked.

"A line of B.S. With your background, we may have you investigate a few claims in addition to running erands for us. Sam said, you wouldn't have any trouble getting licensed?" she turned it into a question.

"I shouldn't think so." I said.

"Well how about getting Sam to work on it right now. With your background, we could really use you." she said.

When she hung up I rehashed the conversation. She hadn't promised me anything. I had a good idea it would be, 'Spend your money getting set up, and we will use you when we have to.' In other words not very often. Actually that appealed to me. Not the setup part, the not too often part.

Damn, I was hungry again already. I looked at my watch and knew why. I had been so involved in the call, that I didn't notice it was one p.m. I drove the old Ford to the Memphis diner for a hot dog. When I was a kid, the diner made the best damned hot dogs I had ever eaten. I could only hope they hadn't changed the recipe any.

I was assured by the waitress that the hot dogs were still the best in the state. I was waiting patiently to determine that for myself when a man in a greasy mechanics uniform sat across form me.

"Damn EJ, somebody sure did a number on you." he said.

I came within a hair of climbing over the booth to hug the bear of a man. "Damn Mike, I heard you were up in Norfolk working for the shipyards." I said with a grin.

"I was EJ. The damned Russian's folded and so did my job. We won the cold war but it sure as hell put me out of work. What happened to your eye?" He wasn't the least embarrassed to ask. He shouldn't be we had been friends almost all my life. At least till I went into the service.

"Fell through a roof," I said.

"How far did you fall?" He asked.

"Not far, it wasn't the fall. It was the landing." I remarked.

"Yeah, well landing ain't so good sometimes. So what you doing home? You gonna stay this time or what?" he asked.

"I'm gonna stay. So what you doing these days?"

"You remember Eddie Wilson?" I nodded that I did. "Him and me bought that old garrage out on hwy one. We fix up old cars. You know buy a wreck fix it, then sell it to some sucker." he grinned.

"Any money in it?" I asked.

"Not enough for three, if that is what you are thinking." he responded with another smile.

"I'm not, I just wondered if you were making enough to pay me that five bucks you owe me?" I asked with a smile.

"What five bucks?" he asked seriously.

"The five, I loaned you about a week before I left town. We were at the Palm Room at the time." I answered.

"You know, I am going to have to take your word for that. I was so drunk that night I might have barrowed money from you. They tell me I barrowed from everybody else." Mike laughed out loud at the memory.

"I had a thought, Mike you see that old beat up T'bird in the parking lot?" I asked.

"You mean that old beat up red piece of shit. Is that yours? I thought you cops made some money. That is the worst looking thing in the lot. Hell it is the worst looking thing in town."

"Yes to all your questions. Could you and Eddie fix it up for me. I mean at a reasonable cost. I am after all on a fixed income." I said.

"You aren't old enough to use that excuse on me. That's a old lady's game. Finish your dogs and let's go take a look at it."

Once we were in the parking lot, Mike said, "You know I wouldn't even buy this piece of shit. What's it got two hundred thousand miles on it?"

"Actually it only has eighty thousand. It has just seen some rough times. The motor is fine, the body is a wreck."

"Got that right, This thing needs about everything. New bumpers, new grill, a shit load of body work and of course a paint job. He opened the door to inspect the inside. Damn what did you do in there transport a pit bull. EJ don't ask me to fix this rag up. Let me sell you a car that has only been in one wreck," he said with a grin.

"I know it was on Sunday. Come on Mike what do you really think?" I asked.

"That was what I really think. Okay, we can find the bumpers and grill no problem. The body work and painting will take a while. The interior is pretty good except for the seats. Those are shot. Give me a thousand dollars and a week. Maybe I can steel one like it." he said.

"I am going to need something to drive in the mean time. What can you do for me?" I asked.

"Take mine, I will drive this heap to my garrage. You stayin with your mama?" he asked.

"I am," I responded.

"I'll call you in a couple of months. We should have this thing done by then. That is if it don't blow the garrage up. Now write me the check or let me go back to work. I hated to do it but I wrote him a check.

I left the diner after lunch in his ragged old Honda. It had to be the very first one imported into this country. I thought the Ford was screwed up. This little beast was much worse.

I swung by Sam's office on the way home. I had of course, hoped to see Bitsy. No such luck, she stayed locked in her office. I asked Lucy to order me the information and forms for a P.I. license. She promised to send a fax right away. I should have the information in a week or so.

At home that night, Mama accepted the news without a word. She had known all along that I couldn't stay home. I was destined to be a working man all my life. She smiled at me as she went off to bed that night. She smiled every night, but this one was the knowing smile of a mother.

I finally made it to the mall that next morning. Sam had mentioned making pictures of fire scenes so I went looking for a camera. I found the one camera store to be less than helpful. I explained that I wanted something small but high quality. They tried to sell me on several of there amatuer point and shoot models. I explained that I wanted something a little better. They tried to move me up to the larger and even higher priced models. I didn't buy anything.

I ate lunch at the mall, then drove into Wilmington. I found the much older less visited camera store on Market street. I asked the old man behind the counter to show me something that would give me a high quality 35mm photograph but be small enough to put in my pocket. I explained before he wasted his of our time that I wasn't interested in the crap I had seen so far. I was interested in really good quality camera.

He placed three camera boxes on the counter. "This one is a Nikon point and shoot. Auto focus and everything. It will do what you want. It is also fifteen hundred bucks." He must have seen me shudder. Those cheap cameras at the mall looked better suddenly.

"This one," he said, showing me a camera about the size of a king sized pack of cigarettes. "Is a Minox. It sells for about a thousand dollars. It will probably made as good a pictures as the Nikon maybe a little better. The nice thing about the Minox is that you can add a flash. You also control the light with these rings on the lens. You focus it here." He could tell that even the Minox was more than I wanted to spend.

He opened the third box. The camera appeared to be be the same as the one before it. The color was different. It was kind of an army green. "This is a Kiev 35a," the old man said, "It is the Minox but made by the Russians. The workmanship isn't as good but it does exactly the same thing as the Minox. The price for this one is One hundred and twenty dollars."

He could tell that I was interested. "You got to figure the distance in your head then transfer it to this ring right here. It is scaled in meters so it can be a little tricky."

I took the camera from him and began working it. It seemed a little stiff but the old man told me not to worry, they all did. He explained all the virtues of the the toy camera. I didn't really get them all but then I am no camera nut. I wrote the old man a check then left the store.

I managed to get home this time before mom. I even stopped by a restaurant to pick up seafood for dinner. My mother loved shrimp so I bought her an order of shrimp. I personally preferred fish.

Mama scoulded me for wasting my money, secretly she was happy not to cook dinner. I washed the few dinner dishes. She retired to the living room after supper. I found the TV set on the local news channel. I stayed with her for a few minutes then became bored. I explained to her that I needed a break. I had been hustling all day. I thought I might drive down to Wilmington. I reminded her not to wait up for me, as I walked out the door.

As I drove through Wilmington the smell of the stale sea air filled the little Honda. I loved that smell. It had the smell of both life and death about it. When I got to the pier, I found Hally seated again on her stool.

"Remember me?" I asked.

"No way, I could forget you. Besides it's only been a couple of days. You want coffee?"

"Sure, why not. Looks like you got a pretty good crowd out on the pier." I commented

"Yeah the fishermen are still here tonight. It is early yet. You will have the place to yourself if you come back around midnight."

Instead of going onto the pier I sat at the counter. I waited while the fishermen came and went. About fifteen minutes later Hally came over to talk to me.

"Why don't you go down to the Holiday Inn and get laid while you wait for the fisherment to leave?" she asked.

"What? I don't understand." I said.

"You have been gone a long time. Let me explain about tourists. Most of them are families that come down for a weekend. Some even come for a week, then there are those men who bring their families down for the week. They leave the wife and kiddies here and return home to work during the week. Come the next weekend, they return for the family.

Mostly that happens up on shell island. You know the north part of the island." I nodded. Shell island was a man made extention to the island. The place was littered with half million dollar beach house. "Then again," Hally continued. "It happens some at the Islander. You know that fancy condomenium. Either one it don't matter, both of them are within walking distance of the third drop off point, the Holiday Inn. Every weeknight but expecially toward the end of the weeknights the horny wives out number the available men about four to one. So why don't you go wait down there in the lounge."

I laughed hard, but I also went to the Holiday Inn. I had been to the island a couple of hundred times but had never been inside the Holiday Inn. It was for an older crowd. Of course, I was now the older crowd. I parked in the parking lot overlooking the ocean. I stood for a long time at the edge of the pavement looking out to sea.

"Beautiful isn't it?" the questioning voice belonged to a slightly pudgy redhead. She was wrapped in an expensive london fog type rain coat. The air got cool, even in the summer months, as it blew in from the ocean.

"Actually, I had mysterious in mind," I said as I turned to her. I saw the gasp on her face even though she managed to hide the sound. "Don't let the face fool you. There is actually a pretty decent guy behind it."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. It just came as a bit of a shock. I mean you kind of look..."

"I know like a pirate. I may invest in a hook for halloween. My name is EJ." I said holding out my hand.

"Gwen," she said doing the same.

"Why don't we just look out at the ocean, Gwen." I said.

"I really should be going." I wasn't surprised by her statement. I could tell she was uncomfortable.

"No problem," I said. I guess the disappointment showed in my voice.

"Tell you what EJ, if you don't mind the walk, I would sure like the company. I am staying just a little ways up the beach."

"Sure, I would love to walk a beautiful lady home. Kind of be like old times." I said.

"Oh how is that?" She asked.

"You know, like back when we were kids. The world wasn't so full of cars then. Then we all walked girls home from the school dance. That kind of thing." I said.

"I remember those school dances. I was one of those wall flowers. Nobody ever asked me to dance back then." she said.

At that moment we were outside someones beach house. I could hear the music from their radio. "Well in that case it is defiantely time that someone asked. Dance with me Gwen."

She hesitated only a minute. I held her loosely as we danced a slow waltz on the packed sand. I hated to let her go when the music ended. "You can no longer say that you never danced in the moonlight." I said. We could hardly see each other but the smile was in my voice. We walked on silently for a while. We were by a couple of tall sand dunes when she spoke next.

"You know there is one other thing I have never done, but always wanted to do." Gwen said.

"And what might that be?" I asked. I had a pretty good idea.

"I never went skinny dipping." she said running for the ocean. Her clothes flew off her body as if by magic. First the coat, then the tee shirt, finally her jean shorts. I didn't go in with her. I waited on the shore. After a few minutes in the ocean she walked out of the surf.

"I have done that before," I explained as she walked toward me. I held her clothes in my hands as her naked body came into view. She was plumb but pleasingly so. She led me across the sandy beach and into the equally sandy dune.

Making love in the sand can be extremely painful. I tried to keep us on her raincoat but only partially succeeded. She seemed to enjoy it, but I think that mostly it was the expierence. The sex itself was only adaquate.

Afterward I walked her the few remaining yards to her house. It was of course one of those half million dollar or so monsters, all glass and angles. "EJ," she said, "I would like to see you again, but I can't. You do understand don't you?" she asked.

"Of course, it is better this way. We will always have the dunes kid." I said doing my very poor Bogart.

She giggled, then ran into the house. I walked back to the Holiday Inn parking lot. I didn't bother to go in. I drove to the pier instead. Hally was all smiles as she handed me a cup of coffee. "My, my don't you look relaxed." she said.

"Nothing like a pleasent walk in the moonlight." I said as I turned for the pier. I stayed on the pier till two a.m. I drove straight home. I didn't even notice the surroundings during that drive.

At two the next afternoon, I was sitting on Mama's porch with a glass of her tea in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I almost dropped the cigarette as I fumbled to answer Mama's cordless phone. "Hello," I said.

"EJ, this is Lucy down at Sam's office." she said.

"Sure, what can I do for you?" I asked.

"You can get down her and pick up the information I got for you. Sam is on my ass to get it to you."

"Sure, but how did you get it so fast?" I asked.

"You never heard of a fax machine. Anyway come on down Sam is hot for you to get this paperwork done. Don't even, ask me why."

I didn't ask, but I wondered. This was all moving too damned fast for me. I had only had a couple of days off so far. Well if the state got the application Monday it would take them at least a couple of weeks if not months. In the mean time I could just hang out. I wasn't sure how I felt about that just yet. I had, after all, been hustling around all week.

I drove the Honda to Sam's office. I was still hoping to see Bitsy there. Her door was closed tight when I entered. "Lucy," I said. "What in God's name is all the rush. I haven't even had a full day off yet. Something keeps coming up."

"Don't complain to me, complain to Sam. He is all hot and bothered to get you licensed. Here fill these out for me." she demanded.

"Can't I take these home with me?" I asked.

"Not a chance, Sam made me promise to hold you here till you finished. He even gave me his old army colt to make sure you stayed." She had a big smile so I knew she was kidding, at least about the colt.

I filled in blanks, till my one good eye hurt. I was worn out from all the questions. I got one glimpse of Bitsy as she passed throught the office. After that one glimpse, she barricaded herself inside her office till I left.

Since I was already out, I swing by Mike and Eddie's rebuilding facility. My Ford sat inside the chain link fense but it hadn't been touched. I found Mike under a small Chevy. "Mike?" I asked. "When are you going to start on my bomb."

"I ain't gonna start on it." he said rolling out from under the Chevy. He wiped his hands carefully before he continued. "Buddy you got yourself a rare old bird there. They made those bumper and grills especially for that bomb. Ain't a junk yard in the Carolinas or Georgia got anything like them. I can get you new ones but they gonna cost you two grand. Ain't no sense painting it with those bumpers hanging off it."

"Then you are telling me it is going to be a collector car?" I asked.

"Yeah in about twenty years. In the mean time the parts are going to get even harder to find. I would say junk it except that the engine runs out real strong."

"How about finding a body to drop the mill into?" I asked.

"Wouldn't do you much good. You couldn't put it in a newer body. It wouldn't pass the emissions test. An older body would look as bad as yours probably."

"So, I am just screwed huh?" I asked.

"Looks like. I do have one possibility. Come on around back with me." I followed him to the body shop where Eddie was busy applying bondo to a Mercury.

"EJ, how they hangin brotha'?" he asked.

"They hangin just fine brother Eddie. How you been kid?"

"Been trying to keep your asshole buddy, from givin the shop away." he said with a deep laugh.

"Shut up Eddie, EJ is your friend too."

"Eddie get the vasoline, when you two talk about how good of friends we all are. I know I am about to get screwed," They both laughed.

"That is for you to decide princess." Eddie said. He fell into step with Mike and me. We turned the corner. I got my first look at the folly. It was a grey primered Ford Econoline van.

"What are you suggesting Mike?" I asked.

"This thing has the same V8 as your bird. It of course has been blown by the kid who had it last. Won't even turn over. Probably even got the same transmition in it. That I will have to check. I can drop your engine in this heap, Eddie can pain it, and off you go."

"You got to be kiddin Mike. I don't want a van for Gods sake."

"Take a look inside before you decide." he suggested with a wink.

The van fooled me. It was customized unit. I recognized the folding cushioned loveseat across the rear. I had never seen that one, but I had seen others like it. I knew that it would fold out into an eight inch thick, dense foam matress. It made into a full sized bed. Between the sofa and the drives seat was a fold down table with small streight chair beside it. I noticed that the chair was locked into place by some kind of bolts on the floor. Mike saw me looking at the chair.

"You just lift up on the chair and it comes out of those holders." Under the table is an apartment sized refigerator. runs on either 110 or 12 volts from the battery. Course it don't run at all when the engine is turned off. This bugger is wired for campground current or self contained. Only thing you can't do in it is take a piss. That is the one thing god made easy for men. The walls are paneled and the overhead and floor are carpeted. Needs a little cleaning but it will come up real nice. Got a hell of a tape player in this thing too."