Chapter 4

It took half an hour to clear the scene of the debacle. I was driving the van which had to be rocked to start. In front of the cops it was not my best effort. "Gonna be a boring trip huh?" Dee made that comment as I pulled from the parking lot.

"A Fluke, I assure you." I said it not so secretly proud of myself.

"Okay, I just hate to do this." I glanced over to see her looking out the windshield of the van. "You were right about the clothes. The guys at the show were very impressed with my skinny ass, and that clerk couldn't take his eyes off me."

"I know that is the only reason I got involved in the robbery. If he told the cops how it went down, it would look like we were part of it all. I'm no hero, but I sure as hell can't afford a couple of months in jail while they try to get the mess straight."

"Oh hell old man, you may not be much of a hero, but you are the only one I got." She broke into uncontrollable giggles.

"Kill the giggle machine, it sounds like a slumber party for thirteen year olds in here." I smiled to let her know that it was just a one liner destined for a book someday. She as a reply, then broke into another nervous giggle. It was all a delayed release of tension.

I had promised her that we would leave directly from the show to begin her investigation, but I didn't relish the idea of arriving in Charlotte after dark. The traffic down there never really eased up. It was a compromise that dumped us into a small city run campground half way to Charlotte. The spots were built along the city reservoir of a middle sized North Carolina town.

Dee and I slept only after erecting the tent in the failing light. I did find time for a drink and a cigar before I turned it. We were on the foam pads when she said off handedly, "The smell of those cigars is awful, but somehow familiar."

"As Freud said, 'Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar'" I tried to misdirect her without telling a bald faced lie. I slept with my arms around her as I had at some point every night. I usually woke up that way, but that night she pushed against me before I drifted off. Okay it was colder than the night before, but she still pushed back against me.

In spite of needing to replaced my CDs, I drove her into Charlotte. I was pretty sure that it was way to early to be looking at the club where June spent her weekends. At least the weekends when she hired a babysitter. By that time I had convinced myself that she was paying her friend for the sleep overs.

I was probably more surprised than Dee when we pulled up in front of the strip mall. The address led us to a video rental store. "What the hell?" Dee asked.

"Well slim, unless I miss my guess this is some kind of front."

"Front for what?" Dee didn't seem to have a clue so I didn't want to say too much.

"Whatever it is that June is doing over the weekends."

"She must be a hooker," Dee suggested.

"Honey this is the largest city for five hundred miles in either direction. They have plenty of hookers here, they don't need to drive a hundred miles to get one."

"So what is it?"

"I told you before, I don't have a crystal ball."

"So what do we do? Rent videos we don't need?"

"We could do that, or we could ask the people in the french bakery next door." That bakery was pretty much out of place in the south, but even more so in the strip mall. The youngish, at least to me anyway, woman behind the counter had that wild fly away hair that women love to hate.

"What can I get for you?" she asked.

"Well if you have coffee, I will let you ruin my health with a pastry of some kind.

"I do have coffee, so what kind?"

"Ma'am I know nothing about French Pastry, except he ones who wear the little maids uniforms." I smiled judging her reaction. She didn't seem amused and I took that as a good sign. I took the coffee in the paper cup toward the stand up counter by the door. I got there with most of it still in the cup. I felt bad that I had left a trail of drops along the way. At least I could find my way back to the counter.

"So now what?" Dee asked.

"Now you go back and ask her about the video store. If you have to show her your press credentials.

"My what?" she asked.

"Show here your visa card I don't care just get here talking about the video store."

"What if I mess it up?"

"You wont." I sounded pretty sure of her when I said it, but I truly expected her to screw it up.

Dee had the woman talking like mad as long as she didn't have to deal with me. I don't think the woman did it because she was smitten with Dee, I think it was because she was straight laced and would be glad to see the Video store people get their just deserts. I know that was awful but it is what I thought.

According to Nancy, the pastry chef, she had been called by the police to turn off a false alarm once at three a. m. She asked the police officer if it was possible that someone at the video store had set off her alarm, since she was suspicious of everyone at three A.M. The officer explained that the video store was open around the clock from Friday morning until Sunday midnight.

We were in the car when Dee said, "See's some kind of call girl."

"I have my doubts about that. I still cant see any reason for them to go get a call girl."

"Maybe she is the one who hires the car and driver."

"Why would she? She could drive it in a couple of hours. But mostly why would they hire an out of town girl to work just a couple of days. No there is something else, I just cant figure it yet. Plus the fact that I am not a hundred percent sure the phone isn't just a drop."

"What do you mean a drop? You think that the real person is somewhere else?"

"Person or business," I replied.

"So how do we find out?"

"You little girl call the number now, you have been dying to so anyway." I smiled since I knew that it was true. I had seen it in her eyes from the start. I had wanted to hold off on the call until we were close enough to follow the leads. She would have had me miss the rest of my shows if I let her take the lead.

We stopped in an almost empty city park to make the call. Even in a metropolis the parks were pretty much empty on a Monday morning in the earl spring. Hooking up the gizmos took only a couple of minutes. She dialed the number while I eavesdropped.

"Hello Friend, you have reached 555 311 7110 please leave your message. Your call will be returned within five minutes."

Dee looked at me for directions. I nodded for her to hang up. Her eyes widened but she did it anyway. "Why didn't I just leave the number. I could have found out something."

"You would have found out what they wanted you to know. Lets try to get some idea of what they are before we do that. We don't want to accidentally get their defenses up. We will get them up, but it can wait until it is on our terms, at least as much as possible."

"What are you talking about?"

"We will have to talk to them eventually, but lets try to get as much information as possible before we start."

"And were do we do that?"

"I don't suppose you have any pull with the Charlotte Police Department?"

"Not a bit," she replied.

"Any with the local paper?"

"They are part of the same news group we subscribe to. We get a lot of their articles to reprint."

"Would you happen to know any of their ace reporters." That part came out as a sneer.

"Sure, lots of them by name. I have spoken with one or two about their articles."

"I don't suppose any of them were local articles."

"No, we wouldn't rerun Charlotte news unless it had a coastal connection." It was just about that time that the light in her eyes cranked up a notch. "I get it, you want to get some help from a local reporter. I don't really want to share this story."

"There is no story, and it is my guess that unless we get an in with the cops, there wont be one."

"How so, it's probably just a guy."

"Of course it is, a guy who has a video store drop and a woman answering his phone. Get with it Dee, this is more than a trist. It always had to be." Even rich people don't send executive town cars for girlfriends like June. A rich dude would have just moved her to Charlotte."

"So what do you think?"

I don't make guesses without at least some information. My guess a the moment is that June was into something in Charlotte which she wanted to keep her kid out of completely. Live far enough away and they don't call you to do small things."

"So you think it is a vice thing."

"I didn't say that, she might be knitting booties for the poor as far as I know. We just need more information before we go rushing off half cocked." I leered at her to judge her reaction. She ignored the remark. Either she didn't get it, or she got it but decided it wasn't worthy of a reply.

"Mike Willis," she suggested.

"Okay, then call this Willis."

The next ten minutes were boring, so I removed my portable word processor to work on this journal. I had fallen way behind in my writing and could do no more than make notes. My attention was split between the dreamwriter and the conversation going on beside me.

"Yes Mike it will be worth your time I am sure." I had no idea whether she was lying or not and neither did she. The point was she sounded convincing. "Okay he will meet us for a late lunch at this restaurant. She gave me the name of the place and the street address. Since we had to look it up on the map first, we were pushed for time.

Dee drove the van since I was having one of my 'swimmy headed' days. Things seemed to float around that day. The drive into Charlotte, then the drive to the video store were a nightmare. Fortunately Dee hadn't noticed a thing.

I gave her map directions as best I could while looking at two maps. My vision went double sometime in the night. It had always been a short term thing. The doctors had warned me that one day it wouldn't come back to a single image. I wasn't sure but it looked as thought that one might be the day. When I closed my already weak right eye things looked normal and the sensation that I needed to stop the car on the side of the road went away. It was possible that a pirate patch was in my future. Lots of things were going to be changing in the next few hours, weeks or months. How long depended on which doctor I was talking to that morning.

The restaurant was almost empty at two thirty in the afternoon. The younger man rose to greet us. "You must be Deloris," she said nodding to her.

"I am and this is my friend Deacon Burke."

"I ran a google on you two."

"The last time I ran one all I got was a couple of lousy book reviews." I was shaking his hand as I spoke.

"Well that and the bio blip. If it weren't for the bio, I might have canceled this lunch."

"Why would you do that? I expect you plan to stiff me lunch anyway."

"That is true, but I could be home getting a blow job." He said it looking at Dee to judge her reaction, there was none.

Up to that point he had delivered each sentence with a sneer. His age didn't help my opinion of him, since he couldn't have been more than twenty five or so. "Oh really who is the lucky guy?" I asked it just as nasty as I could. If the kid wanted a pissing match he was gonna come up short. If he refused to help? So what, with that attitude not having him on board might make the trip more bearable. I didn't really have time for a bunch of crap anyway.

"Stop it you two. I need you both so get a grip."

"But Slim, we don't need each other. It is your little mystery not ours." I said it because I figured it would get the right reaction.

"What mystery?"

"Well kid," I enjoyed that bit. I also got it in before Dee could give it all away. "We came up with a little bit of information that might be worth a story. One that could be big enough to go national." I knew that it was every reporter's goal to advance to a larger paper. The way you did that was to write pieces which got their attention. Ones that got a national hookup were about the only ones that would get read by the big boys.

"All right old man, what you think you got."

"That ain't the way it is gonna work kid. I tell you what I need to know you get it. Then when this is over, you two write the story with a joint byline."

"I do not have partners," he said.

"Well Allah, this time you do." I was a little surprised by Dee jumping in. "Get with it Mike. You don't have an idea where to look without us."

"I see, well I don't need this." He made moves as thought to stand. I had to almost restrain Dee. Actually a touch on the arm did it.

"Well either leave, so that I can have lunch, or get rid of the attitude. You might think you are Woodward or Burnstein, but so far you seem to be just a punk kid from the largest town in a backwater state."

To his credit he smiled. "Okay old man, let's hear what you got."

"Oh no, first you find out what, I want then I talk. You see Mike sweetie, you got nothing to trade yet."

"Drop the sweetie bit." He obviously was not happy with the assault on his masculinity.

"Yeah old man," Dee seemed to agree.

"Give him the number." I was looking into Dee's eyes when I said it. I turned my attention to Mike. "If you call, you'll get a recording, if you run it back it will come to a video store. Now try to find out where the number really goes. If you know a cop or two, I would start there. My guess is vice might know but that is just a guess."

"It would help if I had some idea what it all means."

"Now Mike, that would be too easy. I am told that you are an big time reporter so lets see how good you are. I gave you the big hint."

"Hey Dee, you know we don't really need that old man. You probably know all he does, and I can do more than he can. The proof is that he came to me for answers."

"He makes a good point Dee. Just tell the snake everything and see what you get for it. I have no dog in this fight. As a matter of fact, I am foolish for even looking at it. So tell Michael here everything." I stood and left them sitting at the table to work out who was gonna screw me first. I rocked the van up and down before I got into it. No sense even bothering to take a chance. It was parked in a most embarrassing spot, beside the little sports car that obviously belonged to the effeminate snake.

The old van hit on the first try, so I drove back to the campground without any difficulties from my vision. I told myself to look on the bright side, if Dee didn't come back I had her ground pad. I smiled at the though. I also got out my map to locate the next festival. I realized that I had driven pretty far out of my way but what the hell, it wasn't like I had a schedule to keep. The KOA campground was as nice as any state park with a hell of a lot better shower facilities. I spent a long time on that Monday afternoon washing my butt and scrubbing my longish hair. Maybe that should be washing my hair and scrubbing my body, either way it was nice to stand on a floor that didn't hurt my feet.

It was warm enough that afternoon to leave the shower without blow drying my hair. I sat by the tiny manmade lake watching a couple of kids casting their lures. I would have said fishing but I think you have to at least catch one fish to be fishing. Then again maybe not. When I was their ages I would try to catch fish a lot of days without any luck. I can't remembering it ever having bothered me. The only time I could ever remember being pissed with a fishing rod in my hands was the time I signed on to a charter boat. Went out for a half day and caught a really wicked chill and nothing else. Not only did that, so called, Captain keep my money, he had the balls to give me one of his cards when I left the boat. I looked at the card and wondered what went through people's minds. In thirty more years I still hadn't figured it out. What the young fishermen did do was make me decide to buy a rod and reel before the summer ended.

The black sports car with a Dodge symbol showed up just before dark. I had already heated, and eaten my can of stew when they showed. I marveled again at how thin Dee was. I was surprised that she returned, and even more so that she brought the kid along with her. Hell neither of them were kids unless you compared them to me.

Mike spoke even before they were seated on the picnic table. "None of my sources know anything about that video store. They do tell me that they won't be surprised by anything we turn up."

"Well, you were a hell of a lot of help." There must have been a smile in my voice if not on my face. I expected him to make some wise ass crack or to apologize but he did neither. He simply looked at his hundred dollar loafers. The loafers I noted with some satisfaction were covered in campground dust.

I gave the next move some thought before I continued. "So you told him everything now you can't shake him?" I was looking at Dee. She nodded miserably. "Well slim it is probably just as well. You might need a place to stay." I gave mike a wicked smile. "At least I know she will be safe with you." If he had been bigger, or even just a little less submissive, he might have, should have, and even could have knocked me on my fat ass. Instead he looked hurt. I really did feel bad till I remember how he had convinced her to toss me out of the investigation.

"Go home with the boy genius tonight. If you don't have anything sexy with you, buy something. Then go to the video shop tomorrow and get a job. Do not take no for an answer. Plead poverty if you have to, but get the job. Don't be at all curious about anything, they are probably confident that nobody has a clue about the phone line. By the way it may well turn out to be harmless. It could have some kind of simple explanation. Just keep an eye on the people around the place. Get an idea of the structure of the management."

"As for you boy blunder, try not to step on yourself for a while. In other words stay the hell out of our way for a while. If you play nice, later you can play Woodward and Burnstein."

"You do know that you are a prick?" he said.

"One of my better qualities," I replied smiling.

"And what are you going to be doing?" Mike really didn't want to give up control.

"I am going to find out what you couldn't." I had no intention of telling him about the drive home that I planned early the next morning. Fortunately most any place in the state can be reached in a day's drive. I didn't mind going home for the day. Sleeping in a real bed and eating real food would be a sacrifice but hell I was gonna get a yarn from it. I would have to make liars out of a hand full of doctors but then it wouldn't be the first time I had beaten those odds. Ultimately it would get me, but I might have time to finish one more poorly written novel.

"Well, if you are leaving first thing in the morning, I guess Dee needs to spend the night with me."

"Don't look so eager, I might begin to worry about her after all." Actually I didn't give a damn one way or the other.

I was up with the sun. I didn't bother to break camp since I would be back that evening. I did stop at the office to pay for another night just in case I didn't make it back that day. It was hard to tell with the van, and my ex. I wasn't surprised to find the park manager in the office at seven A.M. The office would be better than riding round the place in the pickup. Since the sun was up, people would be stirring making a 'drive around' both more difficult and useless.

My deal with the Ex was that she could sell everything after my demise and pocket the money. Legally she probably could already. We had a handshake agreement designed to protect her should the ending not be as clean as the Doctors had promised. The deal was I got to make the one last festival run and she got everything protected. She had agreed not to sell anything till I was gone. I wanted to keep my life right up till the end.

The two hour drive home put me there at ten am. Since she had already gone to work, I entered the attached garage. Once inside, I marveled at all the junk I had collected over the years. Being a cop with a particular way of looking at the rules meant that I collected all kinds of junk.

That one fact accounted for about twenty percent of the crap. My love for computers accounted for at least half. The other thirty percent was most likely in tools bought for some long forgotten project. Once completed they were stored never to again see the light of day.

Finding my black bag, which was in fact green, was no trouble at all. I removed it from the storage rack filled with electronic gadgets. I picked up a handful of batteries from the open cases stacked in another part of the office. Thank God for Ebay.

I almost left without the final touch. My mind was so addled I had begun making lists. That morning I actually thought to look at it. In response to the line which read signs, I moved to a closed cabinet at the rear of the two car garage. I sorted through the rack of magnetic mats until I found the two reading Bucky's Communications 'Telephone installation and repair.' Yes I planned to put a bug in the video store's telephone system.

"Hi hon," I said into the phone.

"Hello Deke, I didn't expect to hear from you till Friday."

"I know sweetie but I had to come home for some things."

"Stay right were you are, I will be there in fifteen minutes."

"No, don't get off work for me, I have to run anyway. I will be gone by the time you get here."

"Oh, are you that tired of me." Her voice had pain in it.

"You know better than that," I replied.

"Yes, I guess I do. So what did you get more pills?" Her voice was hopeless.

"No, I needed a tape recorder." The conversation drifted off to silence. Telephone silence is silence to a factor of ten. One second seems like a minute. "Look Sweets, I have to run for now. I'll call you on Friday night."

"You are still a bastard for not letting us help."

"I know hon, but I always was." I could see the smile on the other end of the phone.

"You still got the card?"

"Yes dear," I smiled that time. She had gone to an office supply store and had a plastic ID card made. It came with a chain to wear around my neck. 'If found dead return to', that was the thing she had been referring to. I found it amusing so I wore it around my neck. "Now I have to run."

Even though I had just spoke to her, I left the Ex a note before driving to my favorite burger stand. In a country filled with burger joints how could one have a favorite you might ask. Simple, I am old. In my youth there had been a burger chain which dipped its burgers in a chili sauce before they went onto the bun. That sauce along with the roto gas grill made them unique. When the chain went under, one of the franchise owners refused to go with it. His mom duplicated the sauce and he continued to make the burgers. Over the years he added variations but he also kept the dipped burger. All that to say I sat at a rough wooden picnic table in a dining room with a raw concrete floor. In the room with painted concrete block walls I devoured four of the small burgers.

After my lunch of mostly buns I was on the highway again. It was well after lunch when I arrived at the strip mall in Charlotte. The blacked out windows of the van made it perfect for my purpose. I parked outside the video store. I was just plain lucky to find the manage gone. The girl behind the counter was not beautiful but she was young. Obviously she had a certain appeal to a comedy old man like me.

"hi," I said it as I weighed my story against her youth. The trick in a con is to go low key. The big grand story gets your ass caught every time. I had the lineman tool bag around my waste and a clipboard in my hand. "Name is Jed hon, I need to check a your phones."