Chapter 15

Having made peace, more or less, with the Halsteads, I was feeling good. The man, and the woman too, maybe even especially the woman, had made a good case for them kinda shining me on at the wedding. I say me because Leah was still a newbie to the clan. Was I now a member of the clan? That was iffy. Not that they didn’t like me, or me them; it was more a matter of the truth that my being around them reminded them of all that had gone down over the past twenty some years. I made them uncomfortable; I did, and I was more than aware of it. Still ... And then I got the scary visit. And for some reason I wished that Mickey was with me. She seemed to be able to calm situations. There was not the slightest doubt in my mind that she was a first-rate detective; she could handle people and situations better than anyone I ever knew, and I mean anyone! Oh, and the visit ... It was my kid, sans her new husband. “Daddy,” she said, as she rushed to hug me, and she was actually crying.

“Miss Hal ... Schoen,” I said, correcting myself.

“Danson,” she said. “Today, I’m Barbie Danson.” I snickered.

“Okay,” I said. “I’m honored.” My tone not too sarcastic. This was a situation I did not know how to handle, not a clue.

“Daddy, I am so sorry. So goddamn sorry,” she said.

“It’s okay. I talked to your mom and dad just a couple of days ago. Everything is cool. But, one thing: Randall is not to be told the whole story. Okay?” I said.

“But... ?” she started.

“I said never and I mean never.” I said. She nodded, but it was not an agreeable nod.

“Dad, at some point...”

“If I want him to know, I’ll tell him. You never. I mean it. Everything is cool. Just let it be. Got it,” I said.

“Okay. I don’t like it, but I got it,” she said. “But one thing on my end. From now on anybody who asks or has business knowing, I am going to own up to you being my sperm donor. No argument on that score. You got it!” she said. My turn to nod, but it was a slow nod.

“So long as it isn’t going to lead to you know what,” I said.

“Okay,” she said.

We talked for a while, and I got to know where they were living and some other stuff that any daddy should know. I really didn’t know her hubby at all, but I figured that would be rectified in the not too distant future. Well, one could hope.

“So, how is everything going?” I said.

“Good. Job’s okay, the apartment’s warm. Still no girlfriend and Stephanie’s married, so a ways to go, but like I say, good overall,” said Donald.

“How would you like to be poor again, with a chance of doing better, maybe a lot better?” I said.

“What are you talking about,” he said.

“The stuff Mickey, my ex-pard, was talking about,” I said.

“Be a private-eye?” he said. “You serious?”

“Yes, I think so. I know the territory, and we could make a go of it if you’d be interested in doing a little hardcore learning,” I said.

“Book learning?” he said.

“Sorry, but yes,” I said. “The good news, I’d be around to help your less than academic ass,” He looked at me like I was nuts.

“You make a ton of money doing what you’re doing. You wanna give that up for a maybe!” said Donald.

“Oh yeah,” I said, “oh yeah!” He was no longer looking at me like I was nuts. He was looking at me like I was stark raving bananas!

“Well, okay. You’ve finally achieved dazzling glory and everlasting renown,” he said.

“Huh?” I said.

“Yes, you’ve become me!” he said.

“Right, well, things could be worse,” I said.

“Hmm, you’ll have to work pretty hard to explain to me how. But if you really are good to go with this insane idea, I’m onboard,” he said.

I had maybe $125,000 saved from my jobs working for the man. That would be our seed money. That would have to be enough, and I figured it would. Oddly enough, Donald was just what I needed to make a go of this idea: Mickey’s idea.

Now to talk to Mickey. Then to talk to the Halsteads, mainly the big man, but his wife too, and maybe his kids. And, yes, in spite of our agreement on things, the past; I still saw Barbie as his kid and hers of course. And, I was pretty sure Herbert and Stephanie did too. I’d get lip service, and maybe more consideration when it came to important decisions regarding her, Barbie, in the future; but even there, it would be mostly just symbolic stuff not the real thing. But the difference anymore was that I was resigned to it, and I was sans the bitterness that had been my lot until now. Well, I had Leah, and she was my anchor. That was enough, my own woman, and one I could trust.

I was disabled. I was dependent on the man who stole my family. I have a conviction for second degree murder—for which I spent seventeen years behind bars, and now I was going into business, probably, with the guy who screwed me over in technicolor when I was in high school. Job had it worse, but in his case, God had his back; me, doubtful.

I was nervous as I waited in the man’s office waiting room for him to finish a meeting, he was currently involved in. I saw the door to the office down the hall open and four men exited that office. My man was one of the men.

“Jack,” said Herbert Halstead. I smiled. I did want this to go well. He waved me into his office.

“Herb,” I said. “A while back, I bumped into an old high school classmate. We’ve kinda been hanging out off and on. Anyway, I’ve talked to Leah, and my old classmate. And well, I’ve, we’ve decided to go into business. So, I’ll be handing off the Charities thing to the crew.”

“An old high school friend? Does Stephanie know this guy?” he said.

“Yes, yes as a matter of fact she does. His name is Donald Miller,” I said. I’d caught the man flatfooted. He hadn’t really said anything yet, but I was more than sure he was about to.

“If I might ask, what business are we talking about?” he said.

“Private investigation,” I said. The man slumped back in his seat. I leaned forward into the one I’d taken.

“Really?” he said.

“Yes, I’ve saved and I’ve got enough for seed money. We’ll be fine. I know the law side of things. Donald is good at hunting down things; he was in the military,” I said. And I will be having him hanging out at the court house for leads, and I do have a few contacts.

“Hmm,” he said.

“I won’t be allowed to carry a gun, but he will. You know I mean in case. I’ll be in the office most of the time anyway. I mean my disability precludes me doing a lot of gum-shooing if you get my drift,” I said.

“Jack, a couple of things if you will,” he said.

“Okay?” I said.

“Things are likely to be a little slow for you in the beginning. Let me help you out a little there. And two, when Stephanie comes back on you, and she will, go light on her. She is not going to like this, not one bit. I don’t like it either, but I do understand,” he said.

“Yes, to your number two and no to your number one. We’ll be fine. Okay?” I said. He shook his head.

“Okay, but regardless, we’re just a phone call away. I mean it man,” he said.

We talked for a bit longer, a short bit longer, then he had to roll, more meetings I assumed.

I got us a place, me and Donald, just down the street from Sam’s: two rooms and a bathroom. We would be using the first room as the secretary’s office, when we eventually got ourselves a secretary, and my office. I would be running things. Donald as the plan was going in, would be on the street doing the dirty work. And, then we were in business.

Things seemed to be working out of me. I had me a wife, Leah. I had me a job that I didn’t have to depend on my ex-wife’s husband for. Now, if we could only drum up some business. I knew we couldn’t depend on people just coming in from the street. Contacts was the name of the game. In my case Mickey was my only contact, but she was a good one. And, she was the first one through the door.

“Well, you actually did it,” she said, plopping down in the seat across from me.

“Yeah, took your advice. So, if I, we, go broke, you’ll be at least partly responsible,” I said, but I was smiling.

“You’ll do okay. I’m pretty sure about that,” she said. “Oh, and here’s your first lead. It’s a good one. Two-hundred a day and expenses.”

“Hey, thanks,” I said. “What’s the deal?”

“Cheating spouse, lots of money and property in the mix. Don’s gonna have to do a bit of leg work, maybe a lot of it. Could be some bonus money in it if evidence you dig up is solid enough to make it easy on the man’s lawyer,” said Mickey.

“So, it’s the she that’s sinning?” I said.

“Yep, and she’s the one with the money, and he’s the one that has to prove outright adultery to win the case. The prenup is solid per adultery. It’s the one thing she won’t be able to wiggle out of if, like I say, the evidence is solid,” she said.

“Well, I know the game and Donald will get the stuff we need if it is out there,” I said.

“Well, good. I gotta get going. The city is still paying me the big bucks to do their dirty work,” she said. A few standard words of parting and she was on her way.

“The guy’s name is Floyd Curtis, and here’s the basics,” I said, handing him the stuff that Mickey’d handed me. “The Woman is Celia Curtis, nee Jensen. The guy she’s supposedly cheating with is Courtney Wilson. It’s all there in the folder: addresses, car info, the lot. Catching them is the deal. We need audio visual if possible, make that no matter what. The more dead to rights the better the deal for us.”

“Gotcha,” said Donald. “I’m on it. I just hope I’m up to this. I got a feeling that it’s likely to be a lot harder to nail these folks than the Taliban ever was.”

“Hmm, I don’t know about that. But I’m dying to hear your report,” I said. “Oh, and like we talked about in the beginning; I get the report before anyone else.”

“For sure,” he said.

She was pacing back and forth in front of the fire place. Nervous, upset, worried: name the emotional adjective, and it would for sure apply. He’d promised to be back muy prontisimo; he was late!

“You keep pacing like that you’re going to be wearing out a perfectly good pair of shoes,” said Herbert Halstead.

“Finally!” said Stephanie Halstead. “You promised to be back right away.”

“And, I am, I took the time to argue with the man, futilely argue with the man. But he is set up and ready to do unto others, for a price,” he said. She fell into the nearest seat.

“Herb, we can’t let him do this. He’ll be on skid row in a month’s time,” she said. “While he’s been working for you, he’s been doing good. But now...” she said.

“He has seed money and he did used to be a cop. He’s knows the game. He’ll get leads from Mickey too, and maybe others he used to know. And, his bud. Donald...” he said.

“Yes, Donald Miller, know him well. He’s the one that kinda separated me and Jack back in the day. I can’t believe that the two of them are together, and from what you’ve so far told me the two of them are tight! You can’t know how weird that is,” she said.