Chapter 62

Since it wasn't too awfully late, I got on the phone to Gwen. "I'm going to the Cop Out for a beer. If you want to spend another boring night, meet me there."

I quickly got in the cruiser and took off for the club. I found Jerry first thing and cornered him. "Let's dance big boy," I said pulling him onto the dance floor. I held him close, then whispered into his ear. "I'm wired, so listen carefully. I think I am being setup, but I'm not sure. I need you to do a cop thing for me."

"What do you need?" he whispered.

"When you next see a pretty blond girl driving Helen's catering van, pull her over and get me her name off the driver's license and the number." I demanded.

"I saw her driving it the last couple of days. I wondered who she was myself," Jerry admitted.

"You get me the name and her license number and I'll share any info with you," I said.

"Done," he said in agreement.

"Now I'm whipped, I need to get home and to bed. So brace yourself. This is where I do my acting part for the wire." He nodded. I spoke in a voice not quite as loud as a shout, but one people would remember for a while. "No Jerry I will not give you a blow job in the parking lot. I still have open cuts in my mouth." I walked away pretending to be angry.

"Men," I said as I picked up my sweater from the back of a chair at his table. I drove home right proud of myself.

During the day Tuesday I got a call from Jerry. When I saw his caller ID, I answered it without the speaker. He gave me a name and driver's license number for my new girlfriend. It seemed that Mosby wasn't Mosby at all. Mosby was actually Elizabeth Ann Montique. She was also not of Charlestown; she was most recently from Atlanta. At least that is what her driver's license said. Then from her Facebook account, I found that she was an aspiring actress. You couldn't be an actress without being on Facebook it seemed.

"Marty you sly dog," I said quietly aloud. Marty knew most of the time my life was boring as hell. The Pros could shoot fifty hours of tape to get fifteen minutes of entertainment from my real life. It looked as though ole Marty had decided to better his odds and lessen the risks to his investment return. He had Jen sending me interesting jobs and Mosby to keep me busy after work.

So the question became what to do about Beth Ann? It was like she said, it wasn't some sinister plot, it was still just harmless make believe at that point. Harmless only because I found out before I got too deeply involved. If I had fallen in love with her and then found out, I would have been some kind of pissed at all those involved. As it was, I could either throw her beautiful ass out of my life, or string her along.

Since my love life wasn't exactly standing room only, I decided that I would play along for a while at least. Even though it was make believe, it was still part of my life. They might be fudging a bit, but my reactions to their bullshit would be real enough. Hey, that's entertainment my friends. Most of the reality shows actually create most of the drama you see. I hope we all know that shit ain't real.

I didn't even bother to run her cell phone record. It would for sure be a burn phone. Marty was smart, he might even be waiting for me to discover his little plot. Even that would be high drama. There just was no downside for him. You had to love a pure businessman.

"Guess what?" Lucas said as he approached my desk.

"What?" I asked in return.

"I'm getting a bike like yours."

"How so?" I asked.

"Reverend Archer is building me one. He did build yours didn't he?"

"Not exactly, he installed the motor kit on it, but I had that made."

"Well he said he was an authorized dealer for the kit. He said he could hook me up with a really nice used bike as well."

"So what is the bike and kit going to cost?"

"He is giving me a discount because I work for you." Lucas informed me proudly.

"Oh I just bet he is. So how much?" I asked.

"Three hundred," he said. "That's a hundred off the retail."

"Well that is a reasonable deal. It isn't worth more though. I don't think he can get more than three fifty for it even on a brand new bike. You can get a kit with motor and drive for about two hundred on EBay and another hundred for a new bike at Wallymart and you are set to go."

"The difference is those EBay kits are not easily removable. So you would need a secure place to store the bike. With my kit, I just undo one quick release and one wing nut and take the whole thing off the bike. With that system I can chain the bike outside on your patio or something, and just lock the motor in the storage room. If you lose the wing nut it is a standard Home Depot item. I can just drive down there for a replacement. It is a very efficient system. Even better is that with the motor removed, it will fit easily on the bike rack on either of our vehicles."

"I know mine is just like that. Reverend Archer said it came from the same builder as yours. He is going to install a removable trunk rack on the Hyundai for me for free."

"Well then you did get a good deal. Mine was custom made, so the builder is a craftsman not some guy in flip flops."

"Can I store it in the lock room?' he asked.

"It's Ed's building, not mine. I'm sure it will be okay, but ask him."

After the consult with Ed, Lucas came back to my desk. "Do you want me to lay out the work on hand? You know, we didn't finish yesterday's work?"

"Yes so the layout, I didn't get around to it yet. I have been surfing the web this morning."

"Anything interesting?" he asked.

"There is turmoil in the Middle-East. That's about all, so nothing new or particularly interesting in that." I replied. Any day I was asked about the news, I could have given the same answer. There was always turmoil in the Middle-East.