Morning sun streaked through the Venetian blinds when I work up. Laying in bed I glanced at the clock on the table next to me. Just past six am. Next to the small fold away travel clock, lay my .38 special revolver. A similar one lay on the small end table on Brenda’s side of the bed. I slid out of the bed and found my way to the usual morning things one does.
Soon I was dressed and retrieved the revolver from my bedside table sliding it into the holster that rode on my right side, under my suit jacket, along with the .45 pistol that hung in the shoulder holster on my left side.
By now Brenda and I had shared our usual morning cup of coffee before I left to track down Ben Roberts. I kissed Brenda goodbye and this morning I gave her an extra hug, and a more enthusiastic than usual kiss.
The whole time I got ready this morning I couldn’t shake last night’s feeling that something was about to happen. And it wouldn’t be good.
Making sure to lock the door on my way out to my car. I also was much more cautious than usual on the way to my car in the driveway.
As I pulled out of the driveway, I had a thought. “This is too easy.” I got to the end of the block where I usually turned right. I turned and then quickly gunned the car and made it around the block in record time. Coming up on the other end of our street. I slowed up and parked across the intersection, but in a way, I could quickly get to our house if needed. I settled in to watch our street. I still didn’t know what was bothering me. But something was going to happen, and soon I could feel it. My gut hadn't had this feeling since the war.
After watching the street for a half an hour. I decided I was being foolish. Nothing was going to happen here. Started my car. Just as I was going to leave a car pulled into the street from the direction I had left. The car stopped in front of my house. Two men got out. I didn't recognize either of them. I didn't wait to ask politely who they were. I slammed my car into gear and gunned it down the street. By the time I reached their car I had my .45 out of its hostler. They turned at the sound of my Ford sedan coming down the block. But I was too fast for them. Plowing up onto the lawn, barely missing their car, I jumped out .45 in hand. One thought he could outdraw and already pointed .45 pistol. He was wrong. The sound of my .45 colt going off echoed through the quiet neighborhood. He dropped with my bullet firmly buried in his shoulder. I stood there waiting for the inevitable doors to open up and down the street. Within seconds several doors opened across the street. Brenda came out onto the porch at the sound of my pistol going off. I yelled at her to get back in the house and call Bob.
The rest of the morning was my filling out reports, and handing my favorite pistol to Bob for forensics and as evidence. The shot man was sent to the hospital and the other one taken into custody. While technically they hadn’t broken any laws, the fact they were at our house, and that one pulled a gun on me was enough to hold them for questioning. They both were armed. The other man had a similar .45 pistol in his shoulder holster. Neither had a permit for their guns. So there were chargeable offenses to hold them on. The prints of the two men were ran. Both had outstanding warrants for various charges related to vice and strong arm work for various pimps and other low lifes around LA.
Eventually, all three of us were in Bob's cramped office. Brenda had come to the station with me.
I reread my statement and signed it.
“You still haven’t explained why you were there in the first place.”
“I told you, I had a feeling something was going to happen, I had it last night, I still have it. Call it instinct, a gut feeling. I used to get this feeling before a big fight during the war. I haven’t had it since last year,”
We both knew I was talking about the attempts to kill me made by Philip Drossel. Who was now dead.
“Hell, I was about to leave when they showed up. I guess they waited too. Waited until they figured I was far enough away not to be a problem.” I explained.
Bob finally closed the file on the morning events.
“About last night. He never showed. And the Captain was plenty mad when I came up with nothing. You were right.”
“Sorry, It seemed like a good bet he’d show,” I replied as I leaned back in the cramped chair.
“Can we trace either of those two from this morning to Ben Roberts?” I asked changing the subject back to the idiots I’d confronted this morning.
“Yeah, the guy with the hole in his shoulder sang like a Mockingbird. Seems he hired them to try to kidnap Brenda. They were supposed to bring her to some dive down on the southside. I’ve already sent some cars down there. The place was empty. Looked like he left in a hurry though.”
“He’s always one step ahead of us. How?’ I got up both to stretch my legs and move a bit, and to close his door. Returning to his desk I lowered my voice. Leaned over and motioned Brenda to come closer.
“Did Stone know about this morning’s action?”
Bob thought a moment.
“Probably. It was a general call for a shooting. Hell, the whole police department knew about it three minutes after Brenda called it in.”
“Yeah, but most of them wouldn’t recognize the address. It’d just be another call, if they weren’t near it they wouldn’t respond unless called in specifically, Right.?”
“But if Stone recognizes my address in the call, He’d know something went wrong.”
“You not suggesting that Stone is in bed with Roberts? “ Brenda whispered.
“I don’t know, Look at what he did at the warehouse last week. He made sure they knew we were there and blew any surprise we might have had. End result Roberts got away. How long did it take the cars to get to where he was supposed to be hiding.?”
Bob thought a bit.
Leaning back in his rickety old wood desk chair.
“Let's see, I questioned him on the way to the hospital. Before he passed out. Then again after they stabilized him at the hospital. By then he was full of Morphine. He sang like a bird, told us about every pimp and dealer they worked for. Maybe an hour probably more. And then I sent the cars around. It took them time to get there.”
“I see, so Stone had more than enough time to either call or go to the dump and warn Roberts.”
“Yeah I guess So.” he conceded.
Stone bothered me. Not just because he didn't like me. But there was something else. I haven't been able to put my finger on it just yet. He’d been in Vice for the last several years. So he should know every low life, and pimp and dealer who passed through LA in the last few years. Apparently, Ben Roberts was a Big Player in the porn game. So it would seem that He’d know him, and probably ran into him, In theory, he’d have busted him at least once.
“Bob can you pull Stone’s jacket.? What’s he been working on the last few years, especially since March? Also his personnel file? What do we know about him personally?”
“Not a lot. I know he’s married, but I have no idea what kind of shape it’s in.”
“I could follow him, but he’d probably spot me right away, and with my luck shoot me.”I half-joked. Nobody laughed.
“That couple from the movie theater, you arrested, Has Stone arrested them before?”
Bob reached into the piles of folders on the corner of his desk. Finding the one with the records for the “Movie Couple,” as we called them, He looked it over for a few minutes.
“Yeah, several times.”
“So he knows them. But he would if he’s working vice, Busting them would be normal for him. They probably get tied to everything from prostitution to kiddie porn.”
Bob handed me their jacket. I sat back down in the old chair I’d been sitting in before and read through it. It was an interesting read. Turns out they’d been arrested for running a whorehouse, and a gambling operation back before the war. Their records go back to their early 20’s and put them getting into trouble through the entire WWI, mostly little stuff. By the time the depression rolled around, they’d been booked as a con artist and flim-flam hustlers. It wasn’t until right before World War II, that got into porn. Somehow they had always managed to avoid getting sent to jail for an extended period of time. Although both had been in for several years each. At different times.
One of the last pages had a list of known associates. Ben Roberts was high on the list. Which didn't surprise me.
The list of arresting officers included a variety of both uniformed officers along with a number of detectives., Stone was listed prominently. Going back to his days as a beat cop. Continuing as he made detective.
So Stone definitely had a history with them. And probably Ben Roberts too. The question is what kind of history?
While the file on the movie Couple was interesting reading I didn’t see it helping us get Ben Roberts, or dealing with Stone. Handing the file back to Bob, I got up.
“Where's Stone now?”
“I’m not sure, I haven’t seen him all day. He wasn’t at your scene, But he’d no reason to be.”
“I’m thinking Brenda and I go see his wife. Unofficially, and see if we can get a handle on him from her.”
Bob considered it for several minutes.
“You need an excuse that Stone can’t argue with, and makes sense.” he pointed out.
“Yeah I know, We could say we’re worried about him. Which is true. Yeah, but that's not going to cut it. Not with him, He hates me, so why would I bother going to see his wife?
“Yeah, That might be pushing it a bit. He already doesn't like me. So how about we just keep an eye on her for a while?
Sit back and watch her, she’s bound to connect with him sooner or late. And hopefully by just watching we can get a better idea of what's going on?”
“Okay, but keep your distance, and no contact with her,” Bob ordered.
We said our goodbyes and beat it out of there.
It took us a while to find his place.
Bob had given me a list of Stone’s cars and plate numbers. Neither car was in the driveway when we got there. While I was tempted to go in and have a look around, I decided that would wait. Finding a place to park where we could see the house was a challenge because there were almost no cars parked along either side of the short street. And I didn't want to be obvious about who I was watching. I finally found a place under a palm tree that had a little shade. Rolling down the windows on the car, Brenda and I settled down to wait.
Glancing at my Timex I noted the time and settled in to wait. Brenda slid up next to me and I put my arm around her. It occurred to me that We hadn’t sat together like this in a very long time.
By now it was getting to be time to open the bar. I said as much to Brenda. Stone’s wife would have to wait until tomorrow. I was just about to pull out into the street and Stone’s car came down the street and pulled into his driveway. We waited hoping he wouldn’t spot us, while he went into his house. I decided that we were far enough down the street, that would make a u-turn without him seeing. I didn't dare go past his house. Glancing at my watch again I noted what time it was Stone got home. At the next stoplight, I fished out my notebook and wrote it down. But where was his wife? I pondered that all the way over to the bar.
Walt was already parked behind the bar when we got there. I needed have worried. While Brenda and I worked the bar. Walt took his usual spot at a small corner table and pretended to drink. By two am. We were closing up.
It was still bothering me. Something wasn’t right at Stone’s place. Where was his wife? Over the course of the evening, we told Walt about my shooting a man this morning in front of our place. The discussion with Bob that leads to our watching Stone’s place to see his wife. And her not showing up.
So on the way home, we took a side trip and headed to Stones place.
I hoped to see two cars parked in his driveway when we went by. Stone’s car was there alright. But the second car wasn’t the car Bob had given me as her car. Going slowly by With the light out We were barely able to make out the plate number and model and color of the car. Once we got off his street I turned on the headlights again and we pulled into an all-night diner and went in and got a cup of coffee and wrote down the what little we were able to tell from the car in the dark.
A half hour later we were home.
It was later than usual when we turned off the lights for the night.
Soon I was dressed and retrieved the revolver from my bedside table sliding it into the holster that rode on my right side, under my suit jacket, along with the .45 pistol that hung in the shoulder holster on my left side.
By now Brenda and I had shared our usual morning cup of coffee before I left to track down Ben Roberts. I kissed Brenda goodbye and this morning I gave her an extra hug, and a more enthusiastic than usual kiss.
The whole time I got ready this morning I couldn’t shake last night’s feeling that something was about to happen. And it wouldn’t be good.
Making sure to lock the door on my way out to my car. I also was much more cautious than usual on the way to my car in the driveway.
As I pulled out of the driveway, I had a thought. “This is too easy.” I got to the end of the block where I usually turned right. I turned and then quickly gunned the car and made it around the block in record time. Coming up on the other end of our street. I slowed up and parked across the intersection, but in a way, I could quickly get to our house if needed. I settled in to watch our street. I still didn’t know what was bothering me. But something was going to happen, and soon I could feel it. My gut hadn't had this feeling since the war.
After watching the street for a half an hour. I decided I was being foolish. Nothing was going to happen here. Started my car. Just as I was going to leave a car pulled into the street from the direction I had left. The car stopped in front of my house. Two men got out. I didn't recognize either of them. I didn't wait to ask politely who they were. I slammed my car into gear and gunned it down the street. By the time I reached their car I had my .45 out of its hostler. They turned at the sound of my Ford sedan coming down the block. But I was too fast for them. Plowing up onto the lawn, barely missing their car, I jumped out .45 in hand. One thought he could outdraw and already pointed .45 pistol. He was wrong. The sound of my .45 colt going off echoed through the quiet neighborhood. He dropped with my bullet firmly buried in his shoulder. I stood there waiting for the inevitable doors to open up and down the street. Within seconds several doors opened across the street. Brenda came out onto the porch at the sound of my pistol going off. I yelled at her to get back in the house and call Bob.
The rest of the morning was my filling out reports, and handing my favorite pistol to Bob for forensics and as evidence. The shot man was sent to the hospital and the other one taken into custody. While technically they hadn’t broken any laws, the fact they were at our house, and that one pulled a gun on me was enough to hold them for questioning. They both were armed. The other man had a similar .45 pistol in his shoulder holster. Neither had a permit for their guns. So there were chargeable offenses to hold them on. The prints of the two men were ran. Both had outstanding warrants for various charges related to vice and strong arm work for various pimps and other low lifes around LA.
Eventually, all three of us were in Bob's cramped office. Brenda had come to the station with me.
I reread my statement and signed it.
“You still haven’t explained why you were there in the first place.”
“I told you, I had a feeling something was going to happen, I had it last night, I still have it. Call it instinct, a gut feeling. I used to get this feeling before a big fight during the war. I haven’t had it since last year,”
We both knew I was talking about the attempts to kill me made by Philip Drossel. Who was now dead.
“Hell, I was about to leave when they showed up. I guess they waited too. Waited until they figured I was far enough away not to be a problem.” I explained.
Bob finally closed the file on the morning events.
“About last night. He never showed. And the Captain was plenty mad when I came up with nothing. You were right.”
“Sorry, It seemed like a good bet he’d show,” I replied as I leaned back in the cramped chair.
“Can we trace either of those two from this morning to Ben Roberts?” I asked changing the subject back to the idiots I’d confronted this morning.
“Yeah, the guy with the hole in his shoulder sang like a Mockingbird. Seems he hired them to try to kidnap Brenda. They were supposed to bring her to some dive down on the southside. I’ve already sent some cars down there. The place was empty. Looked like he left in a hurry though.”
“He’s always one step ahead of us. How?’ I got up both to stretch my legs and move a bit, and to close his door. Returning to his desk I lowered my voice. Leaned over and motioned Brenda to come closer.
“Did Stone know about this morning’s action?”
Bob thought a moment.
“Probably. It was a general call for a shooting. Hell, the whole police department knew about it three minutes after Brenda called it in.”
“Yeah, but most of them wouldn’t recognize the address. It’d just be another call, if they weren’t near it they wouldn’t respond unless called in specifically, Right.?”
“But if Stone recognizes my address in the call, He’d know something went wrong.”
“You not suggesting that Stone is in bed with Roberts? “ Brenda whispered.
“I don’t know, Look at what he did at the warehouse last week. He made sure they knew we were there and blew any surprise we might have had. End result Roberts got away. How long did it take the cars to get to where he was supposed to be hiding.?”
Bob thought a bit.
Leaning back in his rickety old wood desk chair.
“Let's see, I questioned him on the way to the hospital. Before he passed out. Then again after they stabilized him at the hospital. By then he was full of Morphine. He sang like a bird, told us about every pimp and dealer they worked for. Maybe an hour probably more. And then I sent the cars around. It took them time to get there.”
“I see, so Stone had more than enough time to either call or go to the dump and warn Roberts.”
“Yeah I guess So.” he conceded.
Stone bothered me. Not just because he didn't like me. But there was something else. I haven't been able to put my finger on it just yet. He’d been in Vice for the last several years. So he should know every low life, and pimp and dealer who passed through LA in the last few years. Apparently, Ben Roberts was a Big Player in the porn game. So it would seem that He’d know him, and probably ran into him, In theory, he’d have busted him at least once.
“Bob can you pull Stone’s jacket.? What’s he been working on the last few years, especially since March? Also his personnel file? What do we know about him personally?”
“Not a lot. I know he’s married, but I have no idea what kind of shape it’s in.”
“I could follow him, but he’d probably spot me right away, and with my luck shoot me.”I half-joked. Nobody laughed.
“That couple from the movie theater, you arrested, Has Stone arrested them before?”
Bob reached into the piles of folders on the corner of his desk. Finding the one with the records for the “Movie Couple,” as we called them, He looked it over for a few minutes.
“Yeah, several times.”
“So he knows them. But he would if he’s working vice, Busting them would be normal for him. They probably get tied to everything from prostitution to kiddie porn.”
Bob handed me their jacket. I sat back down in the old chair I’d been sitting in before and read through it. It was an interesting read. Turns out they’d been arrested for running a whorehouse, and a gambling operation back before the war. Their records go back to their early 20’s and put them getting into trouble through the entire WWI, mostly little stuff. By the time the depression rolled around, they’d been booked as a con artist and flim-flam hustlers. It wasn’t until right before World War II, that got into porn. Somehow they had always managed to avoid getting sent to jail for an extended period of time. Although both had been in for several years each. At different times.
One of the last pages had a list of known associates. Ben Roberts was high on the list. Which didn't surprise me.
The list of arresting officers included a variety of both uniformed officers along with a number of detectives., Stone was listed prominently. Going back to his days as a beat cop. Continuing as he made detective.
So Stone definitely had a history with them. And probably Ben Roberts too. The question is what kind of history?
While the file on the movie Couple was interesting reading I didn’t see it helping us get Ben Roberts, or dealing with Stone. Handing the file back to Bob, I got up.
“Where's Stone now?”
“I’m not sure, I haven’t seen him all day. He wasn’t at your scene, But he’d no reason to be.”
“I’m thinking Brenda and I go see his wife. Unofficially, and see if we can get a handle on him from her.”
Bob considered it for several minutes.
“You need an excuse that Stone can’t argue with, and makes sense.” he pointed out.
“Yeah I know, We could say we’re worried about him. Which is true. Yeah, but that's not going to cut it. Not with him, He hates me, so why would I bother going to see his wife?
“Yeah, That might be pushing it a bit. He already doesn't like me. So how about we just keep an eye on her for a while?
Sit back and watch her, she’s bound to connect with him sooner or late. And hopefully by just watching we can get a better idea of what's going on?”
“Okay, but keep your distance, and no contact with her,” Bob ordered.
We said our goodbyes and beat it out of there.
It took us a while to find his place.
Bob had given me a list of Stone’s cars and plate numbers. Neither car was in the driveway when we got there. While I was tempted to go in and have a look around, I decided that would wait. Finding a place to park where we could see the house was a challenge because there were almost no cars parked along either side of the short street. And I didn't want to be obvious about who I was watching. I finally found a place under a palm tree that had a little shade. Rolling down the windows on the car, Brenda and I settled down to wait.
Glancing at my Timex I noted the time and settled in to wait. Brenda slid up next to me and I put my arm around her. It occurred to me that We hadn’t sat together like this in a very long time.
By now it was getting to be time to open the bar. I said as much to Brenda. Stone’s wife would have to wait until tomorrow. I was just about to pull out into the street and Stone’s car came down the street and pulled into his driveway. We waited hoping he wouldn’t spot us, while he went into his house. I decided that we were far enough down the street, that would make a u-turn without him seeing. I didn't dare go past his house. Glancing at my watch again I noted what time it was Stone got home. At the next stoplight, I fished out my notebook and wrote it down. But where was his wife? I pondered that all the way over to the bar.
Walt was already parked behind the bar when we got there. I needed have worried. While Brenda and I worked the bar. Walt took his usual spot at a small corner table and pretended to drink. By two am. We were closing up.
It was still bothering me. Something wasn’t right at Stone’s place. Where was his wife? Over the course of the evening, we told Walt about my shooting a man this morning in front of our place. The discussion with Bob that leads to our watching Stone’s place to see his wife. And her not showing up.
So on the way home, we took a side trip and headed to Stones place.
I hoped to see two cars parked in his driveway when we went by. Stone’s car was there alright. But the second car wasn’t the car Bob had given me as her car. Going slowly by With the light out We were barely able to make out the plate number and model and color of the car. Once we got off his street I turned on the headlights again and we pulled into an all-night diner and went in and got a cup of coffee and wrote down the what little we were able to tell from the car in the dark.
A half hour later we were home.
It was later than usual when we turned off the lights for the night.