Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in! Thought I'd have a little fun with this one so, it's a different. For one thing Colby and David are not FBI agents, they're a couple of private investigators. For another, the story is set in 1947 Los Angeles. Some of the lingo will be true to that time period. Of course, I don't own any of the Numb3rs characters or any part of Numb3rs. Original characters are mine. There's a glossary at the end of the prologue to help with some of the 40's slang.
A Numb3rs Serenade
Prologue
The first thing he noticed about her was the fabulous nylon clad getaway sticks. His eyes almost involuntarily traveled up their length to rest on her luminous chocolate brown orbs. Not too many dames of this caliber walked thru the doors of C & D Private Investigations. She wasn't no chippy. He twigged to that right from the start. He had to force himself to concentrate on her distraught plea.
"You gotta help me, Mr. Granger! You just gotta! I don't know what I'll do if you turn me down. I love Charlie so much, and he's in a real jam! We both are! You just gotta help us! You just gotta!" She punctuated her distress with a muffled sob, dabbing at her eyes with a flimsy square of embroidered linen.
Colby squirmed in the wooden desk chair. Teary broads always made him uncomfortable. What was a guy supposed to do when a female turned on the water works? He wasn't the "there there" type, no two ways about that.
The P.I. took momentary refuge in what he could see of the steamy L.A. night thru his office window. A full moon, half hidden by wispy clouds hung in the night sky. Distant sirens sang out from different directions locations. Sounded like the hammer and saws were having themselves a busy night. Lotta mugs were going to be decorating the clubhouse before it was over.
He returned his attention to the beautiful woman in front of him. She'd gotten herself under control, with minor sniffling the only evidence of her prior upset.
"Miss Ramanujan," Colby Granger replied, stumbling a little over the unusual name, "I'm sure C & D Investigations can help you and… Professor Eppes, did you say?" He waited for her nod in the affirmative. "I'm sure we can help you, but I'm gonna need for you to start from the top. Exactly what is it you need for us to help you with?" Colby figured if he could get her talking, she wouldn't start bawling again. He'd do anything to avoid that.
"It…it's Charlie! He's missing! I haven't heard from him in four days! I tried calling him. I even went to his place, and to CalSci, but he's not there. He's just nowhere to be found! Something's wrong, he's in dutch! I know he is! You gotta help me!" She appeared ready to break into tears again.
To head that off, Granger said quickly," just because you haven't been able to get in touch with him doesn't mean something's wrong, you know. Maybe he went out of town." Colby though back to his own college days. His professors were always attending a conference or symposium somewhere, leaving the teaching to their assistants "He's a college professor. Maybe the school sent him someplace, like to a conference or something"
"No, no! It's nothing like that. I checked. I checked with the dean of his department. Charlie is supposed to be teaching classes right now. He's a math professor. He's supposed to be teaching and working with his students and that's all. They didn't have him scheduled to go to any conferences. Besides, you don't understand. Charlie and I, we see each other every day. He wouldn't just go away without saying anything to me! Please, I know something's happened to him. I know it! Please, Mr. Granger, Please! Whatever you charge, I can pay! Please help me!"
Colby shrugged internally. She was a potential paying client. C & D Private Investigations needed all of those they could get. The business's clientele tended to be mostly on the lower end of the social spectrum. People the coppers and other more established private investigators turned away. He and David Sinclair's always struggling operation could use the lettuce, that much was certain.
"Alright, Miss Ramanujan, C & D will take your case. Twenty dollars a day plus expenses. We can get started as soon as we receive the first payment."
She reached into her purse, one of those beaded jobs without a strap, Colby saw, and extracted an envelope.
"There's a C note in here. That's enough to buy your services for five days. I can get more if it comes to that. Just please promise me you'll find Charlie!" The desperate note in her voice was once again tinged with the promise of tears.
"I can't make any promises" he told her honestly. One thing he and David agreed on from the start, you always had to play it straight with the paying customers. "But we'll do the best we can for you."
He saw the lovely woman safely into a taxi after making sure she was calm, and returned to his office. He'd get started tracking down the professor, (how hard could it be to put the arm on an egghead teacher?) while he waited for his partner to return. Where was Sinclair anyway? Colby hadn't heard from him since the last regular check-in time. Hope he's not in trouble, Granger thought. Another call was due anytime now. He'd try not to worry until after that.
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Glossary
Egghead-very smart person
Getaway Sticks-Legs
Hammer and saws, buttons, coppers, John laws, flatfoot, buzzers- Cops
Clubhouse-police station
Mugs, Rube, Sap- Fool someone not to bright
Gat, heater, rod, roscoe-gun
Chicago overcoat, chilled off, taken for a ride- death, to be killed
Chicago lightning-gunfire
Chippy-woman of easy virtue
Eggs in the coffee, duck soup, piece of cake-Easy, no problem
Elbows checked-get arrested
Flophouse-cheap hotel
Flop-go to bed
On the nut-broke
Hen fruit-eggs
Dope-information
Beef-to grumble
Big house-Prison
Bracelets-handcuffs
Boozehound-alcoholic
Fade, breeze, dust, drift, take a powder, dangle-to leave
Shamus-private detective
Clip joint-bar or club that cheats customers
Chiv-Knife
The big sleep, knock off, blipped off, croak-death, to be killed
Peterman-safecracker
Broad, dame, doll, kitten-woman
Busted flush-a failure, in poker an incomplete hand of cards of the same suit
C note, Century-A hundred dollars
Dark meat, dinge- black person
Dough, lettuce, cabbage, geetus, rhino-money
Grab air-put hands in the air in surrender
Hack-taxi
Mitts, digits-hands
Stiff-corpse
Youse-plural form of you
Five spot, fin-five dollars
Behind the eight ball-in a tight spot or bad situation
Ameche-telephone
Canary-woman singer
Drink out of the same bottle-close friends
Dry gulch-get hit on the head, knocked out
Pro skirt-prostitute
I don't know from nothing-I don't know anything
Go climb up your thumb, scram out-get lost, go away
Goog-black eye
Hatchetmen, henchmen, goons, hoods, droppers-hired killers ,thugs, gunmen
Palooka, dopes-a guy or guys who are not too smart
Close your head-shut up
Dizzy with a dame-to be deeply in love with a woman
Hitting on all eight-in good shape
Highbinder -corrupt officials, usually politicians
Out on the roof- to be drunk
Stogie, rope-cigar
Moxie-nerve, bravado
Give someone the gate-throw some out or leave them as in a marriage
Put the elbow on-take possession of
Jingle-brained-addled
Chopper-machine gun
In dutch-in big trouble
the clean sneak-give someone the slip, get away unnoticed
soup job-a robbery where explosives are used
