Ironside: Money Makes the World Go Round

WHN to "Alias Mr. Braithwaite" (Ironside), set S3, september 1969. It is not necessary to have seen the episode to understand the story.

Episode summary:
Mark's Aunt Ruby loses her life savings to a distinguished-looking con artist. In an effort to recover the money, Ironside sets up Ed and Eve as wealthy couple ('Mr. and Mrs. Bixby') in a resort so the thief can be caught red-handed.

Story summary:
Ed accepts rich Mr. Bixby's invitation, but not everything is the way it looks. As usual Chief Ironside has to save the day.

Friday

The evening was warm and pleasant. Mexican music hit det. Sgt. Ed Brown's ear. There was probably a fiesta somewhere, people dancing and enjoying themselves. He didn't begrudge it to them.
He stretched his back contentedly. It was one of those moments when things could not get any better. Behind him lay a solved case, ahead of him a weekend off– something very rare for a member of Chief Robert T. Ironside's staff. Oh, he would never have traded regular office hours and free weekends against working with the Chief. Ironside was by far the best investigator on the force and the best teacher one could have, and he cared for his people… and yes, Ed liked the grumpy slave driver a lot, let alone his friends Eve and Mark who worked with him. Still a weekend off was something he was greatly looking forward to.

During the tracking down of 'Mr. Braithwaite' and the recovering of Aunt Ruby's money he had used an old Marine buddy's name and company as an undercover. When Edward Bixby had found out about it he had not been pleased at first, but then he had invited him for a weekend. Now Ed had seized the opportunity and accepted the invitation right away.
The drive out to Bixby's summer residence was already an enjoyment. Unfortunately Eve, who had been invited too, had other plans… plans that didn't include Sgt. Brown, not to mention the fact that they would not quite have matched his budget.

What would Mrs. Marilyn Bixby be like? He had never met her. Doubtlessly she was a beauty. Bixby had never been one to settle for the next best thing…

This estimation was confirmed by the sight in front of his eyes when he reached the Bixby estate about an hour's driving away. It exuded wealth. A wrought-iron gate blocked the access road to Bixby's house. On both sides it was attached to high concrete walls. Beyond the gate, in the background, a building like an old Scottish castle was to be seen.

Ed got out of his Ford. There was no door handle to open the gate. How should he…

"Hello, old pirate, welcome to my castle!" a familiar voice sounded out of a small grid in the wall on the left side.

There had to be a monitoring camera somewhere! It was well hidden. The trained police officer had to look closely to detect it between the branches of a tree, although not far away from the gate.

Then the gate opened miraculously… an electrical mechanism obviously, operated by a remote control unit. Ed decided to stop wondering and got back into his Sedan. He parked the car in the parking space in front of a huge swimming pool, where it looked rather shabby between a 1968 Jaguar and a brand new Lamborghini Miura.

Edward approached him, a wide grin on his face. "Ed! It's so good to see you!"

He shook Ed's hand in a pump-handle movement. The tailored suit emphasized his manly figure. On his wrist a Rolex was glistening. He was only two or three years older than Ed, but obviously he had been very successful.

"Do you like my little electronic toys? Ever seen that kind of security for a private property?"

Ed humored him, being adequately impressed. Yet he could not quite help teasing his boastful Marine buddy just a little: "Are you aware that a tall guy – just a little taller than me – could easily turn the monitor an inch and then your whole security would go down the pan, because he could pass behind the monitored area, get over the gate and open it from the inside?"

Bixby stared at him in disbelief. "Are you sure?! I'll have to check that. At any rate it's a good thing to have a detective review my installations – and for free. You sure have earned your dinner already!"

"Edward, what will our guest think! He does not have to earn his dinner. Invite him in and offer him a drink!"

An exquisitely dressed woman in her late twenties was standing in the big door frame of the castle-like house. Her long, dark hair framed a beautifully made-up face… the perfect match for a young millionaire. Nevertheless Ed had an uneasy feeling. She would not have dressed up like that for him, would she? Were there any other guests? He was not even wearing a suit, thinking that this would be a rather informal, relaxed weekend, some sharing of old memories, perhaps a game of chess or pool…

Edward interrupted his thoughts: "Come on in, my friend. Meet my expensive wife Marilyn."

A servant picked a surprised Ed's duffel bag out of the trunk of his car and carried it into the house.

Unlike her husband, Marilyn hardly touched Ed's hand, and he in turn was very mindful not to get too close to her.

They entered a foyer with a majestic staircase in classical Italian baroque architecture. They stayed on the first floor though. To the left a door with a gilded handle led to a large rococo salon with modern furniture. A two-winged door opened on an art nouveau veranda.

Slightly confused Ed asked: "When was this mansion constructed?"

Edward laughed out loud, not embarrassed in the slightest. "My grandfather had it built in 1922. He didn't care about styles, if that is what you are wondering about. He just liked beautiful architecture, and we have to live with it now. I hate it. Marilyn prefers modern, functional furniture. What you can see is the gruesome result of this mix."

Mrs. Bixby cringed visibly, but seemed to recover quickly. "That's probably the reason why my husband tried to change the shape of the building last week by smashing his Jaguar into the corner of it."

Ed thought that he would have to be more diplomatic from now on. Smiling friendly he accepted the drink Marilyn offered him. It was green and orange and he had no idea what it consisted of. It tasted quite strong though, and if he didn't want to end up with foot-in-mouth disease he would have to be careful with that stuff.
The Bixbys didn't seem to have the same scruples. They had already finished their second drink when a servant announced that dinner was ready.

The Sergeant wondered what the dining hall would be like. He was not disappointed: It was a knight's hall with a knight's armor in every corner of the room, and lit by a romantic candle chandelier.

Dinner Bixby-style seemed surreal. Edward and Marilyn sat at each end of a long table. Somewhere in the middle a chair awaited its guest. This configuration served to increase Ed's unease and the distance between his hosts.
Despite the candles and Edward's efforts to keep the conversation friendly – at least towards Ed -, the atmosphere remained cold.
Not accustomed to such a display of wealth, the detective didn't enjoy any of the dishes. He kept wondering why rich people needed three plates and three sets of cutlery for a meal. After dinner he could hardly remember what he had eaten. He remembered tasting caviar, which was way too salty for his palate, crayfish in some kind of sauce and a piece of meat, the name of which he had never heard before and already forgotten. Dessert was even more of a mystery. Had they served dessert? He wasn't sure...

At the same time Chief Robert T. Ironside was already sitting in bed. It was always easier when Mark helped him, so they had done it together before Mark had left for his free weekend. He needed that sometimes as well as the others, and Ironside could manage without him. He even wanted to from time to time to prove that he was not helpless.

He allowed himself a nightcap. He didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he was feeling lonely.

His thoughts went to Mark, who had gone through a huge change from the angry delinquent to the helpful, caring law student he was now. Seeing his development was more satisfactory than bringing to justice a hundred criminals.
Of course his young co-workers had helped Mark too. There was Eve, who had everything: beauty, wealth and brains, and who nevertheless did her job as a simple policewoman. And she did a great job! Where would she spend her weekend? In some expensive holiday resort? Doing art galleries with a rich admirer? Well, that was her business. She would come back on Monday with a bright smile on her face and doing dedicatedly what he expected her to do.
At least he knew where the third one of his young friends was right now. He hoped that Ed would be able to relax. He was a little too serious for his age anyway, and he'd not even had time to lie down after a recent heavy blow to his head while undercover.

Ironside picked up the newspaper he knew almost by heart by now and re-opened it at the business section.
"Bixby Corporations down 5%" was one of the headlines. The article was not very specific, but it seemed as if the morale among Bixby's employees was very bad. Salaries were low and working conditions unacceptable. And in the scrap iron business the personnel was still important, because customers could easily choose another dealer when they felt they were served in an unfriendly manner. The share market reacted negatively to such rumors. Perhaps Ed had not chosen the best moment to accept Bixby's invitation.

Tiredly the Chief put the newspaper aside, turned the light off and hoped he would be able to sleep… which, as all too often, would not be easy.

Author's note:
The description of the "dinner Bixby-style" has been written by my beta-reader. She is an expert on good cooking … and on a lot of other things. Thank you, Lemonpig!