The Cats Pajamas
Chapter 22Stu heard the all-points-bulletin on the radio, but the officer driving blatantly ignored it. It didn't do any good to point it out; like it or not, Stuart was going to ride all the way down to Hollywood in handcuffs. It was a long ride, and by the time he got to Gil's office, the cuffs had him raw and bloody.
"Lieutenant Gilmore, I'm Ray Dukemeyer. I believe this is the prisoner you asked to have delivered," the officer explained as he handed Gil the keys.
"For God sakes, Dukemeyer, didn't you hear the all-points-bulletin? This man has been exonerated and the warrant was canceled."
"Yes, sir, I heard it, but I didn't know if it was real or not," he replied smugly. The Monterey Highway Patrol didn't appreciate Gil telling them what to do, and Stu had paid the price for it.
"There was no need to keep the cuffs that tight, officer," Gil chewed on the cop as he unlocked the cuffs. Stu let out a groan as the metal was pulled away from where it had dug into his wrists. Gil picked up the phone and dialed Flaherty. "Sergeant, is the doctor still in the building? Well, find him and get him up here fast." He turned back to the officer. "I won't forget this, Dukemeyer. Let's hope you don't ever need me to do anything for you. Now get out of here." Gil pulled out his handkerchief and attempted to wipe some of the blood off Stu's wrists. The P.I. tried desperately not to howl in pain but it didn't do much good. The doctor was there within five minutes and he took over the care of the bloody wrists.
Later the doctor insisted Stuart go to the hospital with him, and Stu adamantly refused. The bleeding was stopped, the wrists were cleaned and bandaged, and Stu promised he would appear at the hospital the next day. He wasn't going anywhere until he found Jeff and made sure his partner was alright. Once the doctor was out of the room, Stu turned to Gil with his questions. Instead of answering, Gilmore picked up the phone and dialed an extension. "Send him up now, please," he told whoever was on the other end of the line. Stu decided to wait with the questions until he saw who came through the door.
He didn't have to wait long. The door opened and in walked his partner; Jeff's left arm was in a sling. The partners embraced as best they could, with both of them laughing at all the bandages between them. "Congratulations," Stu exclaimed to Jeff. "Seems you're better at playing the bad guy than I am."
"The only good thing to come of it is Manchester's going away for a very long time. How are the wrists?"
"Painful, but they'll heal. What about your arm?"
"Painful, but it'll heal. Can we talk it over first before you go off and play detective again?" Jeff asked plaintively. "Police detective, that is."
"Yes, partner, I'll make sure we do." Stu turned his head. "Can we go home, Gil?"
Their friend the lieutenant nodded. "Come on, I'll take you."
As the three men left Gilmore's office, Stu wrapped his arm around Jeff's shoulders. "Thank you, brother. Thank you."
XXXXXXXX
Kookie went to Jeff's apartment first, then Stu's apartment, to help each man get dressed. Once he had them both in the car he drove them to the office on Sunset Strip. Neither had seen the place in a long time. As soon as Suzanne saw them she jumped up and hugged Jeff, kissing him on both cheeks, then Stu, greeting him the same way. "I was so worried!" she exclaimed, and both men smiled.
"I figured you must be running the office by now," Jeff told her.
"Running it? She probably owns it!" Stu added.
"I'll come back and get you both at eleven o'clock, dads," Kookie insisted.
"What for?"
"To go to Germsville. I have my orders."
"Who gave you those orders, Kookie?" Stu asked the carhop.
"Me," Suzanne insisted. The partners looked at each other. There was no ignoring Suzanne's instructions.
"Eleven o'clock. Yes, sir, we'll be ready. Now how about going over to Dino's and getting us some coffee?"Jeff inquired with a grin, and Kookie nodded.
The partners walked into Stu's office and took up their normal positions. It wasn't easy for Stuart to navigate, since the bandages on his wrist made everything difficult. Jeff was limited to whatever he could accomplish with one hand; his left arm was in a sling. Once they were seated they looked across the desk at each other and started laughing. "We're a pair, aren't we?" Stu asked.
"Hey, we're back and relatively healthy. What more could we ask?"
"Jeff . . . what you did for me . . . I'll never be able to repay you. I had visions of spending the better years of my life sitting in a cell on death row."
"And I had visions of trying to run this business without you . . . and it wasn't a pretty picture."
"Well, it took a lot of work and more time than I ever could have imagined . . . but Jamie can rest easy now." Stuart awkwardly pulled out a cigarette and lit it, then blew a cloud of smoke out as he looked across the desk at his partner. "You know, I had a lot of time to think when I was up north."
"And what did you think about? Besides women, that is."
"About the fact we're going to need help someday . . . someday soon. Do you think Kookie's serious about becoming a P.I.?"
Jeff nodded. "I do. Think it's time we headed him in that direction?"
Just then the man they'd been discussing came in with coffee for the three of them. "Headed who in what direction?" he asked.
"Do you still want to be a private investigator someday?" Stu asked. "There's a lot of hard work to get your license."
Kookie sat down on the couch and took a sip of his coffee. "Man, that would just be the cat's pajamas."
The partners looked at each other and burst out laughing. "And the first thing you have to do is learn English," Jeff insisted.
The End
Author's note – I hope you enjoyed reading The Cat's Pajama's. Thank you, and watch out. Another story begins soon.