The Book of Esther
Chapter 9Stu let the shower run almost cold before turning off the water. He'd scrubbed everything he could find, including his hair, and then simply stood and let it run all over him. It was the most relaxing thing he could think of to do right now.
He got out and dried himself off, then wrapped the towel around his waist and shaved. He dropped the towel on the floor when he was finished shaving and walked into his bedroom, putting on underwear and a t-shirt before going to his closet to pick out a suit, shirt and tie. In a few minutes he'd added shoes and socks and found himself standing in the kitchen, trying to drink coffee and read the paper at the same time. He sighed and checked his watch. It was time to go to the office.
Truth be told he'd rather be out somewhere chasing down an errant spouse or the perpetrator of an insurance fraud or even, God forbid, a pooch that had gone missing (no insult intended, Jack, he thought). He truly loved the friends he had at the office, and the location of their business couldn't be any more exciting . . . he just hated to sit behind a desk all day. That was the part he disliked, but he knew it had to be done so he could be out in the field somewhere . . . anywhere.
Take for example, 'babysitting' Esther. He truly envied Jeff spending the day with the beautiful blonde. There were things he needed to do at the Bailey and Spencer offices – things he'd neglected for several days. Pay the bills, finish the payroll that was due on Friday, return boring phone calls. Phone calls that paid the rent. And there were the monthly reports he prepared so he and Jeff could keep an eye on how things were going.
He sighed again when he got into his car and drove to Dino's parking lot. Kookie was working the early shift this week and Stu looked at the young man as he got out of the car. 'Young man' didn't quite fit anymore; that implied Kookie was still a kid. He'd stopped being a kid a while back. "Kookie, can you get three coffees from Andre and bring them to my office after you've parked the car?"
"Sure, dad. What's shakin'?"
"Nothing." Stu headed for the door and remembered there was a florist down the block. He hurried down there and bought a rose for Suzanne, then walked back to the front door of the office and went in.
"Bonjour, Stuart."
"Bonjour, Suzanne. This is for you . . . a rose for a rose."
Suzanne looked startled. "Stuart, I . . . Je vous remercie."
"Vous êtes les bienvenus. "
"Is today something special, and I have forgotten?" she asked in bewilderment.
"No, Suzanne. I just wanted to say thanks for all you do for us. Kookie's bringing coffee over, too."
No sooner were the words out of Stu's mouth than Kookie came in the door with three big coffees. "Follow me, Kookie," which the carhop did after handing one to Suzanne. She gave him a big smile in return. "Sit down, please," Stu offered once they were in his office.
"What's up, dad?"
Stu took several small swallows of coffee before answering. Andre makes the best coffee in town, Stu thought. "Do you know where Roscoe is today?"
Kookie shook his head while he let his coffee cool down. "Nope, no idea. Did you try calling?"
"Of course. There's no answer. If you see him or hear from him, tell him I need to see him, would you, please?"
"Your wish is my command." Kookie got up and went out the side door to Stu's office, sipping his coffee as he went.
Stu picked up the phone and tried Roscoe again. Still no answer. He tried the Carthay Hotel, and two minutes later he was talking to Jeff. "Jefferson, is Esther awake yet?"
"She's staring at me over an empty coffee cup. Do you want to talk to her?"
"Yes. Then I want to talk to you again ."
There were background noises until Stuart heard Esther's voice. "Morning, Stu. Miss me already?"
"I do, as a matter of fact, but I've got a favor to ask you."
"Okay, what is it?"
"We seem to be at a momentary dead-end. Tim Simpson keeps wanting to know where you are so he can present his client's offer. What if Jeff brings you to the office and we have Simpson come here? We might be able to get some information that would help us identify who killed Artie."
"I'm in. Just let me know when to be there."
"Okay. Give Jeff the phone, please."
The next thing he heard was his partner's voice, "What's up?" Jeff asked.
"I've got an idea that might just break this logjam free. I already asked Esther and she's willing."
"And the idea is?"
"I'm going to call Simpson and see if he's willing to meet Esther here. If he says yes, I'll set up a time and let you know when to have her here. If he says no, at least we'll be certain there's something shady going on."
"Works for me," Jeff replied.
"Alright. I'll call you back when I know something."
It was still too early to call an attorney's office, so Stu completed the payroll and paid all of the outstanding bills. By that time it was ten o'clock, and Stu dialed Simpson's number. "Anderson, Simpson and Blaine," the receptionist answered.
"Tim Simpson, please. This is Stuart Bailey."
"One moment please, Mr. Bailey."
Soon after he heard, "Good morning, Mr. Bailey. What can I do for you today?"
"I've spoken to Esther Gordon, and she's willing to meet with you. As long as it's at my office."
"I don't see why not, Mr. Bailey. Would four o'clock today be acceptable?"
"Yes, that should work out just fine."
"Good. I'll see you and Miss Gordon at four."
Stu hung up the phone and called Jeff back. "It's on, for four o'clock today. You'd best plan to be here by two, just in case he has somebody watching the office to see which way you come."
"What if I bring Esther down and the three of us can have lunch at Dino's? We can be there by one."
"Sounds good to me. I'll make sure they hold the booth for us. And take Esther in through the back door."
"Alright, we'll see you then. Good idea, Stu. Let's just hope we can squeeze something out of Simpson."
Stu had just gone back to finishing his reports when Roscoe stuck his head in the door. "You were lookin' for me, boss?"
"Roscoe, I need you to find out what you can about Anderson, Simpson and Blaine. In particular, Tim Simpson. And see if you can get a line on why Blaine embezzled from the firm. And I need to know before four o'clock."
"But boss, they're running at Santa Anita today and I've got a horse . . . "
"Four o'clock, Roscoe. Today." Stu was not inclined to order Roscoe around, but today was a necessity. He gave Roscoe the Stu Bailey 'daddy' glare and Roscoe nodded.
"Four o'clock today, boss. I'll do my best for you."
"Make sure you do, Roscoe."
Stu chuckled to himself as Roscoe scurried out. God forbid he miss a chance to lose all his money at the track betting on his hunches . . . but Stu couldn't see the man doing anything else. At least not anything productive. Stu sighed, thinking back on the way he felt when he came to work this morning. He didn't feel like that anymore. Right now he was busy thanking God that he had a place to go to every day, and good people to work with . . . even Roscoe.