Someone to Watch Over Me

Chapter 14

Jeff's mother had given him good advice . . . approach the problem head on. And that's what he did. Whenever he had something that needed a complex solution, he went right at the situation until he figured out what to do next.

Ralph Henderson was true to his word. He sent Jeff cases, mostly men with unfaithful wives, and Jefferson Spencer got an education in what can go wrong in a marriage. By the sixth or seventh time he'd solved the problem for another spouse, he was more than ready to take on something that didn't involve marital infidelity of one sort or another. When Virginia Doxley called him to locate her missing brother, it was almost a relief. The last time they'd had any contact was the day he left for the army, and Fred Doxley seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth.

It took Jeff a while to locate Fred, but when he finally did Virginia was exceedingly grateful. He'd gone to the Doxley house to give her the news and she insisted he stay for lunch, which he did. He also collected a fat check from her, a welcome payday.

He was on his way back to the office from the Doxley house when a tire on the car went flat. He was peering into the trunk, hoping there was a spare and a jack, when a hot rod stopped and pulled up behind him. "Need some help?" the driver called as he got out of his car.

"I'd appreciate it," Jeff responded. He had on his best suit and his only clean shirt and needed both for an appointment he had tomorrow morning.

"No problem, dad," came the answer.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah, dad, keep the cars from running over me."

"Will do." Jeff was surprised that someone had stopped to help, and even more surprised when he realized he wasn't that much older than the young man working on his car.

The spare tire was on the car in no time flat, and the P.I. was more than grateful. "Can I pay you for your time?" he asked when everything was finished and the jack was back in the trunk.

"Nope. Just glad to help," was the answer he got.

What to do? Jeff wondered. He couldn't let this fellow go off with nothing for his effort, so he gave his savior one of his business cards. "Here, if there's ever anything I can do for you. Don't hesitate."

The stranger looked at the card and smiled. "Thanks, dad."

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Several months later the door to Jeff's office opened and he found a young man that seemed vaguely familiar standing in front of his desk.

"Gerald Lloyd . . . ?" Jeff asked. That was all he could remember.

"Kookson. The third," the handsome young man answered as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "My friends call me Kookie." Tall and trim, with blonde hair and blue, blue eyes, Jeff assumed that most of Kookie's friends were of the female variety.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Kookson?" Jeff didn't believe that Kookson had wandered in all on his own, and he was going to find out just what had prompted this visit. And who was responsible.

"I've got a friend that's got a problem, dad. I need your help."

Jeff still looked at the stranger curiously. "My help. Why?"

Kookie sat down on the corner of Jeff's desk. "Because you gave me your card when I fixed your wheels. And told me if there was ever anything you could do for me . . . "

Jeff looked at the 'boy' in front of him again. Yeah, it was the same man who'd changed his flat when he'd returned from the Doxley's and saved him from ruining the one good suit he had.

"Alright, Mr. Kookson, who's your friend? And what's your friend's problem?"

"First of all, dad, let's get this straight. Stop all the Mr. Kookson jazz. It's Kookie. Got it, dad? Kookie."

"Alright, alright, I got it. Kookie. And quit calling me dad." Pause. "Back to my questions. Who's your friend and what's his problem?"

"His name is Rod, and here's the dish . . . " Kookie spent the next hour explaining the mess Rod had gotten himself, and subsequently, his sister, into. It involved stolen cars being painted and sent to Mexico. And Kookie wanted to borrow Jeff's gun and go with Rod to a meeting the car thieves were demanding at their warehouse. Jeff decided the best idea was for him to go with Kookie and see what they could discover. He had no idea it would ultimately involve stolen cars, gunshots, hired thugs, rescuing a damsel in distress, and meeting the man that would change his life and destiny forever . . . Stuart Bailey.

tbc