Chapter 3
When I arrived outside of Rex's Bar at 9 AM as agreed, Gloria wasn't there. Annoyed, I waited a few minutes until I heard laughter coming from across the street.
Squinting in the sunlight I saw Gloria walking arm in arm with Rex, the owner of the aforementioned dive bar. I swore under my breath but tipped my hat as they approached.
"Nice of you to show up, Gloria. At least now I know what no good bum caused you to be late."
Rex stopped in front of me and poked me in the chest. "Who are you calling a bum, Dix? You're the slob who hasn't paid his bar tab in four months."
I poked him back. "Look here, Gloria, I don't think this dimwit is good enough for you. You're wasting your time with this bum."
Gloria patted Rex on the behind. "Run along now, Rex. My cousin and I have business." Rex smoothed his greasy hair and backed away, still glaring at me. That bum trying to save face was a laugh and a half.
Once her new boyfriend had skipped away I turned back to Gloria. "Really, Gloria? Him?"
She broke into a grin. "I like his mustache."
I sighed, giving up for the moment. "Well? I'm ready to do the job tomorrow."
"Just like that? Don't you want to know how much the pay is?"
I shrugged. "I can wait. Surprise me later and bring it by my office."
Instead, she looked surprised. "Alright. Is this the new you, or something?"
I smiled and looked over her shoulder. "Let's just say I'm interested in this one enough to worry about the money later."
She adjusted her wide brimmed hat. It was her favorite, if I recalled correctly. "Alright, then Dixon, what's the plan? The shipment comes in tomorrow morning, and we'll only have a few hours."
"Just what are you expecting?"
"Redblock sends others to do his dirty work. He'll send a posse to intercept us, most likely a drive by, Dixon."
"He's going to send a bunch of thugs to a military base? For what?"
"I told you. He doesn't want us to make the delivery to the good doctor."
I smiled widely then, thinking of my new friend-at least I hoped she'd be my new friend eventually.
Gloria's eyes narrowed. "Why are you smiling like that?"
I went deadpan. "No reason."
Gloria made a frustrated noise. "The plan, Dixon!"
I patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, kid, you'll see." I pointed at her. "Just remember-you don't know me." I started to walk away from her down the street.
"That's it? I'll see? Well, maybe I'll just see about your payment later. Or maybe I won't!"
I stopped in my tracks, turned around and made steps back to her. I grabbed the big hat off of her head and turned to leave again.
"Hey, that's my favorite hat!"
"I know," I called back over my shoulder. "Now it's my guarantee that you'll show up with my money later."
Later that afternoon around 1:30 pm, I got myself a pistachio ice cream cone before heading into the park to spy on the history museum. I strolled around the grounds for a few minutes, getting the layout clear. I nodded to a young black guy who was standing on a short ladder, washing the museum windows. I halted next to him and he barely gave me a glance.
"Hey, buddy," I said in a friendly way.
He gave me a cautious look before climbing down from his ladder. Maybe he thought I was a museum patron, maybe not. "Hello," he said, keeping a neutral expression.
I squinted at him in the sunlight. "What's your name, buddy?"
"Buddy," he said with a small satisfied smile.
I was genuinely surprised. "Oh...well I'm Dix. You worked here long?"
He shrugged. "About six weeks so far..."
I took a big lick of my ice cream and pointed the cone at him. "And in that six weeks you must have learned the delivery schedule pretty well around here."
He glanced around him uneasily. "Look, if you got plans to do something I don't want to know about..."
I patted him on the shoulder. "Naw, it's not like that at all, Buddy."
His eyes narrowed. "You work for Redblock?"
I shook my head and eyed him. "No. You?"
"Nope," he answered, putting his hands in the pockets of his overalls. "So what do you want then, mister?" He seemed like an honest sort, just trying to do his job. But both he and I knew it wouldn't take much at all for me to make his life even harder than it already was if his employers saw us jaw-jacking when he was supposed to be washing windows.
"All I need you to do is take notes," I said, and handed him one of the crisp fifty dollar bills Ms. Vash had paid me.
"Notes?" He held his hand stiffly as if he were sure taking the money would land him in more trouble. Which is when I took the opportunity to shove a pad and pencil in his other hand.
"Yeah, Buddy, just jot down the description of whoever it is makes the next delivery today. Then I'll collect the note from you in a little while. Easy peasy, man."
He looked me in the eye. "Okay."
By the time I found a good spot to take cover, the ice cream was running down my hand. I took a seat on a bench. A young couple sat across from me, and the way they were hanging all over each other, it made me glad that I was single. An image of the beautiful Dr. Howard flashed through my brain, but I let it pass on through unhindered. I had work to do after all.
I finished my ice cream cone, and threw my arm over the bench, glancing around casually behind me. Seeing some bushes that would provide a nice cover, I reached inside my old Army backpack and rested my hand on my trusty camera. I raised my gaze to wink over at the young couple, but to my surprise they had gone.
My eyes searched the area, but they were nowhere to be found. There was no way they could have gotten that far while my attention was diverted. I grabbed my pack again, re-centering my focus. I still had an uneasy feeling about this particular job. I didn't trust that Ms. Vash for a hot minute, and yet, one thousand bucks had been impossible for me to turn down in my current state. Plus...I was curious, and once I was interested in finding out the truth, nothing could stop me. Business hadn't been good, but over the last few days, it had certainly shown some signs of life.
I grabbed my pack and stood up just as a fancy green Rolls Royce came slowly rolling past the park gate. The back window was open, and I got a clear look at who was inside, and she at me. It was my most recent employer, Ms. Vash. I couldn't see her expression real well from that far away, but I could imagine she was more than satisfied to see me there. The car suddenly sped forward with a squeal of tires on pavement and the car disappeared into traffic. I tried to ignore my irritation.
I didn't like being tailed by my clients even if they were the likes of Ms. Vash. But I didn't have long to be annoyed, I reminded myself, and resumed my plan of taking cover near some bushes. She'd said the delivery would be made around 2pm through the side entrance, and I'd positioned myself in a good spot to catch the action-whatever action Ms. Vash was expecting. I saw Buddy was back to work, but a pencil and piece of paper stuck out of his back pocket, and he was looking tense and alert up on his ladder. Returning to my camera, I snapped a few pictures to get the focus right, and then my eyes caught movement off to the side.
I turned my head sharply to the left. About twenty paces away I saw a tall man standing there, very still. He had deadly pale skin and was dressed in a black suit and tie, with a black broad brimmed hat pulled down to shade his face. But it was clear as day that he was staring right at me. Instead of being angry that I was being watched, for some reason a chill ran through my overheated body, and I shivered. "Hey!" I yelled to him, jumping to my feet. In that instant, he disappeared...just like that, nowhere to be found.
I wiped the sweat out of my eyes, beginning to question the ingredients of that ice cream cone. Despite everything I'd seen in my life, I wasn't prone to hallucinations. And I just couldn't forget that I'd seen three people disappear in the space of five minutes. So I hunkered down and focused on the job. Good thing too, because I could see two smartly dressed fellows walking swiftly toward the side entrance of the museum. One was carrying a small box, and the other was playing lookout. Of course I snapped some photos quickly. They were halfway down the walkway when the commotion started. A black Packard with whitewalls came hurtling through the park out of nowhere. I heard shots firing, saw the flashes, saw one of the delivery guys fall to the pavement, and the last thing I thought of before I felt a heavy thump on the back of my neck, was that I hoped Buddy was alright.
When I came to, the sun was too bright and I had a splitting headache, so I shut my eyes again. But gradually I heard voices, some familiar, some not, and I remembered where I was. Pushing myself up slowly, I wiped at my face, and found a few shallow scratches on my cheek where I had fallen face first into the bushes. My camera lay on the ground nearby, smashed to pieces. The film was gone-stolen. Now angry, I got to my feet, feeling dizzy. I trudged over to a water fountain and leaned forward drinking in the crisp cool water. I splashed some more water on my face, and stepped backward, feeling a little better. I gingerly felt the back lower part of my skull. There was a large welt, but I could recall having had worse. I straightened and focused my attention on the scene of the crime. One of the delivery guys was dead, his body lay twisted on the ground, and the other guy was missing. Damn! I cursed whoever had wrecked my camera, and the film evidence.
"Hey! Look over there," I heard a gruff voice shout. Blinking, I turned my attention to the sound of the voice, and the grounds of the natural history museum which were now a crime scene. In fact, the place was swarming with cops.
But one guy and one voice was very familiar to me. "Dix!"
Jack Buchanan. My best friend and former partner on the SFPD. Jack and I came up together and he was the reason I became a cop. And when he started taking a little something on the side from Redblock on more than an occasional basis in exchange for looking the other way, he was also the reason I stopped being a cop. I couldn't talk him out of what he was doing, but I didn't want to be drawn in to it either. But next to him was a hulking guy, who I'd seen around once or twice. Cramer, I think his name was, and he was in charge. He was pointing toward me, and didn't look too happy.
"Hey, buddy!"
"I knew best not to head in the opposite direction. My business being successful depended on cooperation with the police. I tapped the rim of my hat. "Name's Hill," I corrected him with a smile.
"I know who you are," he growled, continuing his march toward me.
"Look," I said. "I was just about to scram-"
"You ain't goin' nowhere, wiseguy," he said, grabbing for my arm.
I took a step backwards, glancing over his shoulder at the scene of the crime. "Based on what? Jack, what's this about?"
Jack strolled over in a leisurely way, an unlit cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. "We just need to ask you a few questions, Dix.. you know the score."
I just stared at him as he walked closer.
"You're working a job, right Dix?"
I shrugged and put my hands in my pockets. "You know me."
"So that's a yes," Lieutenant Cramer nearly shouted into my ear.
I sighed. "Jack, tell your partner to back off, or I've got nothing to say."
Jack's eyes narrowed. Like me, he didn't like to be told what to do. "He's not my partner, Dix, he's my boss."
I winked up at Cramer. "Is that right, Boss?"
Cramer nodded to Jack. "Search him."
"Now come on, guys, can't a fella take a stroll through the park without being patted down?"
Cramer got right in my face. "Listen Hill...a man died over there just minutes ago, and I'm betting that Jack's gonna find a piece on you."
At that moment, Jack reached behind my back and pulled a 38 from my belt. "Same old Dix." He grinned at me and handed the gun to Cramer.
"You're the first dope we've searched so far around here who was packing a gun, Hill. You wanna come downtown?"
I shrugged. "Look, you know and I know that I'm not a real suspect," I said. I looked beyond at the scene of the crime. A young black guy was prone face down on the ground. I saw now that it was Buddy, and one of the cops had a shoe firmly planted on his shoulder blade. "Hey Jack, that guy over there didn't do nothing-" I nudged Jack, who put a firm hand on my shoulder. It was a warning, for now just a friendly one.
"Keep talkin', Hill," growled Cramer.
"I didn't see everything, but I saw enough. A Black Packard came through that gate right over there...shots were fired-"
"What kinda shots?" Asked Jack slowly.
I pointed at the museum facade which was riddled with bullets holes. "Well it sure as hell wasn't a 38, now Jack, was it?"
Jack watched me carefully, a slow smile playing over his face. "Probably a tommy gun, Dix, wouldn't you say?"
I nodded, and returned my attention to Buddy. I ducked away from Jack's grip and walked over to the man on the sidewalk. Buddy turned his bruised cheek and stared up at me with one eye. I knelt down next to him, and then looked up at the cop who was pinning him down. "Listen officer, this man works here at the museum. I'm sure he doesn't want any trouble."
"Mind your own business, gumshoe," the officer said. "We're rounding up the usual suspects..."
I swiped the small piece of paper sticking out from under Buddy's side, and crumpled it in my fist. If anyone saw, they didn't seem to care. "This guy works here, I told you. And if I ever get my film back, I can prove he's not a suspect."
Cramer stepped between me and the cop, glaring at me. But he also nodded at his subordinate. "Let the colored guy go, he's not a suspect. Sounds like we got detective Hill's guarantee, right Hill?" He glared down at me with a cold smile.
I lifted my chin. "Yeah, that's right."
When I got back to my office that afternoon, Mrs. Feinberg should have been in the waiting room but wasn't. I thought about her disappearing brother and couldn't help remember the people from the park who had been there one moment, and then disappeared in the other. I rubbed the back of my head, and then the scratches on my face. If I didn't know better, I'd say Ms. Vash had set me up...but what for? Had she known there would be violence? Not much made sense, that was for sure. "Hello Madeline," I said strolling by her desk.
"Heya, Dix. Mrs. Feinberg was a no show, and some guy named Buddy called, saying you owe him a job. Said he got fired today and it's all your fault." My jaw dropped a little. Damn. "Did you take down his number?"
She looked at me like I was dumb. "Of course...oh and Billy Reisner called and made me promise to tell you your ice box is getting low on food."
I rolled my eyes and sat down on the edge of the desk. "That kid is eating me out of house and home," I grumbled. I yawned and leaned in to Maddy. "I'm going to go home and get my beauty rest."
She patted me on the knee. "You really need it, Dix. Seriously you look a mess."
"Thanks, Maddy, I can always count on you for your honesty."
"You're welcome, hon," she called after me.
When I had descended down on to the street I remembered Buddy's note, and pulled it quickly from my pocket. Scrawled on the paper were a few words. "Two white men...one brown sandy hair, short. Second guy tall, pale skin, black suit and hat...carrying a box."
