The Legend of Joe Moran
Chapter 8"Good afternoon," Stu greeted the young man that came to the counter in Terry's Dry Cleaners. "Is the owner on the premises?"
"Yes, she is. That would be my mom. Hold on a minute," the boy answered and turned towards the back of the cleaners. "Mom!" he yelled. "Some man wants to see you!"
A still attractive redhead came rushing up front. "How many times have I told you not to yell, young man?" she chastised the boy before she saw Stu. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you the man looking for the owner?"
"Yes, I am. I'm Stuart Bailey, here's my card," as he handed her his business card. He had the feeling this woman was going to be another Moran.
"Private Investigator from Hollywood, California. I didn't think you people really existed."
"Private Investigators or Hollywood?" He asked with a chuckle.
"Yes," she answered, laughing. "I'm – "
"Terry Moran," Stuart answered.
"I used to be, a very long time ago. Now I'm Terry O'Bannon. But how did you know . . . "
"An educated guess, Mrs. O'Bannon." He waited to ask his first question until she gave him some kind of an indication that it would be alright to go ahead.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Bailey? I'm sure you didn't come all the way from California just to find out if I'd remarried." Terry Moran O'Bannon looked at this man with something akin to curiosity. Besides, she considered, he was nice to look at. He was slim but not too thin, well-dressed, with beautiful black hair and a handsome face. No, she didn't mind looking at him at all.
"Were you married to Joe Moran?"
She listened carefully to his voice . . . it held neither anger or disdain. Probably not looking to collect a debt, then. She saw no reason not to answer him. "Once upon a time, when I was very young. Why?"
"I have a client who . . . is curious about him." Stu smiled, hoping to put Mrs. O'Bannon at ease. How many more redheaded ex-wives was he going to find? What was it about Joe Moran that attracted these women? And what made him leave them? Instead of the picture of Joe Moran getting clearer, it seemed to be getting murkier.
She turned to the back, much like her son, and called him. "David, come up front, please." In just a minute the young man Stuart had originally seen appeared next to his mother. "Mr. Bailey and I are going next door to the coffee shop. Please don't set the place on fire while I'm gone."
"Yes, ma'am," David answered promptly.
Terry O'Bannon came around the counter and took the arm Stu offered. "Out the door and to the left, Mr. Bailey." The lady was still well-built and wore slacks.
They were seated quickly and Stu held Mrs. O'Bannon's chair for her, then ordered. "Two coffees, please." Once the waitress left to get the coffee, Stu asked his guest, "I take it you didn't want your son to hear our discussion."
"Is that what this is, Mr. Bailey? A discussion? Or is it a question and answer session?" The waitress was back with the coffees, and once again Stu waited until she was gone.
"I would like to ask you some questions, Mrs. O'Bannon. If you don't mind answering them."
"If they're about my ex-husband, I don't mind at all. I just don't think David needs to know all the details of my first marriage."
Stu cleared his throat and took a swallow of his coffee, then pulled out his cigarette case and offered one to Terry. She accepted the offer and Stu took his lighter and lit both cigarettes, hers first. Talking to the Moran women was getting more difficult with each ex-wife. "How long were you and Joe married?"
"A little over a year. Just long enough for him to get the business started. When I told him I was pregnant he seemed happy. Then two days later he disappeared. I lost the baby but kept the dry-cleaners."
"When were you married?"
"Let's see, it was 1950, I believe. Yes, 1950."
"And when . . . " the waitress reappeared with the coffee pot. "Would you like anything, Mrs. O'Bannon?"
She shook her head. "No, thanks. And please call me Terry."
"I'll take the check, please." The girl tore a bill off her order pad and handed it to Stu. "I'm Stu, by the way." A long pause, followed by a drag on the cigarette and a smoke ring. "When did you divorce Joe?"
"The same year he left, Stu. 1951."
"Do you remember when the decree was final?" A lot was riding on her answer. Namely the legality of Phyllis and Audrey Moran's marriages.
"Not exactly. Sometime in January of 1952."
Stu breathed a sigh of relief. Both of Moran's subsequent marriages were legal.
"From your reaction I'd say that was the right answer." Now Terry Moran O'Bannon was smiling at him. She stubbed out the rest of her cigarette before continuing. "Do you have any more questions, Stu?"
"Just one or two. If Moran didn't sell the business before he disappeared, do you have any idea how he could have raised money before he left town?"
"When are you going to ask me a difficult question, Stu? I know exactly where he got money before his disappearance. He took out a mortgage on the property. The little worm got almost ten thousand dollars. It took me fifteen years to pay it off, but now the business is mine, free and clear."
"What about . . . " This wasn't strictly part of the investigation, but Stu was curious about her second husband. "Mr. O'Bannon?"
For the first time since he'd met her, Terry O'Bannon didn't smile. "George was killed in 1958."
"I'm sorry, Terry. I didn't mean to bring up a painful memory."
"It's not painful, Stu. It's just that I still miss him. David doesn't have a father to look up to and I don't have a husband. One of our friends came into the store last week and started talking about George; she stopped when she saw I had tears in my eyes. She just lost her husband about six months ago, and she asked me when you get over something like that. I told her 'You never get over it, you just get used to it.' I guess I'm still not used to it."
"One last question, Terry, and I'll get out of your hair. Do you know where Joe was born? Or where he lived before he came to Terre Haute?"
"He was born in Glenwood, Arkansas. And, let's see if I can remember, I believe he told me he lived in Hattiesburg, Mississippi before he moved to Terre Haute. Are you sure you don't have any more questions, Stu?"
The P.I. shook his head. "Not a one, Terry. Thank you for your time. I want you to know how grateful I am that you would sit down and answer all my questions when you don't even know why I'm asking them."
"That's alright, Stu. I've enjoyed talking to you, even if it was about Joe Moran."
Stu paid the check, left the waitress a healthy tip, and stood to help Terry with her chair. He once more offered her his arm and walked her back to the cleaners. "Thank you again, Terry."
He watched her disappear inside and walked to his car. Once again he lit a cigarette and blew smoke out into the air before starting the car and driving back to his hotel. Jeff wasn't going to be thrilled when he told his partner he was headed for Mississippi, but he'd come this far, and he intended to play the hand out until the end.