Not my characters, just my story. I only wish I owned Pete. The story is best read if you've seen the series and know the characters. If you haven't seen it lately, watch, enjoy.

A Lifetime in Eight Days

Chapter 9: A Bird in the Hand

Unmarked police cars were currently stationed near the last known address of Bennie Marconi as well as that of a man named Charlie Malloy, all courtesy of information the O'Malley brothers were only too happy to provide. It seemed that Marconi and Malloy were boyhood friends who'd grown up together on the wrong side of the tracks. They had formed a so-called business relationship later in life and had managed to maintain it and their friendship even through a number of arrests and prison terms. Both men had been keeping a low profile lately, which was somewhat at odds with their normal way of conducting business. Copies of Malloy's most recent mug shot were now sitting side by side with Marconi's on the desks and in the squad cars of everyone involved with the investigation. Now all they needed was a break in a case where breaks were just not something they'd had an abundance of.

Day five of Peter Gunn's disappearance had slowly turned into day six. According to the clock it was mid-morning. Something needed to happen and it needed to happen quickly if there was to be any form of resolution to this case. As Jacoby had explained to Edie Hart it was possible that Pete was already dead. But knowing Pauly Denner if that was the case he would undoubtedly want to make a big deal out of it. Denner would want the entire world, especially Peter Gunn's part of that world, to know that he'd accomplished what he set out to do. That no one messed with Pauly Denner and got away with it. He would want to see the news of Pete's death splashed across the newspaper in headlines a half page tall.

Lieutenant Jacoby sighed and twisted his body into a more comfortable position on the couch in his office. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept more than a couple of hours consecutively. Obviously it had been before his friend's disappearance. And when he did manage to close his eyes and drift off for a while he inevitably awakened with a burdensome sense of guilt. Guilt that he had contributed to the predicament Pete was in. Not consciously, but because he was trying to help keep his friend occupied and out of trouble while he was going through whatever it was he was going through in his personal life.

Jacoby's thoughts flashed back to the evening when he had found out that Peter Gunn and Edie Hart's relationship had gone south. He had called Mother's looking for Pete, hoping to get an update on a case they were both working on from different angles. The telephone had been answered by Edie so naturally he had jumped to the conclusion that she was expecting a call from Pete. He later wished he'd never taken that leap. He had made some silly joke about obviously not being the person she was waiting to hear from, and then he had asked when she expected Pete to show up at Mother's or if she knew where he might be able to find him. There had been silence across the phone line to the point that it became uncomfortable. Finally Edie had told him that Pete wasn't there and she wasn't certain where he might be but that Barney might know something. The next voice he heard had been that of Mother's longtime bartender. He had made a joke to Barney – maybe someday he would learn to keep his mouth shut – that he had obviously put his foot in it with Edie, whatever it might be, after which Barney had very quietly explained to him that Pete and Edie were no longer an item. Needless to say he'd been dumbfounded, especially upon finding out that it had happened almost two weeks previously. Once again he had been among the last to know when it came to his friend's relationship with the woman in his life. It wasn't until late the next afternoon that he'd actually talked to Pete.

Peter Gunn's lean frame was sprawled, if that was even possible, along the small couch in Lieutenant Jacoby's office, his back against one arm, his leather-clad feet propped against the other. The private investigator held a cigarette in one hand as he flipped through the pages of a report bound in a manila folder, occasionally tapping ashes into an ashtray resting on the back of the couch. He didn't appear to be aware of Jacoby's contemplative stare but the policeman figured he had taken notice and was just ignoring him. After all, he had undoubtedly been by Mother's between the time Jacoby had called the previous evening and now, and was most likely aware that the policeman had been apprised of the situation that everyone else in the world of Pete and Edie already knew about. Jacoby tapped his fingers almost nervously on his desktop and then cleared his throat.

"Pete?"

The man in question made a noncommittal sound, an answer that neither encouraged the policeman to continue nor warned him to back off.

"Why haven't you said anything to me about you and Edie?" he gently asked.

"What's to say?" Pete didn't look up from the report he was reading.

"I don't know. I guess..." Jacoby shrugged and fidgeted, moving things around on his desk."You and Edie have been together for a while now. I know it's been over a year. I just thought she was the one, you know?"

"She is."

"So this is just one of those temporary bumps in the road then." It wasn't a question, just a way of encouraging Pete to talk if he wanted to talk.

"I don't know what it is." Pete flipped a page over and took a final puff from his cigarette before crushing it out in the ashtray. Apparently he wasn't interested in talking.

"Pete-"

"It's personal." Pete sat up and tossed the folder onto Jacoby's desk. "Okay?"

"Sure Pete." Jacoby didn't push the issue but Pete seemed to relent a bit.

"It's just-" He gave an almost defeated sigh. "There are some things I need to work on when it comes to me and Edie." Pete rested his elbows on his knees and stared down at his clasped hands. "And as much as I hate the thought of it, it's probably better if I'm alone to work those things out. But once I do and once I get her to talk to me again I think we'll be all right." He glanced at Jacoby. "I appreciate your concern, though. And if I do need someone to talk to I'll let you know."

Now Jacoby's guilt was turning into sorrow and grief at the idea that Pete might actually be dead, at the look on Edie's face when he had told her there was a possibility he might not be coming back to her this time, at the thought that he could have tried to be more of a friend to both of them over the past couple of months than he actually had been. With an inward sigh Jacoby opened his eyes and pulled himself up from the couch, grabbing his hat and coat from the rack as he left his office.

The buzzer rang twice before Edie made it to the door, taking the final few steps down the stairs two at a time before whoever was there decided to either start pounding on the door itself or turn around and leave. She pulled the door open as far as the chain would allow, then closed it again to undo the chain and let the policeman into Pete's apartment. Having neither seen nor heard from Jacoby the previous day she was nervous as to what this visit might be about. She watched Jacoby shut the door behind himself, remove his hat and then just stand there and look at her. The silence stretched until she couldn't stand it.

"What's wrong?" The stress of the entire situation was evident in her voice.

"I want to apologize," the policeman finally said.

"What?" Edie shook her head in bewilderment. This wasn't what she was expecting, though the painful thumping of her heart lessened at his words. "Apologize for what?"

"For not being there for you over the past month or so. For not being the friend I should have been." He released a regretful sigh. "For not even stopping by to see you after I found out about you and Pete. I thought I was a better person than that and there's no excuse in the world that can make up for my thoughtlessness." Jacoby fiddled with the hat in his hands. "Until you told me what actually happened I was under the impression that Pete had broken up with you, not the other way around. And looking back on it I guess that's probably what he wanted me to think. He said he had some things to work on when it came to your relationship and that it was probably best if he was by himself to do that. But none of that should have prevented me from being the friend I should have been." His eyes were kind and direct as he looked at Edie.

"You don't have to apologize for that," Edie told him. "And you were Pete's friend first, for a long time, so your loyalty should have been to him."

"Pete really loves you very much."

"I know," Edie nodded. She ran a tired hand through her hair and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as she folded her arms across her middle, rubbing at them as though she was cold. "That's what made everything so difficult. How do you tell someone who loves you that much that you can't be with him anymore? Especially when you love him the same way."

Jacoby nodded and decided the mood needed lightening.

"Got any coffee? I could really use a cup right about now."

He watched her head toward the kitchen before removing his overcoat and dropping it on a chair. Tossing his hat atop the coat he sat down to wait. About ten minutes later she brought out two cups of coffee, freshly brewed and filling the room with a robust aroma. They sat and drank in companionable silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts.

"I wish I had something new to tell you." Jacoby finally broke the silence. Whoever said that no news was good news was an idiot. No news meant just that. No news. Good, bad or indifferent. No news meant that Pete's dead body hadn't been found floating in the river with a bullet to the head. No news didn't mean that Pete was still alive. No news meant nothing except that more hours would pass before any news would actually mean something.

The shrill ring of the telephone interrupted any reply Edie might have made. She jumped up to answer it then handed the receiver to the policeman.

"Sergeant Davis," she told him.

"Hi, Lee. What's up?" Jacoby stood, picked up the phone with its long cord and paced slowly toward the sliding doors leading to the patio as he talked and listened, his eyes on the light brown curtains as they billowed inward in the cool breeze.

"Looks like we just caught a break, Lieutenant." Sergeant Davis sounded as excited as Jacoby had ever heard him, which was saying a lot. Davis had a cool exterior and tended to keep a very level head about him when it came to the job, which made him a great asset to Jacoby. For him to show such animation over the phone meant that something big must have happened. "Bennie Marconi was spotted going into Joe DeVito's house about fifteen minutes ago. He came right back out and was followed to a diner on Kinnard Street by one of the surveillance units. He's in there eating lunch right now."

Jacoby stopped pacing and stood absolutely still. He set the telephone down on a chair and rubbed a hand over his balding head as he digested what he'd just been told, his eyes still following but not really seeing the swaying movement of the curtains. He had to make a decision. Right or wrong he had to make a decision and he needed to do it quickly. Time was running out. Reaching into his pants pocket he gripped Pete's lighter which he was still carrying around with him. He had hated that he had been unable to leave it with Edie the day before yesterday. But not only was it necessary evidence in the investigation and as such something a jury might have to see one day, it might very well turn out to be an important bargaining tool. Dragging the lighter out of his pocket he stared at it, carefully keeping it out of Edie's sight. No use getting her hopes up. Or knocking them down.

"Tell them to go in and get him," he finally said, his eyes on the lighter.

"Lieutenant?"

"You tell them to go in and get him and bring him in to the station. I'm on my way back right now." Returning the lighter to his pocket he picked the telephone back up, turned around and began pacing in the opposite direction, his gaze falling on Edie. "And you tell them if he tries to run or make trouble to shoot him in the kneecaps. Both kneecaps. You got that?"

"I got it, Lieutenant." Jacoby could hear the smile in the Sergeant's voice as he hung up.

Bennie Marconi slumped backwards in his chair, waving a dismissive hand toward Lieutenant Jacoby and Detective Harmon as they questioned him.

"Look cop, you've got nothing on me!" He leveled his baleful brown gaze on Jacoby's face. "I told you I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know anything about Pauly Denner and I don't know anything about Peter Gunn and I haven't seen Charlie Malloy since his last stint in prison."

"You don't know much about anything do you Bennie?" Jacoby said. "I'm surprised you've gotten this far in life considering your amazing lack of knowledge."

"I've been keeping my nose clean-"

"Your nose is about as clean as the soles of your shoes!"

"You can't keep me here-"

"I can keep you here as long as I want!" Jacoby's voice was uncharacteristically sharp. "You're a convicted felon and I have you knowingly associating with another convicted felon, your cousin Joe DeVito! Remember him? That alone will put you back in prison for at least another five years. And Joe DeVito? He's a buddy of Pauly Denner. So don't play the innocent with me." Jacoby placed his hands on the table behind which Marconi sat and leaned forward menacingly. "You tell me right now where Denner is and where Gunn is or that five years is going to grow into a lifetime behind bars."

Marconi smiled derisively and laughed. Jacoby steamed. Detective Harmon leaned back against a wall and watched with interest.

"Fine."

Jacoby straightened up and stared at Marconi. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out Peter Gunn's gold cigarette lighter. He tossed it across the table and watched it slide to a stop right in front of Marconi, just inches from where the man's cuffed hands rested. He gave a satisfied smile as the smirk slowly disappeared from the hood's face.

"Forget about life in prison. That right there will get you the chair."

Jacoby motioned to Detective Harmon and followed him to the door, turning back to give Bennie Marconi a steely stare.

"Chew on that for a while."

He pulled the door shut behind him with a decisive click.