(Dang it....I can&#39;t resist.....)  [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

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It didn&#39;t last....even as much as I needed it, being out late last night.  Besides the only real food I had that day had been liquid.  Knowing what was probably coming down the pike, I thought I&#39;d better grab something at least greasy....

I slammed my office door on the way out, trying my best to look hard and tough...like a P.I. should.  Looking up from the Remington, Toddie gave me the look and grimaced.  I pinched her cheek and gave her my best grin.

"What&#39;s wrong doll?"

Throwing up her hands she just stood there looking at me and shaking her head.

"You&#33;&#33;&#33;"

"Me?"

"Yes, you&#33;&#33;"

"Ok baby, clue me here as I&#39;m gettin&#39; lost?"

"Don&#39;t give me that, you&#39;re a sucker for a smooth walk and ruby lips....she&#39;s trouble with a capital T and you know it&#33;"

I opened the front door and looked back....knowing now why I had hired her in the first place.  She looked so cute when she was mad.  Like she said, I&#39;m a sucker for a cute look, what can I say.....

"I know it.....that&#39;s why I&#39;m going.....trouble...." 

I blew her a kiss, closed the hallway door and felt the stapler hit it behind me.....


This was going to be fun&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

"Sheesh....count me out, my life&#39;s got too much action just workin&#39; at this joint."

She laughed though and refilled my coffee.

"Take care honey..."

"Tell Gus I stopped by..."


Betty was nice, too nice for a greasy spoon like this in a decaying town on the edge of nothingness.  Yeah, it looked nice on the outside, but rotten on the inside.  Postwar, the industry was changing.  Television hit big time and the traditional power base was heading for it at full tilt.  It had the movie industry quaking in their boots, trying one idea after another to hang on to their piece of the pie.  They were finally starting to learn that maybe, just maybe, money does not grow on trees.  That&#39;s why I&#39;d taken the case, or at least I told myself that while I ate in silence, the image of the bombshell on my mind.

Where to start next was going to be interesting, considering the crowd Harry Rose knew....crum bums worth nothing, yet willing to break the kneecaps of anyone that stood in the way.  I had my old Speed Graphic, which considering all the divorce work I&#39;d done up until know, was lucky to still be alive.  That was a start.  Maybe I could contact David, see if he was still in the business.  At least that would give me an angle.

Shoving the plate away, I drained the coffee and reached for my hat.  I&#39;d start first thing in the morning....


************************************************


Twenty minutes later, I was home, or at least the place Jack Ackler called home.  A renovated five floor tenement house, it had already seen it&#39;s better days for the second time around. It was surrounded by area businesses, including a doughnut shop, cleaners, pawn shop, grocery, and my favorite, Louie&#39;s, a no-class, low-class local watering hole.  I took the lift and stepped out in the hallway.  It was quiet, which was unusual, considering the time of day and the present neighborhood condition.  Turning the key in the lock, the door opened....................to a nightmare&#33;


Her body, or what was left of it, was strewn all over the floor, blood slowly seeping into the rug.  Her eyes lifeless against the whiteness of the skin, were wide in eternal fear, hair all mixed up like she&#39;d stuck her finger in a light socket.  Feeling the bile rising in my throat, I knelt down near her...for what I&#39;ll never know.

"For the love of God..........How?"

What had happened to the bombshell....and more importantly, how had she gotten here?  My mind raced, computing thought after thought while the blood slowly settled around my soles.....I felt the hairs stand on the back of my neck and knew now I&#39;d have to finish what the blonde had started.  I fished the handkerchief out of my pocket and slowly shut her eyelids.

"sleep well kitten, don&#39;t worry...Jack is back....we&#39;ll find &#39;em..."

The silence was suddenly shattered by the sirens rising in the distance and I heard the first few footfalls on the stoop below.  Muttering under my breath, I knew what had happened...and cursed the day this had become........

The next morning, I sat eating breakfast at Gus&#39;s, reading the daily rag, wondering if this day was going be any better.  It could&#39;t get much worse, consider the last 24 hours.  I took a sip of coffee, looking at the front page again.  I always thought my right side was the best, but seeing my ugly mug from the left wasn&#39;t too bad.  Well, what could I do about it anyway......

"Hey doll, gimme a splash..." I waved my coffee cup at Betty as she came by.

"Comin&#39; up...."

I folded the newspaper under my plate and finished the eggs, mopping them up with the toast.  Today was damage control day, what with me splashed all over the paper as the prime suspect in the murder of the doll.  It turns out, she had connections in the east, big connections....connections that were not happy with what had transpired.  Well, neither was I, but I still knew what I had to do.  I still had a few people I knew connected with the studios, I&#39;d go up there and see what I could shake loose.

Stepping out, the day was cool, the air crisp, as I got in the car and headed up.  Traffic was light, streaming around me.  As I drove, I kept turning over in my mind the connections.  There had to be something somewhere...and why was the dame at my place?  After a while, my head started to hurt.

About ten minutes later, I noticed this black Merc behind me.  I made some turns, went around the block and backtracked some streets. 

He was still there...........

I&#39;m usually not suspicious, but knowing what had happened recently, I wasn&#39;t taking anything for granted.  Heading across Mission Boulevard, Ijumped the tracks, increasing speed, and headed up Old Canyon Rd. 

Let&#39;s see what happened............

He mumbled something and then crashed out back on the sidewalk.  I holstered the artillery, hearing the sirens in the distance and knowing I&#39;d better make myself scarce.  I fled back down the alleyway, hoping I could find my way outa this burg, hell, I&#39;d even be content to find a phone booth.

Arranging my suitcoat, I ended up on the sidewalk looking not too much worse for wear as the flatfeet showed up, burning rubber down the alleyway and then stopping just as quick.  I hope they found what they were looking for.  I smiled and ducked into the first hotel lobby I could find.

I&#39;ll admit it was swanky, one of those places I don&#39;t get to see much of in my line of work.  There was a line of folks waiting to be checked in as I sidestepped them all, heading for the desk.....