The colonel said, “Mr. Preston, do you still have the papers you signed when you were assigned to your unit in Viet Nam?”
Somehow I didn’t like where this conversation was headed. “No. I threw them away a long time ago.”
“That’s a shame.” He shook his head. “Perhaps if you read them again you would find the clause where you agreed to be subject to the military until you reach the age of seventy. And then you can also read the part about being called back to active duty at any time during that period. Does that ring a bell?”
I remembered signing a lot of papers when I was shipped out. And when I got to my unit as well. Maybe I should have read them more closely, but I didn’t. Hey, I trusted the military… then. “I’m not calling you a liar, sir, but I would like to see a copy of those papers, with my signature.”
Suit was doing the talking now, “We can provide them for you. What we are telling you—”
The colonel interrupted suit, “Mr. Preston, as far as we know, you were the only one who had any contact with Hollis towards the end of his life.”
I shook my head at the colonel. “That’s not quite accurate. There was a stripper named Lan who knew both Hollis and Price back in country. It was my understanding that both Hollis and Price stayed with Lan for a time. I have no idea what they discussed, but she might have known something about Crescent.”
“Do you know where this stripper is now?” suit asked eagerly.
“Not exactly. She’s buried somewhere.”
Their eyes got wide and they spoke the one word at the same time, “Buried!”
“Yes, buried.” I couldn’t help it, I’m a smartass. “That’s what they do with dead people.”
The colonel asked, “How did she die?”
“I believe Hollis killed her. I was with a police detective when we found her and he held her as she died.”
The colonel continued, “Did she say anything before she died?”
“Yes.” I waited. I just knew they were going to love my next answer.
“Well, what did she say?” The colonel finally exploded.
“She talked in her native language. The cop spoke her language and he understood what she was saying. I just know it wasn’t any dialect I understood.”
Both of them asked at the same time, “Who was the cop?”
“Sakol.”
Suit asked, “Who or what is a Sakol?”
“Sakol is the name of the Seattle detective who was with me when we found Lan. He knew the stripper’s father back in country and he knew her when she was just a baby. They talked for quite some time as he held her before she died.”
“Did you hear either of them say anything about Crescent?”
Again with the Crescent thing. “No, I didn’t hear the word once. From what Sakol said, I got the impression she was asking him to tell her parents she was dead.”
Suit asked, “Where can we find Sakol?” As an afterthought he added, “Is Sakol his first name or his last name?”
“I don’t know. I’ve only heard him called Sakol.”
“Where can we find him?” they asked in unison again.
“At the main Seattle police station.”
“What?” the colonel shouted.
This was really going to be fun. “Yeah, Sakol is a Seattle cop. Remember, I told you he was a detective? He works homicide and I’ll bet he’d really like you two.”
The two of them glared at me for a moment and then looked at each other. It seemed I might finally won this round as the colonel swore and then they climbed back into the van, started it up and drove back across the field.
As I walked across the field behind them, I saw a police car arrive and turn on his flashing lights. The squad car partially blocked the exit and the officer was waiting for the van. I was too far away to hear anything, but I saw a hand extend from the driver’s side of the colonel’s vehicle and hand a piece of paper to the cop. The cop looked it over and then handed it back so quickly it could have been on fire. I had no idea what the piece of paper was, but it sure scared the hell out of the cop. The cop jumped back, made a very sloppy salute and then motioned for the colonel’s van to leave.
I continued over to my bike and once I was there I flung my leg over the seat, flipped the switch and then started it. While it warmed up, I slipped on my helmet. When I drove past the cop I saw he was still standing there staring after the colonel’s vehicle. I had no idea what went down between the colonel and the cop, but it sure left an impression on the cop. Once I was out in the street, I hightailed it back to my apartment.
Beanie was overjoyed to see me and I took her out back in the vacant lot. I waited for her to do her business and I wondered if I should give Sakol a heads up. When Beanie signaled me she was ready to go back inside, I followed her in. Once we were inside she got her treat and I rounded up my cell phone. I found Sakol in my contact list and pushed the send button.
He picked up on the third ring. He answered in his normal manner, “You talk, I listen.”
“Sakol, it’s Matt.”
He sounded pleased when he heard my voice. I explained why I was calling him and that I wanted to give him a heads up. I ended with, “I don’t really know who these two guys are, but they’re obsessed with something called Crescent.” The phone was still. So still I finally asked, “Sakol… you still there?”
In a very quiet voice Sakol asked, “They said Crescent? Are you positive?”
“Hell yes, Sakol, every time they talk to me all they do is question me about this Crescent thing. What do you know about it? Did Lan mention it before she died?”
Sakol answered quickly, “Matt, I have to run now. I will call you later.” The phone went dead in my hand. I went to the fridge to get something cold to drink and when the door opened, once again I saw vast emptiness. Damn it, I still needed to go to the store and shop. As I stood there looking into my empty fridge, it dawned on me. Sakol had not used his pidgin English. Whatever Crescent was, it made him forget all about the Charlie Chan way he usually talked.
I was curious before, and I’d wanted to know what Crescent was, but now it was becoming an obsession. I was starting to think it was time to go and visit Walter. It was time to find out exactly what he knew about this thing.
Since the elves were not going to stock my refrigerator, I decided that it was time to head to the grocery store before I did anything more regarding Crescent or Kim.
Chapter 5
GLADYS
The line at the grocery store checkout stand was longer than normal. A lot longer. If my cupboards hadn’t been so vacant, I would have left the store and returned later. But the total contents of my refrigerator consisted of a dried up lemon and half a bottle of catsup with some fuzzy green stuff growing inside. If I wanted food, I was stuck standing in line waiting to pay. Everyone seemed to have finished shopping at exactly the same time and there was just one harried, overworked checker trying to process the customers as quickly as she could. I felt sorry for her plight and I was not going to make things worse by making a comment regarding the store’s poor staffing.
Standing in the long line, bored out of my skull and with nothing better to do with my time, I started checking out the lovely, shapely bottom of the woman standing in front of me.
I know, I know. I’m a pig! But, in my defense, it was a nice butt, it deserved to be contemplated. You have to admit checking out a shapely bottom in a dress is much better than looking at the tabloid trash sitting in front of the checkout stand. How many times can anybody read about the president of the United States being the love child of a space alien and some TV star? Oh wait, that one was true. Anyway, the bottom that held my attention was far more interesting than any tabloid story.
Being a guy, I couldn’t tell you what the fabric of her dress was, I just knew the garment clung to her body in a suggestive way and since it was a dres
s, not pants or shorts, but a dress, I was doubly entranced. I believe the correct term is draped, as in the dress draped well on her body. The woman may have been considered a bit heavyset when compared to today’s idea of what women should look like, but the way her dress molded to her body made her very sensual. And since I hadn’t seen her face yet, I had no idea how old she was. I didn’t care. I was just scoping out her lovely round ass and very appealing presence, and waiting for the minutes to pass, thank you very much.
It seemed like every person in front of us was purchasing something that wouldn’t ring up properly so the checker had to keep asking for a price check. It was taking forever to get out of the store, but at this point I didn’t care. I was having an enjoyable time fantasizing about the lady in front of me in line. See what mischief a guy can get into just standing in a checkout line?
When it was the woman’s turn, as she lifted her basket up onto the checkout counter, her purse caught on something and several items fell out onto the floor. The woman was busy trying to keep anything else from falling out of her purse, so I knelt down and started to pick up some of her stuff off the floor. I picked up a couple items and put them on the counter and then got the rest rounded up. As I placed these on the counter, I had an opportunity to look up into the woman’s face. Looking down at me was a woman somewhere in her thirties and her long dark hair, soft brown eyes and sensual lips made her most pleasant to look at. When I put her things down, she smiled at me and in that instant she went from lovely to breathtaking.
She was tall enough so that we were almost looking at each other eye to eye. Her face seemed familiar and I had the nagging feeling I knew her, but I couldn’t figure out why. Any woman this attractive I should remember. The front of her dress was cut low and showed off her soft voluptuous chest and an excellent amount of cleavage. Some women who carry extra weight are disproportionate, but this lady, even though larger than average, was perfect.
Her posture was good, in other words she was standing up straight. Sad to say, I have found that many heavier women seem to stand round-shouldered, as if to say they are ashamed of their bodies. This woman stood with her shoulders back and as I looked at her, I thought she looked great. Her attitude was sexy. She stood there proudly and totally comfortable in her own body. She just looked so at ease with who she was and what she was that it was one of the sexiest sights I’d ever seen in my twisted life.
The woman paid her bill and turned back to look at me. As she thanked me she smiled again and I thought to myself again what a really sexy woman she was. That was it. That’s what set off the memory switch. As she picked up her bags to leave, I knew where I’d seen her before. The last time I had seen her she had been topless and was dancing at a strip club called Robbie’s in North Seattle. It seemed that life was providing me all kinds of reminders about my escapade on Ross Island and my acquired houseboat.
I paid for my groceries and picked up my bags and when I got to my truck, I noticed the lovely woman was parked next to me. When she saw me, she put her window down, gave me that million-dollar smile and said, “One more time, thanks.”
“You’re welcome, it was no problem.” And Beanie took that moment to get up and look out the window. The dancer was immediately taken by my cute little puppy.
“Oh my God, what a cute puppy. What’s its name?”
“Brenna, but I call her Beanie. She’s my baby.”
“What a doll,” she gushed.
I smiled back at the woman. “Thanks.” I reached inside my truck and picked Beanie up. I moved over to the woman’s car and held Beanie out. She reached out and took my puppy from my hands and as soon as Beanie was close enough, she reached out and licked the woman’s face. The woman laughed as she tried to hold Beanie out of reach. Her eyes looked a little moist as she looked up at me. “She’s adorable, what a sweetie.” There’s something about a puppy that just appeals to women, and Bean was the epitome.
“Thanks, she’s very special to me.” I paused for a moment and I felt this was as good a time as any to say something, since Bean continued to try and lick the woman’s face. “Do you mind if I say something?”
She gave me a puzzled look and replied, “No, why?”
“Well, for starters, you are stunning.” She beamed. I paused, not sure if she would appreciate that I recognized her from the club. “Well, I know who you are, or should I say I know what you do. I saw you at Robbie’s a while ago.”
She had a really cute grin on her face. “Really?” At that moment Bean managed to get in a good lick and because of her grin I felt more comfortable continuing.
“Yeah. And the reason I remember you so well is because you were by far the best dancer there the day I was there. Most of the other dancers just kind of moved and jiggled and made no effort to keep time with the music. They just took off their clothes and if there happened to be music playing, the two events were totally unrelated. You stood out in my mind because you actually danced, and kept time with the music, and,” I was embarrassed now, “well, obviously your dancing made an impression on me because I still remember it.” I looked down and I felt like a dork.
“My, aren’t you the silver-tongued devil?” She laughed and I liked the way she sounded. “Do you go to Robbie’s often?”
“No, that time when I saw you I was trying to meet one of your fellow dancers because she knew the location of somebody I needed to find. And the last time I was there it was a real downer. We were trying to find the other dancer before somebody else did.”
“What was the problem?” she asked, surprised.
“She knew some men from back where she came from and one of them was after her.”
I watched as her face fell and I wondered if I should remove Bean from her car. She sighed. “Oh. Do you mean Lan?”
“Yeah.” I noticed she had a tear in her eye and I stopped. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” I felt bad I’d made her cry.
The woman sat looking forward for a moment and then looked up at me, and I could see she still had tears in her eyes. “Most of the girls are over it, but I was very close to Lan. It really hurt when we lost her. I also knew her parents. She took me up to Canada once to meet them. They were very special.” She paused and looked back out of the windshield. Bean carefully reached up and gently licked at one of her tears. The dancer buried her face in Bean’s coat and then kissed the top of her head. I could see she had been thinking about what I said and as she held Bean out to me, she asked, “Are you a cop?”
Bean squirmed, trying to return to the dancer’s arms as I held her tightly. “No, I was just helping out.” I was sorry to bring up unhappy memories for her and I found there was nothing more to say. I took a chance; holding Bean in one hand, I reached out with my other hand and touched her face, wiping away the tear that was sliding down her cheek. She surprised me and reached up and held my hand against her cheek, and then turned her face and kissed my palm.
Her smile was bittersweet and she whispered, “Thanks, you’re sweet.” She looked at Bean and said, “And your puppy is just as sweet.”
I was still holding her face in my hand and I looked at the ground for a second. When I looked back at her, I had a tear in my eye as well. “For what it’s worth, I’ve had a hard time with it as well, and the cop I was with that night is also having a hard time with it. He knew her parents back in the old country.”
Her face perked up. “Are you talking about Sakol? You know Sakol?”
I took my hand away. “Yeah, we’re friends.”
“He is such a teddy bear. All of the girls just adore him. And that cute way he talks…”
I could see no reason to punch a hole in her balloon. I knew the truth about Sakol and the way he spoke. I had heard before that women thought he was sexy because of it, but this was my first encounter with women and Sakol. Funny, I’ve just never thought of him as a sexual being. I guess that pro
ves you can’t judge a book by its cover.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“My stage name is Sadie, but my real name is Gladys. The management doesn’t like the girls to use their real names and they really don’t like the name Gladys for a dancer.” She grinned up at me. “Please let me hold your puppy some more.” I decided the longer she held Bean, the longer I was going to be able to stand there and talk to her. I thought it a fair trade.
Between her comments and Bean’s happiness in returning to Gladys’ arms, all of it made me laugh. As far as watching a stripper named Gladys, I could see customers not getting all excited. I extended my hand and we shook. “I’m pleased to meet you, Gladys. My name is Matt, Matt Preston. Gladys, that’s kind of an old fashioned name.”
“Matt, I’m pleased to meet you, too,” Gladys held up Bean in front of her face and Bean lunged forward, planting a wet tongue on the dancer’s cheek. Giggling, she looked at Bean, “and I am happy to meet you too, little one.
“As far as the name goes, I’m named after a great aunt or somebody a long way back. By the way, thanks again for helping me back in the store and a really big thanks for not saying anything about me being a dancer. I mean, I have no problem being a dancer; it pays very well and it gives me a lot of free time, but there are times I would prefer people not know what I do for a living. They form an opinion and regardless of what I’m really like, I can’t get past their preconceived notions. Anyway, I shop here a lot and they know me, but they don’t know I’m an exotic dancer.” I watched her face as a new thought struck her. “Hey, we’re a long way from Robbie’s, do you live around here?” By now Bean had crawled out of Gladys’ lap and was exploring the interior of her car.
“Yeah, I live just over the hill. I have an apartment that looks out over Lake Union.”
“Cool. I’ve always wanted to look out over a lake or over water. Must be nice.”
“I’ll admit, I do enjoy the view.”
Gladys reached over and picked Bean up and handed her out to me. “Do you have a few minutes? Can I buy you a drink for helping a damsel in distress?” she asked.
Code Name: Crescent: A Matt Preston Novel Page 6
