A Solitary Evening

by P C Hatter

  “This would have been a one-family house at one time.”

  “I guess we should check it out.”

  “Considering this one’s bare, yes.”

  The search gained us nothing. Disgusted, I growled, “Nothing. He never had the papers.”

  “Aren’t there other places we could check?”

  I turned off my flashlight and stuffed it back in my pocket. Before I could say another word, I heard a noise at the front door. Velvet turned off her flashlight, and I pulled out my .45. Backed up against the wall trying to see through the doorway, I could just make out the dim outline of a pair of trench coats against the gray of the fog outside. Rhinefield’s bodyguards. I could hear their whispered voices in the darkness. My mind screamed that they’d followed me to try for a third time to kill me. With my free hand, I grabbed Velvets and pulled her behind me. She wasn’t shaking, but I thought I heard a soft metallic snap.

  The wolves entered the front room, and one turned on a flashlight. I could hear sounds of scraping furniture. Silently I told Velvet to stay put before I unlaced my shoes and stepped out of them into the hall. Laying on my stomach I looked into the room. The light of the wolf’s flashlight panned the room to settle on the curtain over the entrance to where Velvet waited for me.

  I said, “Are you looking for me?”

  There was a quick shift of the flashlight and the sound of the gun as the bullets hit the wall above my head. I shot back and heard the wheezing shriek of his death as he dropped to the floor. The other wolf didn’t stay in the room but dived through the curtained doorway.

  I was on my feet trying to decide which way to go. Velvet was in there, but no matter which door I chose, death was inevitable.

  This time I didn’t even try being quiet when I stepped into the doorway. I heard the crack of a gun but felt no pain.

  “Kaiser?” Velvet’s voice came out of the darkness.

  I could barely breathe to get the words out. “Velvet, are you all right?”

  “I shot him, Kaiser. Killed him.”

  Relief, concern, and a dozen other different emotions flooded my body, as I reached out for Velvet and enfolded her in my arms. “We need to get out of here.” I found my shoes and put them on.

  The path out of the house and down the alley felt easier somehow. The fog was still thick, but we made it without incident. The curious came out of their houses, and a police siren sounded in the distance. With our guns once again holstered, Velvet and I walked to the car and drove away.

  Velvet stared out the window. Worried, I said, “That’s another notch you can file into your .32.”

  When she turned to me, she was smiling. “I’m fine.” She grasped my hand. “He never saw me. Had his back to me the entire time. I couldn’t let him kill you.”

  I squeezed her hand but kept my eyes on the road.

  Velvet said, “If they were searching for the documents, that means they don’t have them either. So, who does?”

  I wanted to smack myself silly for not thinking of it sooner. The wolves hadn’t followed me. They were searching just like us. “Somehow they found out about Muffin and the fact Miles killed him. One of the witnesses must have said something to somebody.”

  “It doesn’t have to be a witness. Someone in the department could have said something. A murder is hard to keep secret.”

  “True.” I couldn’t help thinking that Velvet was always right. While I stayed hunched over the wheel of the car, Velvet shifted in her seat.

  “Then where could the documents be? Where would Miles have put them? Are we certain he ever had them?”

  “Miles could have hidden them outside his room.”

  “And risk getting mistaken as Douglas. I don’t think so.”

  I had to smile at her thought process. Velvet had just shot a guy and could still think straight. “Go on.”

  “Muffin’s ripped pocket was just that, a ripped pocket. Muffin must have put them somewhere. What if he lost them? The drivers at the pie factory said he could be forgetful or just plain dopy.”

  “I do not want to think about that possibility.”

  “When do you want to search Muffin’s apartment? Tonight?”

  “You want more?” I glanced at Velvet and couldn’t help chuckling. “I think we can wait until tomorrow.”

  “What if I don’t agree with you?”

  “The wolves are dead. They won’t be reporting to anybody and the papers won’t have the information until tomorrow. It’ll be fine.”

  Velvet still had reservations, but I convinced her otherwise and dropped her off at her apartment. “If anyone asks, I was at your place all night.”

  “You know you could make that statement partially true.”

  “Don’t tempt me. We’re engaged remember.”

  She rolled her eyes. “More waiting.”

  “Yes.” I kissed her. “Now go upstairs and go to bed. And hide your gun somewhere where no one is going to find it. Keep it there until I tell you otherwise.”

  I watched her get out of the car and walk into the building. While she was nice to watch, I didn’t like the idea of anyone coming out of the fog and going after her. Once Velvet was safely inside the building, I turned the car around and headed back to my apartment. Though it was late, there was one thing I needed to do.

  A box in my closet held parts and shells for a gun. I grabbed it and sat down at the kitchen table to clean my .45. Disassembling every piece, I cleaned and oiled every inch. When I put it back together, not only did I put in a new barrel but a new firing pin. The old barrel and pin were shoved into an empty beer can along with some paper to keep it from rattling and tossed down the garbage shoot for the incinerator.

  Only then did I crawl into bed.

  The alarm in the morning almost didn’t wake me, and I had to force myself to get moving. Showered, changed, and fed, I called Velvet. She wasn’t at home, but in the office.

  When she answered the phone, I asked, “How? I just want to crawl back in bed.”

  She chuckled, “Office hours are still eight to five, and I’m still a working female.”

  “Customers?”

  “No.”

  “Bills?”

  “No.”

  “Love me?”

  “Yes. Love me?”

  “Always.”

  “Duke called, so did Hopper. They both want to see you.”

  That got my attention. “If they call back, let them know I’ll be getting ahold of them. Anything in the newspapers?”

  “Big bold headlines. A couple of rival gangs had it out over on the East Side. Two bodies were left in an abandoned building when the shooting stopped.”

  “Don’t get too cocky, Duke’s a smart dog, and he probably suspects something. Did he mention it?”

  “No, but he was a bit cagy.”

  After we hung up, I slogged through the cold rain to see a friend of mine who owned a saloon. He wanted twenty dollars in exchange for the .32 I wanted. One that had never done anything but sit in a drawer. Between my asking, his call, and his discussion at the back door with a person I didn’t see, I had what I wanted. Instead of taking the thing, I pulled out the barrel and firing pin and told my friend to dump the rest in the trash.

  Velvet was in the office when I stopped by, and I told her to take a long lunch and switch out the parts. Next stop was to see Duke.

  There was a newspaper on his desk with one of those big headlines Velvet had told me about. Duke looked like he was ready to chew through every piece of rawhide from the pack he kept in his drawer.

  “Trouble?” I asked and sat down and pointed to the newspaper.

  “Plenty, can you tell me about it?”

  “Why would I know anything?”

  “Have you fired your gun lately?”

  “Need I remind you about the two attempts on my life? Making sure my gun is in peak condition is top priority, so the answer is yes.”

  Duke’s ears stayed low. “No paraffin test then. Min
d if I have my guys look at your gun.”

  I nodded and put my gun on his desk. Duke called someone to pick it up and run some tests. He didn’t want to talk, so I read the paper while we waited for the test to be finished. Both the wolves Velvet and I had shot had criminal records and were sent to prison more than once. The article didn’t have much more other than the usual speculation.

  Halfway through the funnies, the tech came back to the office with my gun and his report. After holstering my gun, I went back to reading the funnies while Duke compared the report to another on his desk.

  “Damn.”

  I looked up at Duke ready with a long speech but stopped when I saw the look on his face. “What’s wrong? Were they supposed to match?”

  “I was hoping. One was shot with a .45. Only three of us knew about Miles and where he was staying.”

  “Coincidence? It’s not like that neighborhood is free of crime.”

  Duke rubbed his muzzle. “Please tell me you switched the muzzle of your gun.”

  “Okay, I switched out the muzzle of my gun.”

  That changed the worry to a scowl. “Would you stop toying with me? I don’t even want to think of who fired the .32.”

  After folding the paper, I tossed it back on the desk. “Why finger me?”

  “Because one of the bodies had one of those green cards. Will you please tell me what you’re up to?”

  I lit a cigarette while gathering my thoughts. “A lot of things have happened and have yet to happen. We’ve been friends for a long time, and you know me. But you’re still a cop, you can’t do anything until something happens. Stop worrying and let me do what I do best. When I’m done, Hopper can get elected and clean house. Okay?”

  Duke nodded, and I left his office.

  When I got a chance to call Hopper, his secretary told me he was speaking at some hotel luncheon with U.N. delegates. Assuming he was getting jumpy and wanted to talk, I drove over to the hotel, parked, and walked in. The bird at the desk smiled while I hung around in the lobby.

  When Hopper came through the doors, he was swarmed by reporters. Only when he asked them to see him after the luncheon did they let him be. When he spotted me, Hopper headed straight to the manager’s office, and the bird followed. A few minutes later, the bird returned and scanned the room. Knowing who he was looking for, I nodded and ducked into the manager’s office.

  “Hello Douglas.”

  “Kaiser, how are you? Ever since I saw the papers this morning, I’ve been worried. Is everything all right?”

  “Stop worrying. Everything’s fine.”

  “But, the shooting?” Hopper opened his mouth several times, but nothing came out.

  “Duke was thinking the same thing. Did he talk to you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Listen, after Miles was killed, I looked over that place, so did Duke. If Miles did have papers, they weren’t at his place. I’ll continue looking, but the guy was probably bluffing. Stop working yourself up for no reason. Okay? I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

  Hopper nodded, and I told him to give me a few minutes before he left. There was a public phone in the lobby, and I used it to call Velvet.

  I asked, “Everything good?”

  “Yes, I switched everything a little while ago. Duke called again, he wants to see you.”

  “Again? Did he say why?”

  “No, he just said to have you contact him if I got ahold of you.”

  “Okay. I’ll probably be out until late, so I’ll pick you up at your place sometime tonight.”

  “Muffin?” Excitement tinted the sound of her voice.

  “Yep.”

  When I hung up with her, I called Duke. He sounded like he was bouncing off the walls. I told him to get a table at our favorite hole-in-the-wall, and I’d meet him in fifteen.

  The boar at the bar spotted me when I walked through the door and motioned toward the back booth. Duke was already there, looking like he was ready to explode.

  The bartender handed me a bottle and left us to our own devices. When he was gone, Duke pulled an envelope out of his pocket and tossed it in front of me. “Care to explain?”

  Inside the envelope was a fingerprint report. Most were mine, but a few belonged to a Rita Lester. Age thirty-two, the antelope, was a nurse and a former employee of a large insane asylum out west. Since it was a state job, her fingerprints were on file.

  “This came off the cigarette pack?”

  “Yes, and she worked in the same place that Miles was at. Where is she, Kaiser?”

  “Dead. Jumped off a bridge.”

  “What if I said, I don’t believe you?”

  I stuffed the report back in the envelope. “Then that’s just too bad, because she’s dead, and if you haven’t found her by now, the bodies probably been washed out to sea.”

  “Kaiser, I swear—”

  “I’m telling the truth, Duke. Remember when I came in asking about those cards. Well, I got them from her. When I tried stopping her from jumping, all I got was a handful of fabric from her coat. The cigarettes and cards were inside the pocket. I was already mad after the lecture I got from the judge and didn’t report it. But you know me and my curiosity, I just had to find out about those cards.”

  I took a slug of beer. “What if Rita Lester fell for Miles and helped him escape? When money got tight, they planned to put the squeeze on Douglas using their similarities. Where did the green cards come from? I don’t know. Maybe the two were commies, but when Miles kills Muffin, Rita realizes the rabbits more than crazy and jumps off the bridge.”

  “Nice scenario. You’d better not be yanking my chain. The feds have been sniffing around and are very interested in those cards.”

  “Don’t worry, Duke. I told you I have no interest on putting the smear on your rabbit. Plus, he’s my client. Now let’s order lunch and forget about this whole mess.”

  CHAPTER 8

  Lunch finished up by two, and I picked up a paper on the corner. The murders were already old hat, and the headlines were once again focused on the spy trials in New York and Washington. Once I read through the sheet, it went straight into the trash before I got in my car.

  Sometime along the drive, the fur on the back of my neck stood on end. I spotted a blue coupe tailing me. The same one I’d parked across from Dukes office. Wanting to get a good look at the driver, I headed down a one-way street and pulled into an empty space along the curb. The driver of the coupe didn’t even glance my way as he drove past. The young mole at the wheel wore a pork-pie hat.

  On the off chance I was not being paranoid, I wrote down the license plate number, then followed the coupe. After five minutes of going nowhere, I gave up and headed over to the courthouse. With all the talk about politics, I figured maybe I should learn something.

  After parking the car, I had to push my way through the crowd at the front of the courthouse. An attendant passed a note for me to give to Ellis Calen, and he came out to take me into the press seats. From what I could tell, the news squirrels were doing their job well, because the defendants were using every trick in the book to get the case thrown out. The general’s aides were there. The two rhinos sat in the second row. They passed a briefcase to an antelope, who in turn, passed it to one of the defendants.

  I couldn’t help thinking that they were being far too bold in announcing their association with a known criminal. After the judge adjured for the day, curiosity had me following the rhinos back to the same hotel where Hopper had his luncheon.

  In the lobby, General Pavlov was talking to a group of newspapers through an interpreter. The fawn at the newspaper stand looked bored, so I bought a pack of cigarettes and asked, “What’s with the boar with all the decorations on his coat?”

  “He was a speaker at the luncheon upstairs.” The fawn rolled her eyes. “His speech, which was given through an interpreter, was pumped through the speakers in the lobby. A waste of air, that one. Hopper was interesting to listen to, though. That ra
bbit had everybody cheering and making a big racket.”

  No sooner did I have the pack open and a cigarette in my mouth, than a dark furred hand with a lighter was getting it lit. “Hello, tiger.”

  “Hello, Mary.”

  Something was different about her, but I couldn’t tell what it was. I was going to ask her why she was at the hotel when I spotted her father, surrounded by reporters. The general’s interpreter was doing his job, though I knew the little pig didn’t need to, the boar could speak English just fine.

  Focusing on Mary, I said, “It’s been awhile.”

  “Yes, I would have thought you’d call me again.” The mink’s eyes were still unreadable.

  “So, you attended the luncheon?”

  “Oh no. Daddy was one of the speakers. I stayed in the lobby.”

  “Is there any reason for you to stick around?” I was still steamed at her for trying to get me killed. Let’s face it, when it comes to people who attempt to send my carcass to the processing plants, I can hold a grudge.

  “Not at all.” Mary smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Do you mind? I forgot something.”

  “Do you want me to go with you?”

  “No, I’ll be right back.”

  I watched her go and handed the fawn at the counter a ten spot. “It’s yours if you tell me where she goes and what she’s up to.”

  The fawn stuffed the ten down her shirt and scurried after Mary. She came back about a minute later still looking over her shoulder. “She talked to two guys. No clue as to what about.”

  “Thanks.”

  Mary came wandering back, and I took her hand and tucked it into the crook of my arm. The mink looked grim, and no wonder. She’d just fingered me again. I kept my cool while planning to scare some sense into her.

  On the way to the car, she kept hinting about going to my place. There was no way I was going to let a pair of thugs know where I slept. “How about we go back to the cabin?”

  For a minute, I thought I saw the glint of tears in her eyes. “It was nice.”

  A black sedan followed us, but I wasn’t too concerned, I’d spotted them and my .45 was fully loaded. When we were out of the city and the houses thinned out, I figured they’d pull up beside and the fun would start.