The Gumshoe Diaries (19 page)

“A penny’s about all their worth right now
love. Just hold me a while, okay,” Judy replied, drying her tears
on her lover’s shoulder.

--

LVMPD…Metro…Tuesday, Feb 24,
2009…10:30am

--

Wally Price replaced the telephone handset
back onto its cradle and leaned back a rickety old wooden captain’s
chair. The WWII Army issue desk and chair he sat at was out of
place in the ultra modern facility that was LVPD Metro. But I
suppose a 30 year career that would make Rebecca Tran’s wet dream,
Josh Stanford jealous, afforded you a few perks. Wally laced his
fingers behind his head and stared at the ceiling. He was doing the
usual gut testing, due diligence that he did whenever he heard from
me about a tiny favor. The last time I called in a marker from him
he nearly got dead helping me retrieve a skip for Sweet Baby’s Bail
Bonds in San Pedro (Sweet Baby was another Nam acquaintance of
ours). Turned out the skip just happened to be a hot prospect with
a local outlaw biker outfit which shall remain nameless to preserve
our mutual survival. Nothing to be gained opening that can of
worms! Suffice to say Wally got his man and then some. How was I
supposed to know the skip was really an undercover DEA operative?
Freaking Feds, it ain’t bad enough that the IRS is always getting
in your kitchen, but when the good guys get other good guys shot,
that just ain’t right! But I digress.

As soon as Wally finished ciphering over the
merits of my latest favor request he picked up his phone and dialed
Judy’s cell phone. He rubbed at the five o’clock shadow even though
it was only ten o’clock in the morning, and waited for her to
answer. She picked up on the fifth ring, just before he hung up,
secretly hoping that she wouldn’t and he could dodge a bullet.

“Hello,” Judy said softly?

“Dr. Looney,” asked Wally?

“Yes, who is this,” she replied?

“Wally Price lady, Whitey says I should call
you,” Wally answered gruffly.

“Oh thank God! Where are you right now,” Judy
exclaimed, relieved?

“I’m right here, where are you,” Wally
replied annoyed?

“Oh, sorry we’re at... Wait, I probably
shouldn’t say where we are over the phone, right?”

“No you shouldn’t. I guess you’re as smart as
Whitey says you are. Wherever you are, find a payphone and call me
back at this number. Do it in the next five minutes or we won’t be
meeting,
you got it
,” Wally instructed, giving her the
number and hanging up without waiting for her to reply.

Judy looked at the phone before hanging up.
Were all of Whitey’s friends’ assholes or what she wondered? No
matter, she didn’t have time to contemplate that. She had less than
five minutes to find a payphone and return this call and she was
pretty sure that Wally started the clock the instant he hung up on
her.

“Where are you going,” Ronnie hollered as she
came out of the bathroom with a towel around her just washed
hair?

“Out, I’ll be right back. Are you hungry,”
Judy asked as she went through the door.

She didn’t wait for Ronnie’s answer and
sprinted down the hall, nearly knocking over the maid’s cart
outside the room across from theirs. She skipped the elevator and
took the stairs, the clock was ticking. She had no idea how right
she was…

****

(“I swear, a woman’s breast is the hardest rock the
Almighty ever made, and I can find no sign on it…”)…Bear Claw to
Jeremiah Johnson…1972

Chapter Twenty-six

Anthony’s Bella Terra, 6
^th
and Broadway…Tuesday, Feb 24,
2009…12:30pm

When my whistle needs wetting I go to Casey’s
Pub, but when my stomach growls I hit the Bella Terra and order
Whitey’s Special
. Yeah, that’s right, I have dish named for
me, local celebrity that I am in certain circles. Check it out
sometime, it’s really on the menu, half a meatball sub, a mega
slice of Mama Manzano’s pizza with pepperoni of course; and a great
big bowl of pasta Bolognese, heavy on the Bolognese! It’s a
carbohydrate Tsunami baby! Sure, I always say that I do my best
thinking drinking, but .when the ol’ belly gauge is on “E” this
joint is choice
numero uno
Besides, the meal comes with a
bottomless glass of Chianti so technically I’m staying true to my
claim. I never was very good at quietly pondering an issue, if I
sit still for longer than ten minutes I fall asleep. As I recall
that was reason number 23 why Ronnie left me and changed teams? Be
that as it may, I was only two bites into the meatball sub when the
Manzano brothers spilled out of the kitchen and into the crowded
dining room, fists and expletives flying. Angelo and Johnny were
famous around town for settling all disputes with a shout, a pout
or a punch in the snout. Apparently this was one of the latter. All
the first time patrons scattered and ran for the exit, while the
rest of us regulars kept right on eating, enjoying the floor show.
I lifted my sub and my wine as Angelo’s backside brushed up against
my table courtesy the left hook delivered by his bigger, younger
brother Johnny. Fat Johnny always won the arguments when it came
round to
a punch in the snout
.

“Okay, okay,
I’ve-a-had-a
enough,”
Angelo said, catching his breath while he sat on the second course
of my meal, the mega slice of Mama’s pepperoni pizza. If she were
alive to see this I’d bet she’d box both of their ears!

“I’ll second that, he looks like he’s had it
Johnny,” I said, chiming in as the self appointed referee.

“Hey Whitey, I didn’t see you, when did you
get here,” Johnny asked as if this were just an every day event?
Actually, it was, what was I thinking?

“Got here about a half hour ago, didn’t Mike
Tyson over there tell you,” I answered, teasing Angelo a wee
bit.

“Shut up Whitey, I have my hands full with
tiny, I don’t have the energy to mix it up with both of you,”
Angelo replied as he held his head back and bled into my
napkin.

“Sorry Paley, I was just cracking wise, you
okay,” I said, apologizing and getting up to check on him, emptying
my wine glass first of course?

“
He’ll live
. Hey Marco, get
Whitey another slice and some more vino,
chop- chop
,” Johnny
said, answering for his brother and walking over to check on
him.

The boys were like ten year-olds making up on
the playground. The physical stuff was over, and like as not,
neither one of them remembered what exactly caused the beef in the
first place. You can bet it was something trivial, most beefs
between guys are. Women however are very different! Every beef
involving the fairer sex is a drama that is NEVER forgotten, just
glossed over until it needs to be resurrected for future beefs.
Don’t believe me? Wait until you’ve cohabitated with one a while,
you’ll see. Johnny had put some ice in a cloth napkin and wad
holding it to his brother’s forehead, swatting his hand away
intermittently as Angelo protested.

“Stop fighting me
stupido
and this
will be over in a minute,” Johnny said gruffly.

“Don’t call me stupid Johnny!”

“I’ll stop when you stop.”

“Are you fellas about finished? I need to
dine and dash, I’ve got a long drive ahead of me,” I said, pleading
with my two friends?

“Long drive, where to,” asked Angelo,
standing finally and taking a deep breath through his healed
nose?

“See, good as new,” Johnny said smiling.

“It was already beautiful before you socked
me
briccone
(bully),” protested Angelo.

“Don’t flatter yourself
mi
amico,
” Fat Johnny replied, chiding his older brother.

“So where you gotta drive so far to today,”
Johnny asked, turning his attention back to me as Marco arrived
with my slice and half a liter of wine?

“Vegas, I gotta
res…
” I started to
answer when the joint suddenly got crowded with cops.

I hadn’t seen so that much blue since the
Dodger/Giants game last summer! The place was crawling with
uniformed officers and I suddenly lost my appetite. I prepped
myself for an ass whipping and nickel lecture from my old boss and
was about to turn and great the fat bastard with my usual sarcasm
when young Becca Tran appeared. I have to admit, she was the last
person I expected to see, and I further admit that I was pleasantly
surprised. It would have been nicer if Iggie wasn’t tagging along,
but this wasn’t a social call so I let it slide.

“I told you we’d find him here Tran, it’s
feeding time Rebecca and Whitey’s a notorious
pizza-a-holic
,” Iggy quipped, shooting me a wink, chewing
noisily on a huge wad of gum.

“Why all the hardware Iggie, you expecting
trouble,” I asked nonchalantly, taking a sip of my wine?

“We’re not but you should be,” he
replied.

“Actually we’re hoping you can help us Mr.
Roode,” Becca said, interrupting Iggie before he could crack wise
again.

“With what,” I asked?

“And why should I be worried Iggie?”

“What Detective Ingram means Whitey is that
you and Judy Looney really stepped in it,” answered the voice I’d
been dreading.

“Oh, hello Lieutenant,” I said as pleasantly
as I could, trying avoid the aforementioned ass whipping and nickel
lecture.

“
Can it Roode
, don’t pretend to be
nice to me, I’ll only whip your sorry ass harder when the time
comes,” he replied agitated.

So much for diplomacy I guess? They taught us
in church that forgiveness is righteous and that absence makes the
heart grow fonder? Where Oscar and I are concerned, forgiveness is
for suckers and absence just makes the heart grow harder. Oh well,
I was running out of time. I needed to get on the road and fast. I
was expecting Wally to call anytime and I didn’t want to take that
call around Oscar and his Keystone cops. I was going to have to
hold my tongue and make nice with old fart until he got out
whatever was on his mind. Maybe concentrating on young Becca would
take the edge off of my bad attitude. Fat Johnny broke my
concentration nudging me in the ribs, a love tap that came with a
wee bit of pain.

“
Chi è la bella donna,”
he asked
nodding at Detective Tran, asking who the pretty woman was?

“
Shhhh, not now John,”
I whispered
from the side of my mouth.

“As I was saying Whitey, the dynamic duo here
found something you were probably looking for,” Oscar said,
pointing at Becca and Iggie.

“Yeah, and what might that be,” I asked
nicely?

“Detective Tran recovered a
whatcha-ma-call-it
, a flash drive at the UCLA crime scene. I
was a little surprised, no, disappointed, that you hadn’t found it
first. If you had I could have busted you for obstruction of
justice. As it is I’m going to have to let you walk for now. But
not before you tell me where Dr. Looney and your ex fled to,” Lt.
Celaya said, pulling his sport coat open to show me his shield as
well as his holstered .38 caliber snub nosed revolver.

The old piece was battle worn and it showed.
The pistol grip was chipped and faded, and I knew for a fact that
Oscar had no problem slapping leather and pumping rounds into
anyone who asked for it. And let’s just say that where I was
concerned, he was itching for me to give him a reason. He already
knew where I was headed, that was a given. If he didn’t hear me
outright telling the Manzano boys, he’d hear it from Iggie and
Becca, who did. He’d put two and two together sooner than later and
he’d know why Judy and Ronnie had run off to Vegas in the middle of
the night. Even Iggie who was no mathematician would figure that
out, only he’d add in the Wally factor which was something I wanted
to keep under wraps at least until I had a chance to see what was
what on that end. So, if there was any chance of cutting this
little reunion short I was going to need to tell the truth; or a
reasonable portion of it anyway. Besides, I was more than a little
curious what the hubbub was regarding this flash drive? Hadn’t Judy
found the microchip with all the real dirt on it; so I doubted that
whatever was on this thing could get us any deader, could it? No
matter, it was time to dance so I put on my tap shoes.

“Alright LT, you got me. Judy and the old
ball and chain went to Vegas, sort of a last minute thing you might
say,” I said trying to sound sincere.

“I know where they went Whitey, I want to
know why. And you’re not leaving here until I do,
you got
it
?”

“I got it Oscar, I got it. Look, Judy was
plenty scared after that kid got dead at the lab. She was afraid
you guys would think she was involved,” I explained.

“She was involved,” Oscar shouted, that blue
vein appearing at his temple!

“Alright, I meant she was responsible,” I
said, rephrasing.

“She may have been responsible Roode, that’s
why I want to talk to her,
without you,
” Oscar
roared, chasing away even the die hard Bella Terra patrons.

“Okay, okay, don’t bust a nut flatfoot, I’ll
find her and get her to call you,” I replied quickly, wearing the
taps off of my shoes.

“Nah, that doesn’t work for me Whitey, you’re
too slippery for color TV. Here’s what going to happen. You’re
going with us to LAX. You, and the dynamic duo over there are
taking the next flight to Vegas where you will take them directly
to Dr. Looney, do not pass go, do not collect $200, and then bring
her back here to la-la land where we are going to get to the bottom
of this.
Are we clear
,” Oscar ordered calmly as he buttoned
his sport coat and waived me toward the front door?

“
Crystal.
Shall we,” I replied looking
over at Becca and Iggie.

Marco tapped me on the shoulder and attempted
to hand me a to-go bag with my Whitey’s Special inside. I turned to
take it; still starving actually, but Oscar quickly intercepted
it.