Thursday, April 1, 2010

I continued to walk the trail every morning and I read all I could about many things on the Internet. I was a sponge for information all of a sudden. I thought that maybe I should have been some kind of researcher at the library maybe. I would have happily continued my routine for months, if I hadn't owned a cell phone. I had dumped the land line phone when I moved, but the cell still haunted me.

"Hey Abba, I see you are still alive," the voice coming over the cheap cell phone was barely recognizable. Even the poor quality phone couldn't completely disguise the voice of my old partner.

"Yeah, I'm still alive are you?"

"Yeah but some days I have to check the obits to be sure." He said it with a laugh,

"What do you want Charlie, I know you aren't calling to be sociable. You have no social graces at all. I always liked that about you."

"Meet me for lunch at Marie's in thirty minutes and I'll give it up for you."

"You buying?" I asked.

"I'm buying mine," he replied.

"Cheap bastard," I said as I hit the disconnect button. I had time for a cup of coffee and a quick shower before the short drive to Marie's cafe.

If I had to meet a cop for lunch, a cop hangout seemed appropriate. It would be hard to find an hour, of any day, when at least one cop car didn't either sit in front of the cafe, or pass through the parking lot. Marie was the widow of an old bull cop who died on the line. I don't know how other towns treated their dead cop's family, but in Carthage we took care of them like they were our own family. If you wanted to rob a restaurant, it would have been the worlds biggest mistake to choose Marie's.

"Detective Abba, that no good Charlie Speaks is lookin' for you." Marie always greeted everyone who entered. She knew almost everyone of the couple of hundred customers, who passed through on any given day.

"Yeah, that sorry bastard called me on my cell phone. If I had knowed it was him, I would never have answered. He sure as hell ain't worth 10 cents total, let alone 10 cents a minute."

The older black lady burst into a laugh almost as big as she was. She led me to his table shaking her head. Charlie wasn't the only one at the table. Directly across from him sat Louise Mose. Louise had been a rising star, it looked as though she had made it to homicide anyway.

"You know Louise don't you Abba?" Charlie asked.

Yeah I know her. Hey Louise how's it going."

"Not bad John, how you liking retirement."

"Better than I expected actually."

"You look like you lost a few pounds," she suggested.

"Yeah, not being able to afford food has that effect on me."

"Careful what you admit to John, we are looking for someone who could be you."

"Then take me in. I got nothing better to do than sue you." I laughed.

"You remember that guy who raised the dear hounds. The one over in Bethel."

"Sure tobacco chewing, old man with long white hair."

"Yeah, he wore bib overalls," Charlie said.

"What crime did that old man commit. Hit somebody with his walker. He must be a hundred by now,"

"He didn't commit a crime somebody killed him. He was up here shopping at walmart when somebody hit him in the head. They took his wallet."

"Poor old bastard killed for a few bucks. I'm sure he didn't have much."

"His daughter said he paid cash for everything. No telling how much money he had on him."

"Old school," I said.

"How come you remember him," Louise asked looking at me.

"He came to town about twenty years ago. He was much younger and pretty damn tough back then. Me and Charlie was rookies bout that time. Old man got drunk and wanted to fight. Me and him went fist city. I had him down but he wouldn't stop resisting."

"Yeah, Abba hit him in the head with a sap. Old man shook his head then said, "That weren't fair boy." Abba threw the sap about twenty yards."

"Why would you do that?" Louise asked.

"So he couldn't shove it up my ass." I said it with a perfectly straight face. Charlie had set her up and she knew it almost instantly. She knew it from the sound of his laugh. I waited till they both stopped laughing. "Two things a man never forgets, his first women, and his first ass whuppin."

She waited for the laughter to subside, then she asked, "So who was it?"

"Edith Thompson," I said without missing a beat. I had been asked that about half the times Charlie and I told that story. I waited a few seconds then turned to Charlie, "So why tell me about the old man."

"You know the dude who iced him. I thought you might have an idea where he would go after."

"Who you looking for?"

"Baby George," Charlie said.

"Baby George is a no good junkie, but I never knowed him to do no armed robbery."

"He probably thought that the old man would just give it up. Knowing that mean old bastard, he probably kicked Baby in the balls."

"Most likely you can find him at his sister's place down on Cable Street." I said shaking my head in agreement.

"Take some backup if you go there for him," I suggested.

"Why? you said he was harmless," Louise reminded me.

"He is, his witch of a sister isn't. She tried to cut me a few years back."

"Which house on cable?" Charlie asked.

"Used to be that gray two story. It's that second house on the right north of Green."

"Probably ain't gray no more," Louise suggested.

"It ain't been gray in twenty five years," I admitted. "Just some gray flakes hanging on."

The grilled cheese sandwich served with the bowl of soup was delicious. Charlie must have had an informant budget after all, since he paid for my lunch. I said goodbye to the two of them, then drove home.

I was greeted in the drive by Misty. "Did Molly's bitch mother talk to you about me?"

"Nope, she mostly talked to me about Molly. Why? Is she giving you a hard time?"

"She hired someone to check up on me."

"Oh, I had no idea. Why would she do that?" Misty was mad as hell. People often give themselves away when they are angry.

"I have absolutely no idea. I have one of those credit alert things my dad gave me since he pays my credit card bill. I got an email that someone ran my credit check. I called and threatened to go over and whip his ass, so he told me he was doing it for a concerned mother. It wasn't hard to guess who that was."

"Well I had no idea. There isn't anything for him to find is there?"

"Of course not." She paused a few second then added. "Unless you count the two ex husbands, but those were accident, I promise. " She grinned and I knew it was a joke. It wasn't the best time for light humor, but it was harmless. Someone else might have been concerned, but I just laughed.

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