Private Dick: Chapter One-Pizza Delivery
The ceiling fan made it’s doomed trip round and round again slowly remixing the stale air of my office. The weatherman with the squeaky voice on the radio this morning had said it would hit 100 degrees outside today. For once I think he was right. I had already taken off my blazer loosened my tie and unbuttoned the first three buttons of my shirt. I was already dripping with sweat. At this rate I wasn’t going to be wearing anything but my hat in an hour or so. Not to mention my pizza hadn’t arrived yet. I’d ordered that damn thing over an hour ago. They had no excuse either; the shop was right around the corner. I know what your thinking, why didn’t I just get off my lazy ass, go down there, and get it myself if it’s so close by? Well that would defeat the whole purpose of eating pizza and ruin the great intro to the story! A knock at the door, “Come in”, I said. I dove into a desk drawer to look for some cash to pay for my pizza. I hope this kid didn’t expect a big tip, if any, for his services. Finally, a crumpled up twenty in the back of the drawer. When I looked up from the side of the desk I was met not by the usual pimpled face pizza boy, but a leggy blonde. I started from the bottom and worked my way up. It had been a while since a damsel in distress had walked thru my door. She was dressed in a little black number. The skirt ended just under her knees and her little sweater top was just tight enough. She also had on a pair of white gloves and a hat with a see thru mesh black veil. Slowly she lifted the veil from her face. The traces of tears still lined her cheeks. “ I need your help Mr. Riddicik.”, she said this as if it was new line, but in my business I heard it used all the time. Being a private detective you couldn’t help but hear it used constantly.
“You and every one else in this town sweetheart.”, I motioned for her to sit in the chair across from my desk. My office wasn’t much. A few old chairs and an old worn out desk littered with paper work that I sat behind. I’d found it all at a garage sale a few years back. It was fairly new then, now, it had a coating of dust. Hell even I was beginning to gather dust. For a few moments the only sound was the gasping and whirling of the fan. Then I decided to break the silence, “So was there a point to you climbing up those three flights of stairs to my office?”
“Huh?”, It seemed she had been in thought when I’d asked her this.
“You gotta name?”, It was a place to start.
“My name is Caroline Fry. My brother has been missing for a number of weeks now. The police have been no help. I’d like to hire you to find my him.”, She must have rehearsed that a couple times in front of the mirror. She was wringing the life out of a small white handkerchief in her gloved hands as she spoke.
“Well it doesn’t say Private Detective on my door for nothing. You gotta picture of him?”, I knew the second she walked in my door this dame was gonna mean trouble. She took her time rifling thru her purse, and finally produced a small black and white photo. She slid it across the desk as best she could thru all the papers. It wasn’t a very good picture, but it would have to do.
“Whats your brothers name and where was he last seen?”
“My brother is William Johns. The last place he was seen was walking out of the Parisian bar on 42nd street.” Even I knew that the Parisian was not so nice a place to hang out. A lot things went down in there, that even I didn’t approve of.
“I’ll take the case”, I said figuring it was gonna be pretty open and shut. “But I like to be payed up front. It’s $700 a day.” She opened the small black purse again and produced a wad of cash the size of my fist. She placed it on the desk, then stood up and turned on her high black heels to leave. Then stopped and faced me. “One last thing Mr. Riddick. I don’t want all my money to go to waist.” With that she opened the squeaky door and left. Something about that doll didn’t add up. I was already wondering what exactly I’d gotten my self into this time. I couldn’t refuse the money though, I needed it bad. I was gonna end up working out of the dumpster in the back of the building if I didn’t get a decent cash flow coming thru here soon. I unrolled the money she’d placed on the toppling tower of files. I counted twice to make sure, yep $2100. That meant I was hired for three days. Even though I didn’;t like the way this case had started out, I could really use that $2100, after all I was on my last bottle of gin. Another knock at the door. If it was that dame again she better be coming back with my pizza.