I came back and found Misty waiting for me at the bar. “Cable! You’re not due until tomorrow night! What happened? Why are you here tonight?”
I took her arm gently and put my lips close to her ear. “The damned truth is I was aching to see you again—I know it’s stupid—”
“—oh, Cable…I was aching for you since last night. I’m so glad you’re here. I do have to get back and sing my next song in a minute.”
“I’m—I’m also not alone. There’s a young lady with me—we’re over there—in the rear booth by the potted palm.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Young lady? Is this new or old, someone in your collection or someone you’re considering?”
“No, babe, nothing like that. Zelda Blodgett was Honey Combes’ roommate before she—she—well, anyway, it’s a long story, but come over later and I’ll introduce you to Zelda.”
“Zelda? You bet I will. I’m sure there’s an explanation why the two of you happened to show up here.”
“To be sure, babe, there is. But….uh, later, okay?”
She left me and walked back to the bandstand and I went back to join Zelda. “Gees, Cable, you sure helped that lady out. You’re gutsy and strong. Did you know her?”
“Well, sort of.” I sat back down next to my little plant lady. “I’ve—I’ve heard her sing before in other clubs. We’re kind of getting to know each other, if you know what I mean.”
Zelda frowned. “Oh, yes, I do know what you mean. How come it’s always some other woman you get attracted to? Me? Ha! I don’t even count, do I? Or at least not in that department of your life.” She folded her arms. “Humph! Men! They’re all alike.”
I chuckled to myself. “You’re right about that, Zelda. I didn’t bring you here to see Misty though, but to enjoy the evening with you.”
“Yeah…I’m grateful for that. Do you have any of that gin you usually carry around in your flask? I could sure use a swig just about now.”
“Sure, kid.” I reached inside my coat pocket, took out my flask, and poured a generous amount into Zelda’s lime soda water. She drank the whole thing down in one gulp.
“Whew! Now I feel better.”
“Cheer up. As I just said, I’m with you tonight. It’s not like I’m going home with her or anything.”
“You might just as well—the way she looked at you when she left. Gees, why doesn’t anybody notice me that way?”
“You’re wonderful, Zelda. And did I tell you, you look stupendous in that sexy black dress you’re wearing. I even like the way you have your hair up.”
“Really? Thanks, Cable. I’m sorry…I don’t know why I go on thinking you and I might be an item someday. You’ve been up front with me, and I appreciate that.”
“I like you, Miss Blodgett,” I said, taking her hand and patting it like a friendly uncle. “I wouldn’t want to lose you. So, try to keep in mind, no matter who else is in my life, no one can take your place.”
She cheered up. “I wouldn’t ever want to lose you, either.” Then her eyes brightened. “May I have another little shot of your gin?”
By the time Misty went into her next song, Zelda and I were back to normal. It’s funny how you have to smooth things over so a dame can feel something exclusive with you. As I watched Misty, it was easy to see how lost men can get obsessing over a woman. A different man than myself would have caved in to Misty’s charm and ended up with a ring through his nose, if she let him. But I was tough and independent and my breathing didn’t depend on some broad bestowing her favors on me.
Misty was singing Don’t Blame Me and I knew she had a message in that song for me. “I can’t help it if that doggone moon above, makes me need…someone like you to love…blame your kiss, as sweet as a kiss can be, and blame all your charms that melt in my arms, but don’t blame me…”
She finished to great applause and started to make her way over to our table when a slight, older woman stopped her and began to converse with her. The exchange seemed a bit heated. I could tell Misty was frustrated and ended up bringing the woman with her.
I stood up to greet them. “Damn, I never heard the song done that way, lady. You sure can deliver a tune, Misty Sheridan.”
“She had a good teacher,” the older woman said with a thick French accent. “I taught her to enunciate and cross her T’s.”
“Cable, this is Edie Clason, my one and only vocal coach—and my long-time, uh…special partner.”
That really sounded strange coming from Misty’s lips. And even my little botanist companion acted surprised. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Clason.” I acknowledged Zelda. “And this is Zelda Blodgett, plant lover and botanist extraordinaire.”
“How do you do…?” The older woman mumbled a response to Zelda and Misty was giving her the once over. I guess seen from the perspective of another woman, she looked pretty damn good and it could easily have been said—which happened to be true—that Zelda dressed that evening to impress me—or who knows? Maybe women dress to parade their feathers to other women as well. Men are damned if they do and damned if they don’t, I thought.
There was some minor chit-chat and Misty excused herself and went back up to the bandstand. Edie Clason started to walk away and then returned to our table. “Would you ‘ave a moment, Mr. Denning? I would like to speak to you…privately, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure,” I said, knowing what was coming.
She guided me outside into the cool oceanic air. She was short and very skinny, with thin lips and dark, but warm eyes. She wore an all-black outfit with pants and black patent leather shoes. Her hair was a dirty brown-grey with a touch of Henna in it. Her face was worn and her teeth were discolored a pale yellow as she spoke. “I’m sure you know what is going on, Mr. Denning. My Misty is smitten…a passing thing, I assure you, but I cannot afford to ‘ave her—what would you say?—detoured or derailed from her career.”
“Hey, I’m her number one fan. That’s how I met her, admiring her talent and beauty. And isn’t that her choice, lady? Nothing stays the same forever, you know. Misty’s a beautiful young woman with a lot of mileage yet to be traveled—”
“—please, Mr. Denning. I don’t want some man to wear her out on ze road, so to speak. I would like you to come to my Chateau Briand Club tomorrow evening. I want you to see our world, Misty’s and mine. Zen maybe you will understand. Will you do zis?”
Of course, I didn’t mention I was seeing Misty late that night. “Yeah, I guess I could pop over for a while. When do you start and where is your club—I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of it.”
“Underground, ze true underground, where zose of us who are not accepted by Christian society go. Is located on Los Angeles Street, below Broadway. Is right under ze Woolworth Building ‘eadquarters, 811 Los Angeles Street. Per’aps around ten o’clock?”
That was one of the seediest places in the city, only the lost and lonely, the disenfranchised and the forgotten, like Crazy Jack, hung out there. “Okay, Miss Clason, I’ll—I’ll be there. But don’t expect me to be a yes man—I’m known to have my own take on things.”
“Yes, Mr. Denning. I beg of you not to tell Misty. Understandably, she would be upset wis me. Sank you.” She tucked her little purse under her arm and walked away.
I went back inside and rejoined Zelda who had been sitting on pins and needles. “Did she take a swing at you?” she joked, bright-eyed and curious. “If looks could kill…Gees, Cable, that older woman is your new friend’s lover? I don’t get it.”
“Sometimes it’s not for us to get, doll. Let’s do some dancing.”
Zelda and I went onto the floor. I hoped Misty wouldn’t see us in the semi-lit room. As large as that ballroom floor was, everyone was there to dance and you had to really hold on to your partner, or you might lose her. Misty was singing another ‘message’ song to me. The tune was called It’s the Talk of the Town, a kind of lament of a broken love affair. I was wondering if that was meant as a swan song for Edie Clason or for her fru
stration with getting started up with me. But Zelda was having a good time. “Gees, Cable, having you all to myself—at last—feels so good.”
“I’m sorry about the interruptions tonight. I had no idea—”
“—that’s okay. You didn’t know. But I wish you had told me you knew Misty Sheridan, I would have come naked or something—I mean to compete with her, you’d really have to have something special.”
I laughed. “Naw, I like you just the way you are, Zelda.” She snuggled those large, warm breasts into my chest.
“I hope so. Maybe I could be your back-up girl, you know, the one the detective novels talk about. A kind of Girl Friday with a twist, you know.”
We had a good time the rest of the evening. As we were leaving, I waved up at the bandstand to Misty but she couldn’t see me, so we left. We took the trolley to Zelda’s little place. I had never seen it before, and as expected, the damn place looked pretty much like an apartment-greenhouse. She opened the door with her key. “Now,” she kidded me, “I want you to know I’m not going to try and seduce you—although I’d like to.” We got inside. “You didn’t say, but what did that Edie lady want?”
“She wanted to talk to me privately tomorrow night—late.”
“She’s going to try and discourage you from pursuing you know who, isn’t she?” Zelda put a low lamp on in the corner near a sofa and lit a votive candle.
“I suspect, something like that.”
“Well, maybe if she persuades you, then there might be room for me. You just don’t know how much I enjoy being with you, Cable.”
“Zelda—if I made love to every girl I met and liked—well, hell, I’d be dead by now!”
“I’m just not any other girl, Cable. I’m special…because…because I’ve loved you from the first day I met you when all you saw was a homely overweight prude with her nose in plant books.” She went to a cupboard, got out a bottle of gin and poured us both a large shot. “You see, you’ve tainted me already. I’m a private drinker now.”
“You gotta watch that stuff, it’ll creep up on you.”
“You can creep up on me anytime, detective.”
“I know you’re not just anybody, Zelda. But you’ve got to have the initial attraction for a babe, you know—”
“—like you have for Misty Sheridan, and maybe you had for Honey. Or that cute little Mexican lady you told me about who also…died. But what happens to girls like me, Cable—what happens to sensual young women who may not look like the tall, perfect model in the latest version of some fashion magazine?”
“You find someone who fits, Zelda, someone who wraps around you like a soft red ribbon on Christmas morning and glows with you like the lights on the tree. You should know, Adora Moreno was the only woman I was ever really in love with. I don’t know if I could ever allow myself to let that happen again. It’s hurts too much. I loved Honey, but it was different. Being in love with someone—well, you can’t describe it, you’ve just got to experience it, live it out…feel it with that other person.”
She reflected a minute, then spoke slowly, looking down at the floor. “Funny…that’s how I feel about you… but isn’t it perverse…life…that only one of us feels it?
“Yeah, it is, kid. I don’t know what else to say about it…things are what they are. We can’t help the way we feel—or don’t feel.”
“So I guess that’s it, isn’t it?” Then she brightened up. “Can we still be friends? I promise I won’t drag you through my own whining anymore. I realize you’ve got a lot going on in your life. Maybe you can use a secretary who will keep your files straight, take your phone calls when you’re not in the office and tidy up after you. With the Depression and all, I don’t think I’m going to be getting a botanist’s position anytime soon.”
“That’d be swell, Zelda. Thanks for offering. I can’t pay you much. How much is your rent and food and other expenses?”
“About fifty dollars a month. I can live on that if I have to.”
“Well, I’ll tell you what. Let’s give it a go and when I get a good paying case in, I’ll give you a bonus. How’s that sound?”
“Perfect!” she said. I also knew that part of her enthusiasm was the knowledge that Zelda Blodgett would still be around Cable Denning fairly frequently. But I let it go. “When do I start?”
“In a way, you’ve started already—while I was gone. Come on in Monday and I’ll show you the ropes. Files, phone directory listings—even where the dust mop is,” I kidded her.
She smiled at me, standing there looking loving and sexy in her tight-fitting black-satin dress with that ample cleavage. “You make me laugh, Cable. I’ll always be grateful, I mean, even to be just your friend.”
“Sometimes friendship is more powerful than the roller coaster of intimate relationships. Passions come and go, but a good friendship lasts through the years. Who knows, we may even spend a Christmas together somewhere one day.”
“Really? I’d love that. I’ve really got no one else. I have one girlfriend who’s a bookworm like me. Lynne is hopeless. She’s skinny as a rail, got nothing on top, if you know what I mean. I don’t think guys even look at her. But then again, they don’t much look at me, either.”
“Well, I’d better get going. Need to catch up on some sleep,” I said, checking out Zelda’s pretty face.
“I didn’t tell you, but you looked so handsome tonight. I could sense right away that the older lady was jealous of you when that singer of yours came over to our booth and started to chat. Anyway, any girl with half a brain would love you, Cable. I do…”
I hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re the real thing, lady. And I’m proud to call you my friend, Zelda Blodgett.”
“Is that all I get? Not even a little smooch on the lips?”
“Now…office rules, begin here and now. No overly affectionate displays during working hours.”
“And after working hours?” she said in a very sexy voice.
“We can have a gin tonic and talk about the day, if I don’t have to go out and get killed or something.”
“Please—don’t joke about things like that. I know your work is dangerous, but I realize you’ll never tell me all the things you do. And maybe that’s good, because I think I’ll feel better not knowing.”
I walked to her door and turned back to look at her. “You’re a hell of a girl, Missy.”
She ran to me, threw her arms around me, and began to laugh and cry all at the same time. “Cable! Let me love you in whatever way I can! Even if it can’t be as the woman I would like it to be—but please let me love you—and don’t be afraid of my love. I promise, I won’t smother you.”
“Thanks, Zelda…” I said that, seeing the pathos in her eyes, the disappointment when the man she had her sights set on takes a left turn. But I knew she had cooked up that fantasy long ago. Even when a guy is on the level, women think what they’re gonna think.
Little Boy Blue
I got back to the office thinking how much deep shit a guy can get into in one night. I sat back in my comfy chair smoking my last cigarette for the night when the phone rang. “Yeah?” I said in a disgruntled voice.
“Well, don’t bite my head off, but you didn’t say goodnight. Familiarity breeds contempt, you know.”
I snickered. “Actually, I have a love-hate relationship with women. I did wave to you on the bandstand, but you were still singing.”
“Oh. I’m glad you did. Thanks. I hope Edie didn’t upset you.”
“Naw, I’m gonna drop in to her little smoke den tomorrow evening around ten or so and I’m sure she’ll level her guns at me with both barrels. But don’t tell her I told you.”
“Tomorrow evening? God, I know she’s going to try to keep you away from me. What are her chances?”
“Not too good. That’ll be pretty hard, babe.”
“I hope so. You do remember you’re supposed to see me, don’t you? I’m sorry I reacted to your little friend the way I did. I fo
und myself being jealous, Cable—definitely not like me. When was I ever jealous of another woman because of a man?”
“I don’t know, when were you?”
“Never ‘til now. And whether you know it or not, your little Zelda is quite taken with you. Are you sleeping with her? I just want to know where I stand.”
“First things first, lady. First of all, you said not until late tomorrow, right? So I’m coming late. Second, Zelda’s my little plant friend and she’s going to be working as my secretary beginning Monday. Zelda’s not my type, doll—you are. Just remember that. If we don’t trust each other up front, there’s no use beginning.”
“I know you’re right. I don’t know why I’m so insecure. Maybe with the Edie thing and all—and I’m tired. Long night. And thanks for helping me out with that drunk guy.” She paused. “I—I, uh, think your little Zelda’s quite attractive and would probably love you to death if you gave her half a chance.”
“She said you were so pretty that she’d probably have to come naked in order to capture my attention away from you.”
“Smart girl. I think I might like Zelda.”
“She’s the real thing. I don’t want you to worry about us before we get started, so let’s leave it at that, okay?”
There was another pause at the other end of the line. “Okay…”
I didn’t want the conversation to have a negative or fearful overhang. But we find chinks in the strongest armor, and Misty had a few that were already apparent. “I just want you to remember, doll, I came over with Zelda because the original joint we were going to was jammed, so I suggested yours. I had promised her I’d thank her for watching my office while I was gone by taking her out to dinner. But down deep I wanted to see you, even if it meant watching you from a distance. It’s that simple.”
“Forgive me, Cable. I felt the same—and still feel the same. I promise I’ll be in a better place tomorrow night. Will you stay over?”
“I don’t know…that kind of depends on the babe I’m with and how she treats me.”
Love Me or Kill Me Page 31