“Holy shit,” Alisa said, covering her mouth.
It was an enormous billboard picture of a fat, balding Spencer Pittman in the motel room, coated in peanut butter while Lola spanked him with a ping pong paddle in her sex kitten nurse outfit. A caption above the picture read Mr. Smooth at Work.
“I guess we know why Janice Pittman wanted high quality pictures,” Alisa added.
Justin belted out a laugh, slapping his knee, and it quickly became contagious, the rest of us in tears a few seconds later.
“What can I say? The magical adventures of life as a private investigator.”
Justin raised a glass. “Here’s to Booker. The man who survived mental and emotional torture, all for his client.”
Glasses clinked and laughter filled the air.
I was a survivor, indeed.
BOOKER – Hate City
A Novel
Book 3
By
John W. Mefford
1
He was afraid to look in the mirror.
Heaving breaths surged from his lungs, as bile dripped off the corners of his mouth. Squeezing his eyelids shut, his heart fluttered with a drumroll cadence. Searing heat poured out of his chest like molten lava.
Minutes passed, and the flames of nausea finally retreated. Drained and weary, the man peeled a sticky hand off a cigarette-stained Formica bathroom counter and buried a towel against his face that was drenched with perspiration.
A metal chain rattled off a light fixture from the lone fan spinning in the middle of his efficiency apartment. Suddenly, voices from outside cracked the silence.
“Yo, vato, como mi verga.”
The insulting jab was followed by laughter and more cursing in his native Spanish, then the voices quickly faded into the distance.
His thumping pulse finally lowering with each deep breath, he waited. And waited.
Would the skull-splitting headaches return, triggering another cataclysmic reaction inside his once unbreakable body? Peeking at the mirror to verify he was indeed still whole, at least on the outside, he wondered how much more pain he’d have to endure. How much he’d want to endure.
Another unexplained episode of convulsions, the third in the last week. Doctors said the frequency would only increase.
“Fuck the doctors, surgeons, all of them!” he growled, tossing the damp towel at his own reflection.
He could hear his lungs pump air through rigid lips. Jagged edges of chipped teeth pierced the skin just inside his lip, leaving a bitter taste of blood. His mind was strained to its limits from pressure, both physical and mental.
Plodding to a bedside table made of cheap particleboard leaning in one direction, the man used both hands to lift a container onto his spongy mattress. He settled on his knees and thumbed the Montecristo logo, golden swords crossed in a triangular pattern. Lifting the lid of the handcrafted wooden case, he inhaled the sweet aroma, pulling his eyes back into his head, his torso swaying as if he floated in the majestic Caribbean Ocean.
He removed one of the cigars, eyeing the red band with a majestic fleur-de-lis, a symbol of the French monarchy in the center, paying homage to the historical novel, The Count of Monte Cristo. But this company was all Cuba. Founded by Alonso Menendez in the 1930s, Montecristo earned a reputation as the highest quality cigars in the world, the biggest cigar company in all of Cuba—pre-Castro of course.
While he couldn’t alter history, at least he respected it.
Pulling out his late father’s lighter, he rubbed the polished metal, still able to recall days when Papa would bring home rolls of tobacco from the fields he worked. An honest day’s work. An honest day’s pay. He didn’t earn much, but it didn’t belong to a cause created by an idealist rebel in Russia.
He flicked the spark wheel and took a few puffs. Flavors of leather, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and the cigar’s trademark tangy wood created a euphoric sensation, one that calmed his nerves, allowed him to see reason.
Blowing out a swirl of smoke, he reminded himself why he’d made this journey west, to Dallas of all places. History had changed the world many years ago, his life more than just about anyone’s, he’d finally admitted. And Dallas would once again serve as the backdrop for another history lesson.
Payback was all that he had left. After all, his life wasn’t worth shit.
2
“Does it give you a sense of déjà vu?”
A thin man with tailored slacks and stylish black rimmed glasses stood just behind me, both of us viewing the scene from the southeast window of the Sixth Floor Museum, the exact same spot Lee Harvey Oswald had stood over fifty years earlier. Live oaks stretched their leafy fingers deeper into a similar majestic blue sky. As I held an iPad replaying the Zapruder film, it felt like I could reach a hand back into time and alter the events that led to the assassination of our thirty-fifth president.
“Eerie.” Shaking my head, my eyes couldn’t remove the glare off Elm Street sloping downward, people scurrying about on a warmish April morning.
“Have you noticed what you’re doing?” Granville Holguin, executive director of the museum, which was dedicated to the people and events around the John F. Kennedy assassination, spoke in a whisper, but I could still detect an accent north of the Red River.
Suddenly conspicuous, I opted not to move, hoping I hadn’t displaced a piece of history.
“Without knowing it, you’re crouching down, as if you were Oswald fifty years ago. Thousands before you have done the same.”
Without changing my angle, I looked back at Granville, grayish eyebrows arching higher on his forehead.
“Why do you think?” Human behavior intrigued me.
“I’ve asked hundreds. Some are simply awestruck, almost like they’re gawking at a celebrity’s life. Some are keenly interested in better understanding, or questioning as the case may be, how the shooting took place. And a few, I think, are as lost as Oswald was, purportedly. They might even be thinking how they would pull off a similar act, so despicable and heinous it would capture the world’s attention.”
I looked away, my mind replaying the grainy footage of a bullet exploding upon exiting a human skull—or entering the skull, if I were to believe another possible theory.
“I’m not naive, Mr. Adams.”
“Booker.”
“Yes, Booker. Sick people roam the streets and even occasionally visit a historical place. But we seek to educate. And through that education, we hope people learn from our history, not run from it.”
Moments later in Granville’s office, I tinkered with a bronze plated keychain from the museum’s gift store while staring out the window, this time looking northeasterly, a completely different setting than earlier.
“You have that list we talked about?”
Granville arched forward in his ergonomic chair and rattled his keyboard. “Give me a minute to print it off.”
Eyeing railroad tracks and a flurry of cars on Houston Street, I thought about the midnight call from my assistant at Booker & Associates, or partner, or whatever Alisa was this week.
“Wake up, Booker,” she said, her Southern lilt a bit salty.
“I’m awake. Just reading, that’s all.” I’d just started a non-fiction book Momma had given me for Christmas.
“I’m envious. What are you reading?”
“Summer of 1968. One of those years that left an imprint on our country and the world.”
“Wish I was curled up in bed with my little hairball, reading a sexy romance,” she said.
For a Texas girl who could still turn heads with her shapely curves and blond, curly hair, it was interesting to hear her constantly talk about spending time with her cat, and now a book. But no guy.
“What’s up, besides you at midnight?”
“Justin and I were cleaning up the bar, and Renee Dubois waltzed in looking for you.”
A few months back I’d taken a case for Renee, who ran the Dallas Performing Arts, to try to find out who was kill
ing young, talented performers in the Arts District. The trail took me all the way to Boston, but it ended back in Dallas, my own bedroom as it turns out.
“Me. Why me?”
“Well, she wasn’t just looking for you. She and her male friend were hoping to have a late-night drink. Apparently, they’d just finished watching an acoustic performance by Sting.”
“Meh.”
“Not a fan of Sting?”
“Let’s just say Renee and I probably have different tastes.” I thought about my eclectic collection of songs, everything from Jay Z to a folksy, local band called the Bird Dogs.
“Anyway, she mentioned that she’d received a call from Granville Holguin, the ED at the Sixth Floor Museum. He had no idea where to turn. They had a security breach, and he wasn’t thrilled about calling the police or the possibility of the story hitting the Internet. Too much bad publicity.”
From there, Alisa promised Renee that I’d be in Granville’s office first thing this morning. Actually, it was my second trip of the morning. I’d dropped off my five-year-old daughter, Samantha, at school, following a quick stop at 7-11 to pick up a package of Skittles. She’d earned the reward after a perfect report card. I gave her five colored candies and swore her to secrecy, fearing her Latin mother, my ex-fiancée from six years back, would hunt me down and peel the skin off my body. Damn, she had an emotional side, especially when it came to our daughter. Then again, when it came to Samantha, I wasn’t far behind.
A printer purred and spit out two pages, then a third. Granville handed me the sheets, stapled and still warm.
Resting a finger to his chin, he said, “The first two pages show all employees who work here, their roles, previous employers, home addresses, and phone numbers. The third is a list of what we believe is missing.”
“Thorough,” I said, flipping pages.
“I hope you understand the importance of this situation, Mr. Adams.”
“Booker. If I take on a case, I give it everything I have.”
Shifting glasses upward on the bridge of a slightly oversized nose, he appeared to be searching for the right words. “This may not be as salacious as the Arts District murders, but I assure you, when artifacts go missing from the Sixth Floor Museum, the impact can be far-reaching. We’d be on every news and smut program across the globe. I’d have paparazzi living outside my home, accosting my wife and kids.”
“Booker & Associates is used to handling cases that require…uh, delicate attention.”
He nodded, crossed his legs, flicking lent off his black trousers. “That’s what Renee told me.”
“It’s great to have walking references,” I said.
“Indeed. I realize that not going to the police is atypical. It’s a calculated move, one that has its risks. For both of us.”
I nodded. His ass was probably more on the line than mine. But that wouldn’t alter my approach or lessen my drive.
We reviewed the list of stolen items. “Seventeen items. Replacement value?”
His large eyeballs squirmed left and right, like I’d just asked a stupid question. “You can’t replace any of those items. That’s the travesty. They are pieces of history.”
“Let me ask it another way. How much are they insured for?”
Granville cleared his throat, then twisted a pen, and jotted down a note on a small pad with a gold logo at the top. “I’ll put that on my list.”
“When I first arrived earlier, you seemed certain this was an inside job. What makes you think one of your employees would steal from the museum? I’m assuming all of them were hired by you, have a certain amount of respect for history, the mission of your museum.”
“Good question.”
I could see I was winning him over, but that wasn’t my objective here. I only cared about trying to find motive for the crime.
“It’s difficult to understand what inspires people’s actions,” he said. “I’ve had almost every one of my employees in my home, playing with my kids. So this ordeal is unsettling on many levels.”
“I understand. I have a daughter. It wouldn’t sit right with me either.” I held his gaze for an extra second, trying to read him. Nothing alarming. “Back to your employees. No one that you suspect, whether it’s comments they’ve made, even rumors or gossip? Or maybe how they’ve changed their behavior?”
“Here, give me the list.”
I scooted the paper across his desk. He twisted his pen—appeared to be Mont Blanc—and circled three names, then handed it back to me.
“The first one, Charles, has recently gone through a divorce. He’s been depressed, moody, can’t get along with anyone. Teresa, the second one, just had a nose job.”
I tried to suppress my smile, but I kept my eyes on the paper, adding notes.
“She used to be one of our most reliable employees. Now she seems flighty, not mentally there all the time. And then there’s Yulia. She’s young, very pleasant. She lights up a room when she walks in. Great ideas. Never backs down from a challenge. I thought she had a great future. Just recently though, I can’t get anything out of her. It’s like she’s crawled into a shell.”
I made a few notes, then lifted my eyes.
“Where were you two nights ago?”
A slow smile cracked Granville’s lips. I think he used a fake whitener on his teeth. Anything to look thirty when he’s probably closer to fifty-five. “I was at home with my wife and kids. We had a dinner, spaghetti Bolognese, if I recall correctly. My wife is Italian. She makes the best dishes.”
“There all night?”
He shook a knowing finger. “Okay, I’ll indulge you. I stepped out just after ten. A quick trip to the store. Back at home by ten forty-five. My wife can verify it.”
“Where did you go?”
“Just the Exxon gas station down at the corner. I live off Munger.”
“What did you buy?”
Granville released a single chortle, tapping a hand on his desk. “You are persistent, aren’t you? I can see why you and Renee got along so well. She’s a tough woman.”
I let a quick grin pass my lips, then took another attempt. “What did you buy at the gas station?”
“Okay. I don’t want to waste your time digging up receipts and checking video footage. Cigarettes, if you must know.”
“That’s not a crime. Well, it’s not healthy, but it’s not my business.”
“I told my wife I stopped two years ago. But honestly, I’ve been taking long trips to the garbage can in the back alley, slipping in a few puffs just to keep me from clawing my own eyes out. Addiction is a bitch.”
With his forearms spread out on the desk, he puffed his cheeks, like he’d just opened his soul.
“This is all confidential, so no worries.”
“Thank you,” he said with a courteous nod, his tone reserved.
I felt my phone buzz inside my back pocket. I pulled it out and took a quick peek at the text. Alisa asking if we indeed had a new client.
“Is everyone aware that you’ve had a break-in?”
“Well, they all know that items have been misplaced. But I haven’t come right out and said we have a thief among us, no. I have a staff meeting over lunch, so I’ll let them know I’ve brought in a security consultant to review our procedures, ask questions. So you should be able to conduct a thorough investigation. Access to anywhere, anyone. Just give me until this afternoon.”
A Beatles song blared from the desk. Granville’s cell phone. He held a finger, brought the device to his ear, and swiveled away from me. I only heard a couple of words in a fake tone, “Oh, hi…” and then it became muffled. I lifted from my chair, walked back to the windows, once again tinkering with the keychain.
“Sorry about that,” Granville said.
“No problem. I think I have everything I need for now.” I watched a train plod along the tracks running parallel to Ross.
“You know the Texas School Book Depository Company had a second warehouse about a dozen blocks
north of this location.”
Sounded liked Granville loved to share his knowledge. I didn’t mind.
“The manager said he could have assigned Oswald to that location instead of this one. He’d hired Oswald and another guy at the same time. Just think about it. A simple decision could have changed history. Could have changed the world.”
I didn’t attempt to poke holes in his prognostication. “We’ll never know.”
“I guess not,” he added, then rose out of his chair, walked to his door. He stopped and turned around, scrunching his eyes, his head tilted ever so slightly.
“Were you aware the president is coming through Dallas?”
“Uh…no. Hadn’t heard that.”
“Not that he’ll be stopping by and touring our museum, but having our stolen property back…it just seems like we should be whole again before he arrives.”
For the first time, I could feel Granville’s love of this place, its importance to the community.
“I’ll do my best. How much time do I have?”
“A week. Six days, to be exact.”
We shook hands, and I wondered why I felt a tightness in my gut.
3
“You going to frame it?”
With a quick wink and an assuring smile, Albert Yates ruffled his son’s bushy head of hair, then slowly turned the muscular, powder blue Bentley Flying Spur onto Strait Lane—“Billionaire’s Row,” as some have called it.
Yates’ net worth hovered just over two hundred eighty million, depending on the markets and the value of his options handed down by the Board of Directors at Evergreen Energy. Being chairman certainly had its advantages. He’d reach that magical billion-dollar plateau soon enough, quite possibly before his twelve-year-old son, Jared, graduated from high school.
“Can you believe it, Dad, a signed baseball from Clayton Kershaw? The best pitcher of the twenty-first century!”
BOOKER Box Set #1 (Books 1-3: A Private Investigator Thriller Series of Crime and Suspense) Page 47