Max Helms: Curse of the Relic (Max Helms - Private Investigator Book 1)

by Hammett, Walter

  “Yes sir!” Polly answered enthusiastically. They hadn’t had a paying job in quite some time, so this prospect was very exciting. “This IS a detective agency! Finding people is our specialty! Let me just get a little information from you, OK? First, what is YOUR name?”

  “Gustov Heinrich… But that’s not--”

  Polly interrupted, still excited about the possibility of a paying job. “And the name of the party you are trying to locate?”

  “I don’t know, Miss. I was following him a few moments ago when he entered this office.”

  “Well, we get quite a few visitors. This is a busy office building. Lots of offices. People often get lost and stop here to ask for directions.”

  * * *

  Rico reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to Max. “I ditched the sack in a locker at the Southern Pacific train station. Here is the locker info. Go get it and meet me at Joey’s apartment in an hour.”

  “Why Joey’s apartment?”

  “They already got Joey. They won’t be looking for anyone there.”

  “Why don’t you go get it and I’ll meet you at Joey’s?”

  “There’s no way I could safely get the sack. I got too much heat on me. Hopefully I can lose them while you pick it up.”

  Rico walked back to the window, opened the blinds, lifted the windowpane and climbed out onto the fire escape. He looked back at Max and said, “I hope it’s not too late for me.” He then closed the window and made his way down the fire escape.

  Max put the paper into his pocket and made his way to the door to see what was going on in the other room.

  * * *

  Max walked into the room to see Polly talking to Mr. Heinrich.

  “Are you sure a man didn’t just come in here a few minutes ago?” Mr. Heinrich asked Polly.

  “Well…” Polly started to answer as Max interrupted.

  “Can I help you, mack?”

  Mr. Heinrich turned to look at Max. He was so engrossed in conversation with Polly that he didn’t notice him enter the room. “Perhaps you can. My name is Gustov Heinrich and I’m looking for the man who just walked in here ahead of me. Can you tell me where he went?”

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Heinrich. I’m Max Helms. Do you mean the dumb-looking face just a few minutes ago? Leather coat?”

  “Yes, that is him.”

  “He had the wrong office. He wanted the office two doors down.”

  Mr. Heinrich was getting annoyed with the whole situation. He took a deep breath and composed himself. He looked past Max into the office and noticed two cups of coffee with steam still coming from them. He smirked ever so slightly as he spoke. “I’m sorry to have bothered you, Mr. Helms. You say he went to the office two doors down?”

  “Yeah, I think it’s an insurance company.”

  Mr. Heinrich put on his gloves, straightened out his hat and said, “I bid you good day, sir.”

  Turning to the door, Mr. Heinrich opened it. As he exited he turned to Polly and said, “My sincerest apologies if I was a bit…brash miss.”

  Mr. Heinrich continued out the door and closed it behind him. Polly and Max sat in silence for a minute, taking in everything that had just happened.

  “What was that all about?” asked Polly.

  “Rico got himself into trouble again, and this time it may be serious. I need to run an errand for him. Hopefully it won’t be a trip for biscuits! Do me a favor and call our chum Gordon at the police department and see if he knows anything about this Heinrich character. I’ll be in touch with you later.”

  “Will do, chief! Be careful!”

  “I always am.”

  Max checked his gun and holster, put on his coat and hat and headed out the door.

  Chapter 4: The Chase Is On

  There was a different smell in the air that afternoon, a smell that Max hadn’t smelled in quite some time. That smell was excitement. Max couldn’t help but smile as he walked down the street to his car. Sure, it wasn’t a paying job. But it was better than falling asleep in his chair while reading the paper.

  Max pulled out the keys to his grey Plymouth and noticed two men sitting in a car across the street watching him. He pretended not to notice them as he unlocked the door and entered the car.

  Max started the car and proceeded down the street. He checked his rear view mirror and saw the men turn their car around in pursuit.

  The drive to the Southern Pacific station was uneventful. Max watched the men follow him all the way there. He parked his car and got out. He noticed the men following him had parked a few spots away. Max smiled and thought, “These brunos don’t know what they’re in for.” Brunos was a word Max used to describe low-level flunkies in a gang. They reminded him of an old friend, Bruno, who wanted to be a gangster but never made it. He tilted his hat down over his brow and continued into the train station.

  * * *

  The train station bustled with activity that day. Max walked in a few feet, pulled the piece of paper that Rico gave him from his pocket and read “South S37 21-12-39.”

  Max looked around and saw signs for the different platforms. He figured “South” must have meant the South platform, so he went off in that direction.

  He approached the platform and noticed a row of lockers. They were numbered S1, S2, etc. He scanned the numbers until he saw S37 and made his way through the crowd to the locker.

  He looked around to see if the brunos were anywhere in sight. Feeling safe, he knelt down and began to try the combination. He mumbled the combination as he tried it. “Right 21. Left 12. Right 39.” He paused for a second, lifted the handle and the locker opened.

  Inside the locker he saw the sack Rico spoke of. He reached in, grabbed the sack and slowly pulled it out. Something about the sack enticed Max to open it. He could feel the power that Rico mentioned begin to emanate from within. He composed himself, stood back up and looked around. He saw the brunos in the crowd behind him watching his every move. He knew they couldn’t risk trying anything inside the station, so he made his way back to his car.

  * * *

  Max made it to his car without incident. He got in, started it up and backed out of the parking spot. He put the car into drive and noticed in the rear view mirror that the brunos were running towards him. He hit the gas and peeled out. He made a sharp left out of the parking lot onto Fourth Street.

  Max thought he had lost the brunos so he lit a cigar to celebrate. He had barely driven a block when he checked his mirror and saw the brunos weaving in and out of traffic trying to catch him.

  He made an abrupt left on Howard followed by a right on Fifth. The brunos were still behind him and had gained some ground. He crossed Market and heard a gunshot followed by a couple more shots. He checked his mirror and could see the passenger with his gun out the window. Max ducked down a bit and pulled his gun from its holster. Now Max could hear two guns being fired at him. Max stuck his gun out the window and fired a few shots in the return.

  The brunos had caught up to Max and rammed his car a few times. He made a series of two quick rights on Pine and Stockton. The evasive maneuvers gave him a little breathing room. He floored the car to try and get even more distance between himself and his assailants.

  He approached Market again and had an idea. He pulled into the intersection of Market and Stockton, slammed on his brakes, and turned the car sharply to the left. He did a power slide that ended on the other side of the intersection. He now faced the oncoming car and took aim.

  The driver of the pursuit car was so astonished with Max’s maneuver that he lost control and crashed into a lamp post. Max drove past the car with his gun still drawn. He smirked as he noticed the two men knocked out in each other’s arms like two lovers cuddling at Lovers’ Lane. He put his gun back in its holster, lit up another cigar and continued on to Joey’s apartment.

  Chapter 5: Joey’s Apartment…What a Mess

  Max arrived at Joey’s building and found a parking spot right i
n front. He put out his cigar and reached into the back seat to grab the sack.

  Exiting the car, Max noticed the bullet holes in it. He shook his head and ascended the stairs to the building’s front door.

  Max arrived at the top of the stairs and pushed the buzzer for Joey’s apartment. He looked over and noticed the door was slightly ajar. He nudged the door open slowly and entered the building.

  He stood in the foyer and closed the door behind him. He made his way up the stairs and turned right down the hallway.

  Max reached Joey’s apartment and saw the door was open. He pulled out his gun and peered into the room.

  Max slowly made his way into the apartment. The place had been ransacked. He looked towards the kitchen where he saw a man’s body face-down on the floor.

  Max approached with caution. When he reached the body, he looked to the right to see a second body further in the kitchen lying on the floor like a sack of potatoes.

  Max knelt down next to the body and slowly rolled it over. It was Rico. Rico’s face had a look of sheer terror on it as if he were frightened to death. “Rico, you poor bastard. You never could stay out of trouble, could you?” muttered Max.

  Max stood back up and made his way to the second body. He knelt down and rolled the body over. The man’s face looked very familiar to Max. He just couldn’t place a name to the face.

  Max stood back up and checked out the rest of the apartment. He didn’t find anyone else, living or dead. He went back to the kitchen to use the phone to call Polly. “Operator, patch me through to Max Helms Investigations.”

  “Yes sir,” responded the operator.

  Polly answered the phone almost immediately. “Helms Investigations.”

  “Polly, it’s Max. I need you to use your resources and find out everything we can about Johnny ‘Knuckles’ Vandalay.”

  “Johnny ‘Knuckles’ Vandalay? Got it! Right away!”

  “Thanks, dollface. I’m on my way back to the office now. Make sure you lock the office door.”

  “Lock the door? Is it THAT serious?”

  “Just trust me on this. Something strange is afoot and I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I will. So, please lock the door and don’t open it for anyone. I’ll see you in a few minutes. Goodbye!”

  “Goodbye, chief!”

  Max hung up the phone and headed for the door. He paused halfway out and looked back at Rico’s body. He bowed his head in regret as he closed the door and made his way to the car.

  * * *

  Max walked towards his car and looked around to make sure the brunos hadn’t caught up to him. He saw no sign of them. He hopped into his car and headed back to his office.

  He drove up to the spot where he last saw the brunos. A crowd had gathered and the police were now on the scene.

  Max drove past the brunos as they talked with the police. He smiled and tipped his hat to them. The brunos glared at Max as he drove off into the distance.

  Chapter 6: Back at the Office…

  Max walked down the hallway towards his office. Out of habit, he opened the door. He then remembered that he had asked Polly to lock up. He entered the office and didn’t get his usual greeting from Polly. Like Joey’s apartment, Max’s office had been ransacked.

  Max noticed a knife with a note on it stuck into Polly’s chair. He walked over to the chair, grabbed ahold of the knife in one hand and grasped the note in the other. He pulled the knife out and raised the note to his face. The note read, “We have Polly! Bring the sack to the Warehouse at Pier 12 if you want to see her alive again!”

  Max became enraged. He noticed a newspaper on the ground with the headline, “Police gun down Johnny ‘Knuckles’ Vandalay during attempted bank robbery.” He noticed the date on the paper was two weeks earlier.

  Max smirked, put the paper on the desk and walked over to the filing cabinet. He bent down and opened the bottom drawer. Reaching into the back of the drawer, he pulled out a derringer in an ankle holster. He lifted up his left pant leg and strapped the holster to his ankle.

  Max closed the drawer, stood back up and surveyed the mess in his office. He adjusted his hat and exited the office to rescue Polly.

  Chapter 7: Down on the Docks

  Al and Eddie were new additions to Mr. Heinrich’s gang, and that was why they got the worst assignments, though they had no complaints. The pay was good and the benefits were even better.

  The sun set as the fog rolled in. They waited and shivered on the top of the warehouse for Max’s arrival.

  Al saw car headlights pull up to the warehouse. He tapped Eddie on the shoulder and pointed in Max’s direction. They watched as Max got out of his car and drew his gun.

  Al whispered to Eddie, “Quick, go tell the boss he’s here. I’ll go down and welcome him appropriately.”

  Eddie nodded and went off to warn Mr. Heinrich. Al headed over to the ladder on the side of the building and climbed down to the ground.

  * * *

  Max surveyed the area in front of the warehouse. He closed the car door and walked cautiously towards the entrance.

  Max heard a gun fire off in the distance followed by a bullet ricocheting off the ground in front of him. He quickly ducked behind the car. He waited a few seconds and peeked over the hood. Another shot rang out and the front windshield of the car shattered.

  Max ducked down and made his way to the rear of the car. Another shot rang out. The bullet ricocheted off the trunk and knocked his hat off his head.

  Max kneeled down, picked up his hat and looked through the bullet hole in it. He mumbled, “This hat cost me a week’s pay. It will cost him his life, which isn’t worth a week’s pay.”

  Max put the hat back on, lay on the ground and peered out from under the car to see if he could spot the shooter.

  Max heard a snapping sound, as if someone had stepped on a stick. He looked in the direction the sound came from and saw a stack of pallets. He took aim in that direction and waited. Slowly, a hat rose above the pallets. He fired and hit the pallets. The hat quickly disappeared.

  Max got into a crouched position to get a better look. He noticed a boom lift with a pallet full of crates hanging from it above the spot where the hat had popped up.

  A smug look landed upon Max’s face. He steadied himself, took aim at the rope and fired. The bullet ripped through the rope. Max watched the pallet drop out of sight behind the stack of pallets. There was a loud crash followed by a man’s scream.

  Max stood up and cautiously walked towards the pallets. He crept around the pallets with his gun leading the way. He looked down to see the Al under the crates and covered in a white powdery substance. He noticed one of the crates was labeled “California Sugar Refinery.” “What a sweet and fitting end,” Max mumbled with a smile on his face.

  He saw Al’s hat near his side, unscathed. He bent down, picked up the hat, and looked inside. “Imported hat,” Max exclaimed quietly. “Much better than my dime-store hat. Thanks for the hat, chum.” He placed the hat on top of his head and it was a perfect fit. Max threw his old hat onto Al’s sugar-covered body. He smiled as he stood up and went back to his car.

  Max arrived at his car without incident. He put his pistol back into its shoulder holster and opened the trunk. He reached into the trunk and pulled out a tommy gun. He rubbed the gun like he was petting a cat and said, "I think I’ll need your assistance tonight, my old friend.”

  Closing the trunk, he walked to the passenger side of the car. He opened the door, reached in and retrieved the sack. He closed the door and made his way cautiously towards the warehouse’s entrance.

  Max grabbed the door knob and turned it slowly. He opened the door as quietly as possible. He wasn’t sure why he was trying to be so quiet. Surely everyone knew he was there due to the gunfight.

  Max closed the door as quietly as he had opened it. He leaned the tommy gun against his leg and started to reach into his jacket for his pistol. A faint garlic smell suddenly filled the air and he felt the c
old barrel of a gun press against the left side of his temple. “Move and you’re dead!” a voice commanded from the dark.

  Max looked to his left to see a Colt .45 in an outstretched arm fading into the shadows. He could see the outline of a man wearing a hat at the end of the arm. “Drop your gun and slowly hand me the sack. Don’t try anything stupid!” the stranger demanded.

  The smell of garlic intensified when the stranger spoke. Max slowly handed the sack to the stranger. His eyes became used to the light and he could make out more details. He noticed that the stranger paid more attention to the sack than he did to his hand that reached into his jacket. “All right, hurry it up, not that slow!” the stranger said angrily.

  The pressure from the gun against him began to subside. Max quickly grabbed his pistol and struck the stranger across the neck. The stranger crumpled to the ground. “I guess that wasn’t too stupid for you,” Max said sarcastically. “I recommend Breethem Mints after a meal full of garlic.”

  Max holstered his pistol, reached down and grabbed the stranger’s gun. He saw light at the end of the corridor and cautiously walked towards it.

  * * *

  Max was taken aback at what he saw before him. At the back of the warehouse was a stage with two sets of stairs on each side leading up. A large altar was centered on the stage between the stairs. The altar appeared to be made of blood-red marble. In front of the altar was a bronze fire pit with strange symbols on it. The fire pit emitted an eerie light-green smoke, which hung in the rafters of the warehouse. Behind the altar at the back of the stage he saw a huge black tapestry. It went from the top of the warehouse to the stage and stretched from wall to wall. It was adorned on its sides by red symbols not unlike the ones on the fire pit. In the center of the tapestry was a larger red symbol.

  Max clung to the wall as he entered the room. A shot rang out and a bullet ricocheted off the wall above his head. He quickly ducked back into the corridor.