“Doc said I should be out of here in another week, but then it’s physical therapy for a while. I guess I was pretty banged up all right.”
“I was trying to bring Buck in, you know, sneak him in, but they caught me.”
“How in the world did you figure to get away with smuggling a 100 pound dog past security?”
“Oh, that was the easy part. I just put a hat and coat on him.”
“You’re killing me. You’re killing me.”
The next day around noon Rachel came by and got his robe out of the closet as an attendant came in with a wheelchair.
“What’s going on?” Clayton asked.
“I got a surprise for you, Mr. Patch.”
“What does that mean, Patch?”
“Well, you are stitched together. That would be a good name for you.”
“Hey, I kind of like that Dink, yes, ma’am, you do good, but I don’t need no wheelchair. No thank you.”
“Well, hospital rules. You sure you’ll be alright?”
“Are you kidding I’ve been up and down these halls for three days now, where you been anyway?”
“I had to go out of town for a couple of days. I told you last time I was here. You trying to aggravate me, Mr.? Now get your caboose out of that bed. We are going for a little walk.”
Down the hall to the elevator and down the elevator to the ground floor. Once in the lobby, Clayton decided he’d better rest the minute. Sweat was breaking out on his forehead and Dink could tell he was in pain.
“It’s just a little further. You stay here in the wheelchair, and no argument either.” She got him situated and pushed him through a set of double doors to a little courtyard just outside the lobby. He was outside for the first time in two weeks. He felt the sun on his face. It felt good.
“Gosh Dink, you really know how to lift a guy’s spirits. This is great.”
“But wait, there’s more,” and around the corner came Buck pulling Henry behind him.
“Buck stay,” Clayton shouted, and Buck stopped short and just stood there like he was planted.
Clayton rolled his wheelchair over to him. With Clayton still in its wheelchair, the dog was as tall as he was.
“Buck sit,” and the dog sat. “Good boy, good boy,” Clayton said as he reached out and hugged Buck’s thick neck and ruffed his ears. Then, Buck couldn’t stand it anymore as he smothered Clayton in doggie kisses, sniffing and pawing, his tail wagging.
“This is the nicest thing you guys could have done for me and I’ll remember it to my dying day.”
“Enough with the mush,” Henry said, “but hasn’t Buck grown? I bet he’s over 100 pounds.” So the four of them formed a Rumba chain and danced around in a large circle. Clayton in his wheelchair, then Rachel, then, Henry, then Buck, following on his leash. All joined together having the time of their lives.
After they had all gone. Clayton was up in his room and had just finished his supper when a light tap came from his open door.
“Are you Mr. Crawford?” the visitor asked. The man was well over 6 foot with a full head of black wavy hair and dark brown eyes which somehow added to a somewhat stern countenance. He was broad shouldered with a narrow waist extremely fit looking. He looked to be in his late-40s to early 50s.
“That I am sir and you must be Ralph Short. Though for the life of me I can’t imagine anyone calling you short stuff.”
There was the slightest smile that crossed Ralph’s face, but only for an instant, then it was gone.
“Henry Stockton said you might be…” He stopped mid-sentence. “Say fellow, you look like shit. You look like you have been ridden hard and put away wet.”
“Yeah, well you should see the other guy.”
“Henry said. You have been knocked around a little bit, but what I see that was a bit of a gross understatement. Anyway, Henry said. You might be needing my services, so I dropped by.”
“Yes sir, I do and I’m glad you did.”
Both men smiled. They seem to connect somehow. The millionaire playboy and this rough ex-cop. There was a silence for a moment while she each took his time, trying to judge the other’s worth.
“Henry told me you had some trouble while you were a cop, what was that all about?”
Short thought for a moment before he answered. “I guess you have a right to know. I knew this guy, some of us saw him around town from time to time. A real loud mouth and a bully first-class. Well to make a long story short, he messed up this good friend of mine, messed him up pretty bad. So when I caught the guy I messed him up pretty bad. The last time I saw him, he was in a wheelchair. I heard later he will spend the rest of his life in it. Anyway, they called it excessive force, gave me my walking papers, the old pink slip right up the, you-know-what.”
“How long were you on the force?”
“I retired from the Marines after 20 years and went right to work for the city. I was on the force nine years.”
“Sounds good enough for me Ralph, now here’s what I need. I’ve got three people I need checked out. When I say checked out, I mean complete file on them. The whole enchilada. I want to know everything about them, where and when and how much, everything from the time came into this world until the present day. Can you do that?” Clayton asked.
“A piece of cake, Mr. Crawford.”
“Okay, here they are. The first one is a female. I have made the list for you. Her name is Barbara Wells. The second one is Harding and the third is his assistant, a Lester Howard.”
“Let’s see,” Short said as he studied the list.” Wells, Harding and Howard. Howard, Ralph repeated with a smile slowly spreading across his face, lost in some fond memory. “I knew a Howard while I in the service. Good old Howie, always good for a laugh. He was a real joker. He……”
“Howard, that’s it!” Clayton shouted. “That’s the guy’s name. He was called Howie, wait a minute,” as he reached for his phone, and waited for someone to answer.
“Yeah, this is detective Richards, how may I help you?”
“Richards, this is Clayton. His name is Howie. I remember, I remember. One of the guys who were beating on me is called Howie.”
“That is great kid, are you sure?”
“Just before they stopped I heard a voice somewhere in the fog. He said, ‘That’s enough, that’s enough Howie, you want to kill him?’”
“Great, I’ll put it in our data base computer and see what we can come up with. If we cannot find it in our’s, I will give it to the FBI and see what they can do with it.”
After Clayton rang off he turned to Ralph. “You can’t know what you just did for me. You have no idea what a blessing you have been.”
“Hell, I been called a lot of things, but a blessing isn’t one of them. Please don’t let it get around.”
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe. They could kill me and I won’t say a word. Now you have all the information you need. You have Barbara’s address. Harding and Howard can be found in the Ivory Tower down town. Here is a retainer check for five thousand dollars. Just do me good and there will be much more.”
“I can tell you this up front, five thousand dollars is good for a week as I make one thousand dollars a day.”
“Just get me what I need and don’t worry about the small stuff.”
The next day, Rachel phoned Poindexter on his private line and left a message to call her back. It would be to his advantage to listen to what she had to say. He had cooled off by that time and decided to give her a call, just out of curiosity if nothing else. They arranged to meet in her office the next day.
“Sometimes father can be a complete bore,” she told him as she stood behind her desk in her private office. “Please have a seat and make yourself comfortable. Would you like some coffee or tea?”
“Yes tea would be nice. Thank you.”
Rachel rang her secretary. “Would you bring in a tea service please? Now then,” Rachel said after the tea was served and Stella was out of the office. “I don’t blame you fo
r acting like you did at my father’s office. I mean firing you over something like that was ridiculous and redundant. I believe a man can be pushed only so far. There has to be a limit to how much a man can be asked to do. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes, of course I do. And if there’s limits, then I have definitely reached mine.”
“I understand completely Mr. Poindexter, and like I said before, who could blame you. But the fact remains that you are out of a job and I hear through the grapevine that your cash flow has been severely shaken.”
“I have a little saved and I believe it will be enough to hold me over till I find something.”
“Mr. Poindexter- may I call you Perceval? It’s been three weeks since you were let go from my father’s firm. The man of your experience and background should have been able to walk out of my father’s office and right into another job the next day with no problem.”
“I know, I just don’t understand it.”
“The ugly truth Perceval, is that my father has put the word out that you can’t be relied on. That your wishy-washy and can’t be counted on in a pinch. No one is going to hire you. Not in this city, anyway. And once the word spreads, you’ll find nothing from coast to coast. From the Atlantic to the Pacific and if he has his way, the same will be true in England and Europe as well.”
“I know, I was afraid that. I just don’t know where to turn to. What can I do?”
“Maybe I can help.” She said “but you have to help me also. One hand washes the other, so to speak.”
“What can I do for you, that is in the limits of ethical behavior?”
“I need you to go to the media and tell them your story. You don’t have to give away any sensitive information or privileged material. You will be well within the limits of correct and ethical behavior. Just tell them you were let go because you would not bow, and humble yourself and let your former employer strip you of your dignity. That should do it.”
“And what will you do for me?”
“I will personally see to it that your name is removed from what we call the blacklist.”
“You can do that?”
“Personally, I’m probably the only one who can, other than my father.”
Two days later, the story broke and newspapers were grabbing it up like hungry wolves.
DOWNING DEVELOPMENT CO INC CONTINUES IT’S ATTACK ON ELDERLY WOMAN.
DOWNING DEVELOPMENT CO INC FIRES TRUSTED EMPLOYEE BECAUSE HE REFUSED TO DEGRAD HIMSELF BEFORE HIS PEERS.
More interviews were taken from the man on the street. Mama Rhodes was interviewed on the local news station and the networks were starting to take a closer look at it. Slowly but surely this was developing into a major story and becoming a big embarrassment to the Downing Development Company, Inc.
Rachel couldn’t contain her excitement, so she bought several newspapers, all carrying the story. She dashed to the hospital.
As she hurried into Clayton’s room, she stopped in her tracks. There Clayton was sitting in the middle of his bed, surrounded by just about the same newspapers that she had brought. He stopped reading and looked up at her with that boyish smile spreading across his face, still bruised from the beating he took.
She tossed the newspapers up in the air big smile on her face. “It’s another home run for the home team.” She shouted. “It’s going it’s gone out of the park a grand slam, if I ever saw one,” she shouted as she rushed to him, and planted a big smooch on his cheek.
“Holy smokes Dink, will you take it easy on my poor battered and bruised body.”
“Oh, fudge, you’re no fun at all,” She countered and climbed up on the bed, giving him another kiss on his other cheek, then one on his lips.
Sputtering and laughing, but at the same time, wincing from the pain that shot through his body, he called out. “Nurse, help me with this crazy woman. She’s taking my clothes off.”
“Oh, stop that. Nurse Hops will not help you, she’s a woman too and happens to be on my side. No more lazing around here feeling sorry for yourself, get out of that bed. You have been neglecting me something awful and it’s time you repented and pay more attention to your homework… meaning me!”
“Okay, okay, holy smokes Dink, for crying in the sink, will you get off me before I perish. You mean to have me right here? Mama Mia.”
Two days later. Clayton was released from the hospital still stiff and sore. He moved very gingerly and was still on some pretty strong painkillers. Three weeks in the hospital was enough for anyone and he was going stir crazy. It didn’t take much prompting from Rachel for him to start nagging Dr. Kramer for his release.
Of course, Henry, Rachel, and Buck were there to pick him up. The three of them drove down the road singing a snappy little tune with Buck howling in the background.
It was previously arranged for Henry to stay with Clayton at the penthouse during Clayton’s convalescence.
His therapy nurse came by twice a week to see how he progressed. He had to strengthen his bruised and beaten muscles on his chest and back where he had been kicked repeatedly. His rib cage needed some attention. Also for his kidneys, which only time would heal.
It would be another two or three weeks before he would be able to return to his normal lifestyle. So everyone decided to settle back and make the best of it, nothing else they could do.
Ralph Short came by to make his weekly report and collect his five grand.
“There is one thing that puzzles me Mr. Crawford. How is it that with all your years of training in the martial arts and a third degree black belt in karate, that those men could do this to you? I just don’t for the life of me understand it.”
“Well Short Stuff, I was taken completely off guard, blind-sided if you will. I asked myself that time and time again. Perhaps I am to naïve, to trusting for my own good. Whatever the cause you can believe me when I tell you that will never happen again. That my big friend is called the school of hard knocks in which I have graduated with honor, with the bumps and bruises to prove it. Now what do you have for me?”
“Okay. I started with Barbara Wells. She was born Barbara Ashland. Orphaned at five years old when both parents died in a house fire. Adopted six years old to Justin and Margaret Wells of Fairfax, Virginia. Here’s where it really gets bizarre. Barbara’s adopted father kills his wife with an iron poker from the fireplace. Smashes her skull after beating and kicking her to death. Barbara sees all this shit happening and hides in her room, and when the old man leaves she dials 911 and reports it to the police. She’s 14 at the time all this happened.”
“Then, an aunt comes down from Maryland and takes her back there to live, raises her from then on.”
“Then there was high school I guess she proved she was pretty smart. Straight-A student, well above average. Then there was a mental collapse of some sort and from here, it got a little tricky and very expensive.”
“At the age of 16. She was admitted to a mental hospital here in Maryland. I found out that they guard those medical records with their lives. I couldn’t get near them but a nurse told me that she was being treated for a condition. When I pressed her to tell me just what that meant, the nurse told me that Barbara was suffering from a split personality disorder. That little tidbit run you $2000 and no, I don’t have a receipt. She was released six months later.”
“Never mind about the receipt the information is worth every penny friend.”
“After her discharge there it’s pretty standard stuff. She attended a local community college, graduated four years later, at the head of her class. She did all right in the business world. Two years ago, another hospital stay, only this time for a much shorter time. From what I gather, she’s okay as long as she stays on her meds. It’s when she gets off of them for one reason or another, that’s when she has her problems.
“She inherited the Wells estate which was considerable, then her aunt, who was quite wealthy passed away and left little Barbara well over 1 million smackers. So she lives quite well
and has done all right for herself.”
“Oh, she has a birthmark, high up on the inside of her left thigh.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“Would I lie?”
“Buck if you don’t stop squeaking that toy, I’m going to send you to China. They eat dogs in China, you know that.” Buck ran behind the couch.
Detective Richard’s phone was ringing off the hook by the time he got out of the coed bathroom. Let it ring, he thought to himself. A guy can’t even take time out for the call of nature around here. As he sat down behind his desk and was reaching for the phone, it stopped ringing.
He was scanning over the recent reports that were piled on his cluttered desk when he came across the name that got his immediate attention. The name Driscoll jumped out at him like a clap of thunder. He went over the entire report in a matter of seconds and then reread it more carefully.
The Crawford Chronicles - Book 1 Page 22