Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 26

The food is great. Marlene is a marvelous cook. Some light chatter occurs during the meal but not much. Everyone is busy eating.

After supper Mike retires to his office to plan strategy for tomorrow while the ladies do up the dishes. Marlene brings him a cup of coffee. "Why didn't you tell me you were working on this case?"

"I was never officially hired to work on it. I'm doing the work for nothing to help Ray out. Also I didn't want you to worry about me out chasing a murderer. It sounds so much worse than it is."

"I know you have always been able to take care of yourself and us. I have a lot of faith in your abilities. If Ray is innocent you will find the killer and have him arrested."

"Well, thank you, honey. That's good to hear."

"Your going out tomorrow to speak with those suspects then? Good luck. I hope you find the guilty party quickly."

She goes out of the office and Mike ponders his good luck he already has with such a fine wife, albeit a bit unfaithful, and a trio of kids he adores. He plans to pick up Trudy in the morning and they will interview some of Scanlon's harem. He also thinks it might be wise to meet with Ray and let Trudy meet him. She's got a head for noticing small character flaws so her opinion of his guilt or innocence means a lot to him. He wants her to talk to a few of the other female staff at The Gardens and would like to try to get into Flo's old apartment. Should be a full day if he is going to get her back home to go to work by five.

He calls her at the cafe and asks if she can be ready at six in the morning. He explains the ground he wants to cover. "I have to head back out to your place by three thirty to get you back for work."

"I'll be waiting. How are things at home?"

"I'll tell you in the morning. See you then."

"Bye, Master."

"Mistress."

He chuckles as he hangs up. He drinks his coffee and relaxes, poring over some tax papers. Finally curiosity gets the better of him and he stands, tips his chair and studies the bottom of it. It does not appear to have been changed. He reaches for the panel then changes his mind. Better to leave well enough alone. He rights the chair and sits again.

He spends an hour putting everything back in its original place. The searchers didn't try to hide the fact they had been there. It's still fairly early so he decides to go over to The Gardens in POCO. He grabs his briefcase, now back in his service and sorted out, and tells Marlene he will be late. He climbs into the Mustang and heads for POCO.

An hour later he pulls into the lot of the popular pub in POCO. He walks inside and seats himself at the bar. He looks around the room and sees another driver from CPX talking with Tony near the far wall. The crowd is noisy and he doesn't hear the cute barkeep until she jostles his elbow.

"What you having, love?"

"What you offering?"

"Come on, I ain't got all night?"

"I ain’t asking for all night. Were you here the night Flo Hanson got killed?"

"Flatfoot! Haven't you guys got your fill of us yet?"

"Private flatfoot to you, my love." He flashes his I.D. card and says he's investigating the case for a separate party." He winks and says, "Whoever did it is still out there, and can you give me a hand?"

"They got him locked up."

Mike sadly shakes his head, "Out on bail. And he may not have been the one."

"What you want to know?"

"Which staff members were on that night?"

"I'll get you the list we gave the cops. Be right back."

She hurries away into an interior office behind the bar and returns with a list of seven names. Mike studies it and asks for a beer. "All of these here until closing time?"

"All except Flo and Manuel. That's Manuel over by the door. He's our bouncer. Go easy with him, if you know what I mean."

"Any of these others on tonight?"

"Corrie in the kitchen and me, I'm Meloney." That left three girls names.

"How can I contact these other three?"

"Two of them will be here tomorrow at two. We won't be open yet, but rap at the side door. I'll let you in. The other girl quit when she heard about Flo. That's Georgette. I'll see if I can find her address for you." Again she slips away and soon comes back with the address and phone number.

"So, how about you? Did you see who she left with?"

"She went out with Manuel."

"Did she say if she was meeting anyone later?"

"Cops asked me that. I don't recall her saying anything other than she had to go early. She only took off a half hour early at one thirty. Everyone thought she was trying to get out of clean up."

"Thanks for your help. How do I get to speak with Corrie?"

"Drink up and I'll take you back."

Mike downs his beer and follows her back to the kitchen. The cook is there with a young boy who is doing dishes. Mike says, "I don't see his name on the list?"

Meloney says, "This is Pedro, Manuel's son. He was sick that night and stayed home. Corrie, this is a private dick working on Flo's case. When you have a moment, he wants to talk with you. Help him all you can, eh?"

"Right, boss. I'll be right with you."

Mike leans back against the wall by the sink. "So Pedro, what do you think happened to Flo? Did you like her?"

"I think she went out with too many men. I liked her and never could figure why she wanted to go out with all those guys."

"Different guys met her after work every night, eh?"

"All the guys who come in know her. I think they've all been out with her. She was so nice but she was sad. I saw her crying behind the washroom many times."

"Get busy with those dishes, young man." Corrie says, "Okay, what can I tell you. Flo was a knock out with the guys and she's sorely missed. Her absence may affect business. She was that popular. I guess it was her downfall. Some pervert decided to help himself. No one is safe any more."

"Did you get a chance to speak to her that night before she left?"

"Yes, the coats are back here. She came back for hers just before she left with Manuel."

"Did she say she was going out later?"

"Yes, she did."

"What did she say?"

"I got a heavy date with a light fella. I remember it well. She was laughing and flew out of here like she was going to a dance. She loved to dance."

"No hint who the date was, eh?"

"She didn't say but I think it was somebody she had been talking with here. That’s just an impression I got. I'm not sure why."

"Thanks a lot, Corrie. If anything else occurs to you, call me at the number on this card." Mike goes out front and seeks the bouncer. He's not too far from the door but now he's involved in a card game.

Mike steps along side his chair and flashes his I.D. "You going to be here at two tomorrow afternoon?"

Manuel looks up at him and says, "Si."

"I'll talk with you then."

Real slow he says, "Maybe." and goes back to his cards. Mike goes back to check with Meloney. She says she told Manuel who he was and to expect questions. Mike thanks her again for her help and says he'll see her tomorrow. He leaves the pub and checks his watch. It's after ten so he heads home.

When he gets there the house is in darkness. He lets himself in the side door and locks it again. He slips off his shoes and goes up into the kitchen. Sounds like everyone has gone to bed, so he goes down to his office.

When he's done there he goes to take a shower. He tip toes through the bedroom so as to not wake Marlene and enjoys a hot cascade in the bathroom. Thinking about Trudy, he sneaks back into the bedroom and slips into bed. He stretches and cuddles his wife's form to him then remembers because of the weight and build, that it's not his wife. It's Nina.

She snuggles against him and whispers, "I thought you'd never get home." She reaches her lips to his and they taste like honey. He pulls her roughly against him then starts to strip away the flannel pajamas.

To Be Continued...