prizes - 21. wind and rain

by harold p sternhagen

being a sequel to fun and games

part twenty-one of thirty-nine

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“excuse me, miss, but that’s my seat. you are sitting in my seat.” maria looked up. a little round man in a cheap brown suit, wearing the thickest glasses she had ever seen, was hovering over her. “that is my seat,” the little man repeated, in a louder voice. “no problem, sir, “ maria smiled at him, and began to pick up her purse. “i am afraid it is a problem,” the man replied, even more loudly. “i came in on the bus from st louis. that was my seat, mine. and i mean to have it back.” “i meant. sir, that i had no problem getting up and giving you your seat back.” maria picked the purse off the seat and held it up for the man to see. “now, if you would just get out of my way…” but before the little man with the thick glasses could answer, another voice was heard behind him. “what’s all this noise? is this fellow bothering you, miss?” the speaker, a tall young man wearing a white cowboy hat that fell almost over his eyes, appeared behind the little round man. the newcomer had to crouch to keep from bumping his hat on the roof of the bus. “no, nobody is bothering anybody,” maria answered. “if you would both just let me get up, i will find another seat and give this gentleman his. everybody will be happy.” “if you say so, miss,” the tall young man drawled in a movie cowboy voice, “i just hate to see a lady bothered, that’s all. it makes my blood boil, by god.” as maria started to stand up and got a closer look at the cowpoke she saw that he was just a boy, about sixteen or seventeen years old. “you ought not to take the lord’s name in vain, young man,” maria said, and she edged out of the seat past the two men. “sorry, ma’am, i guess i forgot myself there.” the cowboy glanced back for a second at the little man, and maria knew what she had suspected - that the two of them were con men, trying to put god knew what over on unwary travelers. maria moved past them and into a pair of empty seats a little closer to the front of the bus. settling in beside the window, she looked back at the cowboy, and said in a low voice, “you fellows need a little practice. “ “excuse me, ma’am?” the cowboy asked. “first off,” maria continued in the same low voice. “you should never look at each other, unless it is part of the script. that’s bad acting.” “why, ma’am, i have no idea what you mean.” “what i mean is, i didn’t just fall off a hay wagon. or even a banana boat.” the little man laughed softly. “give it up, billy. she’s made us.” i wonder if i can make some use of these characters, maria thought. if they are going to new york, or even if that is not in their plans. maria leaned over and looked at the little man. she nodded toward the front of the bus, which was filling up a bit. “maybe we can get together, for coffee, at the next rest stop,” she said in an even lower voice than she had used before. “maybe we can do some business together.” “why, that sounds right interesting,” the little man replied. “we will do just that. my name is rainey, by the way, ray rainey, and this here is billy wynn.” “the wind and the rain,” said maria. “my name is my miss hale.” 22. bus stop

prizes - 20. on the bus

by harold p sternhagen

being a sequel to fun and games

part twenty of thirty-nine

for previous episode, click here

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maria arrived at the bus station early with a big suitcase. dawn was breaking. a few birds were twittering in the trees and bushes in the overgrown vacant lot behind the station. as maria had told jonathon jones, her friend dooley, who owed her a favor, was going to let her ride free to new york. the bus for new york was parked but there was no sign of the driver. maria could see a few passengers, who had been on the bus before it stopped in jamestown, through the thick window glass. the bus did not look crowded, though some passengers who had arrived and were passing through might be taking a break inside the station. no other passengers were waiting outside the station, beside the bus. maria preferred to get on without other passengers seeing that she did not have a ticket. the driver arrived. it was not dooley. he looked at maria through sleepy eyes. “this is the new york bus, miss. making all stops. that the bus you want?” “yes, it is. i was expecting dooley. what, did he call in sick or something?” “i couldn’t tell you. i just got a call to replace him. i know the route to new york as good as he does. “ “i’m a friend of his. he was going to let me ride free.” “ah. you don’t say so.” “yes, i do say so.” it occurred to maria that the guy could rat dooley out. but he looked like an old timer who couldn’t be bothered with such things. unless he had it in for dooley for some reason. the driver didn’t say anything. maria shrugged. “well, if he’s not here, he’s not here. but he was going to take me.” “no, i believe you.” the driver half-yawned, and scratched his neck. “you can get on.” “thank you.” “but if the bus fills up with paying customers you’ll have to get off. you understand that. or buy a ticket.” “i understand. but it is not likely to do that, is it?’ “it’s not likely, but it happens. when we go through west virginia it sort of becomes the local and stops in every little town and people get on and off and sometimes it fills up. you still want to get on?” “yes.” “all right, get on. that suitcase won’t fit on the rack. leave it there.” “thanks. what’s your name?” “bill.” “thanks, bill, i really appreciate it.” maria climbed the steps into the bus. not a good start! but so far, no harm. the bus was about one third full, with empty seats up and down it. maria wondered if it would be better to sit up front and chat with bill and make him her pal, or sit in the back where he might forget all about her. bill did not seem like a chatty type. she decided to sit in the back. she walked down the aisle and settled into a seat in the back. but before she could open her purse and take out a couple of newspaper clippings she was going to look at - “excuse me, miss, but that’s my seat. you are sitting in my seat.” 21. wind and rain

prizes - 19. travel plans

by harold p sternhagen

being a sequel to fun and games

part nineteen of thirty-nine

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“yes, that’s good,” jonathon intoned, rocking gently in the swivel chair behind his desk , as maria gave him her account of her meeting with geraldine hopkins. “very good indeed.” better than i would have expected, he thought, but did not say aloud. “it’s not that good,” said maria. “it’s not really much at all. the stuff about the cleaning lady - what good is that? if it was thirty years ago, or if we had thirty years to look for her, maybe. but even then - what? the cleaning lady might tell us something about ted tenner - or she might not. but we are not looking for ted tenner, we are looking for information about jonah james, right?” “which ted tenner might or might not even have,” jonathon agreed. “exactly. if we think ted is worth looking for, we need something better than that.” “i guess so.” “what do you think of the idea that ted was jonah’s son?’ maria asked. “well - i suppose it’s possible.” “i don’t suppose you want to ask your client if she knows anything about it?” “i would prefer not to,” jonathon replied quickly. “unless, of course, something else comes up that might make it relevant.” “that's what i thought. even if ted was jonah’s son, it probably has nothing to do with the grays. so we are just going in circles. looking for information that probably means nothing to your purpose.” jonathon sighed. “i suppose you are right, but, in that case, do you have any other ideas?” “yes, i do.” maria leaned forward. “i could keep trying to find ted - or find out what happened to him - go to kansas city to try to pick up some trace of him - with better ways than chasing after the old cleaning lady. or i could try to get in to see taffy in the asylum. i could try either or both of those things.” “you could,” jonah agreed, without enthusiasm. “trying to talk to taffy might be a better bet than chasing after ted. at least we know where she is.” “but if taffy knew anything - would we be sitting here? the whole thing starts because taffy suspects things, but doesn’t really know anything .” “true.” jonathon’s head started to hurt. he looked out the window at another blue afternoon which he was not spending fishing. “are those the only ideas you have?” “no, i have another one. one i think is much better.” jonathon turned back to maria. “and that is?” “i think we should look at the grays - at buck gray’s family who are now mostly in new york, like you said. i think i should go to new york and see what i can find there.” jonathon looked startled. “you want to go to new york?” “ha, ha! i know what you are thinking,. no, i am not asking you to pay my way. i told you i don’t charge expenses, and i meant it. but give me a week, at the three fifty a day we agreed to, just a week, and we will see what happens.” “but could it be worth your while? how are you going to get there?” “i have my ways. i have a friend who is a bus driver, goes to new york once or twice a week. and when i get there i have a friend i can stay with. so my expenses won’t be anything really except food . and i won’t be buying gas.” jonathon still looked unconvinced. “how long will it take you to get there on the bus? won’t you spend the whole time getting there and back?” “two days each way, gives me three days to investigate. i tell you what, give me eight days, that way i can spend four whole days there. what do you say?” “all right. eight days.“ jonathon laughed. “you are a good saleslady anyway. i hope you can sell yourself to the grays as well as you can to me.” “i will leave tomorrow morning. i already checked with my bus driver friend.” 20. on the bus

prizes - 18. leads

by harold p sternhagen

being a sequel to fun and games

part eighteen of thirty-nine

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“yes, that is a good point,” maria replied to geraldine. “but do you have any idea what happened to ted? whether it was connected to the murder or not?” “well, i did wonder about it, of course. i always thought that ted had gotten in over his head with his so called investigating business. he must have gotten somebody angry, either because he was sticking his nose in their business, or because he was not delivering on his promise to find out something out for somebody. so he just decided to clear out.” “just like that? hadn’t he set up a business? wasn’t he leaving a lot behind?” “not really. he had rented an office, but what does that amount to? who knows if he had even paid the rent on it?” geraldine laughed. “maybe it was as simple as that. he was just skipping out on the rent . or - here’s another idea. would you like some more tea?” “yes, thank you,” maria smiled politely. “my other idea,” geraldine continued, after filling maria’s cup, “is that ted’s daddy told him to move along, for whatever reason. like maybe he didn’t care so much for ted being something so halfway shady as an investigator.” “daddy? what daddy? nobody ever said anything about a daddy. you told me ted came out of nowhere.” “ha, ha! well, no, officially he did not. but i always figured - figured out all by myself, in my own nasty little brain, was that ted didn’t really come out of nowhere at all. he got a little too connected a little too quick, he was obviously - he obviously had a good education - was that he was the son of some kansas city rich man - that he knocked up some poor farm girl or waitress - and ted was the result. but when he didn’t take up quite the right way with the right people - or maybe daddy just got sick of looking at him - he told him to hit the road.” “well, thank you, mrs hopkins, that is very interesting. thank you.” “you are welcome, i am sure.” “i don’t suppose you have any idea who this father might have been?” “oh, no, no.” “could it have been jonah james?” “oh! honey, you said that, i didn’t!” did geraldine wink when she said it? maria could not be sure. “well, thank you again, mrs hopkins, you have been very helpful, and i appreciate it.” maria put her teacup down. she wondered if she should push her luck and ask any more questions. “i have one more little thing,” geraldine announced. “that might help you, although it might be thirty years too late.” “please, anything might be helpful.” “there was one person - one person - who seemed to be genuinely upset that ted had disappeared.” “and who might that have been?” maria asked. “there was an old woman - well, she probably was not as old as all that, but she seemed real old to me then - a cleaning woman at the building ted had his office in - and i heard the poor thing was quite broken up when ted disappeared. of course, everyone put it down to ted just being such a nice fellow and a perfect gentlemen to ladies high and low - but who knows? i think you get my drift, my dear.” maria smiled. “yes, i do.” “of course, i couldn’t tell you her name. and the poor creature is probably long dead and gone.” “you wouldn’t remember the building ted had his office in?” maria asked. “i don’t remember exactly. and i would not have it written down anywhere. i just remember it was near the raphael hotel in kansas city, probably on ward parkway.” “but that is really, really helpful, mrs hopkins.” “i am sure. “ suddenly geraldine looked tired. she smiled . “it has been a pleasure talking to you, miss willis, but i really am expecting some friends shortly.” with more expressions of gratitude, maria took her leave. that went better than i expected, she thought, as she headed back to her car. i just wish there had been more of jonah james and the james family, and less of ted tenner. 19. travel plans

prizes - 17. ted

by harold p sternhagen

being a sequel to fun and games

part seventeen of thirty-nine

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geraldine was bored and lonely, and was happy to talk about ted tenner or taffy james or jonah james or anything at all maria just let her talk, did not interrupt or question her, and sipped the tea, which seemed to her completely tasteless. she would have preferred a nice cold glass of chocolate milk, but did not ask for one. nobody really knew where ted tenner came from, geraldine said. or cared. in those days, nobody really cared where anybody came from. they don’t really care that much now, though they are starting to pretend they do, a little bit. i don’t know why, kansas city wasn’t paris or london back then, and it still isn’t, even if it likes to think it is.. where was i? right, ted tenner. ted had an easy way with men. he could handle his liquor. i guess he was also a pretty good shot, or hunter, hunting moose or whatever, and those two things go a long way with menfolk, as i am sure you know. did ted have no family? did he come out of nowhere? maria wondered. that did not sound very promising. but she always waited until a person had talked themselves out on their own, and there was nothing to gain by possibly irritating them by asking questions. and as for the women, geraldine continued, the only problem ted had with women was beating them off. he would have been the perfect husband for any woman who did not have to marry for money, which of course is not a category many of us fall into, sad to say. which is why i was so happy to have an excuse to introduce him to my friend taffy. taffy had lots of money - or at least her father did, and taffy was the apple of his eye, and she expected him to leave her most of the money. she had brothers, but they were clowns and good-for-nothings, born to be hanged or spend their lives in jail if their daddy didn’t have any money. and here is the other thing about taffy - she was determined to make money herself! to run the family family business her own self if her daddy got too old or died. i admire that in a woman. much as i love money myself, i could never imagine getting it any way except marrying it. now taffy had this idea that rich as her daddy was, he would have been a whole lot richer if he had not been cheated by this other fellow some years back and that was why she wanted to hire a detective and that is where ted came into the picture. at this point geraldine looked at maria, as if to see if she were following the story. maria already knew the basics of the story from jonathon jones, but asked innocently, “so ted tenner was a detective?” “well, he called himself something else, but basically he was. yes.” “and he took the case?” “sort of, he took it on spec, i can’t remember exactly how it was.” “so he was hired by mr james, the man who was killed?” “no, no, he was working for taffy, the old man did not know anything about it.“ “that’s kind of confusing,” maria prompted geraldine. “well, anyway, it did not amount to anything, because the old man was killed snd ted disappeared just a few days later.” “mr conover is really interested in ted tenner, because he disappeared, “ maria said. “it seems to me ted would have been suspected of the murder.” “well, he was not, not at first. nobody knew he disappeared, or knew there was any connection between them. everyone thought jonah james was killed by a passing hobo, or maybe someone with a grudge against him. it was only later that people - some people - thought the two things might be connected.” “well, what do you think?” maria asked. “do you think ted was the kind of person to commit murder? do you think - since nobody knew where he came from - he was the kind of man who travels from town to town killing folks? ” geraldine laughed. “you have a vivid imagination, honey. no, i don’t think poor ted was that kind of man at all. but i always had one idea, sort of, if you want to hear it.” “please.” “well, taffy told me that her daddy wanted no part of what she was up to - in fact he thought it was a stain on his honor or some such manly nonsense. so, maybe ted approached the old man directly - though taffy dd not want him to - and the old man got mad and they had a fight.” maria assumed an air of doubt. “i suppose that could make some sense.” “there is only one problem with it, though,” said geraldine. “what was that.” “the old man was shot in the back. why would ted shoot him in the back, even if they had a fight?” 18. leads

prizes - 16. geraldine at home

by harold p sternhagen

being a sequel to fun and games

part sixteen of thirty-nine

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maria took her lucky flower from behind her ear and put it in her purse. she put on her best dress and shoes, and hat and coat - all of which she preserved for special occasions - and drove over to the hill geraldine hopkins lived on. she parked her car a couple of blocks away, so that geraldine or her servants would not see how old it was. she climbed the hill and a maid - not a butler - answered the door and let her in. maria had been in rich folks houses a few times before, and always been a bit disappointed. her idea of rich peoples houses had been formed from movies, and from reading mystery novels, such as those of mr raymond chandler, where the drawing rooms were “the length of the decks of two aircraft carriers” and the chandeliers were “polished brighter than the sun coming up over a desert” and so forth. the room geraldine was sitting in was nothing much either. in fact it did not look like much at all. a lot of soft looking chairs and couches, and a single chipped and stained coffee table in front of the couch geraldine was lying back on. geraldine did not get up when the maid brought maria in. “what did you say your name was?” she asked maria. “patricia. patricia williis.” “right. have a seat, miss willis. would you like some tea?” “yes, thank you.” geraldine nodded at the maid and the maid disappeared. “so you are working for some character writing a book?” geraldine asked. “yes, mr charles conover.” maria had no elaborate story prepared. she trusted to her ability to make details up on the spot as fast as they could be asked for. and she thought it was fun. also, if someone was really determined to find out if she really was who she said she was, they would anyway. “has this mister conover written any other books?” “oh yes, he wrote a book about arctic explorers looking for buried treasure at the north pole. and he also wrote a novel - it was about - it was about king richard the lion hearted.” “hmm.” geraldine did not really seem all that interested. “i’m not much for reading books myself, not since i was in school. so he wants to know about ted tenner?” “yes, that was one of the people he asked me to research.” “did you look up old newspapers?” “i did, but that is not as easy as people think. i mean, you can do it, but you don’t find out very much. unless you don’t know anything at all to begin with.” “where did you get my name?” “there was a murder at the time mr tenner disappeared. of joshua james. and some people thought there might be a connection.” “a lot of people thought there was definitely a connection. and?” “i talked to a man who used to work for joshua jones and he said mr jones had a daughter who was in an asylum. but when i asked about seeing her i was told it would not be easy. i might try later. then i asked if the daughter had any old friends and your name came up. ” “came up from who?” maria was making everything up and kept on going. “a woman named betty carter who worked for mrs james.” there must have been a mrs james, maria thought. “i don’t remember any betty carter,” said geraldine. but then she shrugged. “but who can remember anything, right?” “i just thought you or some of the daughter’s other friends might remember something she said at the time.” “you keep calling her ‘the daughter’.” geraldine scowled slightly at maria. “her name was taffy, and i remember her very well. and i remember ted tenner even better.” “oh! then maybe you can help me. of course,” maria added. “you are under no obligation to tell me anything.” “i am well aware of that. but here is our tea.” 17. ted

prizes - 15. research assistant

by harold p sternhagen

being a sequel to fun and games

part fifteen of thirty-nine

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geraldine miller was not hard to find. she lived in alexanderville, about twenty miles from jamestown, in a big house on a high hill. she had buried one rich husband, and married an even richer one. she was geraldine hopkins now. it was agreed between jonathon jones and maria that maria would not depend on jonathon for introductions to anyone she wanted to meet in her investigation. maria assured jonathon that she preferred to operate that way, and jonathon was happy to hear it. what she did not come right out and say to him was that she almost always used some sort of subterfuge or outright lying in her proceedings. who was going to tell anything to a young woman “investigator” who did not even have any kind of license? and she was a natural born liar and enjoyed being one. maria found geraldine in the county phone book. she dialed the number, expecting it to be answered by a servant or secretary. it was answered on the third ring. “hello?” a woman’s voice, husky, with more than a hint of booze. “i would like to speak to mrs geraldine hopkins, please.” “this is she.” “hello, mrs hopkins. my name is patricia willis, and i am a professional research assistant.” “that doesn’t sound like much fun.” “right now i am working for a man named charles conover - “ “charles conniver?” “ha ha. no charles conover. mr conover wants to write a book about mysterious disappearances.” “oh?” gerealdine’s voice got a little less friendly. “i haven’t disappeared. mysteriously or otherwise. i’m sitting right here, on my comfy well-upholstered sofa.” “mr conover wants to write about the disappearance of ted tenner.” “ted tenner! goodness gracious, i haven’t thought about ted tenner for twenty-five years. i don’t think i can help you out.” “oh, please, mrs hopkins, if you could just give me a few minutes of your time!” maria pleaded. “ i would really like to tell mr conover that i left no stone unturned, and all that sort of thing .” a pause. then geraldine laughed. “all right, honey, i got nothing better to do. if you can find the place.” “thank you so much, mrs hopkins. i have your address as 10 hillside drive, is that correct?” “that’s it. i’ll tell the butler to let you in.” “thank you so much!” maria exclaimed, but geraldine had already hung up. maria put her own phone down. it could not have gone better, she thought. but she was not surprised. she had found that the easiest thing about being an “investigator” was getting people to talk. people liked to talk. they liked it more than anything else, and as long as they dd not feel threatened, they liked to do it all day long. 16. geraldine at home

prizes - 14. questions

by harold p sternhagen

being a sequel to fun and games

part fourteen of thirty-nine

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“any questions?” jonathon asked maria. “yes, i have a few.” “fire away.” jonathon looked around the restaurant, but their waiter was nowhere in sight. “how long ago was all this?” maria asked. “ about thirty years?” “jonah’s murder was just about thirty years ago, yes.” “and the poker game, that was even earlier.” “yes, at least thirty years before that, maybe closer to thirty-five.” “yikes.” jonathon smiled. “i can see you might find it discouraging.” “i’m not discouraged, i just want to get the story straight.” maria looked around, and out the window of the steak house. no customers seemed to have entered after their own arrival. “anything occur to you right away?” jonathon asked. “the detective - or whatever he was - that disappeared.” “yes, that does jump out, doesn’t it?” “this taffy, you don’t say anything about her now, so she must be dead, right?” “not exactly.” “not exactly?” “she has been confined to an asylum for many years.” “an insane asylum?” “an asylum for people with severe mental problems.” maria nodded. “what about the woman who introduced taffy to the detective?’” “geraldine miller.” “is she still alive?” “um - i don’t really know,” jonathon admitted. “that’s very good, very good indeed. she might be a good place to start.” “yes. and getting into the asylum to talk to taffy, would that be impossible?” jonathon hesitated. “it might be difficult. and - i might not be able to help you there…” “i understand. i will have to get in myself. that is all right. i think i will start with this geraldine, if she is still alive.” “that sounds like a good idea,” jonathon agreed. “here are our steaks,” said maria. 15. research assistant

prizes - 13. at smitty's

by harold p sternhagen

being a sequel to fun and games

part thirteen of thirty-nine

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lillian took her pencil from behind her ear and her pad from the pocket of her apron. “the usual, mister jones?” she asked jonathon. “yes, thank you, lillian.” “we got some nice corn in, nice and fresh, if you’d rather have that than greens.” “yes, that sounds good. i’ll have that.” lillian eyed maria. she didn’t know what to make of her. jonathon often came in with young women but they were better groomed, or at least more expensively dressed . maybe she is his sister, lillian thought, ran away with the hired man and just came home. “how about you, miss? will you have what mister jones is having?” “i don’t know what he is having. i’ll have a steak, with a baked potato and green peas.” “we got some nice corn, just in.” “i’ll have the peas, thank you.” “how do you want your steak?” “burnt to a crisp. i want to see the ashes fly when i cut into it.” “anything to drink?” “do you have chocolate milk?” “just milk from a cow.” “i’ll have that.” lillian made a few scribbles and departed. jonathon and maria were left alone at a table on one side of the large dining room. there were a few other diners, all on the other side of the room. jonathon picked up where he had left off, in the saga of buck shaw and jonah james. * no arrests were ever made in connection with jonah’s murder. jonah never made any special provision for taffy in his will, and most of the estate went to raymond, his oldest and most worthless son. an account of the convolutions and permutations of jonah’s fortune through the years to the present might fill many pages. what little was left of it was until yesterday understood to be in the control of louise james, a granddaughter of the unlamented raymond. the estate at present is burdened with many lawsuits. louise has left town and renounced her interest in the estate. control, for what it is worth, has passed to sarah james, the daughter of taffeta, who has been waiting her chance for many years. sarah has inherited taffy’s misgiving about buck gray, and is convinced that buck gray had jonah murdered. needless to say, no evidence of any such thing ever surfaced. however sarah is determined to pursue the case, with such resources as she has. one more detail might be considered relevant, or at least interesting, before we proceed further. ted tenner, who had been hired by taffy to investigate buck gray, and who disappeared shortly after, has never been heard from since. with that, jonathon jones concluded his preliminary account of the case, as it stood, to maria mandragore. * “there’s a pair to draw to,” said smitty. as he looked through the peephole out into the dining room. “what might that be?” asked rafe. he did not sound too interested, and did not look up from his copy of look magazine. “it’s that lawyer jones, from the town.” “so? he’s a rich folks lawyer, he don’t concern himself with the likes of us. except to buy himself a steak from us.” “it’s who he’s got with him.” “who?” “it’s that foolish girl who got herself mixed up wth poor wiley’s troubles - calls herself a private investigator or some such.” rafe laughed. “oh yeah, i remember.” “that oughtn’t to be allowed,” said smitty. “her setting herself up like that.” “why not? this ain’t russia. folks can set themselves up to sell what they like, or sell themselves, if anybody wants to buy.” “i just don’t think it’s right.” rafe put his magazine down and got up and nudged smitty aside and looked through the peephole himself. “yeah, it comes back to me now,” said rafe. he laughed. “she can set herself up - like a fortune teller. like a gypsy fortune teller. that’s all she is - a damn gypsy fortune teller. with that foolish flower in her hair.” “maybe mister lawyer jones ought to watch his back,” said smitty. “she might tell him a fortune he don’t want to hear.” “maybe,” rafe agreed. 14. questions

prizes - 12. out on 53

by harold p sternhagen

being a sequel to fun and games

part twelve of thirty-nine

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maria’s car was parked under the shade of an elm tree on a street full of overgrown lots. it was a 1940 studebaker and it was hard to tell what color it was supposed to be. maria noticed the way lawyer jones looked at it. “i know it needs a paint job,” she told him. “but it runs good.” “i am sure,” jonathon smiled. maria unlocked the passenger door for him and he got in. “just head north on 53,” jonathon said as they pulled out. “i’ll let you know when we are getting there.” “does this place have a name?” maria asked. “smitty’s. smitty’s steak house.” “oh, yeah, i know where that is, i’ve passed by it. that’s pretty well out there.” “not so much. you aren’t worried about gas, are you?” “oh no, i got gas. i always make sure i got gas. a car can’t run without gas, you know.” “very true.” “a car can run without paint, but it can’t run without gas. i always keep it filled up, and i got some cans in the back.” “good, good, it’s always good to look ahead, and to be prepared.” they left the town behind, and the well tended farms. they passed scrubby woods, and overgrown and untended fields. they saw a few other cars , all headed into town, none headed in their direction. the sun started to go down. “you know what else this car doesn’t have, besides a new paint job?” maria asked. “what?” “a radio. the radio’s busted, and i never got it fixed.” “i don’t mind, “ said jonathon. “i can sit back and enjoy the scenery.” “what i meant was,” said maria, “since we can’t listen to the radio, maybe you could start telling me about what i am going to be investigating.” “well,” jonathon replied, “i thought we should settle on terms first.” “terms? how about twenty-five dollars a week? and like i said, that’s flat, no expenses. you can’t get much cheaper than that.” jonathon hesitated. “how about four dollars a day, and you can stop at any time? stop cold.” “three fifty a day.” jonathon countered. “my, you drive a hard bargain, mister. your old pappy must have been a mule dealer. three fifty it is, but four days up front, that’s fourteen dollars. no refund on the fourteen dollars, even if you call me off tomorrow. how’s that?“ “that sounds reasonable,” said jonathon. “it’s a deal.” “and you are still buying me that steak dinner. “ “of course, of course.” jonathon smiled. “there is no turning back now.” “all right, then what is the story?” what have i gotten myself into, jonathon wondered. and as they passed empty fields, and the sun continued to go down in front of them, jonathon began to tell maria the story of jonah james and buck gray. 13. at snitty's

prizes - 11. maria

by harold p sternhagen

being a sequel to fun and games

part eleven of thirty-nine

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“before we begin,” jonathon smiled at m mandragore, “ do you mind if i ask what your qualifications are - or if you have any?” m mandragore seemed to take no offense at jonathon’s blunt question. “i have some experience working for investigators in the city - doing what you what you might call legwork. i don’t have any kind of license, if that’s what you mean.” “i see.” “i don’t advertise myself as a detective or as having any police experience. i just try to find things out for people.” “yes, that seems perfectly legal. in this state, anyway, maybe not in new york or chicago or paris.” “we are not in new york or chicago or paris.” “no, well, as i indicated earlier, my name is jonathon jones and i am in fact an accredited attorney, a member of the bar. do you have a first name, miss mandragore?” “maria.” “maria.” jonathon was comfortable addressing all women by their first names, whether they were young or old, good-looking or otherwise, white or colored, or rich or poor. he had never, praise the lord, had occasion to come before a female judge, but if he ever did, he would be prepared to call her by her first name. “well, maria,” jonathon continued, “is there any reason a body should hire you, rather than - than somebody else?” “i work cheap.” jonathon almost laughed out loud. “that’s very good. it just so happens that my client is very specifically looking for someone who will work cheap.” “then maybe we can do business.” “maybe.” jonathon leaned back in the chair, in no hurry now. “tell me, do you have any assistants?” “no, there is just me. that’s one reason i am so cheap. and i don’t charge expenses, mr jones, just a flat fee once we agree on it.” jonathon nodded. “”but you must have a car?” “oh, sure. and i feed it better than i feed myself. how else am i going to get around and find anything out? out here in the country.” “do you work long hours, maria? you look a little peaked, if you don’t mind my saying so.” “nothing a good steak dinner wouldn’t cure, if you want to buy me one.” “ha, ha, very good.” jonathon looked around the little office. “yes, i’ll buy you a steak dinner, maria, that sounds like an excellent idea. and we can see if we can get down to business while we feed our pretty faces. i know just the place, out on 53. nothing too fancy, just good hearty fare.” “that sounds good to me, mr jones.” “i walked over here, so i propose we go over in your well fed car, if that suits you.” “just let me get my hat and coat.” maria got up and took a shabby coat and a beret from a rack beside the door. jonathon was relieved to see she was wearing shoes. “this investigation,” jonathon told maria as they went down the stairs, “involves an old murder case. ever worked on a murder case before?” “once or twice.” 12. out on 53