"The Naked Beat" drabbles by Christopher

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 55

The Naked Beat

Mr. Li stared holes through my head. He was trying to quickly ascertain my intentions.

"I'm aflaid I don't understand," Li said. He was playing it cooler than a skinny dipping Eskimo.

I knew one language we both could understand. I pulled out a wad of twenty dollar bills thicker than an elephant's scrotum.

"Actually, I was recommended by a very satisfied customer. He said to visit Jade Chen's place when I was in L.A., and the man he said to see was you."

Mr. Li looked at his watch, then at me. I think he had made his decision...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 54

The Naked Beat

"Now," Mr. Li said like a school principal getting ready to scold a naughty student, "what do you wish to discuss, Meester Landolph?"

"Well, I'm afraid it's a rather.... delicate matter, you might say," I said in a quiet tone.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that a fact, Meester Landolph?"

I nodded without making eye contact. I was lathering it on thicker than a barber tasked with shaving a Sasquatch.

"Yes, Mr. Li. I'm looking for some, well, entertainment."

"There's no shortage of that in Ros Angeles, Meester Landolph."

"The entertainment I'm looking for is a bit more...exotic, Mr. Li."

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 53

The Naked Beat

Mr. Li stood there with his office door open, waiting for me to go through. The place looked like a typical American office, nothing at all that was remotely Oriental, at least not until Mr. Li stepped in.

He motioned for me to take the chair in front of his desk as he went around and sat down behind it. He laced his fingers neatly, resting his hands on the desktop in front of him. And then he cleared his throat, which really unsettled me for some reason.

I had a feeling this might end badly for one of us...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 52

The Naked Beat

"And you are?" Li said as he waved the two men away. They turned on their heels and retreated to the back room.

"Randolph. I need to speak with you a moment, if I may."

"Of course, Meester Landolph. I am your humble servant," he said in a way that I couldn't determine whether it was genuine or sarcasm. "Ah, please to follow me...," he said as he turned to go back to his office.

I followed him down to his office door, where he pushed it open and held it for me to go in first.

Way too polite...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 51

The Naked Beat

I made my way to the Hop Sing Tong office on Gin Ling Way. I looked at the Chinese lettering above the door as I pushed it open and went inside. I was met by two men who looked about six good meals away from being Sumo wrestlers.

"Hello, gentlemen," I said as politely as I could. "I'd like to speak with Mr. Li, please."

The men stood like stone statues with their arms folded. I didn't fancy trying to take these two brutes on in hand-to-hand combat.

The matter was settled when Mr. Li appeared from nowhere...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 50

The Naked Beat

It looked like I might have just found my lead. Before I would've sought out one of my shady informants and he would've haggled for some cash, then coughed up the information I required. But I don't run with that crowd anymore. As Rebecca hung up the phone and smiled at me as she walked back to the table, I realized I was running with a better crowd.

"Okay, cowboy. The contact is Mr. Li at the Hop Sing Tong office on Gin Ling Way in Chinatown. That's the best I can do."

That was enough, baby. All I needed...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 49

The Naked Beat

She pulled her eyes from the stage to look at me. "Jade Chen? Where have I heard that name before?"

I got a feeling of very slight hope as she trawled her mind to retrieve what she knew about that name. I just needed one thing to go on and I knew I could find Jade Chen's whorehouse and hopefully find Blaze in one piece.

Rebecca was still thinking about where she'd heard that name. Then she snapped her fingers.

"Let me call Stanley. He's one of our top reporters. I bet he would know where to find her."

Hallelujah...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 48

The Naked Beat

Rebecca and I went to our usual table and had some coffee while a couple of the new people to the café sat on the stage, one playing bongos and the other playing a flute. It was mellow and really kind of nice.

"Rebecca," I said quietly, as the music wasn't very loud. "Do you know anything about Chinatown?"

She shook her head as she kept looking at the stage, seemingly mesmerized by the Beatnik Pied Piper and his bongo playing companion.

"Not much," she said softly.

"I need to locate a madam that operates there. Her name's Jade Chen."

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 47

The Naked Beat

"Hey," she said as she came up to the bar.

"Hey yourself," I said, matching her somber tone.

She looked around. "Pretty quiet tonight."

"Yeah, it seems threatening your customers with bodily harm is bad for business."

She laughed. I missed that too.

"Listen, Rebecca, I'm sorry about being harsh the other night. I was in full Old Jake mode and it spilled over onto you and I apologize."

She smiled, "Apology accepted, you big bully." She winked at me and I wanted to jump across the bar and take her in my arms and kiss her.

But I didn't...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 46

The Naked Beat

The café was almost empty, occupied by only a few of the newer Beatniks that hadn't been taken under Alex's wing yet. Mongo said he could handle things and that I should just go home. I think he felt bad for not revealing any more information to me than he had, but if his conscience was bothered by me being around that was too bad. I wasn't going to make it easier for him.

About that time Rebecca came through the door. I was glad to see her. I actually missed her a lot more than I cared to admit...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 45

The Naked Beat

If Harrigan couldn't help me I wasn't sure who could. I thought about asking Rebecca if any of the reporters on her paper might have a lead where I could start, but after the night that I had the run-in with Alex, I hadn't seen or heard from her. In fact, a lot of the Beatniks had stopped coming around the café, following Alex's example.

I had phoned Mr. Miller and told him that I might have a lead, but he'd have to be patient. He didn't like it, but agreed.

Now I just have to find the lead...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 44

The Naked Beat

"Harrigan? Are you still there?" I asked, wondering if I was talking to myself.

"I'm here. Listen, Randolph, I'm very busy. I'm in charge of keeping the peace in one of the biggest cities in the world. I don't have time to be screwing around with unimportant business."

I was stunned by his words. A missing girl is unimportant business? Something here wasn't right. Harrigan had a gruff exterior, but he had a heart of gold.

"Well, thanks for nothing, old friend," I said, angrily hanging up the phone.

I was hitting more brick walls than a blind taxi driver...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 43

The Naked Beat

"This isn't a joke, Harrigan. A girl's missing. I'm trying to find her."

He exhaled, "I thought you gave up being a private dick. Aren't you running a coffee house for juvenile delinquents?"

"Among other things. I'm just trying to help out a man whose daughter ran away."

"Did he report it to the police?"

"She's 18. He's just trying to find her."

"What do you want from me, Jake?"

"I just need to know where Jade Chen's place is located."

The line suddenly became a ghost town. I swear I heard the wind blowing a piece of sagebrush by...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 42

The Naked Beat

"Give me that damn phone!" Harrigan shouted. "You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"

I chuckled, "Nope!"

"What the hell do you want now, Randolph?"

"Well, maybe I just wanted to hear your sweet voice again, Harrigan."

"Well, you've heard it. Goodbye!" he barked.

"Wait a minute, Jim!" I yelled.

He got quiet. I didn't call him by his first name very often. Some Army habits are hard to break.

"What is it, Jake?"

"I'm trying to find a girl."

"Have you tried a lonely hearts club?" he asked, sounding now like he regretted taking me seriously...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 41

The Naked Beat

"Chief Harrigan's office, this is Nancy, how may I help you?" a tinny voice asked.

"I need to speak to Harrigan, please," I said politely.

"Chief Harrigan is very busy, sir. May I ask who's calling?"

I wasn't expecting a middle man. Or in this case a middle woman.

"Tell him it's the man who stopped a German officer from taking a Luger and blowing his brains out."

I heard Harrigan's rough, muffled voice ask, "Who is that?"

She repeated to him what I said and I heard Harrigan groan like a man being told he needed a root canal...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 40

The Naked Beat

It looked like I was going to have to call my old Army buddy Jim Harrigan. I hadn't seen him in about two years, not since he'd become Chief of Police for the City of Los Angeles. He'd worked his way up from a beat cop, starting the moment we got back from spanking Hitler's naughty bottom. He'd helped me, grudgingly, when I was a detective, and got me out of more than a few scrapes with the law.

I went to the pay phone, dropped a dime in, and called Harrigan's office, hoping he hadn't forgotten who I was...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 39

The Naked Beat

Mongo and I stood there looking at each other like two cigar store Indians, no emotion showing, just a couple of men trying to figure out what the other one was thinking. I finally grew tired of this staring competition.

"Do you know where I can find Jade Chen?"

He shook his head, "No."

I couldn't tell if he was lying. It looked like I was going to have to take the long way around to find Jade Chen's house of ill repute.

I walked to the door of the stock room and then turned back, "You disappoint me, Mongo."

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 38

The Naked Beat

"How do you know this, Mongo?" I asked, more like a parent than I meant to.

He just looked at me. I knew he was holding something back and I could guess what it was. Marilyn. He'd had a crush on her since the moment he saw her. And she's civil enough with him, but I could tell that she thinks he's beneath her by about 25 floors. If she was involved, he wouldn't tell me.

"I just know," he said.

"Mongo, a girl's life may be in danger."

He just stared at me like a robot that needed recharging...

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 37

The Naked Beat

"Okay, Mongo. I need you to tell me everything you know about Blaze, starting with why she hasn't been around the café lately."

He turned and grabbed a box of napkins from the floor and placed it on the shelf above his head. He turned back to look at me.

"I don't know how it happened, but somehow she got involved with Jade Chen."

Jade Chen. The biggest madam in Chinatown. She had girls of all types: Asian, American, Italian, or French. Black, white; you name it, she had it.

How the hell did Blaze get mixed up with her?

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Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 36

The Naked Beat

Mongo was a quiet sort. I always thought he might be a little slow, but now I began thinking that maybe he was the type that stood back and observed everything around him.

He had told me a couple of years before that he was half Asian. His father was a business man who made frequent trips to Hong Kong, and that's where he met Mongo's mother.

Now, after hearing Alex say he last saw Blaze in Chinatown and Mongo saying he thinks he knows where Blaze is, I was beginning to suspect that this was about to turn ugly...