"The Eternal Night" drabbles by Christopher
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 71
The Eternal Night #71
I said, "I don't want to be here any more than you do. At least you'll get paid when you pretend to be a detective. I'm out here pretending to be one for nothing."
"Why didn't you take a fee from Mr. Sperry? He asked you."
I exhaled. "I don't know. It would make it too real if I took money for it."
"Why did you quit being a detective?"
"Why do you need to know that?" I asked.
"It might help me understand about being a detective."
I could understand that.
But I wasn't ready to share that information...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 70
The Eternal Night #70
I told Mason we should have some dinner and then turn in so we could get to Lily's parents' house early in the morning.
As we were walking down the sidewalk toward the restaurant that the clerk at the hotel suggested Mason said, "I'm freezing. I need to stop in one of these stores and buy a jacket. Put it on the expense account."
"No!" I said sharply. "I told you it would be Aspen, Colorado in March and told you to pack accordingly. If you didn't bring a jacket it's your own damned fault."
"Okay! Jeez, lighten up, Jake."
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 69
The Eternal Night #69
The plane ride to Aspen was uneventful, except for some turbulence that made Mason think the plane was about to fall out of the sky. I didn't like a Cessna, the one I chartered, any more than a commercial DC-4, but I didn't want to be on a commercial airline's schedule. Sperry had made it clear he wanted this wrapped up as soon as possible. Plus, they'd start filming the Derek Slade movie soon so Brick Mason had to finish his crash course in detective work before then.
We checked into a small hotel in Aspen just after sundown...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 68
The Eternal Night #68
"So why not go there first instead of going to see Lily's parents?" Mason asked. It was a fair question.
"Because I want some of Lily's background. It'll help to establish her likes and dislikes and possibly what her goals in life are."
"And you think her parents are going to give two total strangers that kind of information?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That's the next lesson you'll learn about the detective game. Sometimes you have to give people the right motivations to want to help you."
"And you know how to do that?" he asked.
I grinned...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 67
The Eternal Night #67
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yeah," Mason said, "a little beach between 'Frisco and San Rafael."
He was right. I remembered that tower of rocks off the coastline. Harrigan, my old Army buddy, and I went deep sea fishing up there once and had stood on that very beach.
"Well then," I said, "that puts her being in the San Francisco-Berkeley area at some point. The other items bear that out: a matchbook to a club called The Devil's Den on the wharf in San Francisco overlooking Alcatraz Island, and a business card to a photography studio in Berkeley."
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 66
The Eternal Night #66
"There's two photos of Lily," I continued, "one on the beach...one with a girl who, according to the writing on the photo, is named Sandra. We need to identify what beach that picture was taken on and also see if we can learn who this Sandra is."
I never thought about detective work before, I just did it. Now that I was having to explain every step to someone else I realized how insurmountable the odds were of achieving the goals I had laid out.
"That beach is above San Francisco," Mason said.
Maybe they weren't so insurmountable after all...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 65
The Eternal Night #65
Mason showed up at the cafe promptly at 10 am. Whatever his faults and peculiarities were, tardiness wasn't one of them.
"Brick," I said as he walked in.
"Jake. So, what's on the agenda?" he responded.
"Well," I said as I directed him to the bar, "we need to go over this evidence and then you have to go home and pack for a short trip to Aspen, Colorado."
He raised an eyebrow, “Skiing trip?”
I shook my head, "We'll be paying a visit to Lily's parents."
I opened the folder and laid out all the items on the bar...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 64
The Eternal Night #64
I called Sperry and got his wet blanket butler, of course, and asked him to relay a question: Was the timing of this case car-ride important or plane-ride important? I got a response about an hour later: plane-ride important.
So, if Sperry was willing to foot the bill for Mason and me to fly to Aspen, Colorado who was I to turn it down?
I kissed Roxie and headed to the cafe to meet Mason and go over the evidence. There was so little of it there wasn't much point but it was part of the job...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 63
The Eternal Night #63
I smiled, "You don't like sunlight?"
She poured some coffee into her cup. "I wouldn't have a problem with the sunlight if it only came out at night."
I laughed, "Well, I've got to get to the cafe to meet Mason. We're going to start looking into Sperry's fiancee today."
"Where are you going first?" she asked as she gulped down the entire cup of coffee in one go.
"Aspen, Colorado," I said. I wanted to speak with Lily's parents first.
Her eyes widened, "That's quite a journey."
"I'm going to charter a plane, if Sperry will pay for it."
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 62
The Eternal Night #62
I needed to track down this Jack Salem so I could ask him if he knew Lily. But the only person I knew of named Jack Salem was in the California State Senate. I didn't think it could possibly be him but that was another lead I was going to have to chase down.
Was I starting to regret this yet? No...but the day was young.
Roxie staggered into the kitchen as her usual chipper self. She grabbed a coffee cup.
"I hate the mornings!" she yelled. "I don't know why the night has to end. It should be eternal."
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 61
The Eternal Night #61
The only other items in the folder included a tattered matchbook from a club on the San Francisco Bay called The Devil's Den. They touted "a view of Alcatraz" on the back. I wondered if they also had Lydia, The Tattooed Lady.
There was also a handwritten note from Sperry that had the names of Lily's parents and their address in Aspen, Colorado.
The last item was an old business card, stained and yellowed with time, for a photography studio in Berkeley called Lorem Portrait Studio, the photographer and apparent proprietor of the studio being a guy named Jack Salem...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 60
The Eternal Night #60
Sperry wasn't joking when he said he didn't know much about Lillian Wells. There was the one photo of Lily on the beach. Another photo of Lily and another pretty girl. The white edges around the photo had written in blue ink, "Me & Sandra in the dorm, '47." I could only assume Sandra was someone Lily had gone to college with, perhaps even been roommates with. However, there were no markings or anything in the photo that would indicate what college it was.
Sandra would be a person of interest but I knew even less about her than Lily...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 59
The Eternal Night #59
The morning arrived earlier than I planned for. The sun invaded my bedroom like the vice squad busting a massage parlor. I got up quietly so as not to disturb Roxie, showered, dressed and ate breakfast while going over the contents of Sperry's folder.
I looked at the picture of Lily again. I was still trying to figure out what beach it was taken on. There was a natural tower of rocks about two hundred yards out into the water over her right shoulder and I knew I had seen that before. I had been on that very same beach...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 58
The Eternal Night #58
She grinned, "Yes! Do I detect a note of jealousy in your voice?"
I nodded, "You do."
She grabbed me and kissed me, "Oh, Jake. William's an old man."
"Who's loaded," I said.
"Aren't you loaded?" she asked with a grin.
"Yeah, but my load is considerably lighter than his load!"
"Yeah, but I much prefer the arms that are carrying your load wrapped around me," she said with her eyes blazing like an inferno.
I wrapped them around her, picked her up off the ground and passionately kissed those sultry red lips.
Then I carried her to the bedroom...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 57
The Eternal Night #57
"So," Roxie said, "what can you tell me?"
I went to the bar to get a shot of whiskey. The cheap stuff, not the good stuff that Sperry saved for the important people.
"Well, the butler made us feel about as welcome as a couple of porcupines in a nudist colony. And Sperry treated Mason like the ugly stepsisters treated Cinderella."
Roxie laughed and then said, "What about you?"
"Oh, he was crazy about me. In fact, he's gonna dump the girl and marry me instead."
She laughed again. "Well, William's certainly a character."
"Oh, it's William now, is it?"
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 56
The Eternal Night #56
"You big goofball!" she said.
"Ah, what a night," I said, "hobnobbing with actors and movie studio presidents in Beverly Hills. It's very draining being one of the elites."
She grinned, "So, how did it go?"
"Well, Mason and I met with Sperry. Lovely fellow, by the way. He wants a full background check on his fiancee. I've got all the info he has on her right here," I said as I held up the folder.
She went to take it from me and I pulled it back.
"Uh-uh. That's confidential," I said.
She frowned and I kissed her...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 55
The Eternal Night #55
Mason directed me to his home, a nice little bungalow in Topanga Canyon, so I dropped him there, telling him to meet me at the Existential Cafe the next morning at 10 am and we would get started combing through the information Sperry gave us on Lily Wells and form a plan of action. He agreed and I left him and went back to my house in Beachwood Canyon in the Hollywood Hills.
Roxie was there waiting for me.
I came through the door and yelled, "Luuuu-cy! I'm hoooome!"
Roxie grinned, came up and gave me a big kiss...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 54
The Eternal Night #54
Mason and I were shown to the front door by the butler, who acted like he was taking the trash out.
After we exited Mason asked, "Is that how it usually goes?"
I shook my head, "Most clients had neither the money nor the clout that Sperry has. They were just regular people in a jam. Sperry's a rich dick who was just trying to intimidate me."
We got to the car and Mason asked, "Did the intimidation work?"
I opened the door and asked, "Does it look like it worked?"
Mason didn't answer as we got in the car...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 53
The Eternal Night #53
I figured I had all I was going to get from Sperry, so I got up and Mason followed suit.
Sperry sat there in the chair and didn't get up so I stepped over and stuck my hand out. Sperry looked at me a moment and then shook my hand. Mason stuck his hand out and Sperry just stared at it until Mason sheepishly stuck it in his pocket.
I told Sperry I'd keep him updated and started for the door.
"Wait, Randolph. We didn't discuss your fee."
"It's on me. Make a donation to the home for bewildered actors."
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 52
The Eternal Night #52
"Where and how did the two of you meet? Or is that in the folder too?" I asked.
Sperry looked up at the ceiling. I couldn't tell if he was trying to remember or if he was trying to determine whether or not he should tell me.
"Several months ago I was up in Aspen, Colorado doing some skiing and I met her in town. She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. Anyway, we hit it off and have been together ever since."
"Is she from Aspen?" I asked.
"Originally. She was back in town visiting her parents."
