"Requiem For A Stripper" drabbles by Christopher

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 116

Requiem For A Stripper #116

I saw a card for Hoofers taped to one of the mirrors. I inspected it closer, seeing that someone had written in pencil on the front of the card Edgewood 6745. That was the same phone number I'd seen on a piece of paper in Honey's garbage can, along with the name Madame Helga. But the card I was looking at didn't have Madame Helga's name, just the number. When I had a moment to breathe I was going to have to call that number.

I felt someone staring at me from behind.

I turned to see a beautiful woman...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 115

Requiem For A Stripper #115

I went to the fuse box and looked at it until Goldstein had exited the back. Then I turned and started examining the dressing area. There were dressing tables and mirrors lining one wall. The mirrors were the kind with bulbs all around them, like a Hollywood starlet would have, but at least half the bulbs around each mirror were burned out.

I was looking for anything to do with Barb Winston or Debra Snow, the two girls that had gone missing from there. There was girly junk all over the tables, and photos taped all around the mirror edges...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 114

Requiem For A Stripper #114

I figured the fuse box was somewhere in the back near to where the girls' dressing area would be, so I told Goldstein I needed to see that first. He quickly led me there as the band started back up and the girls began rehearsing again.

When we got back there I turned to Goldstein and said, "I'm going to look around, Mr. Goldstein. Kindly inform your staff that I will be inspecting every area of this club so they can just ignore me. I'll call you if I need you."

He looked surprised but said, "Sure thing, Mr. Rand."

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 113

Requiem For A Stripper #113

"Oh dear," Goldstein said in a not-so-convincing tone. "Well, if we go to my office I'm sure I have something in my safe that will clear all of this up, Mr. Rand."

I looked indignant. "If you're referring to a bribe, Mr. Goldstein, I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"No, no, perish the thought, Mr. Rand," he said, back peddling harder than a bicyclist racing toward the edge of a cliff.

"Now, I need to take a look around and I need your full cooperation, Mr. Goldstein."

"You've got it, Mr. Rand. Absolutely."

I smiled. Conned another one...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 112

Requiem For A Stripper #112

"Hello, Mr. Rand, is it? I'm Herb Goldstein, manager and owner of The Giant Clam. Uh, what happened to Abe Katz? He always inspected our building before."

Abe Katz. Sounded like another Jew. That's probably what kept this place from getting shut down. The only way this dump would get a clean bill of health is with a bulldozer.

"It's Saturday, so I'm assuming he's observing the Sabbath, Mr. Goldstein."

He looked a little embarrassed, "Yes, yes. Of course."

"It's come to our attention that The Giant Clam is in violation of a number of city building codes, Mr. Goldstein."

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 111

Requiem For A Stripper #111

"I better get the boss," he said as he guided me in.

The inside wasn't any more classy than outside. The floors were dirty and the paint was peeling off the walls in here as well. The band looked like skid row bums. The girls that were on the stage dancing looked pretty good, and I guess that's really all that counted in a place like this.

I stood there watching the girls dancing and laughing with one another on the stage until another man approached me. He was a short little Jew with a head like a matzo ball...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 110

Requiem For A Stripper #110

I went up to the front door and knocked lightly, as I was afraid if I put much pressure on the door the entire ramshackle place would fall in on itself. I could hear live music coming from inside, so either the band was rehearsing or they were playing so the girls could practice their dance routines. I knocked a little harder, praying the place would hold together.

Finally, the door opened and a short bald guy with an apron on said, "We ain't open yet, Moe."

"I'm Jack Rand from the city building inspector's office."

The little guy gulped...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 109

Requiem For A Stripper #109

To call The Giant Clam a dive would be an insult to dives everywhere. Harrigan was not joking at the Bluebird Diner when he called it a dump. The building was dilapidated and paint was peeling off the sides. Even the sign had fallen down on one side, likely during an earthquake, and no one ever bothered to climb up there and put it back straight.

I pulled into the parking lot, dodging potholes that looked like pirates had been off the coast of Huntington Beach firing cannonballs into the asphalt.

I parked near the front door and got out...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 108

Requiem For A Stripper #108

I reluctantly got up around 11 am. I fried some bacon and scrambled some eggs. After I finished eating I looked in my wardrobe and found my cleanest suit. It was black and I generally only wore it to funerals. I put it on, along with a white shirt and a red tie. I grabbed my black fedora from the top of the closet and slipped on some black loafers.

I drove out to Huntington Beach to see if anyone was at The Giant Clam. It was not uncommon for strippers to rehearse during the day in places like that...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 107

Requiem For A Stripper #107

The street lights made streaks on the hood of my car as I headed for home. L.A. was a different animal this late. The night was about to drift off to dream and dawn's alarm clock was about to jar it awake.

I got to my apartment just before the sun rolled out of bed. I grabbed a quick shower, ate a can of Heinz baked beans, and fell face first onto my bed. I lay there for a while before I actually lost consciousness.

I had a dream about strippers. I just couldn't seem to get away from them...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 106

Requiem For A Stripper #106

Minga's goons crashed their car into the glass storefront of Aunt Betty's Seamstress Shop. The car came to a halt as it slammed into the back wall of the shop. I slowed down and looked in. There was wreckage everywhere, and dresses and dummies were strewn all over the top of the car. Thankfully, those weren't real people.

I didn't stop to see if Minga's goons were still alive. And, quite frankly, I didn't really care.

I had more concern for Aunt Betty. She was going to be pretty cheesed when she showed up for work in a few hours...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 105

Requiem For A Stripper #105

A milk truck pulled out of a side road right in front of me. I had to slam on the brakes and veer to the side. This caused the pursuing car to pull right up beside me. I didn't have to look to know it was Minga's goons but I did anyway. The one in the passenger's side fired across the tip of the driver's nose, trying to hit me. The glass on my passenger's side window shattered. I jerked the car over and slammed it into the side of their car, causing it to swerve wildly out of control...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 104

Requiem For A Stripper #104

Traffic was almost nonexistent at this hour and those headlights were coming up fast.

Now, I'll give you three guesses as to who was in that car, and if your first two guesses aren't Minga's gunsels then you go to the back of the bus.

I quickly turned down a side street to see if they stayed on my tail. The driver remained right behind me like I owed him money and had just run off with his daughter.

I pulled back onto the main road, flooring it. They fell back a bit but were soon right behind me again...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 103

Requiem For A Stripper #103

I got in my car and headed for my apartment, trying to correlate all the facts I'd uncovered. That was two strippers that went to meet a man the night they disappeared, Honey Comb from the Gilded Daffodil and Lily Padd from The Pink Pussycat. Lily had a note but I was unsure about Honey. Jen Ann said Honey was going to meet a man but didn't know how that meeting was set. I needed to ask the bartender at the Daffodil if he knew of a note being passed to Honey.

Then I saw headlights in my rearview mirror...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 102

Requiem For A Stripper #102

Minga went beddy-bye as I let go of him and he slid off the filthy bar and down onto the filthy floor.

One of his goons was reaching into his jacket for something, presumably not a stick of gum, but I beat him to it with something in my jacket that wasn't gum either.

"Okay, boys," I said as I backed toward the front door. "You tell Minga that if he still wants to tango I'll have my dancing shoes on any time he's available."

I didn't turn until I got out the door and made for my car...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 101

Requiem For A Stripper #101

His goons, the ones I'd already manhandled, started toward the bar and I yelled, "Come any closer and I'll rip this greaseball's arm off and beat the pair of you to death with it!"

Nicky yelled, "Stay back!"

They stopped moving.

"Why Hoofers, Nicky?" I asked, still mashing his face into the bar.

"Because most girls that wanna work here move like a pig in slop!"

"And there's no other reason for it, Nicky boy? Like maybe a secret club that recruits girls out of Hoofers for private parties?"

"You son-of-a..."

I slammed his face into the bar....

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 100

Requiem For A Stripper #100

"I gotta get ready to leave, Nicky," Smitty said.

Minga nodded and turned to me, "That's all you're getting, Randolph."

"Not quite. Got a couple of questions for you, Nicky boy."

He just looked at me.

"Why do you require your girls to get dance lessons at Hoofers? You got stock in the place?"

He started to walk off. I grabbed his left arm. I guess I'd pushed him to his limit because he swung his right arm around to try and hit me. I dodged and twisted his left arm behind his back, slamming him facedown on the bar...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 99

Requiem For A Stripper #99

"I didn't see nobody," he said as he picked his filthy cloth back up.

"Great," I said. "So I'm searching for The Invisible Man, is that it? Come on!"

Smitty gathered the last remaining glasses from the bar and said, "There were a lot of people at the bar that night. One of the empty glasses I picked up had an envelope under it with Lily's name on it and a sawbuck on top."

"Did you open the envelope?" I asked.

He shook his head. "The ten-spot was enough for me. I didn't need to know what was inside."

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 98

Requiem For A Stripper #98

The bartender didn't even look at me.

"Is this guy deaf or something?" I asked.

Minga walked up to the bar and slammed his hand down on it.

"Dammit, Smitty, I said answer him!"

He looked up at Minga like he wanted to kill him. Then he gave me the same look. He finally spoke.

"Yeah...I took the note."

"There, that wasn't so hard was it?" I asked. "Let's see how long it'll take you to answer this one: what did the guy look like that gave it to you?"

Smitty looked at Minga again and then back at me...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 97

Requiem For A Stripper #97

I headed back out front. There were a few people they were still trying to corral toward the door. The bartender was wiping up the bar, using the same nasty cloth he'd had when I was out there earlier.

"Say, mac," I said to the bartender as I approached the bar, "were you the barman on duty the night this note was taken for Lily Padd?"

I held up the note.

He continued wiping.

"Do I need to buy another drink before you'll answer me, pal?"

Minga walked up and said, "Answer him, Smitty."

I was beginning to like him...