"Requiem For A Stripper" drabbles by Christopher

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 16

Requiem For A Stripper #16

I was feeling smug for having conned Harrigan until we got in his car and he said, “So it doesn't spoil our lunch that you so desperately wanted to have with your favorite person in the whole world why don'cha just tell me now what it is you're really after?”

I grinned. I should've known better than to think I could put one over on Harrigan.

“Did you work a recent missing persons case of a stripper named...”

He interrupted, “Honey Comb?”

I nodded, “That's the one.”

“Actually, it's not just one. Strippers have been going missing all over town.”

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 15

Requiem For A Stripper #15

“Do I need a reason to come see my favorite person in the whole wide world?” I asked with a grin.

“You don't need a reason but you usually have one. Like expecting the LAPD to do half of your job for you. So what file do I need to rush down to the Records Department to retrieve this time, huh?”

“You cut me to the quick, Harrigan. I came to see if you wanted to get some lunch.”

He looked a bit taken aback. “Oh. Yeah, I'm getting hungry. I guess we could grab some lunch.”

I just smiled...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 14

Requiem For A Stripper #14

Harrigan was standing behind his desk berating some poor underling.

“If you can't do this job, Reynolds, maybe you can get a position as the security guard at the all-night grocery store on Pico! Now, fill this report out again and try to pretend like you actually comprehend the English language this time!”

I stepped up behind him and said, “Your problem is you're too soft on these guys, Harrigan. Mollycoddling them will only lead to poor performance.”

I heard him exhale sharply and then turn.

“As if my day wasn't going bad enough. What is it now, Randolph?”

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 13

Requiem For A Stripper #13

I bid farewell to the fly, who seemed indifferent all of a sudden, and headed to Harrigan's precinct. I wanted to see what information they had about Honey Comb's disappearance. With what Jen said about Honey's habits with men it was possible she just ran off with one she was enamored with.

Of course, if she dated the wrong kind of men it was also possible that one of them did something nefarious to her.

There was a cool breeze blowing as I pushed the door to the precinct house open.

Walters behind the desk gave me a quick nod...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 12

Requiem For A Stripper #12

I stood up, "Okay, Jen. I'll poke around and see if I come up with anything. Will you be at the Gilded Daffodil tonight?"

She stood up, "Mmhmm. I'm on every night but Sunday."

"Observing the Sabbath?" I asked with a grin.

"Well, God rested that day, so why not me? I'll be on at 10 pm tonight."

"I'll stop by there and let you know if I've come up with anything."

"Thank you, Jake. See you soon," she said as she turned and walked out.

I watched her gams and began to feel a cannibalistic twinge surging within me...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 11

Requiem For A Stripper #11

"Are you sure?" she asked with a smile.

"Positive," I said, smiling back. "I take it you spoke with the police."

"Yes, I told them what I'm telling you."

"Did they search her apartment?"

She nodded.

I knew my first order of business was stopping by the precinct and having a word with Jim Harrigan. He was my old Army buddy. We went through the war together. He never seemed too keen to help me out with my cases, but he usually did it. He had wanted me to go to the police academy with him when we got home...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 10

Requiem For A Stripper #10

"When was the last time you saw Honey?" I asked as I crushed the tired cigarette out in the ashtray.

"Seven days ago. It was last Friday after our show at the Daffodil. We were changing backstage and getting ready to leave. Honey said she was going to meet some man. She left and that was the last time I saw her."

"D'you know who this man was?"

She shook her head. "She didn't even tell me his name. She was always going around with a different man, though, so it could've been anybody."

"Well, we can rule me out."

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 9

Requiem For A Stripper #9

"I'll tell you everything I know," she said.

"Good. Now, is Honey Comb a stage name or did her parents have a prophesy about what she was going to grow up to do for a living?"

She smiled, "It's a stage name. Her real name is Molly Hamm."

I could see why she chose a stage name. I couldn't imagine going to gawk at a stripper named Molly Hamm.

"And where's the apartment building that you and Honey live in?"

"Kilgore Arms. It's over on Temple Street."

I grabbed a pad and wrote the address down as she gave it...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 8

Requiem For A Stripper #8

I was feeling sympathetic that day.

"I tell you what, Jen. I'll look into it today and if I find anything worth knowing we'll work something out. If I don't turn up anything you'll owe me nothing. How about that?"

She smiled, "You're a very generous man, Mr. Randolph."

"It's Jake. And so I've been told."

We just stared at each other. The fly must have felt like a third wheel, so he buzzed off somewhere. Someone laying down on their car horn out on Sunset Boulevard shook us from our trance.

"Now, I need a little more information, Jen."

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 7

Requiem For A Stripper #7

She nodded, "The police are already involved. But you know how much attention they give to missing persons cases. It's not like a murderer running loose on the streets."

I did indeed know. I decided I'd look into it further. Jen Ann Tonic's looks nor her profession had anything to do with my decision. Well... maybe a little.

"My rates are 50 a day plus expenses, Jen. Is that acceptable?"

Her eyes opened a little wider when I said the number 50. Maybe strippers weren't being paid what they used to be.

"Well...I could probably manage a day or two."

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 6

Requiem For A Stripper #6

"Well then, what can I do for you, Miss Davis?"

"You can call me Jen. And I'm not sure I even need a detective."

"When will you be sure?" I asked as I took another puff on the cigarette.

"You see...," she said as she brushed away the fly that had suddenly regained interest in her, "...I have this friend. Her name is Honey Comb. She worked with me at the club and she lived in the apartment next to mine. She's been missing for a week now."

"Well, surely that sounds like a job for the police," I said...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 5

Requiem For A Stripper #5

"At the Gilded Daffodil on Figueroa Street. Ever been there?" she asked.

"Yeah, I been there. Never seen you before, though. I would've remembered that."

She smiled, winking at me. The Gilded Daffodil was a strip club. Some people used more diplomatic terms like exotic or burlesque dancer. But Jen Ann Tonic was clearly a stripper. I would definitely have to investigate this further.

"So, what can I do for you, Miss Tonic?" I asked as I lit a cigarette and offered her one. She declined with a shake of her pretty little head.

"Actually, it's Davis. Jennifer Ann Davis."

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 4

Requiem For A Stripper #4

"Well, I ain't Harry S. Truman, honey," I said as I stood up. The fly had already lost interest.

"I need to speak with you. I'm Jen Ann," she said as she stepped up to the front of my desk and put her hand out. I shook it and reluctantly let it go.

"Jen? Short for Jennifer?"

She nodded, "I shortened it and added my middle name when I began dancing professionally. My stage name is Jen Ann Tonic."

I almost laughed. I'm glad I didn't. But I thought I heard the fly chuckling.

"Where do you dance?" I asked...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 3

Requiem For A Stripper #3

She had curly blonde hair that looked like a sunny day and a face that would make a man in a photograph smile. Her pink blouse looked like it was going to have to hire some extra help to contain what was underneath it. Her white pleated skirt stopped at the knees, and the sturdy legs that were showing cascaded down to a pair of pink pumps.

I just stared at her as she opened the door and stepped in. Even the fly stopped in mid-air and took a look at her.

"Are you Jake Randolph?" she asked meekly...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 2

Requiem For A Stripper #2

Most cases start off innocent enough. So did this one. But pretty soon I was sucked into a vortex of murder, madness and mayhem that would drown even the hardest of men.

It was just before Thanksgiving 1948. I'd been working as a private detective for about three years, ever since I got back from the war. By that point I had pretty much seen and done it all. Or so I thought.

I was sitting in my office on the Sunset Strip watching a fly buzz around my head when I saw her through the glass of my door...

Jake Randolph in "Requiem For A Stripper" Pt. 1

Requiem For A Stripper #1

A bullet whizzed past my head as I took refuge behind a stack of wooden crates. I heard further bullets as they buried into the sides of the boxes. The smell of gunpowder was wafting through the warehouse. There were two men after me and they came in from opposite sides. I knew they were trying to squeeze me in a pincer movement.

You might wonder how someone gets themselves into a predicament like this. Well, ask anyone and they'll tell you that Jake Randolph is frequently in jams like this.

That wouldn't be a problem... except I'm Jake Randolph...