"The Naked Beat" drabbles by Christopher
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 175
The Naked Beat
I recognized all of the voices too: Alex, Skip, Marilyn, and Madam Chen herself. I could also hear what sounded like two marble stones being smacked together.
They were in what was apparently the drawing room, and one of the two sliding doors was slightly opened enough where I could peer in unseen.
Skip and Alex were huddled around a pool table playing 8 Ball. Skip leaned over, pulled the stick back and the cue ball went barreling toward a corner pocket, knocking in the 12 ball. He must've been stripes.
Marilyn was sitting on the settee with Jade Chen...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 174
The Naked Beat
I went around the left side of the house, making sure to stay in the shadows to avoid being seen by the patrols. There was a garage on that side and what looked like it might be the servant's entrance to the kitchen. I figured that was my best shot at finding an unlocked door.
I was right. The door opened easily. I peeked inside. The lights were out in the kitchen. It was after midnight, so I doubted there would be any servants milling around. I slipped through the kitchen and could hear voices coming from a nearby room...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 173
The Naked Beat
I watched for the two patrolling guards, waited until they started back away from me, and then sprinted for the courtyard. There weren't a lot of lights, only intermittent gas lanterns on poles lining the driveway. Then there were a couple of lights in the courtyard, but I believed there were enough shadows to get me to the front doors safely. Beyond that I had no clue how to get in.
I thought about the direct approach, like just knocking on the doors and boldly announcing myself, but I wouldn't. I was born during the day but it wasn't yesterday...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 172
The Naked Beat
While the guard was standing there watching Marilyn drive up the path to the house, I went to the open gates, slipped up behind him, and in one motion pulled my gun from my shoulder holster and used the butt to send Mr. Moto to Dreamsville. I whacked him so hard his friends in China felt the vibration through the Earth. I grabbed him under his arms and pulled him into the guard shack. I took his belt off and tied his hands behind his back, then snatched the cord off the little coffee percolator to tie his feet together...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 171
The Naked Beat
She pulled up to the gates and the guy just stood there behind it. She got out and went up to him, reading him the riot act for not automatically opening it up for her. He went to the little guard shack that was just behind the wall on the left side of the gates and picked up the phone. He spoke in Chinese to someone on the other end. He came back and opened the gates. Marilyn looked smug, got back in her car and peeled out toward the house.
I knew it was time to make my move...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 170
The Naked Beat
There was one guard covering the gates and at least two walking the inside perimeter of the wall. They were all Asian, big surprise considering who I suspected lived there, and none of them looked like the human mountains that Mr. Li employed. But one of those two was at Jade Chen's establishment the night I went to get Blaze out, so I wondered if he might be skulking around here somewhere. I might not have a Buddha on hand to cold cock the big bastard this time.
Another car came up. I ducked behind a tree.
It was Marilyn...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 169
The Naked Beat
The house itself, stucco to match the outside walls, was a two-story mansion under a red terra cotta roof. The front doors were huge, recessed under an entranceway between two giant pillars that were holding up a balcony above it, no doubt the two French doors just off the balcony leading to the master bedroom. My house in the Hollywood Hills was nothing to sneeze at, and this joint made mine look like a beach shack.
I'd spent enough time playing amateur real estate agent and had to turn my attention to doing some surveillance of the property instead...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 168
The Naked Beat
There was a flower shop a street over, so I parked my car there and walked back to the mansion. I went all the way around the perimeter, following the stucco wall as it secured the property from intruders. When I returned to the front gates I took a look inside.
The cobblestone driveway led to a courtyard encased by perfectly manicured Juniper trees that jutted up skyward into a point sharp enough to take out one of Godzilla's eyeballs.
The fountain in the center was a three-tiered affair. The sound made me wish I could find a bathroom...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 167
The Naked Beat
It was a huge mansion behind two wrought iron gates and a six-foot high stucco wall surrounding the property. There were two marble tigers on the columns, one on each side of the gates. They were crouched and looked like they were ready to pounce on any uninvited guests.
A man appeared on the other side of the gates and Skip held his hand up out the window. The man opened the gates and waited for them to drive through and then closed them shut again.
But I wasn't getting in that way. I had to find another entrance...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 166
The Naked Beat
They walked down Market Street for three blocks, and then got in Skip's '57 Chevy Bel Air. I pulled out of the alley, following a good distance behind them. They headed in the direction of Beverly Hills. They were really running in some fancy circles; a yacht in Santa Monica and now driving to Beverly Hills. And I was betting I knew who was at the heart of it.
They pulled onto Gilcrest Drive, a street home to more than a few movie stars and celebrities. But I knew they weren't out stargazing. They were there to see Jade Chen...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 165
The Naked Beat
Once I knew they were inside the café, I paid for the paperback, got in the 'vette and drove down the street a block, backing into an alley between a hardware store and a beauty salon. Maybe they positioned them that way so the husband could drop the wife off to get her hair done, then go next door and shop for pliers and hammers. Go figure.
I read the first few chapters of the book I'd just bought until the sun was gone and I couldn't see the words anymore.
It was 11:15 PM when Alex and Skip left...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 164
The Naked Beat
Alex, Marilyn and Skip came bopping up the street and into the Java Jungle. It was about 7 PM as I stood in the bookstore with a copy of War Of The Worlds in my hand. That's the way I felt. I was living in two worlds that were now warring with each other. I had given up this life and yet, there I was, back to tailing people and getting shot at and beaten up and God only knew what else was to come. I don't think that's what Mr. Wells had in mind, but it fit my situation...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 163
The Naked Beat
The girl behind the counter, a young lass with curly blonde locks and a look that could get you in a lot of trouble with the law, looked up as she heard the bell on the door go into action.
"Good afternoon, sir. Can I help you find anything in particular?" she asked with a sincere tone.
"Thanks," I said, "but I'm just looking."
I didnt want to tell her that what I was looking at was across the street. I just stood there looking at the café with a book in my hand.
Then I saw some familiar faces...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 162
The Naked Beat
Nothing would've pleased me more than to have grabbed Rebecca and headed out to Malibu Beach in my new car with the top down and the radio blaring. But business before pleasure.
I got to Market Street in no time and parked across from the Java Jungle. There was a bookstore there called Paragraphs which had a couple of big windows in the front with a perfect view of the café's entrance. I put the top up on the car and then got out and walked up to the store.
I went in and pretended to be browsing the books...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 161
The Naked Beat
"You got a good eye, Jakey boy! That's the new 1959 Chevrolet Corvette. Convertible coupe, harbor blue color, 270-horsepower engine, three-speed manual transmission, high-lift camshaft, dual four-barrel carburetors, positraction rear axle, heavy duty racing suspension, power operated folding top, power windows, AM radio."
I was falling more in love with every word he said. It was a real beauty. It was a bit flashy for discreetly tailing someone, but I had deprived myself of something I wanted long enough.
Thirty minutes later, I was in my new 'vette heading for the Java Jungle at top speed...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 160
The Naked Beat
"Jakey!" Fred said as he came out of the office and walked toward me. I knew what was coming. He said it every single time I saw him.
"Man, we really gave it to those Krauts, didn't we, Jakey boy?" he asked with a silly grin.
I smiled, "Yeah, Freddy, we really did."
He nudged me with his elbow, "Hey, remember that weekend after we liberated Paris, huh, huh?"
"Yeah, Freddy, I remember. But I didn't drop by to take a stroll down Memory Lane. I need a car."
"Sure, Jakey, sure! Which one?"
I pointed to it. "That one."
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 159
The Naked Beat
Before I went to Market Street to scope out the new hangout of the Beatniks, I caught a cab to Fred's Friendly Autos. I knew Rebecca was getting tired of me using her car, and since mine had more holes in it than the plotline on a soap opera, I figured I better get myself some new transportation. Fred Carr, and yes, that's his real name, was the owner of the car lot. He went through the war with Harrigan and me, and I always bought my cars from him.
I saw the one I knew I had to have...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 158
The Naked Beat
When the conversation finally exhausted itself, Jeffrey said he was going to go back to his hotel so he could be alone with his thoughts and grief. I'd asked him when he was heading back East and he said not until there was some finality about what happened to Blaze. He owned his own advertising agency and he left the day-to-day duties of running the place to others. I was glad he was staying around a little bit longer. I was really growing to like him.
I knew it was about time I headed to the Java Jungle...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 157
The Naked Beat
We'd spent about three hours with Jeffrey at the café, trying to occupy his mind so he didn't have to think about the fact that his only child was just put in the ground. I don't think it helped very much, but I could see he appreciated the effort.
We made small talk, something I'm not really good at, but Rebecca picked up the slack in that department. Being a reporter, she was able to connect with people in a genuine way. My way of connecting with someone usually meant running a con on them. A gift of my profession...
Jake Randolph in "The Naked Beat" Pt. 156
The Naked Beat
The café was about half full. There were a few of the old gang that never really swung with Alex and his collection of idiots, but most were newer kids. I wondered how many of them would end up like Blaze.
As Mongo was pouring up our coffee I leaned over and rested my elbows on the bar.
"Mongo, do you know where Alex and the rest of them relocated to?"
He nodded as he continued making our drinks.
"Yeah. The Java Jungle, in Inglewood. On Market Street."
My next move was to do a little surveillance of the competition...
