"Tiki Moon" drabbles by Christopher

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 191

Tiki Moon #191

She gave me the rundown on Scarlett Wilcox. She was a platinum blonde that, according to Deborah, looked like she should be starring in one of those stag films that you wouldn't find showing at your neighborhood theater. She drove a 1948 red convertible Buick Roadmaster and lived in an apartment house on Hawthorne Boulevard.

"Thanks, Deborah. I'm going to get to the bottom of this soon."

"Mmhmm," she mouthed sarcastically. "Just make sure you don't get to the bottom of Scarlett. Or the top. Or the in between bits."

"We'll see," I said as I hung up the phone...

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 190

Tiki Moon #190

"Deborah, I need to know which jobs Phil Garfield was on before someone turned him into a stripe on the highway. Is there anyone that works in your office that I could trust to give me some info? I wouldn't tell them you're still alive, but I need that information. For your benefit as well as for Phil's. It might help solve his case too."

She was silent for a moment and then said, "Scarlett Wilcox. She works in my outer office. She's a sweet girl. I'm sure you could find a way to persuade her."

Yeah, maybe I could...

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 189

Tiki Moon #189

"Jake, what are you saying?"

"I think when you get back you should audit your books. I have a sneaking suspicion that Nick has been bribing the City Planner's office. I don't have any proof yet, but I'm going to be a fly on the wall at that meeting Friday night and see if I can get some proof."

"Be careful, Jake. Mort and Nick are a lot more dangerous than I gave them credit for. I thought this was about Mort not wanting me anymore. It apparently runs a lot deeper than that."

And it may be getting deeper...

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 188

Tiki Moon #188

"What d'you mean?" she asked in a puzzled tone.

"Does Nick do a lot of the liaising with city officials? Building inspectors, city planners, things like that?"

"Almost exclusively," she said quickly. "That's why I hired him. I didn't have time for all that."

"Did approvals seem to get quicker after Nick began handling that?"

"As a matter of fact, they did. I just thought he was really efficient," she said.

"I'm also assuming you began getting the inside track on what areas of the city were the next to be developed."

There was silence and then, "Yes, we did."

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 187

Tiki Moon #187

"Why do you ask about him?" she asked, somewhat regaining her composure.

"Because Morty and Nick have a meeting with him at 11 pm this Friday night at construction site number 7."

"Number 7? That's the proposed art gallery in Pacific Palisades. Why are they meeting there? And why at 11 pm? That's ridiculous! You're lucky to find Stan North on the job from 9 to 5. I didn't think he even knew 11 o'clock happened twice a day."

I said, "I'm starting to think now that there may be another reason why they wanted you out of the way."

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 186

Tiki Moon #186

"It's...amazing," she said, still sniffling, "how...clear things look after they...smash you in the face. Looking back now I remember times I saw Mort and Nick looking at each other and never realized it was a gaze of love. Or lust or whatever the hell they call it. Mort would go out at night sometimes and not tell me where he was going. He must've been meeting Nick. That sick motherfu..."

She started crying again.

"Deborah, I need to ask you a few questions. Who is Stan North?"

She stopped sobbing, "Stan North is the head of the City Planning Office."

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 185

Tiki Moon #185

She started laughing so hard it sounded like she dropped the phone.

"Come on, Jake! Stop making me laugh," she said, giggling throughout.

"I'm not joking, Deborah," I said solemnly.

The laughing stopped. I think it hit her all at once that her husband and the second-in-command at her company were not only in collusion to have her killed but were also lovers. She started sobbing.

"Deborah, I'm sorry. I thought you'd wanna know."

She sniffled and said, "I do want to know, Jake. I just didn't see this coming. I can't believe I didn't see this coming."

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 184

Tiki Moon #184

"Oh dear," she said.

"Yeah, but that isn't why I called. I just wanted to see how you were and also tell you that I do believe Nick Berman was in on the plot to have you killed."

"Really? That ungrateful little...," she said, resisting the urge to voice whatever expletive was on her mind.

"I don't know how to tell you this, Deborah."

There was a moment of silence followed by, "Tell me what, Jake?"

"I surprised Morty at your house. He was in bed with someone."

"Who?" she asked loudly.

"Nick Berman," I said in a soft tone...

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 183

Tiki Moon #183

"What happened?" she asked in a panic.

"Well," I said, "someone took a few shots at me the day I got back from the cruise. Then I ran across the real Mr. Saint and he didn't act very holy at all. But I'm sure we'll cross paths again soon and I might just give him that sainthood......Posthumously."

"Well, I'm so glad you're alright. How did it go with Mort?"

"He believed I bumped you off. He was paying me the rest of the blood money in a back room at the Tiki Moon when Mr. Saint unceremoniously crashed the party."

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 182

Tiki Moon #182

Deborah had given me the phone number of her vacation home near Mount Shasta before I left her in Manila. I called it and waited for the operator to connect us.

It rang six times and then the receiver was picked up.

"Hello?" she said.

"Deborah, It's Jake."

"Jake!" she said excitedly.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"Bored shitless. How about you?" she asked playfully.

"Oh, I've been having very regular bowel movements. No boredom here."

She laughed, "Well, at least you haven't lost your sense of humor, Jake."

"No," I said, "but I've damned near lost my life."

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 181

Tiki Moon #181

I got up at noon the next day, Tuesday, and showered, dressed and made myself some breakfast. I got the attache case and drove to my bank, where I deposited the money. The cute little teller that never looked twice at me was now eyeing me up when she saw me depositing 20 G's into my account. When I was done at the bank I went to the bus station to use the payphone. I didn't want to use one on the street after the last time when someone treated me like I was a duck in a shooting gallery...

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 180

Tiki Moon #180

I took the case and left Morty's. I walked out the front gate, right by the security officer in the guard shack sleeping like a baby. If this was Morty's first line of defense against a possible attack from Mr. Saint then he was doomed. I walked down the block and got my car and headed home. I had to make sure no one was tailing me. All I needed was for Mr. Saint to find out where I lived and what I really did for a living.

It was bad enough him thinking I was a rival hit man...

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 179

Tiki Moon #179

He handed me the case. "You won't tell anyone about.....Nick and me, will you?"

I shook my head, "I wish I didn't know, Morty. Just watch your back. If Mr. Saint can't get to me he may take his anger out on you."

He looked shocked, as if that had never occurred to him. He rubbed the sides of his face with his hands. I doubted Mr. Saint would bother him, but I would hate for Morty to get plugged before I finish getting to the bottom of this case.

After that, I wouldn't care one way or the other...

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 178

Tiki Moon #178

Morty walked toward the bedroom door with his head down. I followed him down the staircase to the office I had been searching a few minutes before. He went to a safe in the corner of the room, opened it up, and pulled out the attache case he'd had with him at the Tiki Moon.

He turned back to me and asked, "How did you know I had set up a meeting with Mr. Saint?"

I couldn't very well tell him his wife called me and told me so I just said, "Don't be curious, Morty. That gets cats killed."

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 177

Tiki Moon #177

"Oh really," I said with a grin. "Because it looked like Nick here was doing his impression of a cowboy and you were in the role of the bucking bronco."

Nick put his face in his hands as Morty was clearly searching his mind frantically for some plausible explanation. They were queer. That was the only plausible explanation.

"Look, Morty," I said, "I don't care what kind of depravity you get up to. It's none of my business. We all have secrets. I just want my money."

Mort grabbed his robe from the bedside table and quickly slipped it on...

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 176

Tiki Moon #176

I'm generally not jarred by much, but the sight of Nick Berman bouncing up and down on Morty's crotch was enough to send me into shock overload.

So, Morty and Nick were a couple of queers. At least it explained a little better why they both wanted Deborah dead.

I pushed the door the rest of the way open and they both stopped their unnatural act as Morty screamed, "How did you get in here?!"

"Probably easier than you got in there," I said as I pointed to Nick, who looked positively ill.

"This...this...is...not what it looks like," Morty stammered...

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 175

Tiki Moon #175

I heard giggling and muffled voices coming from what appeared to be the master bedroom at the top of the stairs. I stepped very lightly over to the door, which was slightly ajar. I heard moaning and groaning, as well as a bed frame being sorely tested, and pretty much knew what was coming, which was more than likely Morty in there having some hot, recently-widowered, sex.

I eased the bedroom door open and saw Morty and Nick Berman in bed together, and they weren't having a slumber party.

I have to admit I did not see that coming...

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 174

Tiki Moon #174

I decided to find Morty and get the rest of my money. It was mine, after all. Deborah said to count it as my fee for helping her. And $20,000 was nothing to sneeze at, especially on top of the 5 G's Morty gave me before the cruise. I didn't know killing people was at such a premium. I was beginning to wonder if maybe I was in the wrong business.

I made my way back to the foyer and started climbing the big staircase to the second floor. Someone was up there, as I could hear movement and voices...

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 173

Tiki Moon #173

I looked through the drawers of the desk and found some Manila folders, one of which was marked "Current Projects." I opened it up and started thumbing through the papers. I found site #4 and then site #9. I kept moving through the stack and found site #7. It was a project for a future art gallery in Pacific Palisades. I grabbed a blank piece of paper, wrote down the address and then stuffed it in my pocket. I put the folder back and tried to make everything look as it did before I started being all nosy and voyeuristic...

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Jake Randolph in "Tiki Moon" Pt. 172

Tiki Moon #172

I thumbed through the appointment book, which looked to be Deborah's. When I jumped ahead to the near future the handwriting changed. I wondered if Morty had begun using it. There as a meeting scheduled for the next Friday that said, "Me, Nick and Stan North @ #7 Construction Site 11 PM."

Why would anyone be meeting at a construction site at 11 pm? It sounded shadier than an orange grove. I needed to find out what the #7 site was, however. I intended to crash that meeting, albeit stealthily.

Maybe I'd find out what the hell was going on...