"Jake Randolph Origins" drabbles by Christopher

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 269

Jake Randolph Origins #269

Mongo brought me some coffee, and then he went onstage to announce The Beach Boys. They came on with matching blue and white striped shirts and launched straight into "Surfin' Safari." They sounded just like the record. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

The front door opened and in walked a man. He was short and pale and looked like he had the world on his shoulders.

He approached me. "Are you Jake Randolph?" he asked in a sheepish voice.

"Yes," I said softly.

"Mr. Randolph, I... I need your help."

Here we go again...

THE END

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 268

Jake Randolph Origins #268

I got back to the club at about 9 pm. There was a new group debuting that night, some family group from Hawthorne called The Beach Boys. They'd had a couple of recent hits, "Surfin'" and "Surfin' Safari." The tall one playing the bass sang like a girl. Truthfully, I didn't think they'd last long. When the surfing fad passed so would they.

I sat down at my usual spot, waiting for them to come on. My mind was still processing so much. I had a lot of things to contemplate. But not that night. That night I'd just relax...

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 267

Jake Randolph Origins #267

"I always knew if it came to a choice between me and your precious job that I would lose. But honest to God, Rebecca, I never thought you would deliberately stab me in the back."

"Aren't you being a bit overly dramatic, Jake?"

That did it. I'd finally hit my breaking point with this woman, this woman I'd been with longer than any woman in my life.

"I don't want to see you ever again. Don't come to my club either or I'll have you thrown out. And don't think I won't. Goodbye."

I walked away as she yelled, "Jake!"

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 266

Jake Randolph Origins #266

"Jake," she said, "you don't understand. That story was too good to pass up."

I shook my head, "Even after I specifically asked you not to write that story? You did it anyway? And that's your only defense? That it was too good to pass up? You betrayed me, Rebecca."

She stood up and tried to touch my chest, but I took a single step back. She withdrew her hand like an ebb tide that had been spurned by the shoreline.

"It wasn't a betrayal, Jake. I'm a reporter. It is my job to report news. And that was news."

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 265

Jake Randolph Origins #265

The bullpen, in newspaper parlance, was the area where the reporters and editors sat, making calls, writing and gossiping. That's where she was most nights, feverishly working.

I came into the large open room, filled with desks, chairs and typewriters. Rebecca was at her desk hunched over, typing something. She looked up at me and smiled until she saw I had a newspaper tucked under my arm and a scowl on my face.

I threw the paper down on her desk. "Nice story," I said with sarcasm dripping from both words.

She looked at it and then up at me...

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 264

Jake Randolph Origins #264

I got to the Los Angeles Times building and went in. It was after hours but the night watchman let me in. He knew me from the many times I'd come to pick up Rebecca.

"Evening, Mr. Randolph," he said as he opened the door after unlocking it.

"Hello, Pete. How are the kids?" I asked. I hoped he'd just give me an idea as to their general health and not roll out a laundry list of ailments and/or accomplishments.

"They're fine, Mr. Randolph. Thanks for asking," he said.

I nodded and smiled, taking the elevator up to the bullpen...

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 263

Jake Randolph Origins #263

The club was pretty full for a Monday night. It might've been due to the entertainment that was scheduled for that evening.

I went to the bar to get some coffee when I saw it; the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times. There was a front page article entitled "Nazis and Gold." I didn't even have to look at the byline to know it was written by Rebecca Jordan. I knew she was asking too many questions when I phoned her from Monterey after I'd settled my business there.

I tore out of the club towards the newspaper building...

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 262

Jake Randolph Origins #262

I was glad to be back in L.A. Monterey was beautiful, especially where Marion, I mean Sharkey, lived. But I was looking forward to getting back to my club. I had it redesigned after the Beatnik fad passed. Mongo, the only other employee of my club, said that he thought the next big thing was going to be surfing. So, I gave him carte blanche to change the club to a surfing motif. We even changed the name from the Existential Cafe to the Surf Shack. Our clientele morphed from pale Beatniks to very healthy, suntanned surfers and their honeys...

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 261

Jake Randolph Origins #261

Sharkey pulled an envelope out of his coat that was fatter than a hippopotamus with thyroid trouble. I opened it and saw more presidents than in a textbook on American History.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Your fee," he said, still looking out the window.

"I don't want this."

"Jake, you're not a Samaritan and you're not a social worker. Take it and shut up."

I smiled, gave him a hug, and went for the door. I looked back.

"I don't even know your real name."

"Marion," he said softly.

I grinned, "You know what? Stick with Sharkey."

He laughed...

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 260

Jake Randolph Origins #260

After squaring things away with the police department we returned to Sharkey's house. I stayed another week to see his daughter get hitched and then got ready to head back to L.A.

Sharkey took me into his study. He poured two glasses of bourbon and handed one to me. We stood at the big windows that looked out over the Pacific Ocean.

"Kid," Sharkey said, "you don't know what this means to me. There aren't many people in this life I could count on, but I knew you were one of them. Most definitely."

"Glad to be of help, Sharkey."

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 259

Jake Randolph Origins #259

Sharkey pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off his mouth and then said, "Oh my God. Who was that girl?"

"Schmidt's daughter Heidi. She was trying to get revenge on you, me and Rivers."

He pointed to her warm corpse, "She was the one threatening me? And she's the one that shot you?"

I nodded slowly. I just couldn't speak anymore. I walked over to Heidi's body, pulled off the overcoat I was wearing, and covered her up. It was Sharkey's coat but I was sure he wouldn't mind.

We all walked back to the parking lot in stunned silence...

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 258

Jake Randolph Origins #258

My scream and the sound of the gun echoed through the otherwise quiet cemetery. Heidi's body crumpled to the ground in a sea of crimson and splattered brains. I almost threw up.

Sharkey came running out to where his men and I stood, staring in disbelief. The sight of him running out there dressed as his own chauffeur would've been comical if not for the tragedy that had just occurred.

Sharkey came to a screeching halt as he saw Heidi's body and what was left of her head.

Despite a lifetime of living with brutality and death, he threw up...

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 257

Jake Randolph Origins #257

She started to raise the gun but changed her mind.

"Heidi, why didn't you settle down and get married? Have a family? Don't you think your father would've wanted that?"

She smiled as she looked up again. "He told me that many times. But my place was with him. I couldn't abandon him."

"I admire your loyalty, Heidi," I said truthfully. "But you have to give up this insane quest for revenge."

"I failed," she said as she put the barrel of the Luger under her chin. "I failed."

"Nooooooooooo!" I screamed.

Her head exploded as she pulled the trigger...

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 256

Jake Randolph Origins #256

"My father," she continued, "told me all about Lieutenant Frank Rivers. According to your own Colonel Hall, Rivers suggested to Hall that they kill my father after they learned the location of the gold. Are these the righteous men who fought for your side during the war, Mr. Randolph?"

I didn't want to get into a debate about morality but I couldn't let it slide. "I never said our side were angels, Heidi. But we were fighting for freedom for the world. Your side was fighting for genocide and world domination. You tell me who was in the wrong, lady!"

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 255

Jake Randolph Origins #255

Heidi smirked, "What's the view like from that ivory tower of yours, Mr. Randolph?"

I let that one pass. "So your father died and you hatch a plan to get back at everyone that you think wronged him? And you think that somehow justifies committing murder? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?"

She either didn't understand that expression or chose to ignore it.

"I was hoping to create a triangle that wiped out you, Russo and Rivers."

"Rivers? Your father and Col. Hall are the ones that double-crossed him!"

She wasn't thinking rationally at all...

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 254

Jake Randolph Origins #254

"My father died in prison eight months ago," she continued. "I'd stayed by his side. I settled in the town nearby to the prison he'd been put in and got a job in a bookstore. I would go to see him regularly. He never lost his spirits. He really believed in the Third Reich, in the Fuhrer. And he believed in what he was doing. The Kunstschutz was important to him. That's why he felt that part of that gold belonged to him."

I shook my head, "Well, it didn't belong to him or the Fuhrer. They stole it, Heidi."

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 253

Jake Randolph Origins #253

Heidi looked frightened as she saw the swarm of armed men all around her. Sharkey's men all stood with their weapons on her but were holding back on pulling the trigger.

"Heidi, listen to me. These guys aren't playing. They will shoot you. Just lower the weapon," I said, trying to defuse the situation.

She lowered the gun, pointing it at the ground by her feet. Sharkey's men relaxed a little but still had their guns trained on her.

"Tell me what this is all about, Heidi," I said softly.

She looked up at the sky, "My father. What else?"

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 252

Jake Randolph Origins #252

She looked surprised when I removed the hat.

"You?" she asked. "I thought you were dead."

"I don't die easily, sweetheart," I said without a hint of jest. "Heidi, what the hell are you doing?"

"I came here to kill Russo. I guess I'll have to settle for you, Randolph," she said coldly as she pulled a Luger from her long brown coat and pointed it at me.

Russo's men came tearing out from behind the headstones and mausoleums, all with weapons drawn and trained on Heidi.

I put up my hands and yelled for Sharkey's men not to shoot...

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 251

Jake Randolph Origins #251

I could sense someone approaching me from behind. I continued with my mock grieving. I expected to hear the pop of gunfire at any moment, either Sharkey's men shooting the killer or the killer shooting me.

I heard a woman's voice say, "Sharkey Russo?"

I'd heard that voice before. It couldn't be. I rose to my feet and turned to look at her. The hair was more of a medium brown than white blonde, and it wasn't in pigtails. It hung down on each side of her head like a mop, but there was no mistake.

It was Heidi Schmidt...

Jake Randolph: Origins Pt. 250

Jake Randolph Origins #250

Maura, Sharkey's wife, had a giant marble headstone with an angel perched on top. I guessed it was her guardian angel. I thought it was superfluous by that point, however.

I reached the graveside and knelt down, placing the flowers at the base of the headstone. I hadn't seen any of Sharkey's men. They were well hid. At least I hoped they were. I had a gun on me, but I was completely out in the open, the classic example of a sitting duck.

I wanted to make it look good, so I bowed my head as if in prayer...