The Case of the Unseen Lady
The next day, after oversleeping for a considerable time, I went to the office. I told Natalie most of the story but modified the ending to protect my pride.
“I was about to tie her up there at the sink but she was so wet with the water that she slipped out of my grasp.”
“Maybe I could have helped if I was there,” Natalie said. “I’ve been to the Swing Palace many times. I know the place like the back of my … glove.”
I tried to smile to show her I appreciated the humor. Being still somewhat numb in mind and body from the incident it wasn’t easy. I couldn’t even bring myself to appreciate how sharp my associate looked in a black suit today.
“Maybe.” I agreed. But since I changed your breakfast routine I didn’t want any surprises.
“What’s this about breakfast? I missed it today. I waited for you.”
“Sorry. I didn’t tell you before. I didn’t want to get your hopes up. But I took a guess that the formula might have been in your breakfast.”
“You still suspect poor Greta?”
“Well the formula is in your daily routine somewhere. And I have nothing to rule out Greta. And when was the last time you ran into Bradley Ambridge or Frankie Gibson? But I’ll admit that the woman I wrestled last night seemed taller than Miss Hindemith.”
“What do mean wrestled? Just how much did you touch this woman?”
“Why Miss Taylor,” I teased, “you sound jealous.”
She got a bit flustered and said, “Well … I’m your sidekick. I need to watch your backside. Goodness knows you can’t watch mine.”
I laughed and muttered, “I wish I could.”
Then Natalie walked up to my desk and placed a gloved hand on mine. “Johnny, I’m serious. I worry about you.”
At that moment I wondered who Natalie Taylor was. Was she a client? Secretary? Junior detective? Partner? The relationship had become a little complex and I feared it could become unbalanced if I wasn’t careful.
I pulled my hand away from hers. “I’ll be fine.” I said, “Look I’ve been a detective for a few years and I can handle myself.”
Her next question was softly spoken. “Are you angry at me Johnny?”
“No,” I answered immediately, “just not sure how far to take this.”
“Take what?” She said as if she guessed what it meant. Which was pretty good since I wasn’t even sure what I meant. I came to a decision then and decided to cover my last comment.
“How far to take your training … as a detective. Some of the work can be rather dark and seedy you know.”
“I’ve read a few detective stories Johnny.” Well, that made one of us. “I know they’re just stories but at least I have an idea about the kind of things you might run into.”
“Well then”, I said, “If you’re really up for some action, let’s go hunting.”
* * *
A source at the dog track had told me that his boss, Ronald Herman, was preparing for a weekend trip. He had an office at the track so Natalie and I took a walk down there. She got in free since she had left all of her clothing home. That kind of thing doesn’t happen every day, does it?
We made our way to the top of the grandstand and around back where Mister Herman had an office. I found a spot where I could watch the office and still see the track. It’s too suspicious if a visitor is not watching the track. The one thing I couldn’t watch was my associate. And that seemed to make me the most nervous.
At the right moment, when Mister Herman was speaking with someone, Natalie should have slipped behind him and into his office. He went back in and I waited patiently from my watch spot. Since she didn’t rejoin me, I assumed that she made it in. I tried not to worry. As long as she stayed relatively motionless, he wouldn’t know she was there. Now that she was inside, she simply had to wait for him to leave again and then go through his desk. Normally, I’d go in after hours with a lock pick but I knew that this experience was necessary for her.
Then a thought troubled me. Mister Herman was a cigar smoker. Remembering how the smoke had swirled around my other invisible friend I hoped that Natalie would stay very still. But I wondered if the smoke could get thick enough to show her outline. As time passed I became more concerned. I thought about the sort of danger I might have put her into.
Finally I decided to give her an opportunity. I went over to a nearby telephone and called the number that I had in my notebook. When Herman answered the phone I tried to sound agitated and simply said, “There’s trouble down here boss. You’d better come quick.” I hung up before he could ask any questions. I had no idea where “here” was but I assumed he would.
I went over to my spot and saw Herman leaving. I hoped he would go to the kennels since that would be a five-minute walk. And finding nothing there he might continue to on elsewhere determined to locate the problem. If I was lucky, a real problem might turn up somewhere in his realm of interest.
Subsequently I notice that the door to his office opened a moment and then closed. I leaned on a railing facing the track and waited until I heard Natalie’s voice in my ear. I didn’t turn when she spoke.
“According to his personal calendar he’s got weekend trip planned a week from this Friday to a place called Tropic Heaven.
I gave a short laugh. “I should have guessed. I’ve had a number of infidelity cases take me there. It’s an up-scale place about halfway between here and Santa Barbara.”
“How do we know he’s not taking his wife on a romantic weekend?”
I frowned and said, “You did say you read detective stories didn’t you?”
“Hey, we’ve got to consider all possibilities.” She said confidently. “Not every case is going to be as clear as the nose on my face.”
“Very good,” I said. “Either way, we’ll find out next Friday. Although I’ll admit I once did have a case once where it was his wife.”
“Really? Who hired you?”
“She did.”
“Why? That doesn’t make any sense.”
I laughed, “She thought it would add a thrill to their relationship to be spied on. It’s always exciting to take something routine and put in a totally different context.” Like, I thought, taking a beautiful woman and making her even more tantalizing by putting that beauty out of reach.
Just then a bell sounded as a race started below.
“So is this where Silver Bullet runs?” Natalie asked lightheartedly.
“Yup.”
“Which one is he?”
“He’s the one that owes me two hundred bucks.”
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