A Gambling Man

Chapter 36

Archer stood in the doorway of the hole-in-the-wall diner. Its yellow, pebbled floors were sticky linoleum, its booths shiny red vinyl, its tabletops slapdash laminate of no memorable design, and its walls painted a sea-foam green with the overhead whirly fans moving at the pace of a man with nowhere to go. There was a jukebox, but it was as dark and silent as the night.

There were three other customers in the place besides Beth Kemper. All three were around nineteen or twenty, and all were clustered around her booth, apparently giving the lady trouble, while a flustered waitress in her forties hovered nearby, looking uncertain as to what to do.

Archer heard one of the young men, tall and pudgy with a crew cut and muscled arms and shoulders showing under his T-shirt, say, “Hey, baby, we got some gin back at our place. You need to join us. Good times, sugar doll, good times.”

His skinny, acned friend laughed and parroted, “Good times, sugar doll.”

“Sure like to see your gams without anything on ’em,” said Crew Cut. “Bet they’re a knockout, like you.”

The third man was lean and lanky, had dark, greased hair, and wore denim jeans stiff as a two-by-four, scuffed black motorcycle boots, and a brown leather bomber jacket; the fanned-out top half of a switchblade stuck out of his rear pants pocket like a cobra’s head.

Kemper, for her part, was smoking another cigarette and looking extremely bored. She seemed to perk up when she saw Archer coming.

“Mrs. Kemper?” said Archer, walking over.

All of the men turned to eye him, and there wasn’t a friendly look in the bunch, which was no surprise, thought Archer. What guy liked his crude lovemaking interrupted?

Crew Cut said, “Hey, Bud, we’re having a talk with the lady here, so take a powder.”

Archer drew closer. “That’s funny. I have a scheduled meeting with the ‘lady.’ ”

“Scram,” said Switchblade, transferring an unlit cigarette from between his lips to behind his right ear, as though that movement constituted a plain threat.

Archer moved closer while Kemper continued to eye him with interest. “Don’t make this difficult, boys,” he said.

Crew Cut seemed to take this reference personally because he shoved Acne aside and said, “Who you calling a boy, mac?”

Archer looked around and shrugged. “We seem to be the only males here, so I’ll leave it to you to figure out.”

Kemper snorted at that one, which only made Crew Cut angrier. “You know him?” he demanded, wheeling around on Kemper.

She smiled benignly and waved her cigarette smoke away from her. “Not as much as I’d like to.”

Confused by this, Crew Cut turned and shot Switchblade a glance along with a jerk of the head in Archer’s direction that could not have been clearer.

Archer sighed. If he had a sawbuck for every time he’d seen that same look communicated in that same clumsy fashion.

Switchblade went for his knife, but before he could open the blade, Archer laid him out with a punch so hard, it knocked him into the next booth. He lay there, his nose bloody, a tooth wobbly, and his mind crushed into unconsciousness.

Crew Cut screamed profanities and drew a fist back. Archer swept aside the front of his jacket where the .38 sat prominently. Crew Cut froze.

Archer said, “You want to see my credentials now, or wait until after you get booked for harassing this lady and trying to have your buddy knife me?”

Acne said fearfully, “Y-you’re... a cop, mister?”

Archer didn’t even bother to look at him. He kept his gaze on Crew Cut with his fist still cocked. “In the meantime, unless you want your parents to have to spend their hard-earned money bailing you ‘boys’ out, grab your friend, throw some cold water on his face, get on your tricycles out there... and beat it. Now!”

Crew Cut and Acne grabbed their knocked-out chum and slid him out the door. About thirty seconds later Archer heard the bikes fire up. He went to the door and watched them ride off. Switchblade was slumped in the sidecar, as both bikes disappeared into the night with their owners’ egos tucked between their legs.

The waitress said, “Gee, thanks, mister. They’ve been nothing but trouble all night.”

“No problem. Can I get a cup of joe? Rumbling punks is thirsty work.”

“Coming right up. And it’s on the house.”

She went off to get the coffee while Archer walked back over to the booth shaking out his achy hand.

“Mrs. Kemper,” he said again.

She looked up at him, her expression one of intrigue.

“Mr. Archer, why don’t you join me for our scheduled meeting?”

He slid into the booth, took off his hat, and set it next to him.

“That was impressive. And I so like to see a man enjoy his work.”

He ran his eye over her. She was dressed far more casually than last time. Flared white pants with black buttons on the side, a checkered cotton shirt in blue and gold, a kerchief at her neck, and a fitted dark blue jacket over both. And a pair of gold hoops graced her delicately lovely ears.

“Surprised to see you here.”

“As I am seeing you.” She tapped ash into the ashtray. “I hope you haven’t been following me,” she said with enough behind it to put Archer on his guard.

“Following you?” he said with feigned incredulity that he hoped was genuine enough to carry away her suspicions. “That’s your car outside. I recognized it from my visit to your house. If I’d been following you, you would have either seen my headlights, since there are no other cars out there, or heard my car. Did you hear a car behind you?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“I walked here from my place over on Porter. Asked my landlady for a place to eat. I woke up in the middle of the night all hungry. Turns out she’s a night owl. She recommended here.”

“Porter Street. Why didn’t you drive?”

“Because I wanted to walk and smoke. And it’s not that far. Your trip here was a lot farther. Must be tough navigating those switchbacks in the dark and the fog.”

He pulled the ashtray closer, lit up, and tapped ash into it as his coffee arrived. It was hot and good.

“What, no notepad to write down my answers?” she said mockingly as the waitress departed.

“I’m off duty.”

“I didn’t come from my home,” said Kemper.

“Really, where then?”

“That’s no concern of yours.”

“You’re right, it’s not.”

“I spoke to my father. Have you heard the news?”

He exhaled smoke and shook his head. “What news?”

“There was a murder.”

Archer furrowed his brow and said sharply, “A murder? Where?”

“At Midnight Moods.”

“Hell, I was there last night, meaning about five hours ago. Went there with a friend who was auditioning for a job. Who got killed?”

“Ruby Fraser.”

Archer let his jaw go slack and he laid his smoke on the lip of the ashtray before clasping his hands on the table and assuming what he hoped was a judicious look. “The Ruby Fraser?”

“Yes, the same one you were asking me about yesterday.”

“How did she die?”

“My father didn’t say.”

“When was she killed?”

She spread her hands and shook her head.

“Who killed her?” he persisted.

“Apparently, no one knows.”

“Where exactly was she found?” Archer was asking all the questions he would have asked of someone else if he hadn’t known what had happened.

“I think in her room.”

“How come your father knows all those details?”

She gazed at his injuries. “Come on, Mr. Archer, don’t play me for a dope. You ran into my father there. And your face ran into the fists of two of his thugs.”

Archer rubbed his bruises. “And did he tell you why that happened?”

“He told you to stop bothering me.”

“Let’s hope he doesn’t walk in the door here, then. I might not get out alive.”

“Don’t make jokes like that.”

“Why? Does your old man have a habit of knocking people off?”

“I’m not going to dignify that with an answer.”

“I was surprised to learn he owned Midnight Moods.”

She gave him a hard look. “He owns most of the town, so stop being surprised.”

“Your husband is giving him a run for his money, though. A winery, the fancy-schmancy Mayport Hotel, a country club on the water. He runs a very efficient office. I met Wilma Darling. She could have been a ship’s captain two hundred years ago. There never would have been even a hint of a mutiny with her at the helm. I don’t know why he needs Sheen around with that gal on the job.”

“You know, I’ve wondered that myself.” She took a sip of her coffee and took out a fresh cigarette. Archer pulled out a match, struck it against the side of the table, and leaned over to light her smoke. She lightly cupped his hand while he did so.

They moved apart, their gazes averted after the intimacy of the subtle embrace. Archer dropped the spent match into the ashtray and waited.

“Where is Mr. Dash, by the way?”

“I hope asleep in bed. Why does your husband even want to be mayor?”

“Did you ask him?”

“I’m asking you.”

“Afraid I can’t help you there. I haven’t asked him, either.”

“Could it be your father’s doing?”

“In what way?”

“Get your husband into the mayor’s office. Help out his business interests.”

“I’m not sure my father needs help in that regard.”

“Did you know Benjamin Smalls?” Archer asked abruptly.

“Why do you ask?” she said warily.

“I saw his picture on the table in your library. It was signed, ‘To Beth, All my best wishes, Ben.’ It was right next to Jimmy Stewart’s mug.”

“I knew Ben, yes.”

“He died about a month ago?”

“That’s right. He drowned in his tub.”

“So everyone keeps saying.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that’s what everyone keeps saying.”

“You don’t believe it?”

“Well, I wasn’t there to see it for myself.”

“You don’t accept things as facts unless you see them? You’ve got a long road ahead of you.”

“How’d you know him?”

“Ben’s father, Andrew, was partners with my father. He’s dead now.”

“I thought the Armstrong family had plenty of dough to do what they wanted.”

“Andrew was a state senator and thus was very well connected in Sacramento.”

“But he’s dead?”

“He killed himself.”

“How?” asked a startled Archer.

“They found him hanging in his barn.”

She dipped her head and wouldn’t look at him. She drew down thoughtfully on her cigarette. “With Ruby Fraser dead, things get complicated for you, don’t they?”

Archer said, “I think they get complicated for a lot of people, you included.”

“Me? What makes you say that?”

“Your hubby was maybe having an affair with her. And maybe you knew about it. That’s what they call a prime motive. Have the cops been by to see you?”

“Maybe I have an alibi, or didn’t I tell you?”

“How can you have an alibi when no one knows when she was killed?”

“Apparently, the police have a time window. I was at a dinner party from five in the evening until after midnight. In fact, I left for it right after you and your colleague finished interrogating me.”

“Not right after, because you changed clothes. You had on a dress before, not pants.”

“I went to the party in my dress. You don’t wear an outfit like this to a dinner party. I changed into these clothes afterward.”

“Did your father tell you about the time window?”

“I don’t remember who did.”

“And if your father did know, how would he know?”

“He has a direct line to the chief of police. They’re old friends.”

“And what’s his name?”

“Carl Pickett.”

“If the dinner party ended at midnight, what did you do between leaving there and coming here?”

“I went to a place with the thought of going to bed and then decided I wanted to get out. I like the coffee here.”

“What place did you go to with the thought of going to bed?”

“It’s here in town. I’ve owned it since before I was married. It’s my little hidey-hole.”

“Over ninety-nine percent of all dirty laundry gets lost in them.”

She puffed on her cigarette. “What a wonderfully lurid imagination you have.”

“When you were deciding to go to bed were you alone?”

“Don’t get cute, it’s not a good look for you.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that line before.”

She stubbed out her smoke in the ashtray. “It really was quite masterful how you handled those men. Three against one.”

“I probably could have huffed and puffed and blew them all into the Pacific from here.” He tapped out his smoke, too. “Does your husband have an alibi for tonight?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him.”

“Does he have a hidey-hole in town, too?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

He cocked his head as he peered at her. “Why do you put up with it? They have divorce in California, I take it.”

“It’s not as easy as you might imagine.”

“If you can prove he two-timed you, Mrs. Kemper, you can get a divorce.”

“Maybe I like my life how it is. He goes his way and I go mine. How would divorce change that?”

“If you’re okay with it, who am I to judge?”

“But you will anyway.”

“Nah, I’m too busy. Besides, he must have some feelings for you.”

“What makes you say that?” she said quickly. Her features tightened, and the look on her face was, at least to Archer’s mind, caught between hopeful and hopeless.

“I saw a bottle of his wine. The BK. Stands for ‘Beth Kemper,’ right?”

Her features relaxed and all the light went out of her eyes. “Wrong, it stands for ‘Best Kemper.’ ”

He studied her closely before saying, “Sorry. My mistake.”

“Yes, it is.” She rose and looked down at him. “Do you need a lift back to where you’re staying on dear old Porter Street?”

“Your Triumph’s not very big, Mrs. Kemper. Things might get pretty tight in there.”

“Make it Beth. And don’t you know? Wonderful things come in small packages.”