Dream Town

Chapter 37

Archer dropped Callahan off at her place and hit the road. He arrived in Bay Town before eleven o’clock. He had a one-bedroom apartment near his office, which was located in a dilapidated building but the rent was next to nothing. He slept a full eight hours, showered and shaved, and dressed in clean clothes. Then he packed what he needed, had breakfast at a diner around the corner, and walked out feeling a lot better about things.

He walked into the offices of Willie Dash’s Very Private Investigations at nine sharp.

Connie Morrison hadn’t changed in the three years he had known her. Professional, efficient, blond hair parted with precision, she greeted Archer with a smile and said, “He’s waiting for you.”

Archer hung his fedora on the wall hook and headed to see Willie Dash.

The man was sitting on a Murphy bed that was in the down position from the wall. He had on a pair of reading glasses and was studying a newspaper.

An unopened bottle of scotch was on the table next to him.

Dash was in his midsixties, about five-seven, burly, and barrel-chested with a face of flint but a charming manner lurking right below. He had a brain with more in it than any man Archer had ever met, and fine-honed, crime-busting instincts to match. When Archer had first met him, Dash had worn a black toupee that was about as fake-looking as one could purchase or make. He had now become resigned to wearing his baldness publicly. His jowls were lengthening with each passing year, but the mind was still sharp and so was the tongue.

“Sit, Archer,” he said without glancing up. “Just been reading some stories about crime in LA.” He took off his glasses and looked over at Archer as he settled onto the edge of a faux-leather davenport. “And you seem to be right in the middle of it. And I got a call from Jake Nichols late last night. Said you went to see him.”

“I did. He was very helpful.”

“What he mainly did was fill you in on the Jade and that lowlife Darren Paley.”

“Who Jake was investigating when he got shot by a couple of corrupt coppers.”

Dash laid the paper aside, straightened his plastic suspenders, and finished knotting his bowtie. “Which makes what you’re doing personal to Jake. And also to me. How does the case stand right now?”

Archer pulled out the contract Ransome had signed plus the check for $500 and handed them to Dash, who glanced at the signature and amount and then handed them back. “Leave those with Connie on your way out. Now, spill everything to me that you got on this.”

Archer went through the case point by point, ending with his conversation with Nichols, but he did add that he’d had dinner with Callahan after that.

“This Bernadette Bonham knows the Jade?” asked Dash. “And Paley?”

“Sure seemed like it. She went right there after getting back from France.”

“No, I think she went right there after meeting you, Archer. Paley’s a killer all right, but he’s no dummy. He can add two and two as well as any man. He knows of your involvement. He will have talked to the Chinese girl directing traffic at the Jade, and the doorman you tussled with, and the barman and everyone else you ran into that night, and they will have described you to a tee. That description will fit the one that Bonham would have given him. So he knows you were snooping around the place and probably saw stuff you shouldn’t have. Bonham will add your name to the pile, because you told her who you were, and from that Paley will get more info on you, which he’s no doubt already done. And more information on me, because you work at this firm. Now, where have you been staying in LA?”

“With Liberty.”

“Not good, Archer. You want to stay as far away from her as you can right now.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“Think real hard on this. Any sign of someone following you when you picked Liberty up from the studio, drove her to dinner, and then back to her place last night?”

“No. I always check on that. There was no tail.”

“Okay, second question, did you tell anyone about Liberty? That you were friends? That you hung out with her? Aside from Lamb knowing, of course.”

Archer thought back. “I don’t think so.”

“That’s not quite good enough. Think some more.”

“I did tell Cecily Ransome when she asked what actress I was having dinner with when Lamb approached us.”

“Okay. And you were at a party with her, right? On New Year’s Eve. People saw you two together.”

“Yes, but I don’t think any of those people are involved.”

“Again, not good enough because you can’t possibly know that to be true.”

“You’re right. What should I do about it?”

“Have you called Liberty this morning?”

“No.”

“Do it now.”

“Shit!” exclaimed Archer as he picked up the phone on Dash’s desk and dialed the number. As it was ringing Dash said, “Could she be at the studio?”

“No, she told me she had the morning off. I— Hello? Liberty, it’s Archer,” he said, his features full of relief. “Yeah, I’m in Bay Town with Willie. Look, um, until I can get this thing figured out, I won’t be able to see you again. What? No, it’s for your protection. That’s right. It’s gotten to a funny point, Liberty. And... and can you find another place to lie low for a while? Just until all this gets sorted out? Right, someplace no one will know you’re there. Yeah, like a hotel. But not under your real name. Right, look, I’m sorry about this. I... sure. Yeah, call Connie with where you’ll be staying. Me? No, I’ll find another place. Okay, thanks, thanks a lot. And please be careful and make sure no one is watching your place or follows you, and that includes at the studios... Okay, I will, thanks.”

He hung up and looked at Dash. “She took that well, considering what I was asking.”

“How long you known her?”

“You know how long. Over three years.”

“And you still haven’t figured the lady out yet?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means she’ll do pretty much whatever you ask her to do, Archer. She cares about you, just like you care about her.”

“She wants me to audition for Dragnet so I can play a fake cop and not get hurt.”

“And you’re surprised by that?”

“When you two were married Connie never asked you to quit being a PI.”

“Because if I did we would have starved, since she also worked here. And besides, she knows it’s the only thing I’m good at. What am I supposed to do, go sell insurance? I’d eat a round from my gun before I’d do that.”

“Okay, with Liberty safe, I’ll hole up at some dive in LA under an alias.”

“But leave the Delahaye here. Even in LA it sticks out. Do a rental. With $500 as a retainer, you got the dough.”

“Right.”

Dash picked up the contract and glanced at the signature. “And what’s the Ransome lady’s story?”

“She works with Lamb and is concerned.”

“And? There’s got to be more than that to shell out five hundred bucks.”

Archer had been thinking about this for a while and decided to test his theory on Dash. “Lamb is a natural curly blonde. She told Liberty she wasn’t, though, that she was actually a brunette. But I saw her college picture with her blond hair. And I found stuff in her medicine cabinet that confirms she has to color it black and straighten it.”

“So the reverse of what most women in that town do. But she’s a writer, not an actress, so what does her hair matter?”

“Right, why go to the trouble?”

It only took Dash seconds to read between those wide lines. “Let me guess. Ransome has black, straight hair, too. But that’s probably her real deal. That means Lamb changed hers to match Ransome’s. You think there’s something romantic between them?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I clearly get that feeling. And Ransome’s granduncle seems to think Ransome isn’t interested in men. And he strikes me as having really good instincts.”

“Right, the former cop you mentioned. Well, they wouldn’t be the first gals to hit from the other side of the plate. But you still don’t have a clear, developed lead on Lamb.”

“No, I don’t. I keep getting sidetracked on other stuff.”

“Well, let me help you on that. Don’t go back to LA just yet. I want you to go to Anaheim.”

“Anaheim?”

“Cedric Bender? I talked to his wife, Anne. I told her we were on the case. She’s going to let you search Bender’s office. He worked out of his house. The funeral’s today. Connie will give you the address. Bring some flowers.”

“Okay, but what am I looking for?”

“Any notes on the Green case or items related thereto. I know Mallory Green showed you the reports, but any PI worth his salt doesn’t put everything in the reports. And he might have found out stuff after filing his last report with her.”

“You figure he was digging into Bart Green’s infidelity and ran into something totally unconnected? And bought it for his troubles? If so, I doubt his report will shed much light on Lamb’s whereabouts.”

“We can’t say for sure, because we don’t know enough. Your job is to know more than you do now. So get going to Anaheim. Call me from there with what you find.”

“And what will you do in the meantime?”

“I’m going to be thinking and checking on a few things, Archer.”

“You’ve got other cases, Willie. I’m good to go it alone on this one.”

Dash shook his head, his features those of a man who has made up his mind and cannot be dissuaded. “I’ve been waiting a long time to take down Darren Paley, Archer. And I don’t plan on missing my shot.”

“I know you and Nichols are tight.”

“It’s not just that. Jake saved my life, twice. The second time was after he was stuck in that damn wheelchair. Any man who thinks that debt will ever be repaid in this life isn’t much of a man, at least in my book. So now Paley has two problems — you and me.”