CHAPTER 34: Doctor In The House

 

"If you'd like to sign here, Miss Epstein..."

"DOCTOR Epstein, actually"

"Sorry, Dr Epstein...yes, just sign here at the bottom and the house is all yours" said the Real Estate Agent. Dr Julia Epstein, newly qualified M.D., took out a special gold fountain pen...a present from her Uncle Reuben...and signed on the bottom line of the title deed.

"That's fine" said the agent. "Well, welcome to Foundry Cove, Willow Creek, Doctor. I must say you seem a little young to be a doctor"

"I was the youngest in my year group" said Julia, with a little more than a hint of pride in her voice. "Now, what are the neighbours like here? Are they rowdy? Do they throw wild parties?"

"Well there's 3 young professionals over the road...I think he works with computers, one of the girls works at Space Y and the other one's a cook...I think. Then you've got a woman next door who works for a fashion magazine, next to her is a young gentleman...I don't know what he does for a living I'm afraid...and then the last house is owned by a policeman so I guess if there's anything untoward in this road he'd be the person to seek help from."

"Hmmm." said Julia, pondering that information. The agent made his goodbyes and she was left to inspect her new house. Technically it was owned by her parents; a gift for graduating 1st from medical school and landing a job at the prestigious Sim City Medical Centre. They wanted her to keep on living at home with them but Julia had worked out...with mathematical precision...how the commute would be worse from their out of town home into the city whereas Willow Creek afforded both a reasonable distance from work and a moderate price range for property.

Julia was going over her new home, checking out each room when she heard a knock at the door. She looked up from inspecting under her bed and thought who it could possibly be? Her parents were going to visit tomorrow so it wasn't them and she didn't know anyone else from this area so she raised an eyebrow and cautiously went to investigate.

"HELLO NEIGHBOUR!" yelled three young people: Two women and a man.

"Am I right in deducing that you are the three people who live in that house across the road?" said Julia, puzzled at this reception committee on her doorstep.

"That's us!" said an Asian-Sim Nation woman. "I'm Liberty, these are my housemates Travis and Summer"

"I brought cake!" said the blonde girl, Summer.

"I'm Dr Julia Epstein and thank....you" said Julia, still puzzled at these visitors.

"And I'm Action, John Action" said a tall, impressive looking black man who had just arrived.

"Are you the policeman or the man living at the end of the road?" Julia asked.

"I'm a cop" said Action.

"Don't mess with him!" laughed Travis, nervously.

Julia was stuck for what to do next. She could go back inside and arrange her medical textbooks as she had planned, carefully hang and fold her clothes or invite these strangers in. Well, they had brought cake so she opted to invite her neighbours inside her house.

"I've just moved in so excuse the state of the place" said Julia, putting the cake down on a coffee table.

"It looks spotless!" said Summer.

"It's not...there's probably germs everywhere" replied Julia.

"We've been watching this place being built for weeks now" said Travis. "We were wondering who'd be moving in"

"It's so good another young person has joined our happy little community" said Summer. Action just grunted.

"My age is a factor here?" said a puzzled Julia.

"Well, you know..." said Summer, stuck for an answer.

"Do you intend to have wild parties here?" said Julia with some disapproval.

"Oh yes...OW!" said Travis, just before Liberty kicked him in the shin.

"Not wild, so to speak" said Liberty, apologetically.

"So you're a doctor?" said Summer, trying to change the topic.

"Yes, I'm newly qualified and start my first shift as an intern tomorrow" said Julia, now enthusiastic.

"Congratulations" said Travis. "It's nice to have a proper professional around here. Action just grunted. He was checking the place out...it was sparsely furnished in white and pale blue. He contemplated whether the good Dr Julia here would be similar to her home: Cold, sparse and unappealing. His dating life had improved of late...two different women in two weeks but Julia didn't appear to be number 3 to him.

Summer approached him as he finished a slice of cake. "Hey, Action, you seem quieter than usual" she said.

"This chick's place is colder than a meat locker. Creeps me out" he replied.

"Your trouble, Action, is that you never let up from work. You're always the cop" said Summer.

"Now that's where you're wrong, Summer. Action knows how to unwind" he said, turning to look at Liberty and giving her a wink.

"So I hear you Doctors party hard" said Travis, trying to make a good impression on Julia.

"We don't...excuse me, but the dirty dishes are piling up and I have to give them a clean" she said, worried about the stack of plates with cake crumbs on them. She stood up, gathered up the plates and took them to the sink.

Travis leaned in to Liberty and said, with a whisper, "I don't think she wants us around. Let's make our excuses and go". Liberty nodded and caught Summer and Action's attention with a quick j erk of her head in the direction of the door. They took the hint, welcomed Julia to the neighbourhood once again and left.

Julia once again enjoyed a moment of peace and quiet. She was contemplating finishing unpacking her suitcases when there was another knock on the door. Letting out a sigh of frustration, she walked over to the door to see who was there. It was a young man but one she recognised.

"Phew, sorry I'm late! I got caught up with work and only just made it...did I miss the others?" he said.

"You did. And you must be the man who lives at the end of the road?" she asked.

"Yes I am...I'm Jeremy"

"I know...we've met before. Julia Epstein"

Jeremy looked puzzled and tried to remember where he'd met her before. Julia picked up on his expression "It was at the Humour and Hijinks Festival"

Jeremy started to look less puzzled as he pulled a vague recollection from his memory. "Was I with my girlfriend at the time?"

"No, that was the most recent festival" said Julia, recalling the sight of Jeremy and his girlfriend partaking in a steamy embrace. She absolutely hated public displays of affection. "We met at the one before that. I was telling you I was about to graduate from medical school and that you worked for Dewey, Cheathem and Howe"

The penny finally dropped for Jeremy. "Oh yes. I remember now. So how did it all go with the graduation?"

"Top of my class, got me an internship at Sim City Medical Centre"

"Wow..." said Jeremy, impressed not only at her achievement but that she said it as if coming top of her class was a piece of cake.

As they talked, across the road Geoffrey Landgraab stopped his evening run for a moment. He had come across his son's latest girlfriend and he wanted to have a word with her.

"Gillian, what brings you here?" he said

"Oh, well, this road is between the school library and my home, Mr Landgraab" she said, swaying and speaking coyly to him.

"Gillian, are you drunk or high?" he said, disapprovingly

"Turn on, tune in and drop out, baby" she said with a giggle.

"Let me tell you this, young lady, you do not meet my standards for a girlfriend of Malcolm's. I wish you to break off your relationship with him" he said, sternly.

"Malcolm doesn't have to take orders from you, pops" she said, batting her long false eyelashes at him. Landgraab stood up to attention and leaned in towards her, his face looking menacingly.

"You do not know who you are dealing with" he said, snarling. "You are forbidden to contact my son in future. Now go and stagger back to whatever hashish den you crawled out from!"

Gillian blew him a mock kiss and staggered away. Landgraab watched her walk out of sight.

"So, hopefully, I will get that cardio-thoracic rotation at the hospital and I'll specialise in that" said Julia but she noticed that Jeremy was watching the incident between the middle aged man in running gear and the teenage girl in the latest mod fashions. "Jeremy, what's the matter?" said Julia, concerned.

"Erm...could be nothing" said Jeremy. "But that's the millionaire Geoffrey Landgraab and she's a high schooler...I wonder what that was all about?"

CHAPTER 33: Interrogation

 

John Action finished getting the mail from his mailbox when he heard footsteps behind him. Resisting his inclination to reach for his .38 service revolver, he turned around to see Mortimer Goth walking by.

"Mr Goth" said Action, nodding.

"Ah....Detective.....Action, isn't it? Meddling in anyone else's affairs lately?" replied a terse Mortimer Goth.

"I patrol my side of the street, Goth, you patrol yours"

"I'm very protective of my family, Action, and will do anything to keep them safe....ANYTHING!"

"Message received" said Action, noticing the redness in Mortimer's cheeks and the intensity of his stare. The angry Mortimer stormed off, giving Action a cursory glance back at him but there was no time to waste....it was almost time for Action's shift to begin.

13th PRECINCT HEADQUARTERS, 0859hrs

"What have you got for me today, Sarge?" said Action to desk Sergeant Kitchen.

"That suspect you brought in a few days ago, Aurora Ahmed...she's still holding out on us" said Sergeant Kitchen.

"Leave it to me, Sarge, I'll sweat the information out of her" he said, grabbing her case file from the filing cabinet. Action walked down to the lock up cells. Aurora sat up on her bunk and looked him in the eye.

"You again...you don't let up, do you?" she said.

"Not until I get what I want" replied Action.

"Which is?"

"Who's your fence, Aurora? Your contacts in the underworld. I want you sing like a canary"

"I don't sing...why not try a birdhouse?"

"I'll try the blockhouse if you don't mind"

"What if I do?"

"Then say goodbye to the free life, Aurora". Action opened up the cell and led her to the booking station. Putting her up against the wall, he searched her.

"Hey! I went through all this when you brought me in!" she complained.

"But I know your fancy lawyer's been here since and I want to make sure he didn't give you anything he shouldn't have....like this little bag of white powder here"

"You planted that, Action!" she complained vociferously.

"Did I? OK let's talk some more about what other evil I might have got up to" he said, nonchalantly.

He sat Aurora down and turned on the harsh, bright desk lamp and turned it to her face.

"I want my lawyer!" she complained.

"All they'll do is get you down from a 10 year stretch to a 5 year one...I can do better than that if you talk" replied Action. He put some documents on the table in front of her. "We know you hit the expensive places, and leave a chess clue as your calling card"

"We've already been through this" she said with a sigh.

"Yes, but what I want to know is who's your network? You've got pretty big partners in crime, Aurora. You only get a cut of the haul."

"Prove it!" she said, definantly.

"I've got it all here, sister...your fingerprints at half a dozen properties, witnesses who'll testify that they saw you with two accomplices...who are they?"

"I...I...can't! They'll kill me if I talk!"

"They won't know" said Action, pressing harder. "Talk now and we'll get you a 3 year stretch"

"Alright....I do jobs for an organisation called The Triangle. My contact is Mal; I speak with him only on the phone and we arrange drop off exchanges for the merchandise and cash. I've only seen him once...tall, skinny, but he was wearing a ski mask."

Action nodded, picked up the case files and said "OK, we'll call your lawyer. Thanks, Aurora"

He returned her to the lock up and went to speak with The Chief but standing in the lobby of the precinct house was Candy Behr...the last time Action saw her she had stood him up on a dinner date.

"Hey Action" she said, sheepishly

"Candy...what brings you here?" he replied

"Just some neighbourhood toughs giving my sister and me a hard time...listen, Action, about that dinner date..." she began, apologetically.

"SAVE IT, SISTER! Action doesn't take being stood up sitting down!" he yelled, putting up his hand and then storming off.

He went straight to the bathroom to calm himself down. "Not cool, Action, not cool...don't let a chick bring you down!" he said, taking some deep breaths.

He got through the rest of his shift, it was mostly paperwork but he wanted to stay clear of Candy in case he blew his cool again. Changing back in to his 100 Simoleon suit and getting into his 500 Simoleon car he drove home, cursing the name of Candy Behr all the way. Once home he cooked himself up some mac n' cheese and was preparing to settle down to eat it when there was a ring on the doorbell.

"What kind of crazy cat wants to bother me now?" he said, checking his .38 service revolver was loaded...he'd made some enemies over the years. However, when he opened the door he saw that it was his neighbour, Liberty Lee.

"Well hello there......sweet Liberty!" he said, smiling.

"Hi Action, I hope I'm not disturbing you?" she replied, nervously.

"You could never do that, why don't you come in?" he said. "I made enough macaroni for two"

"Thanks, but I've eaten...wow, I like how you've decorated this place" she said, looking around.

"I've gone for an African vibe" he replied.

"I like it....the reason I'm here, Action, is that I didn't get to properly speak with you when you moved in. I've been busy lately"

"So your friends tell me"

"Yes. Well, I thought...well....you might like some company."

"I never refuse the company of a pretty lady" he said.

"You lead an interesting life: Ex-marine now a cop. You helped Travis' friend find his stolen statue. I'd like to know John Action a little better"

"And I'd like to get to know Liberty Lee more" he said, pouring her a drink and handing it to her. "Here's to getting to know each other" and they clinked glasses.

CHAPTER 32: Veiled Threats

 

Suzy grabbed her handbag, her house keys and rushed out the door to work....only as soon as she shut the door she heard a disturbing gurgling sound from her stomach. Breakfast was NOT good. The fridge had broken down during the night and the delicious fruit parfait yoghurt she'd prepared the night before had gone off....and now her tummy was paying the price for not binning the whole lot straight away. It was no good, she couldn't go into work feeling like this. She had an article to write but she could do that at home and at the library and take the morning off to take some Dramamine and Milk of Magnesia and hope her stomach would calm down by lunch.

In the meantime, she took herself down to the spa for a detox. Settling into the sauna she thought about her article and what it would involve. She had enough to do a piece about the mavens of Sim City...well, at least two of them. She'd interviewed both Lily Feng and Bella Goth and there was enough material for an article: Only Nancy Landgraab had avoided an interview thus far.

After a session in the steam room, Suzy headed off to Willow Creek Archive to finish her article. Settling down with a stack of magazines and newspapers from the archives and seated comfortably at a desk with her portable typewriter she got to work. She noticed that one of the librarians was surreptitiously pocketing a library book into his cardigan pocket and hoping no one noticed. Suzy smiled to herself; she knew that guy...nice enough to talk to, looked like a bookish square but was secretly a petty pilferer.

Suzy's thoughts were abruptly halted by a stern looking woman of around 40 who stood right next to her, pointing a finger.

"YOU! Yes you! I know who you are!" said the stern woman.

"You do?" replied a bemused Suzy.

"Yes! You write for that scandalous magazine! The one that's leading the youth of today astray!"

"Do you mean 'Hey, Wow!'?"

"Hey, Filth more like! My niece reads your trash magazine and it nearly led her astray with your low morals: Pop music! Long hair on boys! Mini skirts! Date whoever you like! Tsch! Scandalous! Scandalous! It should be BANNED for corrupting the young of SimNation!"

"Have you ever considered...Miss?" responded Suzy

"MRS Edna Sneedly! I run the Willow Creek Concerned Citizens Society"

"Well, Mrs Sneedly, that the youth of today want something different? They want to express themselves in fashion, music and art in a way that is different from your era. And they want to make their own choices instead of being told what to do, say and think by committees?"

"Harumph! 'Make their own choices'! Who'd ever heard of such nonsense? Why can't girls your age settle for nice young men like this gentleman, drop your hemlines and learn to bake apple pies?" Mrs Sneedly pointed to the kleptomaniac librarian as an example of an 'exemplary' young man.

"Sure, I'll bear it in mind" said Suzy, standing up and walking over to another part of the library. She made sure Mrs Sneedly got a good view of her short dress. Sitting down at another desk, she began work again when she was interrupted by none other than Victor Feng.

"Good afternoon, Miss Kent" he said. "I see you're doing some research on my wife"

"Yes...well, looking at the society pages to see what she was wearing at various events."

"Very good...I especially liked that green gown she wore to the Norton Building opening back in December"

"Mr Feng...I'd like to ask a question in your capacity as a city councillor" said Suzy, eager to corner Feng on a topic.

"Go ahead"

"Are you aware of an old tunnel that runs underneath the Landgraab Mansion in Oasis Springs?"

Victor Feng paused before giving an answer. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I am not...but thank you for bringing that to my attention. I wish you well with your article." He said before leaving.

Suzy finished her manuscript, put it in an envelope and mailed it to her editor. Her job for the day done, she decided to check out a recommended hot spot in town: The Narwhal Arms. It was an old inn building converted into a nightclub which had been recently refurbished to be a trendy hot spot. However, once inside, Suzy was disappointed by what she saw. Instead of a swinging venue, it was mostly populated by older lounge lizard men. She sat at the bar and ordered a drink, hoping things would improve. She did see a familiar face, however.

"Hi, it's Julian isn't it?" she said to a young man she had met once before.

"Yeah, and you are?" he said, struggling to put a name to her face.

"Suzy Kent...I'm from Hey, Wow magazine. We met a few weeks ago at the Blue Velvet club in Willow Creek"

"Did we? I meet a lot of chicks" he said before shrugging and walking off to the DJ booth.

Suzy sighed. Why couldn't she meet any decent men who were interested in her? The boat had sailed with Jeremy, John scared her, Travis didn't seem interested, Burr was obsessed with his activism and Julian was an airhead. She downed her drink and thought that seeing that she was at a loose end, she had a dance.

When she got home later that evening, things weren't much better: Her toilet had broken this time...on top of a malfunctioning fridge this was another hassle she didn't need. At least she could get an emergency repairman to visit. Or, in this case, a repairwoman.

"Show me where the problem is and yes, I'm a woman, but I can still do the job as well as a man" said the woman, sounding bored.

"Oh, well thanks for coming out at this late hour. The busted toilet is just here. Busy day?" said Suzy, making polite small talk.

"Tell me about it! We had this big water pipe burst down at Oasis Springs this afternoon. Me and the team were working non-stop to try to stop half the neighbourhood from flooding. Some of the guys are still down there."

"Oasis Springs you say?" said Suzy, intrigued. "Whereabouts?"

"Acquisition Butte" said the woman.

"That's where the Landgraabs live, isn't it?"

"Sure is. The burst water pipe was in an old, abandoned mine shaft that runs right under their mansion. I tell you, Mrs Landgraab was furious about the whole thing. Said she'd pay for all our overtimes if we got it fixed tonight. Sheesh, that lady sure has a temper on her"

Suzy pondered this bit of information. She did mention the tunnel to Victor Feng who seemed interested in it. Could these things be connected? The repairwoman finished fixing the toilet and left. As soon as she had, there was a ring on the doorbell. It was Summer Holiday.

"Hey Summer, how's it going?" said Suzy.

"Suzy....do you think guys are lame?" said Summer, sighing.

"I'm beginning to think that way" said Suzy. "Why, what's happened?"

"It's what's NOT happening. Travis: One minute he seems keen, the next he treats me as if I don't exist"

"What does Liberty have to say?" pouring a drink for Summer.

"I haven't seen Liberty for days...she's away in Florida at the rocket base"

"I think guys are not taking us seriously enough if you ask me" said Suzy. Here's my tip: Ignore them...they'll hate that and in a short while you'll see who starts paying you decent attention"

Summer nodded. "I think you and me should hit the tiles one night: Girls night out and see if we can't land ourselves some cool guys."

"I'll drink to that" said Suzy, raising her glass to Summer's.

CHAPTER 31: Things Hot Up

Jeremy Saint paced up and down the path outside of the Arts Centre in downtown San Myshuno. He checked his watch...a minute past 8pm. Would she delayed? Will she show up? Jeremy's heart beat faster as time ticked on and he couldn't see his date.

Then, emerging around the corner at a brisk pace, she came running: Barbara Dubois, Jeremy's date. Only last weekend had they decided to go steady and this was the first time they'd seen each other since then. They both smiled the moment they saw each other and ran towards each other for an embrace.

"You came!" said Jeremy

"Of course...you don't think I'm going to miss the Hijinks Festival with you!" she replied. "I'm starving, let's get something to eat."

"I know you love spicy food, Barbara, and I know a good little eatery just over there. Do you like Cajun?"

"I LOVE Cajun!"

"Come on, let's go!" they grabbed each other's hand and ran off to the vendor.

Jeremy and Barbara both sampled the Tagine and caught up on each other's news of the week. Soon they were joined by another person, a man.

"Excuse me" he said. "I require a place to sit so I can ingest this sustenance. As all other designated seating surfaces are occupied, may I sit at this place so I can eat this meal?"

"Erm, yes, that should be fine" said Jeremy, awkwardly. The man's over formal speech was jarring but it what was on the plate that caused Jeremy and Barbara to wince.

Jeremy noticed something unusual on the man's plate. "Erm, I think I can see something moving on your plate" he said.

"I know. They are hi-protein insects and worms; very nutritious" he said, taking a mouthful.

"Well, I don't know about you, Barbara, but I'm full...shall we head on over to the bar?" Jeremy said, wanting to get away from this strange man and his even stranger meal.

"I'm good to go" she said, pushing her plate away from her.

The two of them got up and went far away from the man to where music was playing and people were dancing.

"Shall we?" said Barbara grabbing both of Jeremy's hands and spinning him onto the dance floor. Jeremy did the Economy Shuffle whilst Barbara flung her hair back and treated him to a fine display of funky go-go dancing.

"You're good!" said Jeremy, feeling like he was stuck on a washing machine spin cycle. "But, phew, can we get a drink?"

"Sure" she said. They went over to the bar, got a couple of drinks and as this was the Humor and Hijinks Festival they decided to check out tonight's stand up comic.

"I'm having a lovely time" she said, leaning her head on Jeremy's shoulder.

"I am too" he replied, smiling.

"Yawwwwn, I'm getting tired but I don't want the night to end" she said, looking into his eyes.

"Well....it doesn't have to" he said nervously. "I mean, we could always head back to...." he didn't know quite how to end his sentence.

"yes?" she asked, expectantly.

"I mean, if you don't mind that is....but you could always come back....with me....to....my place" he said, gulping at the end.

"Great! Let's go!" she said, grabbing his hand and leading him to the subway station.

They paused outside of Jeremy's house. This was a big moment; inviting a beautiful woman back to his place.

"You can have my bed and I'll sleep on the couch" he said.

"Don't put yourself out on my account" said Barbara.

"Well...it's no trouble really"

"We can decide the sleeping arrangements inside" she said. Jeremy showed her in and led her to the bedroom.

"Here's the bed, bathroom's down the hall on the right, here you'll find a light switch..."

Barbara patted the space on the bed next to her. "Plenty of room"

"Well, as this is a first date" he said, nervously.

"Second" she corrected him.

"Oh...right. But you know a single man, a single girl together in the same bedroom..."

"It's 1966, Jeremy..."

"But are we ready?"

"Let's just snuggle"

"Oh, OK"

They settled down but within minutes both were fast asleep.

CHAPTER 30: Bad Trip

 

John Action sauntered into Precinct 13 headquarters and saw that old Sergeant Kitchen wasn't at the front desk. It was a woman officer, one he didn't recognise.

"Well hello there, I guess you're the new girl" he said to her.

"And I guess you're Action...I've heard a lot about you" she replied with a smirk.

"All good, I hope"

"They were more like warnings" she said. "Anyway, you can't stand around here trying to charm your way around your co-workers, Action, this lady's come in with a complaint" she nodded to a young hippie woman sitting, waiting on a bench in the reception area. Action wandered over to her.

"What's the problem, Ma'am?" he said.

"Well...it's..."

"my ex. He breezed back into town with some bad acid. Well, I told him I wanted nothing to do with it and threw him out but he still operated around Oasis Springs, selling his junk. Anyway, he quickly split the place and we've got a whole bunch of people having a bad trip, attacking passers by and causing trouble" she said, sadly.

"Bad acid: that's a bad scene, sister. I'll head over there, crack some skulls and get that junk off the street and out of the hands of those acid-heads"

Mirage Canyon, 11:17 am

The main street looked quiet, too quiet. Action's hand hovered over his .38 service revolver....just in case! He needed some information so he wandered over to The Solar Flare lounge; a classy joint most of the time although they were known to violate state hygiene laws from time to time. Action walked up the stairs to the lounge but although the doors were all open, no one was around. "Strange" he thought to himself.

He wandered over to the large windows that afforded an excellent view of the main street. From here he could observe any strange goings on without being seen himself. As he watched and waited, he noticed a violin propped up on a stand right next to him....he couldn't help but pick it up and give it a go.

He saw a fair haired lady of about 40 stagger down the street, rubbing her arm in pain. Taking this as a cue, Action put down the violin and ran over to her.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, is anything the matter?" he said to the lady.

"Yes...ow...I've just been punched by this weird young woman. She claimed I stole her bananas and that I was in league with the secret government so she just lurched at me and started punching me. Fortunately, she only hit me in a couple of places like my arm...there's no serious damage."

"Where did this happen?" said Action.

"Over by that small park area" she said, pointing to a grassy area that had a few benches. "Look! There she is! The woman who hit me!"

Action looked around and saw an enraged looking young woman pulling a man doing yoga off the ground and hitting him over the head. He ran over, his hand still hovering over his service .38.

"Freeze right there!" he shouted. The woman looked around terrified, the man staggered over to a nearby bench.

"Oh my God, what have I done?" she said, wild eyed.

"You're Jonesing from a bad, bad trip, lady" said Action. "Now you're going to come with me and tell me all about where you got that acid from"

Action called for some back up and the lady was bundled into a squad car to take back to police HQ. Action took a moment to grab a coffee and have a brief work out to keep his muscles toned. Sergeant Kitchen entered the recreation room and walked over to him.

"Good work out there, Action" said Sergeant Kitchen.

"Just doing my job, my way" replied Action.

"Anyway, we're processing that lady plus a few other freaks who've taken some of that same batch of LSD. Oh, and the Chief wants some progress on those robberies. We're still holding Aurora Ahmed; the Chess Bandit, someone needs to interrogate her"

"And that someone would be me, right?" replied Action, downing his coffee.

Down in the cells he went to fetch Ahmed and take her to an interrogation room.

"I've said all I got to say in front of your colleagues and my lawyer" she said.

"I know" Action replied. "I'm not interested in you...I want to know who your fence is"

Action took her to an interrogation room and sat her down. "We've got you for the Jade statue job, you're going down but if you want to avoid hard time you'd better co-operate and tell us who your buyer is"

"I'm not a fink!" she replied. "You've got nothing!"

"We've got witness statements, we've got your fingerprints on that chess board and you left enough clues to fill a ship" said Action.

"So what if I did touch that chessboard? Plenty of people play chess"

"We know your signature style, Aurora. Now this is pretty open and shut....WHO'S YOUR FENCE?" he said, pounding a fist on the table.

Ahmed started to sweat and wilt under the pressure. "OK, I did have a fence...but I never met them, I swear. But I know it's a woman: Even though she wore a mask I could tell by her voice and body shape the fence was a woman. I don't have a name or contact number; they always contacted me"

"That's a start" said Action, making notes.

At the end of his shift he headed home for some chow. As he sat with his grilled cheese sandwich watching Mr Ed on TV he heard a knock at the door. Looking through the window he could see a very attractive young woman dressed in red and white standing outside.

"Hi, can I help you?" he said, opening the door.

"Oh, hi, I'm Katharine Bowie from the Mirage Canyon Citizens' Association" she said.

"Of course you are" he replied.

"And on behalf of our members I want to thank you for helping our little community out in tackling the junkie problem on our streets"

"Just doing my job, my way, Ma'am"

"And we're very grateful, Officer Action" she said, coyly.

Action smiled. "I'm off duty now but would you like to come in for a drink?" he said.

Katharine smiled and said "I thought you'd never ask"

CHAPTER 29: What Lurks Beneath?

 

The phone in Suzy Kent's house rang. As she struggled to zip up the back of her dress, she ran over to answer it. "Hello, Suzy Kent here...hngh" the zip was stuck halfway.

"Hi, it's Burr" said the voice at the other end.

"Burr...hngh...that's got it! Sorry. Yes, hi Burr. How are you?" She said with relief that the zip made it all the way to the top.

"Good. Hey, I've found out some interesting things about the Landgraabs...can we meet up at the library?"

Suzy's eyes widened in excitement. "Sure! Willow Creek Archive in 1 hour?" she said.

"See you then" replied Burr.

Putting her feet into her favourite white go-go boots and checking her make up one last time, Suzy grabbed her shoulder bag and headed off to Crawdad Quarter.

Suzy sauntered her way to Willow Creek Archive and saw Burr DeBenning, an acquaintance and someone else who was interested in the shady activities of the Landgraab Family, waiting outside for her.

"Burr, what is this you've found out?" she asked.

"I've been looking at the land records for Oasis Springs and there's something strange near the Landgraab mansion. A tunnel that runs right under the property. I've tried finding out more but there's no record of it other than an old map dated before WW1."

"Hmmm, potentially interesting. So no one knows what it is or what's in it? I think we should take a closer look" she said.

"My thoughts exactly" said Burr, smiling and impressed with Suzy's courage. "Let's go"

Afluista Mansion

Standing outside the modernist estate of the Landgraab family, Suzy and Burr looked at their pocket map to see where the mystery tunnel entrance was. A jogger went past them, looking at the pair suspiciously.

"Quick!" said Suzy, pulling her pocket instamatic camera from out of her bag "let's take a picture of ourselves so we look like tourists!"

Once the jogger had gone they checked Burr's map. "According to this, it's down a footpath to the left of the house which loops around behind it. I think this-a-way!" said Suzy, running off in that direction. Burr took a leisurely stroll down the path instead.

Once they'd reached the point where the map indicated the tunnel entrance, they found a heavily boarded up hold in the rock face. Burr tried to pry the boards off but they were heavily nailed in place with rocks and mortar behind them to deter any intruders.

"This is going to be more difficult than I thought" said Burr. "We can't manage it today, we'll have to come back with more equipment"

Suzy agreed, reluctantly; her curiosity piqued even more by the discovery of the tunnel entrance. Burr said he knew a decent bar in the area and they headed off to the Rattlesnake Juice Bar.

"So, do you do a lot of this undercover investigating where you work?" Burr asked Suzy.

"This is my first time" she said. "I got into fashion journalism but I've gotten away from that lately".

"I didn't think of myself as an investigator either" said Burr. "I work for the city planning department but whilst I've been there I've seen plenty of shading dealings...I've been sucked in to the case as well. Psst! You'd never guess who's just walked in this bar?"

"Nancy Landgraab! No way!" exclaimed Suzy, clapping her hands over her mouth so she didn't sound so obvious to onlookers.

"Shhh!" said Burr.

Nancy tottered over to the bar; she swayed exaggeratedly, winking at a male customer before she sat down, unsteadily.

"My ushual, Barkeep, and put it on my tab *hic*" said Nancy.

"I think she's already had too much to drink" said Burr to Suzy.

"I love your dressh" said Nancy to Suzy.

"Erm, thanks." replied Suzy. "Coming from you Mrs Landgraab I take that as a compliment"

"Now who'sh that handshome young gentleman sitting next to you....he looks like a keeper" Nancy said, eyeing up Burr.

"I'm Burr and this is Suzy" he replied.

"Hmmm, if I weren't already a married woman..." Nancy didn't finish her sentence but eyed up Burr lecherously.

"Well, is that the time? I must head out, Suzy. See you soon?" said Burr, getting up to go.

"Wait, no! Already? Can't you stay?" said Suzy.

"Sorry Suz, got to be somewhere else" he replied before heading out the bar.

Nancy Landgraab was chatting up a couple of other men at the bar and ignored her. Stepping outside into the cool evening air, she spied a friend: John Action. "Hey John" she said.

"What's the score, Suzy?" replied Action. "You still following that case of yours? I saw Nancy Landgraab in the bar just now"

"Yeah, she's hammered." replied Suzy. "Look, John, can you push some information my way about her and her husband?"

"Don't go messing with police business, Suz. It's a job best left to the pros. This is a tough town with some mean streets which the Landgraabs pave with secrets, signs and threats!" Action banged his fist down on the table they were sitting at.

"But this could be big!" said Suzy

"Leave it, doll!" said Action. He looked into her eyes, intensely. He was not a man to be messed with. Suzy said nothing and Action left without another word.

Suzy felt conflicted; to pursue this investigation or to drop it? Action had warned her, Burr seemed too frightened by what he might find out. That left her to investigate. Meanwhile, back at the Rattlesnake Juice Bar, Nancy Landgraab kept downing Tequila Slammers and keeping the young menfolk there wrapped around her little finger.

CHAPTER 28: Spice

 

Jeremy Saint's hand hovered over his telephone...tonight was the Spice Festival downtown and he had an extra ticket for it. He knew there was only one person he wanted to ask to come with him; Barbara, but the nerves were still there...what if she turned him down? What if he blew it...again...with a woman he fancied. He shut his eyes, gulped and picked up the phone receiver. Opening his eyes but feeling his heart beating ever faster, he dialled Barbara's number. One ring, two rings, three rings, the heart was beating faster and he was starting to sweat. For rings and then a soft, feminine voice said "hello" at the other end.

"Hi...It's Jeremy. Would you like....I mean, I have an extra ticket for...for the...I mean, would you like to, you know, erm, go with me to the Spice Fes-"

"Yes!" Barbara consented before Jeremy could finish asking her.

"OK, great. I'll pick you up in an hour?" he ventured.

"I'll meet you there; it's near where I live. Outside Waterside Warble" she said.

Jeremy put down the receiver and punched the air in triumph.

"I love Asian food!" said Barbara, heading straight for the sample curries, rice and noodle dishes. "There's so many good places to eat around here, I'm spoiled for choice"

"I tried it out for the first time last month" said Jeremy. "I'm warming to it" he said, taking a bite of something that was a bit more spicy than he was expecting...warming to it was an apt comment.

They tried the Spice challenge: Jeremy made it to curry #3, Barbara could only manage half a portion of #4. The evening was going smoothly and Jeremy was more relaxed than earlier, but, worrier that he was he couldn't escape a nagging feeling that at any moment she could go right off him and leave. He felt this more when, at one point, the conversation went quiet as if they'd already run out of things to say to each other. He suggested, hesitantly, to head over to the Warble for a drink. Barbara readily agreed.

"You weren't that bad!" said Barbara, reassuring Jeremy after he attempted to sing a Beatles song at the open mic night.

"I wasn't a patch on your version of 'You Really Got Me"" replied Jeremy.

"I never miss open mic night here" said Barbara. She stretched her arms in front of her "Hmmmm, I'm having a good time but I had an early shift today and I'm starting to flag" she said.

"Oh, I hadn't realised it was that late" said Jeremy.

"I've had a great time tonight, Jeremy" she said, patting him on the arm. "We must do this again and soon" she added.

Their eyes locked on each other and without saying anything they held their gaze. Then they started to move closer to each other. At that point a wild thought possessed Jeremy and he leant forward to kiss Barbara.

He broke off seconds after he kissed her...did he cross the line? Had he blown it? Barbara took his hands and smiled.

"That was lovely" she said, smiling. They kissed again and then one more time.

"Well, I guess we'll be seeing each other again" said Jeremy, suavely.

"I think so" she nodded, smiling.

Jeremy walked her home. Outside of the apartment block where she lived they kissed one more time. Barbara was about to invite him in but she was tired. "Jeremy...any other time I'd invite you in for a night cap but I'm so, so tired and am just going to flop in my bed"

"Oh I understand!" he replied. Frankly, he was too nervous about going to a woman's apartment after only one date; his small town morality kicking in. He saw her go into the building safely and walked to the subway station, whistling a merry tune to himself.