Дэвид Балдаччи - A Gambling Man [calibre]

Even Archer had to grin at that one.

He opened the door and closed it behind him. Twirling his hat, he moved over to the bed where Callahan was lying and wearing the same pale clingy robe she’d had on before.

“Had a busy day?” he began, eyeing her closely.

She stretched like a cat, yawned, and wiggled a bit, lifting the robe to a fascinating height. “Yeah, I’m worn out just being little old me.”

Archer looked at the floor and said, “Madame Genevieve says you’re a tough customer.”

“If asking for hot water and a towel is a tough customer, then I plead guilty.”

She sat up against the pillow, pulled out a cigarette from her case, and lit it. Archer did the same and perched on her bed.

“I did run out for smokes. Do you know what they’re charging for a pack of Camels? A quarter. It’s eighteen cents back in Reno. What’s so special about this place?”

“Maybe it’s the ocean premium.”

“Yeah, right. Oh, did you get the job?”

Archer nodded. “Already working a case.”

“Why are you here then?”

“You still thinking about trying for a job at Midnight Moods?”

“Yeah, I am. Seems to be the only game in town.”

“How do you know that?”

“I haven’t been lying here all day waiting for you, Archer.”

She swung her legs over the side of the bed so they were sitting shoulder to shoulder. He breathed in her perfume and watched as she crossed one bare leg over the other. He closed his eyes and thought of every sad thing that had ever happened to him. It was almost enough. It gave him a fighting chance.

“I was there earlier today because the case I’m working has to do with one of the gals who performs out there. I’m planning to go back there tonight. So I came back here to ask if you want to come along with me tonight and see about getting a job out there. Like you said, it’s the only game in town. And then maybe you could be there while I talk to the lady again. She might feel more comfortable with another woman there.”

She rubbed her toes against his pants leg. “You promised you’d take me to dinner.”

“Her show doesn’t start until ten. So we can go there after dinner. And my treat. I’m gainfully employed, and now I have some leads to follow up on. So how about it? Will you come?”

“Sure, Archer, I’ll come.”

“Great.” He rose.

“Hey, do you have to rush off?” She eyed her bed. “I’m…kind of lonely.”

“No can do, Liberty. I’m a workingman now.”

She looked resignedly up at him. “You’re sure taking this shamus thing to heart, Archer.”

“Only way to do it.” He tipped his hat and walked out the door wondering how he’d found the fortitude to do that.

Chapter 28

ARCHER WENT BACK TO THE DASH AGENCY.

Morrison told him that Dash had left almost immediately after Archer had dropped him off.

“Where does he live?” asked Archer. “Nearby?”

“If he hasn’t told you, I don’t think it right that I should.”

“Okay, did a message arrive from Kemper? It was supposed to be a list of people for us to check out.”

“No, nothing like that.”

“Do you have Kemper’s address, then? I could run over and get the list.”

Morrison looked at him.

“Willie knows I’m going to do some investigating on my own.”

“I know. He told me. He said he was coming to trust you.” She paused, wrote something down on a piece of paper, and handed it to him. “Kemper’s address.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Archer asked, taking the paper. “He seems to be in pain.”

“Ulcers. He just needs to rest from time to time and watch his diet.” Morrison opened her desk drawer and took out a black leather card case. “Here.”

“What is it?”

“Your ticket. It just came in twenty minutes ago.”

Archer looked surprised. “But didn’t I have to sign something?”

“I did all the paperwork for you.”

Archer opened the case and saw the printed card with his name and other information on it. “Aloysius Archer, Licensed Private Investigator in the city of Bay Town under the auspices of Willie Dash, Very Private Investigations, Incorporated. Licensed under California Law, Bonded and Insured.”

“The cost of getting it will be deducted from your earnings.”

“How much are my earnings?”

“Willie didn’t discuss that with you?”

“No, and I asked him.”

“Well, I’ll have to leave that to him.”

“He said I should apply for my own ticket because the law might change and this might not be enough.”

“If he said so, I would believe it.”

“He said I need five people to vouch for me. He said you would be one of them.”

“Sure, Archer, whatever you need.”

“Just like that?”

“If Willie said it was okay for me to sign, then that’s good enough for me.”

Archer left her and looked at the address as he walked down the hall. Kemper’s office was on Idaho Avenue. He rode back down in the elevator with Earl, who was not nearly as talkative as before, but just sat on his little chair and read his newspaper.

Archer drove to a Rexall drugstore and bought a map of Bay Town and the surrounding area. As he sat at the counter drinking a cup of coffee and studying it, the pink-frocked soda jerk girl with a matching cap said, “You looking for someplace in particular, mister?”

“Idaho Avenue?”

“On the rich side of town,” said the girl.

“Is that right?”

She had curly red hair, a skinny frame, and a freckled face with a button nose barely large enough to support both nostrils. She placed her long index finger on a spot on the open map. “We’re here, okay?”

“Right.”

“And Sawyer Ave cuts right through the middle of town. Anything to the mountain side is the working-class side, at least for the most part. Anything to the ocean side is the rich side, except for obviously where Sawyer’s Wharf is. And Idaho Ave is right here,” she added, stabbing the paper with her finger once more.

“So I guess folks want the water view?”

“I guess rich folks get whatever it is they want,” she replied gamely.

“How about up in the foothills? That’s not ocean side.”

“Now that’s where the really rich live. See, you don’t just get the ocean views up there, you get to look down on the rest of us.” She laughed at her own little joke.

“You mean, like the Kempers?”

Her freckles seemed to bulge at the mention of the name. “You know them?”

“I met them today. Husband and wife.”

She gave him an appraising look and adjusted her pink cap. “Old man Armstrong and his family really built up this town.”

“His son-in-law, Douglas Kemper, is running for mayor.”

She shrugged. “Don’t know nothing about that. I’m more into flicks than politics.”

Archer noted the movie pulp magazine stashed under the counter behind her. “Do you know anything about Kemper?”

“He’s got a bunch of businesses. My mom and dad work for him, and my two brothers work for him, too.”

This got Archer’s attention. “What sort of businesses?”

“He builds houses and apartment buildings, for one. My dad’s a carpenter with that company. Lots of people moving to this area and they need some place to live. And he has a vineyard, too, a little north of here. My older brother works there building the casks and working in the grape fields. And Kemper owns a members-only country club, the Winward. It’s a mile north of here and right on the water. They have a marina and folks keep their boats there. My middle brother works there as a valet. He says it’s really nice. And Kemper owns the Mayport Hotel. That’s near Idaho Ave. My mom’s a maid there. It’s probably the nicest hotel in town.”