King Coral - Honey Bare

After I’d returned to my apartment I got on the phone. It took me a lot longer than I’d expected but after a number of calls I’d finally acquired Lee Harmon’s address. I slipped on my damp trench coat and went downstairs and got into my car.

It was already mid-afternoon. Saturday afternoon. I was positive the police had already checked out Harmon. Jenks had probably dropped by to see Lee himself. I wasn’t optimistic about my planned visit and I didn’t expect to come up with something that Jenks might have missed. But there was always a chance that Harmon might mention a name or give me a lead that he’d forgotten to give the police.

Anyway, I felt that I had to talk to somebody. I couldn’t sit around in the apartment, stare out at the rainy streets, and forget that I hadn’t taken Sarah Leighton’s story seriously.

According to my source, Lee Harmon lived in one of the new high-rise apartment buildings that had sprouted up on Los Feliz within the last year. After I’d found a parking spot at the curb I got out of the car and then squinted through the rain up at the building.

Apparently every apartment had a balcony that faced to the South and from street level the building resembled hundreds of cave openings visible on the side of a steep cliff. I shoved open one of the glass doors and stepped inside.

Two men had been talking in the lobby. The one with the attachй case, hat and trench coat suddenly turned away and walked towards the elevator. The other one said, “I’ll take care of it, Mr. Harmon.”

“Fine.” He stepped inside the elevator and then the doors slid shut.

As I padded across the carpet the other man was waiting for me “Can I help you, sir?”

“I came to see Lee Harmon,” I said. “I’ll grab the other elevator and take it up.”

“Better take it down,” he said. “He’s headed for his car in the basement.”

“Thanks.” I hurried towards the elevator and punched the button. Fortunately it was there, waiting to be used. I slid inside, thumbed the basement button and then I was going down. The instant it stopped and the door slid open, I was outside the elevator, glancing around the huge underground parking lot.

Over near the west wall I caught sight of Lee Harmon. He had tossed his attachй case into a white Caddie and now he was slipping out of his coat. He’d just placed it in the Caddie when I pulled up beside him.

“Lee Harmon?”

He whirled around fast, as though I’d surprised him. And for a man his size it was quite impressive. He was heavy-set, with a square face and iron-grey hair.

His eyes were about the same shade as his hair – and they were cold and guarded.

“What do you want?”

His voice was like gravel rattling over a board. That and the fact he had to be in his late forties surprised me. Somehow I couldn’t visualize him having been married to Sarah.

I said, “I’d like to talk to you – if you have a minute.”

“Oh, Sure,” he said, as though he’d been expecting me. “What’s on your mind?”

“Well, it’s a long story. If you’re leaving, maybe I’ll come back when you return.”

Only his mouth relaxed. Not his eyes. They were still probing into mine. “No need to do that,” he said. “I was just planning to drop by my office. I won’t be there long. We can talk on the way there and back here again.” He was moving to the other side of the Caddie. “Come on, hop in.”

I went around the back of the car. Harmon had the door open, and he was holding it for me to enter. “Thanks,” I said. “I appreciate it.”

I leaned forward to get into the car. Then I thought the entire building had suddenly collapsed. Right on the back of my neck. I felt myself falling, and I grabbed at the back of the seat. I managed to get a grip and shove myself upwards. At that second another blow landed.

It seemed much harder than the first one. Vaguely I realized that the building hadn’t collapsed because I couldn’t smell any crumbling dust. It had been Lee Harmon who’d chopped me in the back of the neck.

That was the thing that was running through my mind as I became conscious again. The back of my neck and head ached and I was having difficulty getting my arms and legs to move. It seemed as though I wasn’t as concerned about them as I was about Lee Harmon.

I knew I’d been cursing out loud, even though I didn’t know whether he might still be around. I was lying face down on a cement floor with my right shoulders up against a concrete wall. I shoved myself to my feet and I was barely able to squeeze my left shoulder past a car’s front bumper. As I straightened up I realized that I was still in the underground parking lot where I’d been suckered by Harmon.

As I twisted around and leaned forward over the hood of the car, I saw the chick standing by the car door, watching me.

She said, “If you’re going to get sick, please don’t on my car.”

I swiveled my head around and studied the garage. There was no one around but she and I. Harmon’s white Caddie was gone.

“Don’t worry about Lee,” she said. “He’s not around.”

Now I concentrated on her. She was a brunette, tall and slender in the raincoat, a few brown curls peeking out from under her matching rain hat. Nice mouth, with an impish smile. A few freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose, I asked, “When will he be back?”

“I would imagine some time tomorrow.”

As I shoved myself away from the hood of felt the pain jolt the back of my head. I began to massage the spot. “Great,” I said. “That is just wonderful.”

“May I offer you an aspirin?” she asked, the humor putting sparks in her eyes.

“Why?”

“You seem to have a headache,” she said. “One that was apparently caused by Lee. The least I can do is to help you get rid of it.”

It didn’t make sense. Why should she be good to me? I was a stranger who’d crawled out from under the bumper of a car. I eyed her suspiciously.

“I’m Lee Harmon’s wife,” she said.

“Well, in that case,” I said. “I’ll take a couple of aspirins.”

As I stepped around the front fender of the car, I felt the quick surge of dizziness. The next moment I bounced against it, my hand gripping the rear view mirror. She was at my side, gripping my arm, holding me and steadying me.

“Are you all right?” she asked. I caught the note of concern in her voice. Even with the frown on her face she was cute.

I was honestly all right, the wave of dizziness having passed but I decided to fake it. “Oh, sure,” I said. “I think I’ll be able to make it.”

Shoving myself away from the side of the car I began to walk unsteadily. She remained at my side, with her hands grimly holding my arm. I liked that. I liked the way she was repeatedly glancing up at me as we headed for the elevator. I liked the smell of her perfume. It was an expensive scent, with just enough spice in it to tingle my nostrils.

After the elevator doors closed and we began to ascend, she finally let go of my arm. “There,” she said. “Just lean up against the wall.”

“Oh, yes,” I agreed. “That’s much better.”

Her glance locked on mine. “I think you’ve been faking it ever since I told you that I was Lee Harmon’s wife.”

“Let’s forget about him. What’s your name?”

“Bonnie.”

The elevator had stopped, and now she was stepping out into the hallway. She walked to a door a short distance from the elevator and dug a key from her coat pocket. While I was brushing some of the parking lot dust off my clothes I told her my name. The lock clicked and she shoved the door open. “I don’t remember his ever mentioning your name, Lincoln.”