Jack Spade: Dream Detective

Chapter 10

Jack and Jennifer go to her hotel. He slumps down on her couch then looks up at Jennifer and says “Well, baby, Joe’s gone.”

She slowly moves over to him and sits down beside him. “It’s all right, baby,” she says. “You still got me.”

Jack takes her hand in his. “Thanks, baby,” he says, trying to smile back.

While they are sitting there, the phone rings. Jennifer answers it after the second ring.

She seems to get a little upset with the caller. And stops her conversation

tells Jack that she needs to take this call in the other room. “Will you hang up after I pick up in the bedroom?”

He takes the phone and nods.

Jennifer then goes into her bedroom…and a few seconds later, yells that she’s got it. Jack hesitates for a second then hangs up the receiver.

After about ten minutes, she comes back in. Jack wants to ask her who it was; I guess it’s just the detective in him being nosey but he just sits there looking up at the ceiling. “Okay,” says Jennifer, “go ahead and ask me who it was! You’re dying to ask.”

“All right,” replies Jack. “Who was it?”

“Honestly, Jack, sometimes you’re just like an old lady,” she says, laughing. “It was the club, they wanted me to come in tonight. I told them I was not coming in.”

Jack gets up from the couch and gently takes her hand. “Look, baby, I’m fine.

You can go to work. I’ll be okay. In fact I’m going home and get some rest.”

“All right,” replies Jennifer, “but I’m still not going in.”

*** Later that Night ***

Standing under a light post, puffing on a cigarette, Jack ponders with the idea of going up to Deerfield’s hotel room and filling him full of holes.

He checks his watch. It’s 1 am. He looks around the streets; they are empty, there is no one in sight. He takes out his 45’ to check it again. It’s a full chamber. He walks across the street to Deerfield’s building and hurries around the back to the fire escape. Just as he jumps to grasp the first step to pull it down, someone grabs him by the shoulder.

It’s Sonny. “Hold it, Jack,” he says.

“What are you doing here, Sonny?”

“Keeping you out of jail, and maybe the gas chamber!”

“I don’t care about that,” replies Jack. ”This rat killed Joe!”

“Yes,” says Sonny, “but we don’t know that for sure, do we... Besides, Jack, it wouldn’t be right. Let the police handle it.”

Jack hesitates for a while. “Okay, I’ll wait for now. How did you know I was here anyway?”

“Well, first I checked with Jennifer, and you were not with her so

I just figured you would be here,” he says, smiling. I guess you can be a pretty smart cookie when he wants to be says Jack. He goes back to his place.

Later, around 3 am, he is lying in bed, wondering what went wrong. Why did Joe have to die? Why I wasn’t there to help him like I always am? And where is Lauren Jefferson? Is she still alive? He inhales from his cigarette and blows it out, then glances over to the window to watch the rain pounding down on the window.

He is also thinking about going back to see Jennifer. He wonders if he should get up and go see her; she really took Joe’s death hard also. But he decides not to, it is late and Jack really isn’t that good at consoling. The truth of the matter is sometimes he has trouble sleeping, a small case of insomnia once in a while when he has a lot on his mind. But his sleeping problem really started just after the war. He closes his eyes and thinks back a few years.

He is at his doctor’s office. “You know, Mr. Spade, this insomnia is not all that uncommon, especially for returning veterans,” he says while closing a file cabinet. “But you must let me take more tests, it’s in your best interest.”

The doctor then steps over to his desk with Jack’s files, sits down and starts to discuss them with Jack. But Jack is not willing to be a guinea pig, at least that’s what he thinks of all the testing. He’s not the kind of guy

To sit still for any test. “No, Doc. Just write me out a prescription for sleeping pills and I’ll be on my way.” But that’s Jack for you – hard-headed and determined to have his way.

“All right, Mr. Spade. Have it your way.” He quickly writes down the prescription and hands it to him.

As Jack is thinking, he soon drifts off to sleep.

On Sunday Sonny has been watching Simmons all day. He follows him back to the Mandrake Arms where Simmons goes right to Jean’s room. But this time Sonny does not follow him in. Instead he goes along the outside of the building, where the fire escape is located. He goes up the stairs until he reaches the 6th floor.

Luckily for him her room is on the far end within easy reach of the fire escape. And the curtains and window are partly open. Simmons and Mrs. Peterson are really heating up the room; Sonny has to catch his breath every now and then. Simmons and Jean have no idea he is outside their window, hearing everything. They continue to make love and, once they are done, they go back to discussing their plans to murder Mr.

Peterson. By this time, Sonny has run out of film and leaves.

He hurries down the fire escape and reports back to Jack, telling Jack what

Simmons and Mrs. Peterson have decided to do. “Are you sure of this plan, Sonny?” Simmons is going to try to hire someone at Charlie’s, the bar around the corner from the hotel. Jack tells Sonny, “Good work,” and that he will take it from here.

Sonny takes the film out of the camera and hands it to Jack. “Okay, boss,” he says. “Just what you going to do?” Jack just smiles.

After Simmons and Jean are sure of what they are going to do, they leave. Later that night, Simmons comes back to the part of town where the hotel is located and goes to the bar just around the corner

On Jackson Street. He goes in and starts to look around but he soon realizes it was not a good idea to go in there dressed the way he was. He looked like he had plenty of money and the looks he was getting were making him pretty nervous. The lighting was pretty dark, which made it hard to see anyone clearly but some of the characters in there could make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

He walks over to the bar and orders a drink. He asks the bartender if he knows of anyone who could use some easy money for a little job. “What kind of job?” the bartender asks, not looking up from the drink he is mixing.

He pours Larry his drink. Larry looks around then says he can’t say right now. He gives him his business card. “Just have anyone who is interested give me a call at this number.” But before the bartender takes the card, he holds out his hand. Simmons looks a little confused at first then says, “Oh, of course.” He fumbles in his coat pocket, takes out his billfold, trying to hide its contents, and gives the bartender twenty dollars. “There will be more,” he says, “if someone calls.” He then turns and hurries out the door. Once outside, he wipes away the perspiration pouring down his face, hurries into his car and drives away. Within 24 hours, Simmons gets a phone call at his office. “Hello” “Is this Larry Simmons? A voice says.

“Yes it is,” replies Simmons, rather nervously.

The voice is deep and mysterious; it is almost like he is talking to a recording or a machine. “Just what type of work are we talking about, Mr. Simmons?”

“I can’t talk now,” replies Simmons. “Can we meet somewhere?”

“Sure,” replies the voice. “Meet me at Frank’s Place around 10 pm tonight.”

“Okay,” says Simmons. “But how will I know you?”

“You won’t,” replies the voice. “

Just sit at a table in the back, and let the bartender know you’re there.” Then he hangs up.

Simmons quickly calls Jean. “Hello, Jean?”

“Yes, Larry, what is it?” she says as she plays with the bangs in her hair.

“I just made contact with someone to carry out our little plan.”

Jean pauses. “John’s away on business. Are you coming over?” she asks.

“Yes,” replies Simmons, “As soon as the office is closed. Around 5 o’clock.”

“Okay,” she says. “I’ll be waiting, sweetheart.”

At 5 pm, Simmons leaves for home. He changes clothes then goes to see Jean Peterson.

When he arrives, the maid shows him into a room where Jean is waiting. They are casual in front of the maid but as soon as she has departed the room, they are all over each other. He begins to tell her of his plans to meet the stranger at the bar. Jean is so excited about the meeting; it almost scares Simmons when he sees how thrilled she is. She also insists on coming along. At first he says no but she convinces him that she is not taking no for an answer.

“All right,” he says finally, “but you need to change clothes first.” When they leave they tell the maid that they are going out to see a picture show. They take Jean’s car and arrive at the bar around five minutes to ten.

Larry is pretty nervous but Jean is like one of those gestapo policemen. She seems to really be enjoying the situation and can hardly wait to meet her husband’s prospective killer. Larry walks over to the bartender, slips him a hundred dollar bill and tells him Where he and Jean are sitting. He asks him to bring them a couple of drinks.

At ten o’clock on the dot, a stranger comes into the bar and looks over at the bartender. He points to where Larry is sitting. The stranger slowly walks over to their table and just stands there at first. “Who’s this?” he says, staring at Jean.

“I’m the brains of this thing,” she announces. “Now sit down.”

The man cracks a small smile then sits down. He keeps his hat on with the brim pulled down over his face; neither Larry nor Jean can get a good look at him.

“Okay, brains,” he says, “suppose you explain this job!”

“Well,” says Jean, rather boldly, “I need you to kill my husband.”

The man smiles again; this time it’s a much broader grin. “You a real spitfire, hum’ babe? So how much are you willing to pay?” he asks as he tilts his head down to light his cigarette.

For the first time, Jean looks confused. “We don’t know. What’s the usual price for a job like this?”

“Well,” replies the man, as he takes his time answering, “since you are such a lovely client, the price is two thousand; One thousand down and the other after the job is done.” You have to make it look like a robbery,” insists Jean.

“That’s right,” Simmons interrupts nervously. “It must look like a robbery.”

“I know,” replies the man. “You’re not dealing with amateurs. Do you have a snapshot of him?”

“Yes,” replies Jean as she fumbles in her purse and pulls out a picture of Peterson.

She hands it to him.

“Okay,” he says. Then he gets up from the table and tells them he will meet them tomorrow and for them to bring the down payment. “I’ll call you tomorrow to tell you where to meet me.” Then he pauses. “Who do I call? You,” he says, looking straight at

Simmons, “

Or the brains?” as he turns and smiles at Jean.

“Call me,” replies Larry. Before the man leaves, Larry stops him and gives him his home number. “I don’t think you should be calling me at the office,” he says nervously.

When they return to Jean’s house, Simmons does not stay. They agree it would be best for him to leave. Almost as soon as he gets into the house, the phone rings. Thinking that it’s Jean, he is surprised to hear that it is the man from the bar. He tells Simmons that their plan is not going to work. “Why?” says Simmons.

“Because Jack Spade, a private investigator, is onto the whole scheme. He knows everything. The deal is off,” he says and hangs up the phone.

Simmons is left holding a dead line. “Hello. Hello,” he yells, but the line is dead.

He quickly calls Jean and tells her what has happened.

She does not take the news well. “What!” she screams. “What are you talking about? Who is Jack Spade?”

“He is a private investigator,” replies Simmons. “John must have hired him.”

“I told you he knew about us,” says Jean. ”This is terrible but how can we be sure? I got to think. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Before Simmons could say ‘All right, dear,’ she’d hung up the phone.

Simmons is beside himself. He never really wanted to murder his business partner in the first place. He wonders if anyone else knows. Did Spade inform the police? Finally he cannot take it any longer and he gets up the nerve to go see Jean. But when he arrives, he sees that John has returned from his trip. He decides that it would not be a good idea for him to go in, so, reluctantly, he goes back home.

Inside Jean is trying to control her emotions; she and John are having a conversation about his trip as they have a nightcap in the den. “It was nice of you to wait up for me, dear,” says Peterson.

“What kind of wife would I be?

Dear, if I didn’t?” she says, smiling, and at the same time thinking how great it would be if he were dead.

They continue to sit there talking, neither one believing, anything the other is saying. Finally John has had enough of the deceit. He tells her that he knows all about her and Larry. “I have for months but, like an i***t, I thought you would get tired of him, or he you.”

But Jean continued to deny the affair. “I don’t know what you are talking about.

I’m going to bed.” As Jean is lying in bed, she can’t help thinking ‘Who is Jack Spade?

And how did he find out about our plan?’

Soon John comes to bed. He does not speak to her; he just gets into bed and starts to sleep. Jean, on the other hand, is lying there, terrified as to what her next move should be. Is Larry right! Did John hire this Jack Spade? She wants to call Larry but dare not risk it now, not with John sleeping beside her. While she is lying there she thinks about one of their parties they had given at their home. Everyone was having such a good time, laughing and drinking; some were even having s*x in one of their guest rooms. Yes, the Petersons really know how to throw a party.

Jean is having a deep conversation with Larry; all the time, John is in a corner, talking to other guest but not taking his eyes off Jean and Larry. All he has is a feeling; he has no proof that they are having an affair. He goes into his study to be alone. He is really a very loving and caring man.

“He may suspect something,” says Larry.

“How could he?” says Jean.

Suddenly the phone rings, interrupting her thoughts. She answers on the second ring.

It’s Larry. She quickly looks over at John to see if the phone had awakened him.

He is still sleeping soundly. She whispers into the receiver, “Larry, I will call you tomorrow.

The next morning Sonny is back at the office, bright and early, but Jack has not arrived yet. He goes over to the couch and lies down. Once he is nice and comfortable, there is a knock on the door. It’s Jean Peterson; she’s almost banging on the door. Sonny opens it and she hurries in... “Mr. Spade?” she inquires.

“No,” replies Sonny. “He’s not in yet. Can I help you?”

She sits down on the couch, extremely excited and nervous. “Who are you?” she demands.

“I’m his assistant, Sonny Briscoe.”

“Where is Jack Spade? I need to see him now!” She jumps up from the couch, again getting agitated.

“Easy, Mrs. Peterson,”

Says Sonny as he attempts to calm her down.

Then she screams, “How did you know my name? I never told you my name. It’s true; my husband did hire him.”

She then runs out of the office.

About ten minutes later, Jack comes in. “

Wow, it’s raining cats and dogs out there! Anything going on?” he says as he hangs up his dripping wet coat and hat.

“Yeah,” replies Sonny. “A lot! Mrs. Peterson came by.”

“Anything besides that?” he replies. “I know about her,” says Jack as he reaches and open one of his desk drawers, looking for a pack of cigarettes.

“You do?” replies Sonny, looking confused.

“Yeah, I ran into her outside.”

“And, man!” Says Sonny, “is she mad at you.” He then gives Jack a cigarette from his pack.

“I know,” replies Jack, taking a puff from his cigarette. “All the women hate me,” he says, smiling.