Jack Spade: Dream Detective

Chapter 13

He knows that Jefferson is the one who hired Deerfield; what he doesn’t know is why. And he really doesn’t care who killed him. He’s wondering if he’ll ever put all the pieces together and make sense out of this puzzle. After a while, he decides to leave and spend the rest of the night with Jennifer.

But just as he is leaving, he gets another surprise; a woman who

Looks a lot like Jennifer arrives at the building. Jack is not sure

What he is seeing. He starts to call out to her but before he can, she is in the building. He quickly gets out of his car and follows her.

When Jennifer gets up to the front desk, he hears her ask, “Is Tom Jefferson in?”

The clerk replies, “Yes, he just came in, Miss. Would you like to be announced?”

“No,” she replies quickly. “Just tell me his room number.” She then goes up to his room. Jack is not sure what to do; he thinks about going up but in a few minutes Jennifer comes out of the elevator and goes out the door.

Jack does not know what to think now. Is Jennifer deceiving him again? Is she working with Moreno and Jefferson? It’s funny what things run through your mind when you love someone. He is a little confused and hurt. Instead of going back to his place, he goes to a nearby bar and has a couple of drinks to drown his sorrows.

As he is drinking, Lieutenant Kimble comes into the bar. He sees Jack and goes over to him. “When are you going to pick Jefferson up?” says Jack. “He’s home right now.”

“Tomorrow. There’s no hurry, Jack. What’s the matter? You look as if you lost your best friend.”

“I did! Don’t you remember?” replies Jack, not looking up to acknowledge Kimble. He’s too absorbed with self-pity.

“Oh yeah, I forgot. You okay, buddy?” He says as he puts a hand on Jack’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” replies Jack. “You know, Peter, for the life of me, I can’t figure women out.”

“You and twenty million other suckers,” replies Kimble, grimacing a little as he speaks. “So the little lady got you going in circles? Well, get in line, chump!” “Oh shut up,” replies Jack as he gets up and goes out the bar.

Kimble starts to call him back but doesn’t. He thinks that maybe he should go after him so he runs to the door, but decides not to. He sits back down on the stool and orders

A drink. “Give me a scotch and water,” he growls at the bartender. “And hold the water!”

After Jack gets to Jennifer’s, they kiss and go to bed. He does not ask her

If she went to see Jefferson at his hotel room. He just sits in bed in a daze until he finally falls to sleep, still wondering about her.

In the morning they discuss what the next move will be. “So what are we going to do now, Jack?”

“Nothing. It’s Moreno’s move. We’ll just wait and see.” Then he asks her if she went to see Jefferson last night.

To his surprise, she tells him the truth.

“Yes, I did,” she replies. “I told him that Lauren was my sister, and that you and I think that Moreno killed her.”

“You shouldn’t have said that, baby.”

“I know. He went all to pieces. Told me to get out before he killed me.” “He said that?” replies Jack.

“Yes, and it scared the s**t out of me.”

“I’m glad you told me, baby, because I saw you last night, go into his apartment.”

“I told you, Jack. No more secrets.”

Later that night at the club, Nick the bartender comes over to Jack’s table

And tells him that Moreno wants to see him. Jack finishes his drink and goes to his office. Moreno tells him to sit down, pointing to an empty chair in front of his desk.

“Spade, I understand you have something that belongs to me.” “And what is that?” replies Jack, smiling.

“Don’t play games with me, gum shoe. I want that negative!”

“I’m sorry, Moreno, that negative belongs to Lauren Jefferson.”

“How do you figure that?”

“It was in her suitcase that she pawned; therefore it is hers. And since the law says that possession is nine-tenths of the law, it really belongs to me!”

“Then it is for sale?” says Moreno as he stands up from his desk.

“I didn’t say that,” replies Jack.

“What’s your game, Spade? I’m in the picture so it belongs to me! Sell it to me!”

“No, I don’t think I can do that, Moreno.”

“Why not?”

Jack hesitates for a second. “

Because I think you killed Lauren Jefferson over it.”

“You’re nuts, Spade. I haven’t killed no one.”

“Was Lauren Jefferson blackmailing you?”

“Yes,” replies Moreno. He then sits back down at his desk. “She came to my home one night

Asking me for fifty thousand dollars for the picture.” Moreno lays his head back on his chair and tells Jack his story.

******

Lauren knocks on his door. He had just come in from the club; he opened the door and Lauren hurries in. She goes into his den, she sits on his couch and crosses her legs.

‘What do you want, Lauren?’ She looks around the room, smiling. ‘You really have a lovely home, William.’ ‘I get by,’ he replies, coldly. Again he says, ‘What do you want?’

She tells him that she has a picture of him and her husband in a very compromising position. Moreno becomes noticeably uneasy. He sits down at his desk.

‘What do you want for it?’ She calmly goes over to him and whispers in his ear, ‘I want fifty thousand dollars.’

“And here’s the funny part,” Moreno says. “I gave it to her.” He leans forward in his chair.

“What?” says Jack, surprised at Moreno’s response to his question.

“Yes, I gave her the fifty gees. But then she came back and wanted more for the negative. I told her to give me more time, but then she came up missing.”

“Right,” replies Jack eagerly, “because you killed her.”

Moreno jumps up from his desk with a very large revolver in his hand. “I’m done with these games. Now give me that negative.”

“I’m sorry, Moreno. I don’t have it on me right now.” Jack holds

Up his hands while Moreno searches him.

“Where is it?”

“In a safe place,” replies Jack, smiling. “Can I put my hands down?”

“You can do better than that, you can get the hell out of here.”

Jack leaves the club without seeing Jennifer; she is in her dressing room.

Moreno goes to see her. “Your boyfriend was just in my office,” he announces. Jennifer is still looking in the mirror at her reflection. Moreno comes up to her from behind. “You better get me that negative,” he says as he squeezes the back of her shoulders.

“Stop. You’re hurting me,” she cries out in pain. “I don’t know anything about a negative.”

“You’re lying!” insists Moreno. “If you ever want to see your sister again, you get it for me.”

Jennifer then turns around and faces Moreno. Suddenly her defiance has gone.

“Do you know where she is? Is she alive?”

“Yes, I know where she is, and if you want to see her again, get me that negative. And don’t tell Spade about this conversation.”

“I will try,” replies Jennifer. “As soon as I can.”

Moreno goes back to his office. Now Jennifer is torn between her love for Jack, and her love for her sister. Does she go back to deceiving Jack in order to get her sister back? She stares at her reflection in the mirror, trying to decide what she should do. Finally she makes up her mind. She will take a chance on losing Jack, and get the negative for Moreno.

There is a knock on her door then someone yells, “You’re on next, Jen.”

She then goes out to the stage. She looks around the club, looking for Jack, but he is not there. She starts to sing her set, which lasts about twenty minutes. Once her number is completed,

She leaves the club in a hurry, and goes to her hotel. She goes directly to her bedroom, opens a dresser drawer where the negative is located, but she is surprised by Jack. “Sorry, baby, the door was open so I came on in. Didn’t mean to scare you!” he says.

She turns to face him, quickly putting her hands behind her back. “It’s all right, Jack,” says Jennifer, and kisses him on the lips. While doing this, she slips the negative in the belt on her dress.

“Are you sure, baby?” replies Jack. “You got that funny look on your face, like the cat had after he ate the canary.” Jennifer forced a smile. “Jack, she says’ you’re so funny.

What are you doing here, baby?” she asked, uneasy.

“Can’t I come to see my girl?” he replies.

“Yes, of course, baby,” she says. “It’s just that I didn’t see you at the club, so I thought I wouldn’t see you tonight.”

“Yeah, I know. Your boss wanted to see me about the negative.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him I didn’t have it on me, but that it was in a safe place,” he says, smiling. “When I came out of his office, I had to go see Kimble about something. When I came back, they told me that you had gone. What’s up?”

“I had a headache.”

“Poor baby,” he says. “You feeling better?”

“No, not really.”

“Okay, I’ll go then.”

“You want to use my car?” “No I’ll hail a cab. You get some rest.” He kisses her on the forehead and leaves. After he is gone, Jennifer waits for about twenty minutes.

Then picks up her keys and hurries out the door and down the stairs to the lobby. She looks around again for Jack; he is nowhere in sight, so she

Goes out the doors. Jack had left her car on the street. When she gets back to the club, she goes into Moreno’s office. He is sitting at his desk.

“Well, do you have it?”

“I have it. Right in here,” she says, holding out her purse. “Where is my sister?” Moreno gets up, takes the purse from Jennifer and takes everything out of it until he sees the negative. Jennifer asks again, “Where is my sister?”

He slaps her. “You stupid little tramp. I have no idea where she is at.”

“You lied?”

“Yes, I guess I did,” replies Moreno, smiling. ”Now get out of here, and I mean all the way out. You’re fired.” The moment those words came out of his lips, he regretted them.

Jennifer runs to her dressing room in tears and starts packing her things. One of

Moreno’s men comes in. “What do you want?”

“The boss wants to make up. He says come back.”

“You tell the boss he

Can drop dead.” She grabs her things, pushes the man aside and goes out steaming hot. She shows one more expression of what she thinks of Moreno; she grabs a bottle of whisky and throws it at Moreno’s door. He comes out the door, hopping mad. One of his men start

After Jennifer but he yells, “Let her go.”

“She drives back to her hotel room where she takes a hot bath then

Cries herself to sleep. The next morning she is up early and drives over to Jack’s.

She confesses to him what she had done. Jack looks at her with this hurt look on his face.

“I’m so sorry, Jack. I just wanted so much to find Lauren.”

Jack is understanding. “I know, baby. It’s all right but you got to stop trying to be the private eye. That’s my job. And I’m pretty good at it.” Then you think Lauren is still alive? “She looks up at him with those Heavenly hazel/blue eyes.

“Sure, baby, but no more detective work, you got that?” He gives her a tender tap on her chin.

“So what now?” says Jennifer.

“Good question, baby,” replies Jack. What do we do now?” He repeats her original question then he says it again as he walks back and forth, trying to think. Then he stops pacing and proclaims, “I’ve got it, baby! What we have to do now is convince

Moreno that I have another copy of that negative.”

“And how are we going to do that?” she asks with little enthusiasm.

“I’ll think of something,” replies Jack as he walks over to her and gives her a kiss on the top of her forehead.

She is still feeling pretty low. She sighs. “Oh, Jack,” she says, “I have been such a fool.”

“Yes, you have,” says Jack, smiling. “But you’ve been my little fool. Don’t worry about it, baby. You were only thinking about your sister. I can’t really blame you for that. Sometimes I wish I had a sister or brother to worry about. You go on back to your place.”

As she is about to leave, he stops her. “One more thing, baby. Do you know what

Lauren did with the fifty thousand dollars she got from Moreno?”

“No, Jack,” replies Jennifer. “I didn’t know she had fifty thousand dollars.” She looks a little perplexed. “Where did she get it?”

“She got it from Moreno for the picture, but I think I may know,” he says as he pulls out the key

They found in the suitcase.

“So you think the money may be at the bus station?” says Jennifer.

“It must be,” replies Jack.

He tells Jennifer that he will fill her in later and she leaves.

He then drives to the bus station (it’s a Greyhound station #555), finds the correct locker and opens it. Inside there is a small briefcase.

He looks around to see if anyone is watching; he sees no one, takes the case and from there, he goes back to his office. He opens the briefcase and finds money but, assuming it is the fifty thousand, he does not count it. He just puts the money in a cabinet.

He then gives Lt. Kimble a call. “Peter, you got anything else on the Deerfield killing?”

“No, nothing yet,” is his reply.

Jack hesitates for a moment. “What did you find out from Jefferson?” “We didn’t get anything out of him either. He had an air-tight alibi.” “What was it?” replies Jack.

“He spent the entire night sitting up with a sick friend.” “Yeah, I bet,” says Jack. Then he is silent.

“What are you thinking, Jack?”

“I’m thinking that Deerfield was killed by either Jefferson or Moreno, and I’m betting on Moreno.”

“Yes, we know all that, Jack, but how do we prove it?” “I’m going to need your help,” replies Jack.

“What can I do?”

“Pick up Moreno for questioning about the disappearance of

Lauren Jefferson and kind of hint around

That I have evidence that she was blackmailing him but I am not co-operating with the police.”