Jack Spade: Dream Detective

Chapter 14

“Well, do you?” says Kimble.

“Do I what?”

“Have any evidence!”

“No, Peter, I’m playing this by ear…just tell him I have a copy of a negative.

That’s it. Yes. Just say I have a copy of a negative.”

“But you don’t really have a copy?” replies Kimble. “Okay, Jack, we’ll play it your way for a while and pick up Moreno’ says Kimble. 

“Right,” replies Jack. He didn’t like not being completely honest with Kimble but it couldn’t be helped. He is a private eye first and a friend second. He hangs up the phone, walks over to the cabinet

And stands there, counting the money. “Fifty thousand,” he says to himself.

Now where did Lauren Jefferson get it! Did she steal it from her husband or did Moreno really give it to her? The ladder is probably the truth’ He stops thinking about it for now, because it was making his head spin. He puts money back in the cabinet, and locks it. He spends the rest of the night with Jennifer but he does not tell her about the money.

Early the next morning, two detectives go to pick Moreno up at his home.

The butler answers the door. “Yes, may I help you, gentlemen?”

“We’d like to see your boss, Moreno.”

“Who may I say is calling?”

“San Francisco police, bub.” They stand at the doorway while he goes up a flight of stairs.

About ten minutes later, Moreno comes down. “

What is it?”

"The Lieutenant would like to ask you some questions about

The murder of Sam Deerfield, and the disappearance of Lauren Jefferson.”

“Am I under arrest?”

“No, we just want to ask some questions.”

He then gets his hat and overcoat and leaves with the two men.

Once they are at the station, Moreno sits in a chair with a big smile on his face. “You know you boys are just wasting your time, and mine.”

“We got plenty of time,” snaps one of the officers.

Then one of the detectives asks, “How well did you know Sam Deerfield?”

Moreno swings his chair around in the direction of the question and replies, “I barely knew him.”

“So you did know him?” Another voice in the back of the room shouted out at him.

“Yes,” replied Moreno. “By way of Thomas Jefferson, who had hired him to do some investigating for him?”

“What kind of investigating?” asked one of the cops?

“You would have to ask Jefferson that question.”

“Jack Spade thinks you may know who killed him.”

“Why would I? Like I said, I hardly knew the guy.”

“What about Lauren Jefferson?”

“What about her?”

“Was she blackmailing you?”

“No,” replies Moreno. “Did Jack Spade tell you that too?”

“Well, Spade knows something but he’s not telling us all he knows. Where were you last Friday night! Around midnight?”

Moreno knows they are just fishing. “I was at my club,” He says with confidence.

 “I was at my club; a hundred paying customers saw me. Just what is it you think Spade knows?” He glares up from his chair.

“He keeps talking about a copy of a negative.”

 Moreno jumps up from his chair. “A copy! Of what negative?”

Just then Moreno’s attorney, John Bentley, comes in. “Don’t answer any more questions, Bill! Unless they are charging you with something! Well, are you ,

Lieutenant?” he says with his nose up in the air.

 “No, not at the moment.”

 “Let’s go then, Mr. Moreno.”

 After they are gone, one of the detectives says, “How did his lawyer know about this?”

“He must have called him at his place!”

“Well this was a waste of time.” “Not really.

We planted a seed.”

“What seed?”

“The seed of doubt,” replies the Lieutenant.

Then Kimble goes over to another door and opens it. Jack comes in. “

Satisfied, Jack?”

“Very,” replies Jack.

“So now what?”

“We wait,” replies Jack.

“I sure hope you know what you are doing, Jack.”

“You and me both, Lieutenant. See you later.” He gets into his car to go see Jennifer but just as he arrives, she is leaving. “Where you going, baby?”

“To work. A girl’s got to eat!”

“I thought you got fired?”

“I did.”

“So like I said, where are you going?”

“I told you, to my new job.”

“So why didn’t you say that in the first place? Where is it?”

“At the Rainbow Room.”

“Wow,” says Jack, impressed. “That’s a fancy club. Let me drop you off.”

The Rainbow Room is on the upper side of town, near Knob Hill. As far as entertainment goes, it’s about the same as the Blue Cage, high class. The manager was happy to hire Jennifer, she is a very good singer. Moreno was a fool to let her go. After Jack drops Jennifer off, he goes back to his office. He parks his car in an alley then goes up to his place. After about an hour, he gets a phone call.

“Hello, is this Jack Spade?”

“Yes. What do you want?”

“I have a message for you from Tom Jefferson; he wants you to meet him at his cabin.”

Jack asks the caller who he is but the caller hangs up. He sits there thinking if he should go or not. “What the hell!” he says. “I’m a big boy.” He starts to write a note to Jennifer, just to let her know where he is, but changes his mind.

Jack has driven a few miles when it starts to rain; not a heavy rain,

Just a slow, steady drizzle. Soon he is comes to a section in the road that is a long stretch of winding curves. It is at this section that he realizes his brakes are not working. His car speeds faster and faster down the winding road; he tries to control the steering, to no avail. He attempts to turn the engine off but the key will not move; in fact, it breaks off in the ignition.

Faster and faster his car runs, out of control as it speeds down the hill sides. Finally Jack attempts to jump out of the car but, before he can, the wheel hits something in the road, and it turns the car over. It rolls over and over and lands in a ditch. Jack hits his head a couple of times during the crash and passes out for about an hour, but the heavens must have been looking after Jack this night because he climbs out of the wreck, with a little headache but is otherwise unscathed. The air is filled with the heavy smell of gas fumes. As he climbs out of the wreckage, he thanks the man upstairs that the car did not catch fire as he looks up and gives a salute of thanks.

Luckily for him, Jefferson’s cabin is not that far away. He limps up to the cabin and knocks on the door. Jefferson greets him with a surprised look on his face. “Mr.

Spade, what are you doing here?”

“I got a message that you wanted to meet me here but I guess it was not from you.” At this point, Jack is about to fall. Jefferson reaches out to catch him and helps him into the cabin.

“No, I sent no such message. Sit down, you look terrible.” He helps Jack to the couch then goes over to his bar to fix himself and Jack a drink. Jack reaches into his pocket for a cigarette.

 “What happened?” asks Jefferson.

“My brakes gave out.”

“Are you all right? Do you need a doctor?”

“Well,” replied Jack, “I have had better days but I’m okay. What are you doing here, Mr. Jefferson?”

“I came up to do some fishing.”

Jack looks around the room. He does not see any fishing gear but he does notice

Deerfield’s steel-rim glasses on a table. He does not say anything to Jefferson about it.

Instead he asks him if he was catching anything.

“No, they don’t seem to be biting today.”

Then Jack asks if he could get a ride back to the city. “My car is pretty banged up.”

“By all means,” replies Jefferson as he helps him up from the couch,

But don’t you want to rest more?”

“No, let’s go,” replies Jack. “I feel fine.”

 Jefferson drives Jack back to his hotel room then helps him out of the car. “Are you sure you don’t want to see a doctor?”

“No, no, I’ll be okay. Just help me into the bedroom. Thank you, Jefferson.”

Jefferson is standing in the doorway, wiping his forehead. “Very well then, Mr.

Spade, I will be on my way then.”

 Jack then goes to the phone and calls the police. “Hello. Let me speak to

Lieutenant Kimble,” he tells the voice on the line. Pretty soon Kimble picks up the phone.

“Hello, Peter.” “Yeah, what is it Jack? “He tells him about the accident.

                                             ********

“Tom Jefferson’s hands are dripping wet from perspiration. “Get a hold of yourself Tom. “Jefferson had gone home and called Moreno.” “It didn’t work’ he screams. “Calm down, he dosen’t suspect you, does he?

 ”No, I don’t think so,” replies Jefferson nervously. “At least, not yet!”

“Okay then, stop worrying,” replies Moreno. He tries to be as reassuring as he could be. “I’ll take care of Spade in due time,” he says.

“Yes,” replies Jefferson, “that’s what you said earlier today, and at the race track.”

“And I say again,” says Moreno, “I’ll take care of Spade. You just settle down.”

                                               *********

“Well, I guess they made their move!” Peter says.

“Yeah. It was a good one at that.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, Jack?”

“I’m fine, buddy. Can you take care of my car?”

“Yeah, I’ll get a man on it right away.”

Jack hangs up the phone, goes into the bedroom and falls on the bed. Soon he is sound asleep, at least for a little while.

He is awakened around 11 pm by a phone call from Jennifer.

“What happened to you, Jack? I thought you were coming by.”

“Sorry, baby. I had a little car accident.”

“What happened? Are you okay?” You could hear the concern she has for him in her voice.  

“Yeah, baby, I’m fine. Just a few bumps and bruises.”

“Do you want me to come over?” she asks, hoping he would say yes.

Jack hesitates for a second. “No, baby, not tonight. Come by tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, Jack. If you think it’s best.”

“Good night, baby,” he says.

When Jennifer arrives at Jack’s the next morning, it’s around 7am. Since he had given her a key, she lets herself in. Jack is still in his bed sleeping. She looks at him lying there, looking so peaceful. She goes over and leans down to give him a kiss on the forehead. Jack opens his eyes and smiles. “What time is it, baby?” “Five past seven,” she replies, smiling back.

You want something to eat, baby?”

“Yeah, I could use some bacon and eggs.”

“Okay, you get dressed while I play house keeper.”

By the time Jack is dressed, breakfast is ready. “These eggs are great. I didn’t know you could cook!”

“I can do a lot of things, Jack,” replies Jennifer, smiling.

He stands up

To get a cup of coffee but he suddenly feels dizzy, falls

Back in his chair and passes out. Jennifer is in a panic; she doesn’t know what to do

.

She takes a couple of deep breaths, picks up the phone and calls a doctor. The next thing Jack knows, he is waking up in his bed with a strange man checking out his eyes and holding his hand, trying to check his pulse.

He is Doctor Bartholomew Stevens, an old friend of Jennifer’s father. An elderly man, maybe in his seventies, he looks more like a professor than a doctor. “You are a very lucky man, Mr. Spade. You had a mild concussion.”

“A mild concussion,” says Jack. “As opposed to a heavy concussion!” The doctor smiles.

“And what did you say my name was?”

 “Your name is Jack Spade.”

 “My name is Jack Spade!” He hesitates. “

I don’t know the name.”

“Jennifer,” yells the doctor, “you better get in here!” “What’s the matter Doctor ? she says frantically.

“I think we have a small case of amnesia.”

 Jack looks bewildered, and a little scared. He does not remember who he is or where he is at.

“Doctor, what can we do?” says Jennifer, looking as frightened as Jack.

 “Nothing right now,” he says. “Just let him rest. I have seen

Cases like this before with mild concussions. It can last two hours or two days.

We’ll just have to wait and see. Here, give him two of these pills

 Every four hours. I will come back tomorrow. Just make sure he gets some rest.”

“I will, Doctor Stevens, and thanks for coming over.”

 As the doctor opens the door to leave, Lieutenant Kimble is about to knock. “Oh, excuse me sir,” Doctor Stevens says as he passes by.  Kimble steps aside to let him pass.

“Who was that?” he asks.

 “Doctor Stevens,” says Jennifer.

 “Has Jack been hurt!” he asks with concern.

 “We’re not sure, Lieutenant. He has lost his

 Memory. The doctor thinks it just short term; all we can do right now is wait.”

“Does he know you?”

“No,” replies Jennifer as she holds back her tears.

“Well, I was going to tell him that we found out about his car, but I guess it would be a waste of time.” He starts to go in to see him but changes his mind. “Well, you can tell him and I will fill him in later after he gets his memory back, okay? Tell him that he

Was right; the master cylinder to the brake line was cut. And as for the key not turning, there was some kind of liquid silicone in the ignition that stopped the key from turning once the engine had been turned on.” Kimble could see that Jennifer was still a little shook up.

 “Don’t worry, kid. Jack will be okay.”

“I hope so, Lieutenant.

Who do you think is responsible for this?” “Well, we are pretty sure it had to be Moreno but, of course, we can’t prove it yet.”

“Well that’s great, Lieutenant.”

“Oh,” he says, “one more thing; tell him his car was totaled.”

“Boy, he’s not going to like that. He loved that car,” replies Jennifer. “I’m not looking forward to telling him that news.”

“Well, let’s just hope he gets his memory back first,” replies Kimble. As the Lieutenant is leaving, Jennifer asks’ if he had any information on the Lauren Jefferson’s case ?

“No, we have not found anything yet. Why do you ask?” “I was just curious. It’s one of Jack’s cases too, right?”

He gives her a funny look.  “Oh okay, he says, you take care of that guy.”

“I will. Bye, Lieutenant.”

 Kimble looks back at Jennifer and says, “You know, Jennifer; you can call me

Peter.”

Jennifer smiles and says, “Okay, Peter.”

She then goes back into the bedroom. Jack is sitting up in bed. “You want something, baby?”

“Yeah, I could use a drink.”

“Okay. Be right back.”

“Oh,

Who were you talking to?”

“It was the Lieutenant.”

“The Lieutenant? You mean the police?”

“Yes. You and Lieutenant Kimble are old friends.”

“We are?” he says as he lies back down, smiling. “Have we been friends long?”

“Since you were kids.”

“And his name is Kimble?”

“Does it ring a bell?”

“No,” replies Jack. “Not a thing.” She kisses him on the lips’ then leaves.

When she gets back with the drink, Jack smiles at Jennifer. “So you and I are together?”

“Yes,” she replies and leans over to give him his drink.

“How long have we been together?” he asks, still smiling.

“Not that long,” replies Jennifer.

 “It’s just been a little while. We met when you took a missing person case, Lauren Jefferson. She’s my sister.”

“And I’m supposed to be looking for her?”

“That’s right, Jack.”

“So how’ am I doing?”

“Well,” she replies, looking a little skeptical, “you have been at it for a while now.”

“Wow,” replies Jack. “Would you say I was a good detective?” “It’s investigator...or private eye,” she snaps back.

“What’s the difference?”

“I don’t know, I’m just saying what you always say!”

“So I’m a good private eye?”

“You’re the best, Jack,” she quickly replies.

“It didn’t sound that way just a minute ago.”

“Oh, Jack, it’s just that this is a very hard case.”

Jack smiles. “You’re not just saying that, are you?”

“No, really,” Jennifer says. “You are the best.” As they are talking, there is a knock at the door.

Jennifer goes to answer it. It’s Mr. Jefferson. He is surprised to see Jennifer there.

“What are you doing here?” he shouts with excitement.

“I’m the maid,” Jennifer says with contempt.

“Is Mr. Spade in?”

“Yes, he is in, but he’s not seeing anyone at this time.”

“Why? Is he ill?”

“Yes. He had a car accident.”

“Yes, I know. I was with him afterwards.”

“What do you mean? You were with him?”

“Yes. After the accident, he walked to my cabin. He didn’t look very well then. I told him he’d better see a doctor but he refused, said he was fine.”

“Yes, I know,” replies Jennifer. “He can be stubborn at times. But he is sleeping right now.”

“Well then I don’t want to disturb him. Tell him to call me tomorrow! Oh, and

Ms. Wilson, I want to apologize for what I said to you the other night. I was not myself.

Mr. Spade had told me something about my wife, uh, your sister, that I had not known.

So is it true?”

“Yes,” says Jennifer.

“Remarkable,” he says as he turns to leave.

 She starts to tell him Jack’s true condition. “Wait a minute,

Mr. Jefferson, he can’t…” Jennifer does not finish her statement. “I’ll be sure to tell him.” As he leaves she wonders if she did the right thing by not telling him the truth about Jack.

When she gets back in the bedroom, she tells Jack who it was.

“Jefferson; I know that name. When you said the name Lauren Jefferson, it rang a bell. I remember the accident, and afterwards I walked to Jefferson’s cabin. He was there.

I remember he gave me a ride back to the city.”

“So you do remember some things?”

“Yes,” he says with enthusiasm. “It seems I can remember recent things from the past, but not long-term things.”

“Well, don’t worry, Jack, it will all come back to you. Speaking of the past, do you remember how we made love?” she says as she slowly moves over to bed, leans over and gives him a sweet and deep kiss on the mouth.

“It’s like riding a bike, baby, you don’t forget how to do that, but didn’t the doc say I needed plenty of rest?”

 Jennifer smiles. “Okay, we can rest or we can make love. What’s your pleasure?”

Jack takes her hand and brings her to the bed, and they enjoy each other for the rest of the night. During the night, Jennifer awakes and looks over at Jack to be sure he is asleep. Then she gets up and goes into the next room; there she makes a call to someone.

Jack feels her leaving and he hurries over to the door to try and hear what she is saying. She is talking too low and softly for him to understand anything she is saying but he does hear her say “I love you,” before she hangs up. When she is finished, Jack runs back into the bed and pretends to be asleep. Jennifer comes back into the bedroom and joins him. She looks over at him to be sure he is still sleeping then she goes to sleep.

The next morning, Jack is up first. He fixes breakfast for the both of them. “So, are you feeling better, Jack?”

“Oh, much better.”

“Do you remember anything yet?”

“I remember everything about last night.”

“Not last night, dummy! I mean anything about my sister Lauren!”

“I know what you mean. But I remember looking up last night and seeing you get up and making a phone call to someone. To whom is the big question…now it wouldn’t bother me so much if

You hadn’t said ‘I love you’ at the end.”

“Oh, Jack, you’ve got it all wrong. That was my mother. She wants to know everything about how the investigation is going.” “Your Mother!” replies Jack. “Why didn’t you tell me about her?” Tell you what, Jack? That I have a Mother!”

Then he realizes how stupid his question was. “I’m sorry, baby,” he says. ”That was really dumb of me. Of course you have a mother but was that her you were really calling last night?”

“Jack,” says Jennifer, “why don’t you believe me?” Jack is not sure if she is telling the truth or not. “I’m not lying to you, Jack, really. If you don’t believe me, here, call her yourself.” She hands him a slip of paper with a number on it. “For a man who can’t remember who he is or who I am, you sure are suspicious.”

Jack smiles, takes the paper and calls the number. The phone rings a few times then an elderly lady answers. They talk for a while then Jacks hangs up the phone.

Jennifer is standing with her hands on her hips. “Satisfied now?’

“Sorry, baby,” he says, then they hug and kiss. “I guess I was a little jealous. You can’t blame me, can you?”

“Well, Jack, to tell the truth, it’s kind of silly too, because you don’t even remember who I am; you don’t even remember if you love me!” Before he can answer her, Doctor Stevens comes by.

And how is our patient today?”

“I’m feeling pretty good, Doc. I haven’t got my memory back yet but I was telling

Jennifer that I did remember some things

From the recent past, but not anything from way back. Does that make any sense?” Yes, that’s a good sign, Mr. Spade. I think your memory will slowly return.” But how long Doc?’

“I can’t answer that but I can say that it will be sooner rather than later,” he says, trying to be humorous.

Doctor Stevens soon leaves. It’s around one o’clock in the afternoon and Jennifer realizes that she needs to go to the club for rehearsal. “Will you be all right, Jack?” “Sure, baby, I’ll be fine.” She gathers her things and leaves.

 Later that day, Mr. Jefferson pays Jack a visit. “Mr. Spade, Miss Wilson said she would tell you to give me a call but you didn’t call.”

“Yeah,” replies Jack, as he tries to find the right words. “You see Mr. Jefferson, you know when I had that accident; it turns out it had a down side.”

“What do you mean?” replies Jefferson, as he twists the brim of his hat.

It seems that I have lost some of my memory,” says Jack, continuing his confession. “I can’t remember who I am.”

“You mean you can’t remember anything about my case?”

“Yes and no. I know I’m looking for your wife but I can’t remember any clues I may have found about the case. So, under the circumstances, I would understand

If you wanted to hire another investigator.”

“No! No! I don’t want that,” shouts Jefferson. “Your memory will return, right?”  

“Well, that’s what the doctor says,” replies Jack. “It should be no more than a week or two, maybe sooner.”

“Yes, of course it will return. I will keep in touch.”

Jefferson says then hurries out the door.

Jack is curious as to why he is so understanding and not wanting another investigator. You would think if his wife was missing, he would want to use every available resource to find her!

‘Maybe he just doesn’t want to spend more money,’ he thinks.

 After he leaves, Jefferson hurries over to the Blue Cage club to see Moreno. He barges into Moreno’s office. “What is it this time, Tom?” Moreno is used to Jefferson’s overenthusiasm.

           “You’re always excited about something,” he says, almost laughing.

“It’s about Jack Spade.”

“What about him?”

“He has amnesia.”

“Are you sure?” replies Moreno, looking at Jefferson with disbelief.

“Yes, I was just with him at his hotel room.” Jefferson wipes the sweat from his forehead.

He remembers me but that’s about it.”

“Well, this changes things considerably.”

“So what do we do now?”

“We wait and see.”

“But suppose he never

Regains his memory? That negative of you and me is still out there somewhere.” “I know and that could prove to be a problem,” says Moreno as he takes a puff on his cigar. “But we’re not really sure there ever was a copy,

Are we?”

 “May I have a drink?” says Jefferson.

Moreno goes over to his bar and fixes him a Bloody Mary; Jefferson downs it in one gulp. “Everything is going to be all right,” says Moreno, trying to reassure him. “You go home and get some rest.”

 Jefferson agrees and goes to his apartment. He tells his driver he will not be needing him for the rest of the night but when he gets inside his apartment, he cannot rest, he is still too nervous. He stays for about five minutes

Then calls up one of his male friends and they go out.

In the meantime, Moreno realizes he may have made a mistake in letting Jennifer go so he decides to go and see her and ask her to come back to the Blue Cage. He knocks at Jennifer’s dressing room door. “Come in,” she says. “Well, this is a surprise. What do you want?”

“Jennifer, I’m sorry. I made a big mistake, come back to the Blue Cage. We all miss you.”

“Right,” says Jennifer. “You must be kidding. You called me a tramp, Mr. Moreno, and I don’t take that from no man. I’m not a tramp!”

Moreno then walks over to Jennifer with his hands held out to her. “Anybody can make a mistake. Come on back to where you belong.”

“Not on your life.” She then opens the door for Moreno to leave.