Pinup

This year I'll get my loving wife a special gift that she’s been asking for since we exchanged our vows. A mink coat!

We never had children. Margie and I both came from small families and we just never felt the need for kids. I do have a terrific nephew from my brother Billy. His son Timothy graduated Roosevelt HS and he decided he wanted to follow me as a copper rather than his father into the family plumbing company. So I helped him get a spot at the academy and he’s doing ok for a dumb kid from Podunk.

Margie and I enjoy our free time, we rarely go out to fancy restaurants or to the theater -so maybe this would encourage us to go out more, allow her to be admired in a lovely fur coat.

We played bridge on most Saturdays, and on Wednesday’s I had my bowling league. It was while out with the boys a couple years back that I met Lawerence Myers. We all called him Larry. He’s a heavy set fellow that always seemed to be pufffing a smoke, and tilting back beers until he’d be betting on our games, trying to stir up the the guys with his gambling challenges.

Larry came to Los Angeles from New York bringing with him, his wealthy wife Anne and set up her fur business, located over on Hill and 6th Streets.

She was a real looker- a swank lady, who’d never be seen at the bowling alley and preferred the Bullocks Tea room, gossiping with like minded society gals while Larry was tossing balls down the alley.

Even Margie would come down occasionally to have a coffee and slice apple pie ala mode with one of the other bowling wives an chit chat while we had 3-4 games.

This year I figured I’d really splurge and get Margie the chesnut colored mink coat she’s been dreaming of, and that’s going to match her auburn hair in such a nice way.

Mac dropped me off near the corner of 6th an then continued down Hill. I stood there on the edge of Pershing Square in the shadow of the Biltmore. A couple of mics were on a bus bench debating who’d win the 5th race out at Santa Anita, probably an hour and a half bus ride away.

The signal changed and cars screeched to a stop, I briskly walked to the front door of 635 Hill street, entered the lobby, greeting doorman Sammy, whom I remembered from our conversations a year earlier when Mac and I investigated a jewel theft on the 3rd floor.

Today was all personal business and I realize the nosy doorman believed it his job to keeping tabs on the comings an going’s of the building, and I for one knew that look on his face meant he was dying to know what brought me here today.

As I stepped into the elevator cab I asked the young lady operator to take me to the 6th floor-
She obliged with a warm smile, and put down her movie star magazine an pulled tha gate closed and punched 6, 8 and 12, which was odd as there were only 1 other person in the elevator cab- an old lady with a brown wool coat- she got off at 6, and all I could think as I glanced at her as she exited was: I sure don’t want my Margie looking so drab in a coat like that-

A few moments later, the elevator door swung open with the sound of the operators sweet voice: “8th floor”.

I walked down a dim hallway, the floor creaked as my size 11 wing tips paddled along and I gazed at the passing doors with gold lettering on the glass-

Here we are: 806,  Anne Myers "Furs of Distinction" -

I turned the brass knob and the door swung open with the sound of door chimes, to alert the shop keeper someone had arrived.

I could hardly believe my eyes. The dame behind the counter, blonde with blue eyes and wearing a baby blue cashmere sweater with pearls spilling into a v neck valley left by her cleavage. Was this the dame we’ve been chasing around town? It couldn’t be-

I reached into my deep coat pocket for my notebook- I always kept some pictures of the subjects I’m pursuing for moments just like this-

“Good morning, may I help you?” She smiled and said so cheerfully. She was too nice to be mixed up in crimes like this, but her face, I’ve seen it a hundred times since Mac and I started this case.

I opened the notebook to the Brooks case, there clipped to the top of my page was the bottle blonde -Gina Gibbons was inked at the bottom. It sure matched the dame behind the counter-

My thoughts were interupted when she asked again: “Is there something I can help you with?”

I stumbled for any other words besides asking if she was the girl in the pics, and slowly I muttered, “yes good morning m'am, I’m interested in a new fur coat for my wife”

She smiled as if she’d never heard this before-
I had to know if this was only a coincidence that the two dames looked alike or was my mind playing tricks on me.

I finally spoke up, “Are you Ms Myers?”  ”She looked back with kindness as if I should know she was merely a clerk and not the high society dame that Anne Myers was.

“No sir, I’m Juliette, Ms Myers’ assistant, she just stepped out and should be back soon”

Now my mind was thinking overtime, the gears were turning as if on the big presses printing out the Heralds’ late edition.

“Well maybe you can help me Juliette, I’m a friend of Lawerence Myers and pardon me but I’ve never met the Mrs.”

I moved close to the counter and opened my notebook again-

“I’ve come down to look at mink coats for my wife, but I’m wondering if you’d mind me asking you if you’ve ever seen this young lady... that also has a striking resemblance to you”

“Yes of course you may ask” she obliged, and reached for a pair of black glasses on the counter.

I offered her the 3 x 5 glossy and watched her face carefully- reading it like the fine print of a lease I once signed.

“Uh huh, yes that’s my sis Gina, we’re twins and that’s why you’d be confused”. She smiled sheepishly knowing her and her sister have enjoyed mixing folks up over the years.

“Well isn’t that interesting, I really thought you might be her” I said trying to play the dumb fool that I felt just then, but hoping I could hit some pay dirt prospecting this lead-

“Juliette, you two are both lovely ladies, do you know where I might find me your sister? I have a few things to discuss with her” I said.

“Who’s asking”. She wisely replied- “are you cop?, Is she in trouble again?”

The word ‘again’ hung in the air for a moment-

“Yes I’m a detective and I only wanna chat with her, maybe she knows something I don’t know yet”

She took off her glasses and suddenly looked guarded, stepping back from the counter-

“I haven’t seen Gina for a couple weeks, she was heading out to Pasadena, and other than that I don’t know much more than her dress size- we’ve not been talking much the last years”

I acted surprised- as if I knew nothin. “Hmmm, Pasadena eh? Oh well, it was worth asking”-

And then she spilled it, and out flowed what the dame knew, she started singing like a canary:
“I haven’t the slightest reason why she’d be out so far east in Pasadena, other than to meet this no good fella who she bragged was staying in a bungalow at that big fancy Arroyo Hotel”

For a dame that knew nothin, she just gave us the what may be the best lead yet-

Just then I heard the door open and the chime ring again, I turned to see a beautiful dame enter that reeked of money and swung past me like I was just another chair in the room.

“Ms. Myers I presume?” I said.

She looked me in the eye “well yes, how may I help you? she smiled.

“My name is Rooney, I bowl with your husband Larry.... I mean Lawerence on Wednesday’s” I spit the words out.

“Lovely, he did mention you may be coming by-
Detective Rooney” She said reaching her gloved hand out to me-

“Are you here on business or in search of something soft like fur?”

“Well yes I have, but your lovely assistant Juliette has been very helpful, unfortunately I need to scoot along as my partner is waiting on me with a quite urgent matter, may I meet you tomorrow to decide on the coat for my wife?”

Anne Myers is obviously use to men buying minks for their wife or girlfriends, guys with real dough, can make decision on the spot and not leaving with sticker shock after learning how much their big idea was gonna put them out.

Well of course Detective Rooney, I’ll look forward to that.

I thanked Juliette for her time with a wink and a nod and let my self out.