Shell Game – Chapter 3 – Gabe Silver
An instant later, Gabe Silver strode into the office. All Brylcreem and Aqua Velva. He moved in the office like a refreshing spring breeze pushing out the cramped, stale air of winter. He dressed better than his income, and his smile was broader than a roadside billboard. Gabe made a habit of entering this way, late and showy. For Evan, it had lost its charm a while ago.
Gabe casually tossed his fedora onto the hat rack near the door, unbuttoned his jacket, saw Molly sitting in the chair in front of him, and said, “Well, well, well, who do we have here?”
Evan slouched as he stood, indicating Molly with his hand. “This is Miss Molly Brandt. Molly, this is Gabe Silver, my business partner.”
Molly extended her hand to Gabe. Gabe took her hand in his right and covered it with his left. “Miss Brandt, you have certainly brightened these drab and gray offices with your presence.”
“Thank you,” Molly blushed.
Evan looked at his partner, “How’s Lucille today, Gabe?”
Gabe didn’t take his eyes off Molly’s, “Fine. Just fine. Thank you for asking.”
Molly turned to Evan, “Who’s Lucille?”
“That would be Gabe’s wife,” Evan said, rocking onto the balls of his feet. “She’s a peach. I mean it. She puts up with a lot being married to a detective. It takes a woman of iron will to hitch her life to someone in this line of work. The job takes you to all kinds of places. All kinds of places polite people don’t talk about over a home-cooked meal. Of course, it’s a two-way street. The husband must take her faith in his character like an iron-clad contract. It’s a tremendous strain on a relationship.”
Gabe helped Molly back to her seat.
“I would think that’s true,” Molly said. “I mean, all I know about your line of work is what I see in the movies. But it looks terrifying. I doubt I’d have the nerve.”
Gabe chuckled and said, “Aw, it’s not as bad as all that. It has its moments, but my guess is you’d do just fine as a detective. Look at you. No one would suspect you of anything. You could probably nose out a criminal before he knew what hit him.”
“I doubt that,” Molly said and blushed again, staring hard at the floor.
“Gabe, Ms. Brandt here was telling us about her missing father. Seems he’s taken to wandering, and she would like us to put a collar on him. You know, tell him there’s a family back home that misses him. I was about to tell her we shouldn’t have any trouble helping her out. Seems straightforward enough. What do you say?”
Molly looked at the two men in suits. “Now that I think about it, I’m not sure this was the right idea.” She stood, “Mr. Charles is a dangerous man. I saw a gun in his belt when I met with him. I wouldn’t want either of you to get hurt.”
Gabe’s laugh took all the tension out of the conversation. “My dear,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder, “we’re professionals. It says so right out there on the door you came through. Most of the time, in a case like this, we tail the guy, we talk some sense to him, message received, no big deal.” Gabe rubbed his square chin and moved to the window behind Evan, “There have been occasions where there’s been a little action, but we know how to handle ourselves should that be necessary.”
“I’m still worried,” Molly said. “I’ve heard stories about gamblers and the kinds of people who they hang out with.”
“You let us worry about that, now,” soothed Evan. “You can trust that we’ll handle ourselves with the greatest of care. This is not our first rodeo.”
“But you didn’t talk to Mr. Charles,” Molly’s eyes jumped back to Evan. “You didn’t see the flash of green in his eyes. Between you and me, gentlemen, I’m scared he would kill my father rather than let him just walk away and not think two straws about it. I’m telling you, my father got himself mixed up in something truly horrible.” She again dabbed at her eyes.
“That seems extreme for some smalltime con-man taking your father for a ride,” Evan said, leaning forward. “Did this Charles fellow threaten something like that to you? Did he ask for a ransom? Do you know what exactly he has on your father?”
Molly shook her head, unable to speak for the moment. When she regained her voice, she said, “Well, there was the gun, but it was more than that. It wasn’t in the words he used, but in how he said the words if you know what I mean. He made me very uneasy.”
Gabe walked to the front corner of Evan’s desk and rested his weight on it. “Miss Brandt, forgive me if this comes out too parental, but we’ve seen cases like this before. Is it possible this Charles fellow is protecting you from what your father is up to, like, I don’t know like he has another family he wants to keep secret? There was a traveling farm implement salesman we ran into in Staffordsville.”
“What?” Molly whimpered. “That would ruin us. Oh, I must see him. Please help me. If my father doesn’t get his act together and come home, my mother, sister, and I won’t make it. You know how it is. He’s the only one bringing in any money, and we’re in no position to make an honest income for ourselves. The three of us were raised to keep a peaceful home. We don’t have skills outside of that. Plus, Mr. Charles isn’t the only person my father’s gambling problem has him indebted to. I don’t know if you’ve met those kinds of people, but they tend to be pushy and impatient, and they don’t care who gets them the money or how it is given.”
Evan Gold reached into his lap drawer, pulled out a steno pad and pencil, and flipped to a blank sheet. “That’s fine, Molly. I think we can help you out. Can you give us a description of Jason Charles?”
“Yes,” she sniffed, “he’s stocky, like a prizefighter, and about as handsome. His head is like a pumpkin, and he has a slight limp.”
“What time did the two of you arrange to meet with your father?” Evan asked, scribbling notes.
“Eight o’clock,” she said.
“Uh-huh,” Evan said as he finished his notes. He set the pencil down and pushed the notebook away from him.
“What do you plan to do?” Molly asked.
“We’ll have one of our guys watching the meeting. We’ll see what happens and play it as it comes. Best case, you get to see your father, maybe get him to come home with you. Worst case, we can follow this, Mr. Charles, and see what he might have your father involved in.”
“Oh, Mr. Gold, Evan,” Molly said, reaching her gloved hand to touch the front of Evan’s desk, “I would much rather have you handle this personally. If it’s a matter of money…” Molly reached into her pocketbook and pulled out a couple of bills. She placed them on the desk. Evan eyed the two stoic portraits of Benjamin Franklin.
Gabe Silver stood up with a gentle smile. “I have an opening in my schedule this evening, Ms. Brandt. It would be no trouble, even a delight, to take care of your situation.”
Relief washed over Molly’s face instantly, and all her ivory teeth came out for display. “Oh, Mr. Silver, I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am. Thank you so much.”
“Where are you meeting him?” Evan broke in.
“At Mr. Charles’ hotel. The Broadway.”
“Fine. Fine,” Evan said. “We know what you look like. Stick close to Charles, so Gabe here knows who to keep his eye on.”
“And don’t go looking around for me,” Gabe said, resting his hand on Molly’s shoulder, “that’ll just rouse his suspicions. You may not see me, but, trust me, I’ll be able to see you just fine.”
Molly stood and shook the hands of Evan and Gabe. “I cannot tell you what weight this takes off my heart. You are very kind to a silly girl like me. Thank you very much.”
Gabe guided Molly to the door, “You’re very welcome, Ms. Brandt. Give your address and other information to Sophie on your way out. We’ll be in touch after this evening.” He smiled and closed the door behind her. Then he spun around, clapped his hands together, and in a low but greedy voice said, “Did you get a load of that? It’s like one of those Hollywood starlets just descended from the sky and sat in our office.”
“Get your eyes back in your skull, Casanova,” Evan said. “You told that poor girl we’re professionals.”
“I really messed that up, didn’t I?” Gabe said. “I mean, with you and Katherine on the outs… did you want cozy up to our new client? I mean, you gotta send me some signals.”
“I’m fine,” Evan said. “You should keep your nose clean, though. I wasn’t blowing smoke earlier. I wouldn’t want to cross Lucille.”
“And I’m not one to take marriage advice from a guy who can’t keep his marriage together.” Gabe reached out and snatched up one of the hundreds and folded it into his jacket pocket. “Expenses,” he winked at Evan. “And,” he said, peaking out the office window, “did you notice there was more green in her wallet than this? Beauty and money. We work it right on our end, and we’ll be living on Easy Street for a while.”
“If her story shakes out, she likely sold everything of value to find this deadbeat,” Evan said. “That green is probably everything she has left. Don’t take advantage of this one. You saw her. She’s fragile.”
“Listen,” Gabe said, “this case will be one sugary sweet, open-and-closed gig.”
“Yep,” Evan said, slumping back in his chair, “you know how to pick the good ones.” Evan tore out the page of notes from his notebook and handed it to Gabe. Gabe took the sheet and shoved it into his pants pocket.
Evan watched his partner as he sat behind his desk, kicked up his feet, and pulled back out the Franklin. Gabe held the bill up to the light and stared at it for a moment before replacing it in his jacket and closing his eyes for a quick cat nap.
Turning in his chair and once again staring out his dirty windows, Evan hoped the fog would lift soon and that his business partner wouldn’t make more of a mess of things by keeping his eye on the wrong target.
