Read 1981 - Hand Me a Fig Leaf for Free Online Page A

getting along. You leave the funeral arrangements to me." He turned to me. "Pleasure meeting you, Mr. Wallace. I'm sorry your visit to our little town has been so sad. Frederick Jackson was a fine man. His son was a fine man. We, in this little town, are proud of them both."
    I stood and shook his hand, then watched him limp to the door. He paused, gave me a sly smile, then limped out into the hot sunshine.
    "Well, now, Mr. Wallace," Mason said, beaming at me. "I expect you want to move along too. How about a little drink before we say goodbye?" He hoisted a bottle of Scotch out of his desk drawer.
    "Not right now," I said, giving him the eye-ball-to-eye-ball treatment. "I'll be around for a day or so. You see, Sheriff, Jackson hired my agency to find his grandson. He paid us, so, although he is dead, he still remains our client."
    Mason's eyes went glassy. He lost much of his sweaty happiness.
    "No good wasting your time trying to locate the grandson. He could be anywhere. He left this district a good six years ago."
    "We still have to try to find him, Sheriff," I said, continuing to stare at him. "Will you object if I ask around or do you want to have a word with Colonel Parnell? I understand you didn't inform the State police the boy has gone missing. Colonel Parnell might want to talk to them."
    Mason winced as if he had bitten onto an aching tooth. He hoisted a glass from his desk and poured himself a big shot.
    "I don't object, Mr. Wallace. You just go ahead, but you are sure wasting your time."
    "I'm paid to waste my time," I said, then, without looking at Anderson, who was sitting as quiet as a well-behaved kitten, I walked out into the main street.
    I decided, before making any further move, I must report to the Colonel. Aware the citizens of Searle were gaping curiously at me, I walked to where I had parked my car and drove fast to Paradise City.
    One of the many things my father had taught me was to make a concise, verbal report: omitting no important fact, but cutting out the padding.
    Colonel Parnell sat motionless in his executive chair, his eyes half closed, his big hands resting on the snowy blotter on his desk. He listened without interruption until I had told my story of my investigation up at Searle.
    The clock on the colonel's desk showed 18.00. Usually, the colonel left the office sharp at 17.30. He was a golf addict and I was pleased my report had interested him enough for him to forget his evening round.
    "That's the situation, sir, to-date." I concluded, only now realizing I had been talking non-stop for the past half hour. He looked directly at me.
    "You made a good report, Dirk," he said. "Well now, Frederick Jackson still remains our client. We have been hired to find his grandson, but the fact that Jackson has been murdered could complicate the situation."
    "The verdict will be suicide, sir," I said. "So no one can accuse us of being involved in a murder case."
    He nodded, then picked up a pen and studied it thoughtfully, then again he looked at me.
    "I'm wondering if I should pull you off this job and put Chick onto it. He has a lot more experience than you have. This might develop into a real mess."
    I tried not to show my disappointment.
    "That's up to you, sir."
    He gave me a sudden grin.
    "So far, you've handled this well, so I'm going to let you stay on the job, but if you run into trouble Chick will take over."
    "Thank you, sir."
    "Now let us see how the rest of this organization can help. Any ideas?"
    "For one thing, I would like to be able to tell Bill Anderson that you are interested and could offer him a job. He is mad keen and this is important to me. I'll have to be careful how I nose around Searle: it is a hotbed of gossip, but Anderson, if sufficiently encouraged, could do some of my leg-work without stirring up the mud."
    "Yes. You can tell him, as soon as a vacancy comes along, I will certainly give him an interview. If he has really been helpful, tell him he can count on a job with