It's Your Move

Jack Daniels of Daniels Detective Agency is closing up shop for the night.He plans to go home and download the photos of his client’s wife. She checked into the Hotel for Lovers on Sixth and Main at 2:30 this afternoon and checked out at 4:00 p.m. Just in time to return home and start supper for her loving husband—such a “devoted” wife.Never mind the three guys who spent the afternoon with her. “This ought to be quite a shocker for old man Peterson; he only suspected her of cheating with one guy! I only hope the old fart gives me my check before the heart attack kicks in.”

Daniels gives a quick scan around the one-room office before leaving. He sees the red light glowing on the coffee maker in the corner and walks back to shut it off. The remaining coffee looks like mud. That’s when he gets that old, familiar feeling. The one where the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. It’s that feeling that has saved his life more than once—a feeling that something big is about to happen. He knows better than to ignore it, so he walks over to his desk and opens the bottom drawer. Lying next to a bottle of Cutty Sark is the gun he likes to call his best friend in the world. It’s a Ruger LCR .38 Special Revolver+P, which is lightweight and compact.Daniels slips it into his coat pocket and feels a sense of calm sweep over him.

Daniels isn’t pleased with his present working conditions. He used to hold a position with the Metro Police Department.It was an as-needed arrangement.It paid well and filled in the slow periods of his regular work.

One day, he got a phone call from the Commissioner’s wife asking if he could do her a favor. She hadn’t seen or spoken to her sister in several years and missed her terribly.She wanted to know if maybe Daniels could locate her sister and let her know where she is living. Daniels saw no problem in helping the Commissioner’s wife find her long-lost loved one and said he’d comply. It wasn’t long after that Daniels was called into Commissioner Daily’s office, the door closing firmly behind him.

With a face as red as a fire engine, Daily slams both fists down on his desk.“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Confused, Daniels blinks and stammers. “ W-W-What?”

“I just learned you accepted a job from my wife!”

“Yeah. She says she wants me to locate her sister. So, I thought since it’s your sister-in-law, it would be okay.”

“Well, it’s not okay, see! And the reason it isn’t is because my wife doesn’t have a frickin’ sister. I can’t believe, after all these years of working as a detective, you didn’t think to talk to me first. She’s trying to find out if I’m having an affair, you idiot!I ought to pull your license for this, but I don’t have the grounds. So, let me tell you this, you’re never going to work for the Metro again. And if you ever mention this business about my wife to anyone, you’re dead! Got it? Now, get out!”

The Commissioner cited shoddy work as the reason for removing Daniels from the city payroll, which has damaged his reputation in the business. No more high-paying clients for Daniels. He lowers his fees just to stay in business. His clientele has dropped to the bottom of the barrel. People who are willing to spend their last dollar or dimes to locate a missing loved one that the police and other agencies have given up on months or even years ago. Case in point. Just today, an elderly lady stopped him on the street and held up a fist full of crumpled dollar bills, begging him to help find her daughter. She hasn’t seen or heard from her in four years. The sorrow in this woman’s eyes is so deep that Daniels just had to look away.“Madam, I don’t know what your relationship with your daughter was like, but sometimes, no matter the reason, people feel the need to get away. It doesn’t necessarily mean that something bad has happened; they just gotta leave.”

The older woman extends the money. “It’s fifty dollars, it’s all I have.” Daniels thinks to himself, “Hope.It’s a horrible thing because the heart may never know peace because of it.” He wraps his hands around hers. “Hang on to the money for now. You can pay if I come up with anything, okay?” As tears roll down her cheeks, she whispers, “God bless you, sir.” To which Daniels replies, “Yeah, we’ll see about that.” And takes her name and number.

Daniels does one last scan of his office before heading out to the Bucket of Blood, a beer joint just down the street. As he lights up a smoke on the sidewalk, patrol car 105 pulls up beside him.Matt Conti rolls down his window. “How’s it going, Jack?” Daniels bends down to look in. “Hey, Matt!Hi, Bobby! What’s up with you guys?” Matt Conti and Bobby Argento have been a team, it seems as if forever. “Nothing much,” Matt replies. “We miss ya down at the station. Just wanted to tell ya that over the past couple of days, we’ve seen this young girl hanging out under the 46th Street bridge. She looks to be between sixteen and nineteen years old. She gets nervous when she sees our cruiser go by. We thought we’d let you know in case someone might be looking for her, ya know?”

Daniels raises his eyebrows, “Thanks.” I’ll look into it. But first, I’ve got to see Mickey at the Bucket of Blood. I owe him a couple of bucks on my tab.”Daniels tells the pair to be safe and waves as they drive off.

Stepping inside the bar, Daniels waits a few seconds until his eyes adjust to the dim lighting and the cigarette smoke, as thick as fog. The bartender and owner, Mickey Campbell, shouts out, “Hey, Jack! I got a stool for ya at the end of the bar!”

Daniels waves at Mickey as he begins weaving his way around people. Some stand with drinks and talk, while others dance in place to the jukebox. In the back, by the pool table, are four bikers with their girlfriends. They seem to be minding their own business.Daniels chuckles as he passes a glassy-eyed Italian arguing loudly with a glassy-eyed Irishman over politics. The thing is, Daniels knows them, and they are both Republicans.

Daniels takes his seat and looks around the room one more time. This time, he spots a couple of shady-looking characters sitting in the shadows. He decides to keep an eye on them.

Mickey approaches Daniels with a big smile. “ Well, Jack, what’s it gonna be? The usual?”

Daniels shakes his head. “I’m just looking for a bit of information. Have you heard anything about a new girl, between sixteen and twenty? She might be working in the area around the 46th Street Bridge.” Mickey gives the question a lot of thought. Nah, can’t say I have. Why is somebody looking for her?” Daniels shrugs. “Can’t say for sure, but a girl that age, you would think that someone would be, right?”

When a big, burly man appears behind Daniels, Mickey’s smile evaporates like a drop of water on a hot New York City sidewalk.

A gravely voice grunts, “Jack Daniels?”

Daniels turns his head slightly, “You talking to me or ordering a drink?”

The mobster bites down hard on the toothpick in the corner of his mouth, then shifts it to the opposite side. “The Boss wants to talk to you.”

Daniels places his left hand on the bar to help him turn and face the man.At the same time, his right hand slowly dips into his jacket pocket. His fingers comfortably wrap around the 38. “I don’t know if you know this or not, but I’m self-employed. I don’t have a boss.”

The big guy curls his lip. “The Lower East Side is the turf of Mr. Machetti. He’s everybody’s Boss that lives in it, including you. Capisce?”

Daniels’ brain is spinning as he tries to think of a way out of this predicament, a bead of moisture forming on his upper lip. “ What if I say, no?” The mug grabs Daniels by the front of his shirt as a stiletto flashes to life next to Daniels’ face. With an ominous glint in his eye, he growls, “What ya think will happen?” His expression changes quickly when he feels the barrel of the snub nose pushing into his side. “I’d rather you tell me,” croaks Daniels.

A gun blast from near the front door shatters the room, and women scream.Over the din of noise, a man shouts,“Everyone, quiet down!”

Mr. Marchetti speaks. “Max, please let go of Mr. Daniels and put the knife away.”

“But Boss! He’s got a gun on my ribs!”

Machetti exhales slowly. “I know that, and Mr. Daniels is going to place it on the bar and slide it down toward Mickey, aren’t you, Mr. Daniels?” Daniels slides the gun. “Good!Now I would like everyone else to leave, that includes you, Max.”

As people scurry out the exit, the henchman guarding the door stops the two strangers from the corner. “Boss?”Machetti turns, “Oh, yes. If I ever see you two in my territory again, it will be the last time, understand?” The two turn pale and scramble out into the street and disappear in the night. The guard closes the door, leaving Machetti, Daniels, and Mickey in the bar.

“Mickey? Could you pour me a nice glass of Vermentino?”

Mickey swallows hard. “Gee, Mr. Machetti. Sorry, but that’s a little too swanky for a joint like this.”

“Never mind, I think Jack…may call you Jack ?” Daniels doesn’t reply. “Oh, well.I hear tell you’ve had a problem with the police commissioner.”

Daniels doesn’t like where things are heading. “Mr. Machetti, I’ve always known this part of town was yours, and I never, ever told the cops about anything I might have discovered in my investigation. That’s between you and the police. Please don’t get me involved now.”

Machetti smiles. “I appreciate that, Jack. But only you can handle this problem for me. You see, I’ve got a man running in this year’s elections for the Police Commissioner’s post.I want him to win. Now it seems that Daily got pissed off with you because you were going to do a job for his wife, right? She lied to you and was trying to find out the name of Daily’s girlfriend.

Daniels nods.

“So, the way I see it, what he did to you is a sign of guilt that there is a girlfriend. I need you to get me her name.”

Daniels pulls at the knot in his tie and mops his brow with a paper napkin.“Please, Mr. Machetti, Daily promised to kill me if I ever told anyone about the whole situation.”

Leaning back in his chair, Machetti throws his arms out to the sides,“What! He threatened you?” Machetti laughs, “This is great! That means there really is a girlfriend!”

“But, Mr.Machetti, Daily says he’ll kill me if I talk!

“Mmm. I understand, Jack. But this is so important to me that I’ll kill you if you don’t. The only thing you have to do now is to decide. Which one of us will protect you? It’s your move”.