typea_all (30 page)

     "Think nothing of it. The bastard just hit one of my wires, that's all. I'll get it fixed. After working in a print shop, you get used to all sorts of things."

     "How can I ever thank you? You were wonderful."

     "I can think of one way."

     "How?"

     "Come over here. You have to press a couple of wires together here in my arm. Keeps disconnecting on me."

     Charlie showed me where he plugs in his arm's batteries for recharging. There were some small wires that must have gotten loose during the fight. I fiddled with them a little as Charlie moved his arm. Finally, his arm swung all the way up.

     "That's it girl! I can have that cup of coffee now. Hey, are you okay? I've been so busy worrying about my wires I forgot to ask."

     I had unwrapped the jacket from around my arm, and there was only a very superficial cut from Fred's knife. I took an alcohol wipe from my bag and cleaned off the cut. See, it pays to be prepared.

     "I'm okay, but if we don't hurry we'll never make it to Smitty’s in time. They close at noon."

     "So we better hurry. I don't want to miss my date."

     "Your date?"

     "Sure, my lunch with you, you little angel."

     I started to take his arm. "Better try the other one, darling, that one's a little too limp."

     So I walked around to this other side, put my arm around his, and we walked briskly down to Smitty’s.

******

     When we got to Smitty’s, Lipschitz was inside eating breakfast alone and looking through a folder of papers. He looked a little embarrassed that we caught him there, but he yelled over for us to join him at his table and then he put the folder into a briefcase he had on the floor.

     "Hey Brooke, who's your friend?"

     "This is Charlie, an old friend." I thought it best that my boss not know I was having breakfast with a patient.

     Lipschitz was staring at Charlie's torn jacket sleeve. "That's the new style these days,” I said. "You know, like holes in the knees, now slashes on the sleeve are the in thing." I held up my own jacket and showed him where it was sliced. John just shook his head.

     I ordered pancakes, Charlie got a cup of coffee, and John sat there nursing his hot chocolate while I ate. Charlie was amazing with his prosthetic arm; he was able to handle the cup with no problem at all.

It was also amazing that Lipschitz didn’t make a fool of himself. I mean if I were Lipschitz, I’d have like a million questions for the guy sitting across from me. Charlie had one arm hanging limp down the side in a sleeve covered with slashes. You could see the prosthetic arm though the holes and there were two wires sticking out of a hole in his shoulder. He was holding a cup of coffee in his other hand, obviously prosthetic as well, and he was talking about going to a casino for a little slot action.

     When we finished, the three of us went outside and just stood there looking at the water and at the few boats that were still docked, and smelling the invigorating odors of the bay. Charlie and John were arguing over which casino had the loosest slots, and I was just daydreaming about Ryan.

Suddenly, I heard a terrible shriek and turned around to see Chester running full speed at us, supposedly to knock one or all of us in the water. Charlie was faster than the rest of us. At the last minute, he pushed me aside and Chester fell headlong into the bay.

     "You want to go in after him?" he asked me. "Doesn't look like he can swim with those casts on."

     "I'm not jumping in there." We looked at Lipschitz.

     "Who is that guy?" It was obvious that Lipschitz wasn't going to jump in after Chester.

     "Well, I'm not going," Charlie said. "These arms are great on land but not much use in water."

     I ran over to Smitty’s and yelled, "Man overboard!"

     Most of the patrons rushed out, and one of the waitresses grabbed a life preserver they had on the wall outside. She threw it in the water. "Grab this, we'll pull you out."

     It wasn't easy for Chester to grab hold of the ring with his casts, but he finally got a grip and a few strong bystanders started to pull him out.

     The three of us worked our way to the back of the crowd and to the sidewalk, Lipschitz coming along out of sheer confusion. The crowd was concentrating on getting Chester out of the water, so they didn't notice the car pull up and Fred get out holding another knife. I was glad this guy couldn't afford a gun.

     "You're all gonna get what you deserve," he said. "And, you, bionic man, just stay where you are."

     I just stood there. Charlie just stood there. Lipschitz just stood there, looking like he was going to wet his pants. Fred just stood there.

     "Well," I said, "are you planning on doing something or are you just going to stare us to death."

     Fred made a very ugly face and came running toward me. He got about three feet from me when Lipschitz whammed his briefcase right into Fred's face. I kicked Fred right between the legs and he went down on all fours, then the three of us ran across the street and headed back to the hospital.

     "Aren't you going to call the police?" John asked.

     "I got someone better to call," I said. "This is a case for the FBI."

     John went back to his office, and by the time we reached the lab, Charlie's ride had appeared. I kissed him goodbye.

     "Is your arm going to be okay?"

     "No problem. I’ll get it fixed this weekend. Insurance covers everything."

     "Well, I really appreciated your help."

     "Hey, it was fun. It was like taking care of my little sister. Let's do it again sometime."

******

     When I got into the lab, I asked one of the x-ray techs if I could use her phone for a private call. She didn't mind, so I called Agent Jackson.

     "Where the hell are you guys when I need you?"

     "Let me guess," he said. "This is Brooke Castle."

     "Damn right it’s Brooke Castle. I thought you were supposed to be protecting me."

     "What happened now?" He sounded like a bored parent.

     "Just tell me where you guys were?"

     "We believe you, Brooke. You're just an innocent person who has nothing to do with the mob. You're no longer of interest."

     "Tell that to the two mob guys who just attacked us," I yelled.

     "What mob guys and who is 'us'?"

     "Chester and Fred from Big Jimmy's, and they attacked a patient and me. I'd be dead now if it weren't for Charlie's plastic arms and John's briefcase."

     "Are you okay? Was anyone hurt?"

     "I just got a little scratch, but Charlie lost a few wires."

     "A few wires? What the hell does that mean?"

     "Are you telling me that you're not going to follow me anymore?"

     "Yes, we're done with you. I mean, we thought we had something when you were stopped with all that powder in your car. But after the cake mix thing, and finding that naked old man, we just chalked you off as a..."

     "You can say it."

     "Okay, we just chalked you off as a kook. I'll reconsider it now because Jimmy is still interested in you. But take my advice, go to the local police and tell them what's going on. File a complaint against those two guys from today."

     "Thanks." I hung up.

******

     I called the Longport police.

     "Can I speak with Office Walker, please?"

     "Can I say who's calling?"

     "Tell him it’s Brooke Castle."

     Luke came to the phone about two minutes later. "Hey, Brooke, you're lucky you caught me in the station. Any more Elvis sightings?"

     "Has he been there, by the way, with his license and registration?"

     "Just left a few minutes ago, actually. He has a date to appear for speeding and everything else."

     "Thanks. That's not why I called, though."

     "Oh?"

     "Can I file complaints against two guys that have threatened and attacked me?"

     "Are you okay?"

     "I'm fine, I'm fine. Two guys from Big Jimmy's."

     "Jimmy Breslin? That Big Jimmy?"

     "One and the same."

     "Do you have a witness?"

     "Sure do."

     "Come in now and file it."

     "I can't now, and after work I need to clean. This weekend I'll be away, but I'll come in next week."

     "If these guys are hassling you, you better come in right away. I mean...."

     "Listen, I already reported this to the FBI. I just need to take some time off, and this weekend I'm going to...visit a friend and I'll be busy." Why didn't I come out and say that I was going to see Ryan. "But you can do me a favor. Where is Big Jimmy's place of business?"

     "Why do you want to know that? You're not planning on..."

     "Going there? Are you crazy? I want to know so I can stay far away from that part of town as I can."

     "I don't know, Brooke, you're just..."

     "Go ahead, say it."

     "You asked for it. You're just flaky enough to do something foolish and show up there."

     "Flaky? Thanks a lot, Office Skywalker.  How about this? Can you tell me who owns a car if I give you the license number?"

     "We're not supposed to do that."

     "Let me give you the number, anyway, and then you decide.” I took a paper out of my pocket. “The number is YSG276."

     "Hold on a minute."  While he was gone, I looked around the office I was in. When he returned he asked, "Where did you get this number from?"

     "Black Lincoln was following me."

     "The car belongs to Breslin's company, Ace Storage."

     "So that's where he works?"

     "Jesus, I didn't mean to tell you."

     "Oh don't worry, do I look that stupid, and you better not answer."

     "Just come in and file the complaint as soon as you can."

     "Okay."

     "Oh, and Brooke?"

     "Yes?"

     "Did you hear from the doctor? About the mammogram?"

     "I did, and I'm fine. Thanks for asking."