While Alice continued to work, I headed back into my office and closed the door. I needed quiet time to analyze the black book and pull together a raft of thoughts filling my mind since I’ve arrived. Taking another notebook from the desk drawer along with a pencil, and began to lay out some of my thoughts.

First, turn Adele into my happy wife and keep that relationship in place. Under that list, I made a note that I needed to remove Lloyd from causing my problems.

I opened the little black book and looked up Lloyd Childress again. I noted he’s a lawyer with his retired father and he’s known for some shady dealings that are just on the right side of legal. Unfortunately, I needed more details about him. Something about how he looked at me made me think there might be useful information for me to exploit.

As I leaned back, I noticed the letter on my desk from Adele’s lawyer. Then, I quickly picked it up and opened it. The name on the outside return address was from the office of Childress and Son. Lloyd signed the letter inside. I already understood that Lloyd was doing the same thing as Lane did to Adele. Play with her emotions to get to her fortune. Even if not, I busted him in the face, so I knew he would come after me out of revenge. I shook my head at the thought. To protect Adele, Lloyd remained my target.

Let’s be honest, it’s to protect myself as well.

A few minutes later, I flipped the intercom switch.

“Say, can you tell me how to get to the library?”

A sigh coming from the speaker showed she thought I was a dunce for not knowing something so simple. After she gave me directions, I finally asked her if she was upset because I called her Alice.

“Why would I be upset when you use my name?”

Man, I’m damn lucky. Or is this whole place rigged to know my thoughts?

My last thought scared the hell out of me.

~~~

It was midafternoon and Adele Dagger sat at the table across from Jenny Penske, who continued to regale the uninterested woman about her latest male conquest. Adele’s mind remained on Lane’s sudden change. The look he gave her before he left brought back feelings she considered hopelessly lost. She was also blissfully tired from her husband’s sudden interest in her body.

“Adele, you’re a million miles away!” Jenny huffed, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “First, you stood me up the other morning and now you’re lost in thought. Is something wrong? Did Lane hurt you again?”

“Actually, no, quite the opposite.” Adele shook her head before taking a sip of her martini. Jenny ordered it, although Adele wasn’t really interested in drinking.

“It’s just that I’m not sure what to make of him. Something’s changed, that’s for sure. He’s showing me a side that I didn’t expect.”

Jenny cast a doubtful glance.

“Really? I don’t see why you don’t just let him go. I’ve told you a thousand times that he’s no good. That business is so dirty. I’ve seen those magazines and movies about detectives peeking through keyholes for their money.”

Adele flashed a smile at the thought of her husband’s desire to bring out her fantasies.

“Lane might be a lot of things, but a Peeping Tom isn’t one of them. Anyway, I know him...Her voice trailed off.

Do I really?

“I think he’s changing like I hoped. You would believe how he reacted when he found Lloyd in the apartment with me a week ago?”

Jenny’s green eyes sparkled at the thought of new gossip, and she leaned forward. Adele caught the look.

“It was all very harmless, but Lane actually got jealous,” she remained intentionally vague but pleased. “It was the first time that he scared me like that.”

“Did he hit you?” Jenny’s hopes for a scandal were obvious in her tone.

Adele thought back over the evening. Even though she witnessed her husband’s anger, she never felt threatened by him. His words hurt her badly, but Adele believed she probably deserved some of it. After all, while she wasn’t that interested in Lloyd for the long term, bringing a lover into their apartment was like pouring salt into a wound.

“No, nothing like that,” Adele told her friend. “Lane told me he was changing his ways, and he’s definitely trying. Deep down, I always knew that he needed an intellectual challenge. That’s why he does that detective work on the side. It’s not like we need the money. Besides, Lane has a knack for fixing problems, so he’s good at what he does. I know he has a terrible reputation in Stull Junction, but I know deep down that he’s got good points.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

She finished her drink.

“Hopefully, things can be different now.”

“Are you sure about that? This doesn’t sound like you,” Jenny put her arm around Adele.

“Your lawyer, who I so kindly sent to you, finally got you to sign the divorce papers. I can’t believe that you’re getting cold feet. Listen to me. You’ve got your choice of good-looking guys you can have fun with. You just need to get that SOB to sign those papers and be free, like me.”

“I’ll handle this my way,” Adele snapped. Flustered, she quickly smiled as Jenny drew her arm back. “Sorry, Jen, but I was up late, and I’ve thought a lot about this during the last few days.”

She reached over and patted her friend on the forearm.

“I know you mean well, but Lloyd is not for me. Besides, Lane made it clear that Lloyd will not like what happens to him if they meet again,” she said.

Adele’s voice drifted as she remembered that night her husband fought for her.

“I’m curious about the change in Lane and I’m going to see where it goes. After all, the papers are sitting on his desk. Let’s finish up. I have to be back for supper.”

Her friend nodded; her expression still offended.

“Alright, since I’m your friend, I’ll support you. But I still say you’re too nice about this,” Jenny smirked. “Oh, I’ve got a delicious-looking photographer coming by the house. I’ll give him your number. Adele needs her own challenges and Steve is a wolf who likes married women. He’ll make your life interesting.”

Adele smiled to herself.

“Your friend won’t like my response,” she told Jenny grimly.

Jenny looked at her with narrowed eyes and inwardly decided she’d make sure that Lane got out of her friends’ life.

It looks like I must nudge our friend to fix your problem permanently.

~~~

I walked along Main Street, then took a turn down Depot Avenue, heading to the Stull Junction Public Library after getting Alice’s directions. On the way, I noticed a quiet train station with several cars parked in front of it. Curiosity got to me as I wondered how many trains passed through the city and what cities you could get to from here.

Stifling in the suit, my mind wandered back to when I wore tee shirts and blue jeans for my classes. And the classrooms had air conditioning. It reminded me I haven’t encountered a place with modern cooling.

And they always say the good old days!

Getting thirsty, I looked for a refreshment stand when I came upon a Kress 5-10 store. In the window, I spotted a big cooler with an ad for Dr. Nut soda. Going inside, it took me a while to figure out how to use a bottle opener since twist tops weren’t invented yet. Laughing at myself, I remembered a movie where Marty had the same problem.

While drinking my soda, I looked over the displays. I noticed firecrackers, and they even sold ammunition in an area near the toys section. Wondering about all the code violations the store would have in the era I lived, I shook my head in amazement. Saving myself a nickel, I placed my empty glass bottle in with the others on the rack and walked the remaining distance to the library.

The place wasn’t hard to find with the name Stull Junction Public Library engraved in the pediment above the entrance. After stepping up the marble steps and going past the columns, I entered a building that smelled of old musty books. A wave of nostalgia swept through me. Hanging around the library stacks at high school and college was one of my favorite pastimes. After all, I’m a bit of a loner by nature with a thing for reading, so the library seems the perfect spot for me.

That was until I went to the counter and met a woman who looked like the Wicked Witch of the West without the green face paint. The only difference that I see is she’s not wearing the pointed cap. Anyway, her stony expression softened when I asked about the reading room for the latest news and a map room.

I wound my way up a flight of stairs to the next floor, where I found the map room. For some crazy reason, I didn’t expect to find the city on a map. But the first thing I saw on the wall after going into a room filled with flat shelves was an old map of the original town layout.

Intrigued by the wall image, I went over to a map of the U.S.A. hung on the wall behind a cute young lady standing at a counter.

She glanced at me, then smiled. The girl is a brunet with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her dark blue dress is simple, and she’s wearing a thin sweater. While I admired her pretty green eyes, her smile revealed crooked teeth which didn’t disturb her looks. I guessed that she’s just out of high school. Still, I wasn’t used to such attention.

“Can you show me where Stull Junction is on the map behind you?”

The girl turned around and I’m distracted for a moment at the well-built figure outlined inside her dress. Then, I follow her hand as it moved to the state of California before she placed her index finger on an area in between LA and San Francisco.

“It’s right about here,” she replied while cocking her head back to see my reaction.

“Great! Now, pretty lady, where can I find a map of the cities for the state?” I gave her my best smile. I’ll admit it felt good to see her reaction since I never got such responses as a student in high school or college. I’m not ugly, but no girl in her right mind thought of me as hot. Married or not, I enjoyed knowing that a girl found me interesting. After all, find me a man who doesn’t like the attention of a pretty girl and I’ll bet he’s gay or a liar.

Blushing, she turned back to me and pointed to rows of flat shelves by the back wall.

“All the state maps are over there.”

After I thanked her and turned away, the girl spoke up.

“If you need anything else, my name is Mandy.”

I grinned and looked back. After giving her my name, I remembered to note her name in my little black book.

Finding the map of California happened quickly, and I looked for the city. To my surprise, I couldn’t find the name in the area that Mandy showed me earlier. But when I went to the highway map, I found the name Stull Junction and the time to drive to Los Angeles was an hour. Also, the time to San Francisco showed an hour north.

But guess what? When I looked up the distance between those two cities, it told me they were 380 miles apart. Stull Junction can’t be an hour away from either unless you’ve got some bullet trains around here that I haven’t seen.

God, this place is frigging crazy!