After leaving the library, I went back to the office with one pocket filled with more notes. My head reeled from too many details, but I carried a better understanding of the city and most of the key players. The information I found in the last few months’ newspapers matched up with the little black book, which made me feel better.

Entering the quiet outer office, I noticed the window remained open, so I assumed Alice sat in the chair. I said hello and entered my office. I found a pretty surprise waiting for me.

Sally’s pretty face turned somber when she looked up from the couch as I walked in. The late afternoon sun shining through the half open slats of the window shade gave her a mysterious air, with her blonde hair falling over one eye. Suddenly, I recognized her. I’d seen that same peek-a-boo blonde hair falling across her face along with a sexy aloof expression in several the old movies I watched with my dad.

“You’re Veronica Lake!”

The woman looked at me in confusion.

“No, my name is Sally Vaugh. You remember me, don’t you? You helped me with my husband.”

There was an awkward pause as I tried to understand her words.

“I’m sorry, of course. I remember meeting you. But I swear you could be her twin,” I finally mumbled out.

Sally’s expression changed from puzzlement to concern about the man in front of her.

“I’ve never heard of this person. Who is she?” She tried to appear interested.

“You mean you’ve never heard of Veronica Lake, the movie star?” My dumbfounded expression must have looked funny. “She did all sorts of movies back in...”

I stopped, realizing I sounded like an idiot.

“Anyway, I want to hire you, Mr. Dagger.” Her calmness while standing poised and professional in front of me was like nothing like the night before.

I scratched my head, still confused about many things, while heading to my chair behind the desk.

“Hold on a second. You said you hated me for being some money-grubbing jerk.” I sat back in the chair. I still couldn’t let go trying to understand how she didn’t know about a famous movie star.

She hesitated, then gave me a sympathetic smile.

“That’s an interesting way that you put it. Listen, I’m sorry for saying those things,” the woman assured me. “You helped me during a terrible time. I should have thanked you and not thrown you out. Will you forget and forgive my insults? I’m in trouble and I want to hire you.”

“I’m not sure...let’s start with your story,” I suddenly had a bad feeling about her problem. “I’m willing to guess it has something to do with your husband.”

Sally took a seat, her movements precise and elegant. Wearing a simple brown wool dress with padded shoulders and a diagonal row of lighter brown plastic buttons running from the right shoulder downward to the broad leather belt, she glanced around the room before returning to me.

“Yes Mr. Dagger, it’s about Joe. I need your help.”

“Is Joe alright?” I felt uneasiness fill me.

“Yes, yes...Joe’s fine.” Her hands clutched at a tiny purse. “Last night brought everything to a head. That’s why I’m here.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“What I’m going to tell you is difficult to discuss,” she admitted. “You see, we’ve been married for a couple of years. At one time, Joe made top money as a salesman.” Her sympathetic tone came at me in full force. “He had a large national account, but I guess the pressure got to him. That’s where it started. After the company let him go, he went to New York for a while to raise money for his next business. When he came back, it got worse.”

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Sally pulled a delicate handkerchief from her purse and dabbed at the corner of one eye.

“You still have me fuzzy. It sounds like you need a marriage counselor.”

Her distraught expression got to me.

“It’s not just our marriage. This goes deeper in some ways. Joe’s drinking led to a lot of gambling. That’s why I need your help.”

“I guess you must have money stashed somewhere to handle that problem.” I wondered if I needed to take notes.

Sally shook her head.

“Oh, I’ve done alright. My father left me his company, it’s a literary magazine. I’m pretty good at running the operations,” she stated while looking at the window. “In fact, we’ve tripled the subscriptions in two years. I was planning on selling the firm; however, I can’t afford to let it go now. It supplies the sole income for us to live. I’m afraid that Freddie Antonio knows that I’m looking to sell. Then, well...I can guess that Joe’s probably opened his mouth when he’s been drinking.”

“Wait, what about Freddie Antonio?” I interjected.

“As you know, Antonio runs a gambling house down on Dawson Street. A place called Rosetta’s. Joe started hanging around there after he got back from New York and lost heavily.”

She paused, trying to keep her composure. I felt bad for her, but my thoughts remained on Antonio.

“Before I knew about it, he was in so much debt that we couldn’t pay. The more I tried to stop him, the more Joe lost, then he drank more. Sometimes he was like a crazy man. Antonio kept pushing him, pressing him. Antonio is a brute with evil men who will hurt us. It was a vicious circle.” Sally hesitated when she realized how bitter she sounded.

“It sounds like he needs help. Maybe a good shrink,” I suggested in sympathy. “Look, this is all very dramatic, but I’m not your guy.”

In my growing anxiety, I recognized she wanted a real detective.

I am definitely not the guy!

“Please, hear me out, Mr. Dagger.” She leaned forward, tears still in the corners of those blue eyes.

“Early this year, Joe didn’t come home. I was worried and went looking for him. When I went to Rosetta’s, Antonio told me that Joe had left town, and he was staying with friends. I knew it was a lie, but the man started to...well, he became too friendly, and I called him a filthy rat before I slapped him.”

She composed herself, looking down at her hands.

“Then, that bastard told me I’d receive Joe’s ears in a box if I didn’t pay off his IOU’s. I didn’t have a choice. He gave me two days, and I came up with enough cash for Joe to come home.”

“Didn’t you go to the police?” His tone of incredulity caused her to cock her head oddly.

“Are you crazy? Everybody knows Antonio pays off the cops to look the other way,” Sally insisted. “The only one who might take him on is the district attorney. What do you think he’d do to me if I went to the D.A. about this?” Her stare insisted I was stupid to ask the question.

“So, I paid the debt off and I thought it would be the end.”

“Listen, I feel bad about your life. It sounds like you need to put your husband into an institution and walk away,” I flatly told her as I pulled off my fedora and tossed it on the desk.

“After last night, you’ve got plenty of evidence.”

Her face paled at the comment. For a moment, she stumbled to compose herself.

“I don’t have time for that now. Two days ago, Joe went back to Antonio’s place even after he promised me he would never go there again.” Sally bit her lip, holding in her emotions. “The bottom line is my husband bet a large amount on the poker table again. Of course, he lost, and Antonio wants more money than I can come up with. I have copies of the notes that Joe tried to hide from me.”

She paused, stiffening in the chair.

“I’m a proud person, but not too proud to say that I’m scared.”

“I still don’t get what you want me to do.” My confusion brought a brief flare to her face.

“No, you don’t understand. You’re famous in this town. I want you to go to Antonio. Talk to him and buy me some time,” she implored him. “I’m working on something to get us out of this fix. I’m hiring you to help get me a week. That’s all I’m asking.”

At that point, I know that my jaw nearly dropped out of its sockets. She wanted me to walk into a gangster’s place and ask for mercy on her behalf. Now, I have seen plenty of movies about gangsters. One in particular showed me a couple waking up with the head of a horse in their bed. I’m betting that Antonio’s answer to her is likely to be a couple of bullets placed in my brain. Or, just as bad, I could end up wearing cement shoes at the bottom of a river.

“You just said they promised to give you Joe’s ears unless you paid up. Somehow, I don’t think you have enough money for me to take that risk.”

After I said that, I’ll admit that I hated how it sounded like a coward talking. I watched her as her blue eyes sought help. The hurt in the expression drew him in. Then she dropped her head. I took a deep breath and my mind screamed for me to throw her out of the office.

Get over it, you fool. You’re no hero!