Hard Luck P.I.

"Wait a minute," Grant's suddenly stood up and told her about the matchbook. "I didn't think much about it at the time because I see them lying around all the time. Its from this bar in Tompkins, a suburb not far from here. Dew Drop Inn, it's called. Roland has about a million of them, he goes there if things get too hot in the city he cools off up there. There is a good chance it could have been left there if he was helping them set this all up."

"Right," Leaha added, "And if Halloran is in on it, she would have just picked it up just to get rid of it. Think he'll be there. He might still be tagging along with Garner's wife? If its his at all."

"Roland is good at stashing things. He always seems to have a plan ‘B' for everything. Even if he isn't there he might have left something that could give us some clues to where he was going." Grant was pacing excitedly, Leaha thought it was cute.

"It may not be much, but its something. Let's stop at the office and pick up what Garner left for us. They we'll head up to this bar and check it." Leaha stood and walked to the door. Grant rushed to follow her, as soon as she opened the door there was a blond detective standing there, her fist raised, ready to knock on the door. They gawked at each other in surprise, Grant especially. Halloran recovered first.

"Morning. I trust you too are heading out to search for Roland. Good, we'll take my car."

"Um..." was all Grant could think to say, then his brain clicked into gear. "Did Garner send you as a babysitter?" He tried to sound hard-boiled. "By the way; Leaha, Detective Halloran." he introduced mockingly.

"Pleased. I just figure we're heading in the same direction. You are heading to Tompkins, I assume."

"Yeah, the Dew Drop Inn." Grant answered. "Listen, Halloran, I forgot to thank you."

She stopped and turned, "For what?"

"Knocking my ass out, that's what." Grant didn't realize that he was still angry about it until the venom in his voice surprised him. She just smiled at him.

"Sorry." she said then without missing a beat she continued, "Listen, luckily he was sloppy enough to give us a lead, we might as well work this together so we can get it over with." She looked at them both and Grant looked at Leaha. She just shrugged. The last thing he wanted was to see the detective right now, let alone work with her, but she would she had resources they didn't. Plus something in him really wanted to chance to get even with her.

"Okay. But I'm the hired investigator, so I'm in charge." Braver words than he felt, but he felt bitter in her presence.

"What ever you say junior." She turned and headed down the hallway. Once they were at her car, Leaha had already slipped into the back seat when Halloran said to Grant, "She's not bad, boy wonder. You work fast." She disappeared into the car and he swore under his breath.

To say it was an uncomfortable car ride was putting it mildly. Thompkins was only about twenty minutes away but it still felt like a lifetime. Just the ride to Garner's office was hard enough. Halloran stayed in the car while Grant and Leaha went in to gather what was left for them. Once inside, Leaha finally spoke.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Hooking up with her? I don't trust her." Leaha turned to him just as he shut the door. He was aware of her closeness but tried to ignore it.

"I don't trust her either. But she might be of some help, being a cop might actually be an advantage if we need it. And besides, she's probably here because of Garner. And we are working for him. If he feels we need a babysitter, then so be it." he shrugged.

"This is your deal," she gave him a disdainful look, "but the moment we get a chance to ditch her, I vote we do it. This whole thing is seems to be turning fishier and fishier as it goes along." he nodded in agreement then they just stood there and looked at each other for a moment. They leaned in and their lips met. Tenderly at first, they kissed, feeling the soft warmth. Then her tongue started exploring his mouth. He grabbed her close, she loved the feel of him against her. Her hands went to the small of his back and migrated down to his ass when they parted. The passion in their eyes for one another demanded that they continue, but Grant spoke.

"We really ought to get going, or we may never leave."

"Yeah," she breathed, "we should. Plus I'd like to have you somewhere other than here for once." She turned and walked away from him, to retrieve the thick envelope on the desk with Grant's name on it. Opening it up, her eyebrow arched. "Well he made sure expenses were taken care of."

"How much?" Grant asked walking up.

"Enough, might be the reason for the chaperone. Here's something." she took out a folded page and handed it to him. He skimmed it.

"Looks like some properties that she owns. Might be worth checking out, if she's not holing up in any of them. She might use them for short stops." Leaha put the envelope in her purse as Grant folded the page back up and put it in his pocket. There eyes met and he stepped closer to her.

"You're friend is waiting for us." she smiled at him.

"Fuck her," he put his hands on her hips and drew her near.

"She'd like to. I saw the way she looked at you." Leaha added. The statement jarred him some.

"What do you mean," he tried to sound casual, but it didn't work so well.

"She looks at you like a fine steak? Why? Got something for her?" she teased him

"Of course not. Lets go." he gave her a quick kiss on the lips and headed for the door. Halloran was leaning against the hood of the car talking on her cellphone. He looked at her watch then at them in mock exasperation. This just served to annoy Leaha more. As they reached her she ended her call and they piled back into the car.

"All set? Good. Anyone want to stop for snacks?" Halloran asked cheerily as they pulled out of the parking lot.

"Let's just do this." Grant said. He sat there hoping that her good mood didn't include details of what they did at the warehouse the other night. He wasn't exactly sure the nature of his feelings for Leaha but he knew that he liked her a lot. Guessing that before the day was out Leaha was going to like the detective less and less, and that little bit of information wasn't going to help any. They drove in silence pointed away from the city. Grant finally broke it.

"So, Detective. What did you find out from the boyfriend when you found him?"

"He was pretty pissed off and happy to give us all the information we wanted. The plan, as far he knew, was to fake their death and then disappear. They had a stash of passports and fake ID's ready and a pile of cash. McCreevy was going to drop off another large amount that only he could get ahold of without anyone noticing. At least right away. Problem was that those goons from the warehouse," she eyed Grant momentarily, "decided to take matters in their own hands.

"A bit more broke than they anticipated, Anthony and Eva only got so far. They made it over the state line. The plan was to wait it out. Roland would get ahold of McCreevy and the money and then they would be gone for good." Halloran couldn't hold back the smile as she said, "Anthony woke up with a nasty hangover and alone. Seems that she drugged him the night before and took off. Left him with a couple hundred dollars and the clothes on his back." Leaha could feel the sense of smugness coming off of the other woman. It seemed to her that Halloran was actually rooting for Mrs. Garner.

"So he was pissed enough to go tell Garner what happened?" Grant asked

"No, I had feelers out and we picked him up. He was scared shitless and happy to tell everything he knew. They were planning catching a flight to New York then to some chateau in the Mediterranean. It can be safely assumed that was a bullshit story."

"What about Roland? Do you think they are running off together?" Leaha asked from the back. Halloran snorted.

"She obviously never met him." she said to Grant. "I doubt it. I'm sure as soon as he isn't useful anymore then she'll try and ditch him, if she hasn't tried to already. He's a crafty bastard when he wants to be."

They lapsed into silence the rest of the way. After a bit they entered Thompkins, which seemed like any other suburb. A lot of identical houses, convenience stores and parks. They turned into a seedier part where the roads were less kept and the buildings more run down. A stout two story brick building with a gravel lot held the Dew Drop Inn. A couple sunfaded neon signs hung in the window and a ‘21 and over' sign needed repainted on the door. There were only a couple cars in the lot when they parked.

"Do you know anything about this place?" Leaha asked Grant as they got out of the car.

"Just that Roland likes to hide here once in awhile. Hopefully he left something here, or better yet; he's here." Grant was skeptical that this was going to do any good at all, but they had to start somewhere. They went inside and it seemed like your generic dive bar. Neon beer signs, few ancient and faded video games, pock marked pool table, the stale smell of cigarettes and beer. The bartender looked like he had been built with the place, he was watching a small television at the end of the bar. The only other patrons were a couple old men playing dominoes in a back corner. They walked up to the bar and took a seat. The bartender tore himself away from his program and shuffled over to take their orders. Grant ordered a beer then asked, "Seen Roland around lately?" The crusty old man laid down the frosty glass in front of Grant.

"Roland? Which feller is that?"

"Short guy, ‘bout big around as his is tall." Grant said amiably. "Comes in here once in awhile."

"I think I might have seen him in here before. You friend of his?" the bartender tried to look casual.

"Working for him, actually. He said he might be up this way." Grant took a sip of beer.

"Haven't seen him for awhile. You said you work for him?" the bartender seemed as if he was trying to put things together in his head.

"Yeah," Grant hurried on, "I'm looking for him because he was going to drop something off for me. Here. And I wanted to make sure that I didn't beat him here." It was a gamble but it might be worth it. He could sense Halloran tense and Leaha shift nervously next to him. His suds serving friend seemed to think for a moment then size him up.

Finally he said, "There was this, but I thought he was coming for it himself." he reached under the bar and came up with a bulky manila envelope. Grant took it and broke the seal. He peered inside then closed it up again. He beamed at his new friend and took another drink of beer.

"That is exactly what I came for, thank you." Before he had time to say anything else, the front door opened.

A burly voice asked, "Who owns the newer Chevy out here?" The three of them turned.

"I do," Halloran said standing. "Why?"

"I just chased some guy off who was tearing the shit out of your engine." Without another word the three of them shot outside, tearing past their large hairy messenger. The bright light hurt momentarily but it didn't blot out the sight of the detective's hood open. Grant could see immediately that the distributor cap was missing. On closer inspection, fan belts were cut and a few other minor inconvenience.

"I just drove up, saw the feller messing with it. Asked him if he wanted help but he just ran off. Got in his car and disappeared." The burly voice said again, this time directly behind Leaha. She moved closer to Grant.

"What did he look like?" Halloran asked, still looking at the engine. She already knew the answer, of course.

"Short fat guy. Ran fast for his size though. Got his licence plate number, if you want it?" Halloran smiled like a satisfied cat.

"That would be wonderful." She took her notebook out to get the number. Leaha pulled Grant to the side.

"Roland?" she asked. He nodded. "Why the hell would he do that?" she indicated the car.

"To get a head start." he answered. He opened the envelope for her so she could see. "Passports, ID's, all the important papers they would need for a clean getaway."

"And," Halloran added as she walked up, "we have his plate number. I doubt he'll get far."

Halloran leaned against the incapacitated car making phone calls while their new burly friend poked around in the engine surveying the damage. Grant and Leaha poked around the envelope of documents they got from the bar as well as the lists of properties and interests that Mr. Garner had left for them.

"Y'know, there are a couple of these houses that shouldn't be too far from here. If we could get a ride, I bet we could check it out while she," Leaha pointed contemptuously over her shoulder at the detective, "is trying to do something about the car."

"Not a bad idea," Grant agreed though it wasn't just to investigate. Now that they were obviously on the right track and his mood improved, he didn't want to pass up any opportunities for privacy with Leaha. Their new friend, whose had introduced himself as Hank, came crunching in the gravel towards them.

"Did you say something about needing a ride somewhere?" He wiped his hands on his bib overalls.

"Actually yeah," Grant said and showed him a couple of addresses. "They're pretty close by, aren't they."

"Could have you back here in an hour or so." he answered in his deep voice. Smiling, Leaha walked over towards Halloran to tell her their plan. Anything to ditch the bitch for a little while. Whoever the detective was talking too she was being awfully hushed with. When she noticed Leaha walking up to her she looked up at her with great annoyance.

"What?" she asked in a clipped tone.

"We're going to check out a couple of places while you're dealing with this. We should be back in an hour."

"Fine," she said and then went back to her conversation, then stopped and then said to Leaha, "Hold on. I'll meet up with you at the house on Old Duck Road, about an hour." Leaha just nodded and then walked quickly to an old Ford truck that the boys were already sitting in as it rumbled idly. She climbed in and they took off in a surprising burst of dust and speed. They rode in silence for quite awhile. Grant and Leaha concentrating mainly on their intertwined fingers as they watched the landscape pass them by.

"Where was this first place again?" Hank asked after awhile. Grant read him the address again, and Hank nodded his head thoughtfully. "That's out where all them mansions are. A lot of them are getting torn down. What happened was all these rich assholes hired the same contractor, cause he was cheap, well he was also crooked. Cut a lot of corners. And after a few years these big ass houses all started to fall apart. Bad foundations, cheap plumbing, all sorts of shit. No one could sell so a lot of them decided to tear ‘em down and start over again. Hope the house yer looking for is still up."

Grant and Leaha just looked at each other and shrugged. "Better check it out all the same." Grant said. Hank just grunted. They rode in silence then Hank took a sudden turn on a side road that led away from the town they were approaching.

"Yer next stop is Old Duck Road, right?" Leaha nodded, for some reason the mention of it stirred something but she couldn't place it immediately. "I know a short cut that'll take us to the place there, and then we can swing back round and see if yer mansion is still there and make better time." Seemed reasonable enough, but Grant felt uneasy about it for some reason. He turned to Leaha but she was looking out the window, her face hard in thought. He squeezed her hand and she turned to him, smiling slightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"It just occurred to me that when I told Halloran we were leaving she said she would meet us at Old Duck Road. I didn't tell her where we were going."

"She read the list, she could have just assumed that was were we were going." Grant suggested.

"I suppose," she looked over at Hank who was dutifully watching the road, "something just seems a little off." They drove farther and farther out and the sun started dipping lower in the sky. Finally they reached a small valley amongst the fields they had been passing by. Spread around were huge houses with excessively large and painstakingly manicured lawns. Grant couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to own a property like this but never spend time in it. A house almost the size of his apartment building standing empty except when they decided to drop in for a weekend. The prospect of it almost sickened him.

Hank stopped at one of the last houses. The landscape around it wasn't as expansive as it's neighbors but the house itself was no less impressive. Two stories, close to twenty rooms of various function, was Leaha's guess. They piled out of the truck.

"I'll wait here, you do what you need to." Hank offered. Grant and Leaha walked up to the house. It didn't look like there had been anyone in it for awhile but they were determined to check anyway. Peeking in windows and trying doors they worked their way to the back. A large empty swimming pool, huge concrete patio, barbeque area, it was about all you could want for a party spot.

Leaha spotted it first. "Grant," she said softly, "that patio door doesn't look shut all the way." Quietly they crept to it and peeked in the glass door. The house inside was dim and the sun was behind the valley wall. Grant took out his small flashlight from his pocket as she stealthily entered. The dining area, like all the rooms were expansive. Walking as quietly as they could they checked the kitchen and lavish living room for signs of inhabitance. They found nothing on the main floor so they started the search of the second floor. It was darker up here, Grant turned on his flashlight. Halfway down the hall he caught the slight scent of perfume, if no one was here, they hadn't gone long. There was a door that was slightly ajar to the right and they were about to enter when they heard a footstep behind them. Grant swung around and his light fell on Hank just reaching the top of the stairs. Leaha motioned for him to be quiet but Grant recognized the look on his face too late. He had just enough time to push Leaha through the open door when one of Hank's ham-like fists crashed into his jaw. The force of it slammed him into the wall. Before he had time to react two vice-like hands had a hold of him and threw him in the same room he had just shoved Leaha into.

The door slammed shut. His head swam a little but he could hear Leaha yelling something at the door and then heavy thumping. He stood in time to hear the muffled booming voice say, "Roland sends his regards." Then footsteps fading away.

"Where is the fucking light switch," Leaha sniped then suddenly the room was filled with painful light. She pounded and pulled at the door. Grant joined her but it was no use. Something was jamming the door shut and the handle wasn't working. Grant gave the knob a hard pull then wound up on his ass again when it came off in his hand.

"Fuck," he said getting up. He looked around as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. They were in a bedroom, one of the many guest rooms. A small dresser, a bunch of fancy pictures and a large inviting bed. The odd thing was that there was no windows in this particular room. As he dialed Halloran's number the stupid feeling of falling directly into a trap gnawed at his pride.

"Where are you?" he asked trying to sound urgent but not desperate.

"Tailing Roland. Where are you?" She asked casually.

"House on Old Duck Road. We were set up. Hank was working for Roland, we are trapped in one of the rooms of the house. I think this entire thing was for our benefit. Chances are he wants you following him." Grant told her. He watched Leaha kick the door in frustration one more time then walk over and sit on the bed.