Dead Sure?: A Paranormal Mystery (21 page)

Before he could go on, the kid interrupted him, “Not unless you’re planning on making it worth my while, and this time I’m looking for dough.”

Charles laughed, “Kid, you slay me. You’re in luck; dough is all I’ve got with me, and plenty of it, if you’re reliable. Starting with, what you did with that medallion I gave you?”

Looking him straight in the face, the boy unflinchingly said, “Let me see the color of your money first.”

This kid has got potential. Already at his age a distrusting little son of a bitch.
Charles reached into his inside suit pocket and pulled out his money clip. The clip was a beautiful gold with the initials CSY engraved on it. It contained a stack of neatly folded money. Very deliberately Charles peeled off a dollar, letting the rest of the stack work its magic on the young boy’s eyes. “This dollar is yours for the medallion.”

“I’ll shoot it to you straight, mister. I don’t have it anymore, but I’ll tell you what I did with it for the dollar.”

“For being on the up and up, I’ll pay you the dollar for the info.” He started to hand the kid a buck, and then pulled it back. “Okay, lets have it.”

              “I took it to the coin shop on 7
th
street. The owner is a real pushover. I convinced him it was valuable, and he gave me twenty-five cents for it. That crusty thing barely looked like it was worth a nickel,” finishing his sentence, the boy snatched the bill out of Charles fingers.

“You’re quite the young business man. What’s your name, kid?”

“Sam Weston, but I’d like a gangster name.”

“Fine, you’ll be known as Lefty. Now, here’s what I want you to do. There’s this beautiful moll in a blue dress. She and this blond guy in a suit are walking towards the park. Catch up to them and follow them. If you can get close enough to hear any of their conversation, so much the better. Report back to me here tomorrow, and I’ll give you another dollar, now beat it Lefty!”

The kid grinned at him fleetingly, and then ran off in the general direction of the park.

*    *    *

Angela and Tim were strolling casually along, and had only traveled a few blocks. Angela had moved closer to Tim and had looped her arm through his. So far the conversation had been light, mostly about the sights and sounds of the city on this beautiful day.

The couple had passed a number of tasty-looking restaurants. However, Tim could not bring himself to stop. He was really savoring Angela hanging on to him and the way she would touch him with her other hand before pointing out things. He felt smitten with her and didn’t want the moment to end.

“Now, this one’s really good, and it’s got a juice joint in the back.”

“A glass of wine does sound good.”

“Shh, silly, you can’t be too careful about saying that out loud.”

Angela didn’t know how right she was, for at that instant the boy Charles had sent spotted them. Lefty had just started watching the couple, cautiously at first from a distance.

The pair ducked into the Italian restaurant and, with a wink from Angela, were shown to the back of the place and ushered quickly through an “Employee’s Only” door. A brisk walk through the kitchen led to another small room crammed with tables, each covered with a cheerful red and white checkered tablecloth. Only a couple of the tables stood open. The rest of the place was really jumping.

Placing their order, it wasn’t long before a couple of glasses of red wine arrived.

“You’re hooked into everything, aren’t you?” he asked with a grin.

“It would be fair to say I know lots of people. What about you, where are you from, because it’s not from around here.”
My connections have checked out those goofy white and red shoes he was wearing the day I met him, and have been unable to find any place that sells anything even similar.

Feeling evasive about his true identity, Tim countered back, “What makes you say that?”

“For starters, nobody on the street has said hi to you. You stare around wide-eyed, like a kid that is seeing a big city for the first time. Yet, you don’t seem like a country bumpkin.”

“You’re a very observant woman. I’m not from around here per se, and I’m definitely not in from the farm. I don’t really want to lie about where I’m from, but the story is just too unbelievable. I think it’s best for now if I don’t go into detail about it.”

Angela paused, starring into Tim’s face with her piercing green eyes. She seemed to be trying to read him like a book, and from the way her red lips were pressed together in consternation, it was apparent she couldn’t. “Tim, you know what I really like about you is your honesty. Even when you don’t share all the facts, you’re very upfront about it. You don’t make up any baloney.” The look on her face softening again, “I hope someday you’ll tell me the whole story. You can trust me; I’ve heard some pretty strange accounts in the past.”

“I appreciate that, and when the time is right, I will.”

The food arrived, along with more wine. Everything was top notch. Angela really knew the right places to go.

*    *    *

Outside the restaurant, the bright sun was blinding. It had been so dark inside by comparison. Tim fumbled in his suit pocket and, without thinking, put on the sunglasses that had come with him from the future.

Angela was staring, or more like squinting, at him now. “What’s with those strange-looking spectacles? They don’t look like anything I’ve seen before.”

“Oh yeah, these,” he pulled them off quickly and slipped them back into his pocket. Squinting back at Angela, he replied, “Well, these are from a small startup company that is just getting into plastics.”

“Let’s get back to the office, this was a rather long lunch. I’ve got lots of planning to do, and you have lots of research ahead of you.”

Tim could sense her disappointment in not being entrusted with his secret. He desperately wanted to share, but was afraid it might cost him his only friend in this time. On the other hand, not sharing the truth might have the same effect. Without thinking it through any further, he blurted out, “Tonight over dinner I’ll tell you my secret.”

Angela looked surprised. This was an emotion he had never noticed during the short time he had known her. The surprise promptly turned into a big smile. She wrapped her arms around Tim’s shoulders and gave him a big hug.

Following suit, he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and began to kiss her. The sweetness of her perfume filled his nostrils as her warm lips entangled with his.

The boy was watching from further up the block.
I hope that hood paying me doesn’t think this lady is his moll! Cause from the looks of this, she sure ain’t.

After several minutes of what felt like heaven on earth to Tim, Angela stepped away. They began the walk back to the office. Tim was feeling ecstatic.

“So you promise you will still be here tonight?” Angela asked.

Where did that question come from? Why would she think I wouldn’t be?
He hesitated before answering, his previous plans flooding back into his mind, his promise to himself and his young daughter. What if his plan didn’t work? “I’ll be here,” he said, trying to sound resolute and convincing.

Being the people reader she was, Angela could sense something was tearing at him. She also had the added advantage of having secretly read his journal. She had stopped by the rooming house that morning to see how Tim was getting along there, and one of the boys reported that he was out taking a walk with Reggie. She had laid the ground work for opportunity, and luck had provided her with a chance to check out the journal. Her father used to say, “Luck only presents itself to people that are prepared.” She had found that quote had proven itself true many times over, from business to personal.

It had been her intention to read it from the moment she bought it for him. She just didn’t think it would be this soon. Angela was certain it would reveal some flaw in his character. He just seemed too nice, to good to be true. All of the previous men in her life had been a disappointment. Why not this one? She only wished the journal had been more revealing. It was certainly clear on one thing; he meant to go back somewhere today.  He hadn’t lied to her so far, so if he said he would be there for dinner he would. She tried to believe that, even though the facts, as she knew them refuted it.

*    *    *

Several blocks away, Charles was heading towards the coin shop the kid had told him about. Ever since his shootout with Bill, something about the event had been nagging at him. There was absolutely no way he had dreamt about being shot. That’s what he had tried to tell himself, but now he was starting to think differently. He had made a wish as he was dying and the world was fading away. That wish was to go back and get the drop on Bill, and it had worked. He had gone back in time, even if only a few minutes!

The ability to go back in time, now there was real power, maybe not so much a power, but a chance to go back and rewrite the past with Angela. There had been a time when they were great together. It was shortly after he had joined the organization, and the two of them were flying high. Now the relationship appeared to be over, at least from her perspective.  He wasn’t done with it, not by any means.

The sign above the shop read ‘Ike’s Coin Emporium’ in gold letters. Charles just snorted after he read it. Like coins were anything special. Maybe the exception being the one he was looking for, but other coins, nope, and as for collecting them, how dull.

The bell on the door jangled cheerfully as he walked in. Charles pasted a smile on his face and headed over to the counter. There was an old gentleman standing behind it. The man was balding, with an unruly ring of grey hair running around his head. Large mutton chops of pure grey ran down the side of his face. Charles thought the shopkeeper probably had more hair in his chops than on his head.

“Hello, are you Ike?”

“I am,” replied the man, “and who might you be?”

“My name is Charles.”

“I bet your friends call you Chuck,” he said, beginning to smile. “What can I do for you?”

“First off, nobody calls me Chuck, it’s Charles. Secondly, I’m looking for an unusual coin. It’s about the size of a half dollar, and about a quarter of an inch thick. It has a dragon on one side.”

The old coin dealer wasn’t taking a shine to this Chuck character; something about the man had rubbed him the wrong way. In fact, Ike was sure he had seen him around before and couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“I know the very one you’re talking about,” he said stopping abruptly.

“Well, are you going to tell me what you know about it?” Charles demanded. He knew he should watch his tone, but he was not in one of his play-nice moods today. Seeing Angela with that damn Tim earlier really pissed him off.

The shopkeeper decided right then and there, he didn’t like this Chuck or Charles fellow. That said, he made up his mind to share only enough of what he knew to get this guy to leave. Slowly he began, “A couple of days ago a kid came in the store with it. It was an ugly looking coin. The kid wanted to sell it to me. He wanted some cash for something. Anyway, I wasn’t sure what to offer him for it. I looked in my reference books and couldn’t find anything like.” He paused for a moment, his right hand rubbing his chin before, he began again his mutton chops waggling as he spoke. “I told the kid best I could do was twenty-five cents. He jumped at that and was gone in a flash with the money. Well, to my surprise, an old guy walked into the store a day later and purchased it for seventy-five cents. Talk about easy money.”

“Do you know who this guy was or where I could find him?” Charles said excitedly.

“Nope, never seen him before, he wasn’t a previous customer.”

Taking out a piece of paper, Charles wrote down his name and phone number. “If he comes in again, please get his information. Tell him you know another customer that would be interested in purchasing the coin for more.” Thinking about it for a moment, Charles added, “If anyone else asks about this coin, or you find out more information please call this number. I’ll make it worth your while.” He reached out and handed the mutton chopped man the paper.

Trying to hide his disdain, chops took the paper and nodded. “Sure thing, fella, you’ll be the first to know if something comes up.”

“Thank you,” Charles said curtly, before turning and walking out the door, leaving the bell clanking behind him.

That old shit knows more than he’s letting on. I can just feel it. Maybe he’ll come around after he thinks about the money for a little while. If not, I’ll make him come around or he’ll die trying.

*    *    *

The records room, as they called it, was where the real books were kept. It was on the next floor up from the phony one. It was located in an office that was towards the center of the hallway. It was hidden away by a plain- looking office door that looked just like all the others. The entrance led into a very boring-looking office with all of the usual trappings for the period. However, if one knew to walk across that room, and what bookcase to pull on, another door was revealed. That door lead into a lavishly furnished office with fancy carpeting, cherry wood furniture, and crystal fixtures. It was so different that it looked like it had been ripped straight out of a mansion and hidden away here behind this obscure looking bookcase, where nobody would ever find it again. Not that it was ever lost.