There were four notes on my desk, all in Violet’s neat hand. Before I looked at them, I typed up my bill for Fred Astaire:
Bill for Investigative Services:
Basic retainer (three days). . . $75.00
Accompanist (Lou Canton) for dance lessons. . . . . . $50.00
Parking (Monticello Hotel parking lot). . . . . . . $7.00
Actors (Pook Hurawitz, Jerry Rogasinian). . . . . $40.00
Cab fare for accompanist. . . $4.00
Poplin jacket (torn during pursuit of killer). . . . . $5.40
For information from desk clerk at Monticello. . . . . $10.00
Parking ticket. . . . . $3.00
Gas to Huntington Beach (two round trips). . . . . $5.00
Total. . . . . . . . $199.40
Astaire had given me a $200.00 advance. I subtracted my own fee ($75.00) which left $125.00. The total expenses listed came to $134.40, which meant that Fred Astaire owed me $9.40. I looked at the finished bill and tore it up. I still had what was left of the five hundred bucks one of Cortona’s men had left on the front seat of my car, and all of the five hundred Forbes had given me.
I looked at my phone messages.
Hy of Hy’s for Him called. He had a job for me.
Jack Ellis, a house detective at one of the downtown hotels, wanted to know if I would cover for him when he went on vacation next month.
A woman named Levine called, saying, “Where’s my cat?” I had searched for her missing cat more than three years ago. I had returned her fee. I had begged her to forget it, but she emerged to haunt me every four or five months.
The last message was the most interesting. It read: “Mr. Fields would like you to call him as soon as possible. A matter of great importance.”
There was a phone number and a time.
My day was planned. Finish my bill to Astaire. Go see Captain Cawelti. Retrieve my.38. To Mack’s Diner for lunch and Anita and an invitation for her to go out dancing Saturday night.
I hummed a few bars of “Lovely to Look At” and picked up the phone to call W.C. Fields.