And I knew now just what kind of a back-stabbing judas Hurley was. I was too angry at having Domino thrown into my face to think before shouting, “How the hell am I supposed to make premium sales with the scumbag clients you’re sending me!?”
I don’t think I knew what I said until I heard Bruno’s indignant “Hey!!”
Copal overrode whatever Bruno might have said next. “Now you’re blaming it on the clients? I’ve had it with you, Manny! If you haven’t bagged a premium before the next sales report comes in, you’re out! Out on the streets! No job, no way to work off your time! Just your fancy suit and your big smile,” he sneered, “and a whole lot of time to kill!” He slammed the door behind him.
I turned slowly to see Bruno sitting up in the coffin. “Who’re you callin’ a scumbag?” he asked dangerously. “Why, I oughta—”
I sent the chemical streams straight into his mouth. He fell gurgling back into the coffin as I filled it with foam, pausing just long enough to throw the mug in. Then I slammed the lid shut and bolted it down.
Mr. Frustration Man
I paced back and forth in the elevator during the ride back to the office, trying to calm down. “I’m sick of waiting around for a good lead,” I muttered, “like it’s gonna fly in here tied to a brick. It’s time to take one!” A larcenous idea started forming in my mind.
“How’d it go,” Eva asked when I got out of the elevator.
“¡Híjole! I got a tiny little man with a mean temper and no commission.”
“Well,” Eva said with a glance toward Copal’s door, “at least you don’t work for one.”
I did the best approximation of a snort I could manage.
Eva glanced a second time at Copal’s door before saying, “You’re not going to like this, Cal, but Don just gave Domino a raise.”
“¡Por favor!” I exclaimed, thinking the timing smelled of something more than coincidence. “Tell me some good news, why don’t you?”
“I still love you,” Eva said sweetly and, I dared to think, sincerely.
“You’re all I really need, Belleza.” I paused to switch gears. “Is Domino in his office?”
“Yeah.” She sounded wary. “What are you planning to do?”
“Nothing physical,” I said, moving off to stalk my prey.
“Same old story,” Eva sighed.
I looked into my old office to see Domino down to his undershirt working on his punching bag. “Well,” I said, “at least you’re not hitting the bottle anymore.”
“Hey, Cally!” Domino said without breaking rhythm. “How ya doin’?”
“What’s the big idea, sending my driver home?”
Domino’s attention remained on the bag as he said, “What can I say? It’s a holiday. You weren’t here. I thought you were taking the day off like most everyone else. Honest mistake.” Yeah, right.
No need to tell him I forgot it was a holiday. Instead I said, “And have to make up the time this weekend? No thanks.”
“Yeah,” Domino said, still punching away, “that policy sucks, doesn’t it?”
I shrugged even though Domino’s back was toward me. “So how’d you make out at the poisoning?”
Domino gave the bag a roundhouse punch and turned to face me. “Well,” he said, “let’s just say that Sister Calabaza has a secret passion… for trains.”
“You got a nun?” I said incredulously. That should have been my client, dammit.
“Hail Mary!”
“And you sold her a ticket on the Number Nine train.”
“Choo-choo, little buddy!” Domino turned back to his boxing. “Say, how’d you score?”
“I got a nun, too.”
Domino laughed. “Bruno’s a pretty strange name for a nun, wouldn’t you say?”
I don’t know how he knew. “Well,” I said feebly, “you know how cruel sisters can be about nicknames.”
I sighed to myself. I just couldn’t get under his skin, not even if he had any. I looked around the office. I hadn’t been in there since Hurley took it over. The wall next to the door was covered with photos of Domino shaking hands with dead celebs and a tiny bar had been installed under his paper-mill diplomas. ‘Some salesman,’ I thought. ‘He doesn’t even hide his booze.’ Out loud I said, “That’s some premium-looking scotch!”
“Have some, Manny,” Domino said. As I poured a shot he continued, “…just so you don’t forget what ‘premium’ tastes like.”
I didn’t say anything to that. I just continued my survey. Domino had had his message tube painted red. Strange. The file cabinets were gone and there wasn’t a scrap of paper on his desk. There was, however, a little trophy or something made of a weird-looking rock.
“Why do you get all the good clients?” I asked.
“You’re asking the wrong guy,” Domino said. “You should be taking a good, long look at the man in the mirror.”
“No thanks. I don’t enjoy that the same way you do.” Domino just went hmpf. I gave the message tube a second look. There was a little padlock on it. Very strange. “I think we should team up,” I said, “be partners.”
“Oh, Manny, I would, but I’m too intimidated. I could never be partners with someone who was so much more of a man than me.”
“Oh, come on,” I needled, “I’ve seen your wife.” I’m pretty sure Domino’s rhythm faltered a little just then. Before he could say anything I went on. “Hey, I see you finally got that new computer.”
“Yeah. And I’ll tell ya, Cal, all that red tape was a real bitch, but it was worth it.”
“What’s your screen-saver password?”
Domino’s voice suddenly turned hard. “Get away from my computer, Manny!” Then, in a lighter tone. “My mother’s brownie recipe is on that.”
“And you don’t want me finding out what the ‘secret ingredient’ is, is that it?”
Domino laughed. “Hey, that’s pretty good, Cally,” he said. He then stopped boxing and pulled off his gloves. “But I’ve got a lot of paperwork to catch up on. It looks like this’ll be a slow day, so…”
That was obviously my cue to leave and I’d seen everything I could, anyway. “Well, you sound pretty out of breath,” I said, “so I’m gonna blow.”
“Always a pleasure, Cal,” Domino said as I left. He closed the door behind me.
I went back to my office, sat down, and put my feet up on the desk. I stared thoughtfully at the ceiling. Obviously, the idea I came up with in the elevator wasn’t going to work. I needed something… sneakier.
If I couldn’t lift a case from Domino’s office, then I’d have to intercept one before it got to him. That could be tricky. When a person died in the Land of the Living the case was opened by the Bureau of Records downtown. A work order was issued to the Bureau of Acquisitions where it was routed to an office manager, who then routed it to an agent. Unfortunately, I had no contacts in Records. There was nothing I could do as far as Copal was concerned, not without getting Eva involved, and I wasn’t prepared to do that. That just left the time when work orders were in transit between Copal and Hurley.
I shook my head. I couldn’t get over Domino’s office. No paper, no files. A lock on the message tube! And why was it red? I lit a cigarette and blew rings at the ceiling. He was up to something, obviously, but what? I knocked ash off the cigarette. He had no files, nothing connected to his job, except maybe on that computer. I noticed it had a scanner. He clearly didn’t want to leave a paper trail and I figured it was pretty safe to assume it wasn’t just because of a cleanliness fetish. What was he up to?