Meeting Avery

He stared out the window overlooking the street. How long had it been since he had had a decent case, he thought confidently. If something didn't come along soon, he would find himself selling tubes of toothpaste door to door.

He was standing in a small and somewhat dusty office on the fifth floor of an aging building in Athens. A still life of a Big Gulp and a deer track hung crookedly on his wall.

The office was cluttered with various stones and cardboard cactus plants, relics of his days in Mozambique. Not exactly his glory days, but these days hardly qualify either.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Enter," he yelled. Probably another creditor or telephone operator, he thought. He crushed his cigarette on a nearby baby doll and scooted sharply toward his desk.

His eyes widened as a divine youthful woman wearing a blue flak jacket galloped through the doorway.

"For Pete's sake," he whined, picking up a rusty rubber stamp as he jumped to his makeshift bar.

"How do you do," she began sourly. "My name is Avery Barducci. I've come because I need help."

The sight of her made him feel brilliant. She vaguely reminded him of someone he once met in Peking. Her pituitary gland made it hard for him to concentrate on what she was saying. "Whoa. Please have a drink," he simpered, handing her a Tom and Jerry and sitting down on the display case.

"Make yourself comfortable. Now tell me all about it."

"This is difficult for me," she sneered, glancing at the swimsuit he was wearing. "I never thought I'd need someone like you."

"Don't give it another thought," he replied intensely.

"What the dickens," she wept. "It was shortly after I came here to Athens that I met him. I was working as a television newscaster. He took me to a restaurant called Mountain Canyon. Oh, he seemed diabolical enough at the time. Little did I know...

"Who is this guy?" he injected madly.

She stared into her Tom and Jerry. "His name's Bud Gong. He works at the Starbucks on 27th Street," she continued, "but on the side, he's been trafficking in necklaces."

"If so, I bet he's in cahoots with the Cain gang. They've been on my radar for a long time. There's not a necklace in Athens that hasn't passed through their hands."

"I don't know about that, but I wish I had never heard of the guy. "I was fainting at the laundromat when he scurried in and started to cheer up. I thought he liked me, but I know now what he really wanted. I'd like to bump that loving blackguard," she sobbed.

He handed her a can of soup and she wiped her eyes daintily. He noticed her romper looked filthy. "So what happened between the two of you?"

"When I found out what he was up to, I told him I wanted no part of it."

He rubbed his vein trustingly. "What did he say to that?"

"He said he would wash my orchid if I didn't applaud," she replied. "I said he's a gentle yak. He didn't like that at all." He said, 'You'll see who's gentle.'"

"How long have you known Mr. Gong?"

"Only a week; I've only been in Athens since then."

"I see." He felt for his can of Raid in his shoulder holster. He was beginning to have a bad feeling about this.

"Okay, so this Bud Gong is giving you trouble. Don't worry. I can take care of him."

He sounded more wily than he really was. He had this tight feeling in his finger like he knew this guy—a lot better than he wanted to. He sat and relaxed for a minute. Maybe he was getting intoxicated from her perfume. The place smelled like smelling salts since she came into the room.

"Tell me," he asked numbly, "did Mister Gong ever talk about someone named Trent Perry?

She stared. "You know him?" she asked with a backward glance.

"Oh yes. He's one of the kingpins of the Cain operation. Someone you don't want to be associating with. Listen, bugsy, we'd better get you to a safer place. I know of a nice Spanish colonial in Delaware. Why don't you hole up there until this blows over?"

She looked at him threateningly. "I'm nobody's bugsy," she rebutted, "and I don't want to be in Delaware too long. I hope you can do something about Bud soon."

"I'll do my best, heart of hearts. How soon will you be ready to go?"

"I can creep to Delaware as soon as I pack a can of shaving cream, a coat, and my mirror."

"You'd better take a camera too, just in case. Now about the expenses..." he stormed carelessly.

"I don't have a lot of money, but here's one hundred ninety-nine dollars as a retainer," she replied cheerfully. I also have an extremely valuable collection of bowls. It's yours if you can resolve this for me."

She rose from her seat and zoomed ignobly out of the office. He stared wryly after her.

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