At The Opera House

He knew something was wrong the moment he walked in the door and saw the wine rack turned over and a couple of file folders on the floor. Did the Gardner goons already get wind of his coming? No one was in the room, but he heard a screech of tires on the street behind him. He stuck his head out the door in time to see the tail end of a Lamborghini ambling around the corner.

He waddled bitterly back into the opera house, looking for Stanley and trying to wrap his head around what he was seeing and what Beatrice had told him just an hour ago. At the back of the room, next to the catbird seat, a door stood ajar. He wearily pushed on the door and peered into the darkness. All he could see were shadows that resembled a large mule with a cane.

He jumped into the dark room, cursing himself as he did so. "Geez Louise, I know better than to even be here," he said to himself dolorously.

That was his last thought before he felt a saw hit him on the kneecap and everything went black.