If they were going to find their hot blonde, it was going to be chasing down these leads. Ed did not want to think about what he would have to do if central booking was a dead end, hopefully Archie was having more luck on his end. But central booking was the next logical step, so Ed resigned himself to the task at hand.
First, Edwin had an old friend who worked bar at a nice restaurant not too far from his destination. Lunch and a drink would set Ed in the right frame of mind to square off against the willfully blind sergeants and coppers of central booking. He took another look at the photo of Clara Weiss and wondered what she was doing at that exact moment.
///
Lunch was in full swing at Marconi’s when Ed sauntered his way to the bar at the back of the long restaurant. Marconi’s was the kind of place a young detective could have a drink and a good bite to eat at the bar while the rich and privileged lunched on lobster and pasta at tables by the windows. White-gloved waiters chaperoned expensive meals from the celebrated kitchens out to the bespoke-suited patrons while the bartenders mixed up the concoctions that lubricated the business deals and affairs being conducted around and underneath all the tables. Archie had trained Ed to make friends with bartenders all over Charm City, but none was more trusted than Marconi’s own Rudolf.
Both immigrants from Europe at a young age, both sons of veterans from the Western Front, both thrown into public schools to sink or swim with little English training; Edwin and Rudolf found each other at a young age and thrived in the fishbowl of public school. Both were fiercely competitive but fast friends. Ed was slimmer, faster, and better read, but Rudolf was more than his match in strength, sports, and love. A friendly argument over how many of the city’s attractive young women had fallen before them turned into a brawl at Rudolf’s old bar. Ever since then Edwin had made it a point of honor to show up and buy himself a shot of whiskey as a way of indicating that his body count was at least one higher.
“Look at the state of this one!,” Ed heard over the din of the bar area. Rudolf waived him over to a free stool. The tired detective set his folder down on the bar and held up one finger, indicating how many drinks he needed.
“Just one this time? It’s been what, three weeks? Still staying with your mom?” Rudolf questions were all fired from behind a smile and Ed knew it was in all in good fun. The shot landed on the bar and he drank it all down in one go, wiping his mouth with his jacket sleeve afterwards.
“Just one. Been busy. Probably going to be busier. How’s business?”
Rudolf looked around the busy bar area and packed restaurant by way of response. “Can’t complain. Are the cases keeping you busy or just the one shot of whiskey?”
“Cases mostly. They seem to fall out of the sky when least expected. I’m running fool’s errands all morning, now I’m on my way to central booking. Nothing good ever comes out of that place. Hopefully Archie is having more luck on his end. What’s the soup today?”
“Fish and Rice,” Rudolf answered with a smile. Ed hated fish but soup was mostly all he could afford at Marconi’s.
“Sounds grand. What do you think of this?,” Ed asked sliding Clara Weiss’ photo out of the folder. “An equally attractive woman gave me this photo, if you can believe it. She’s the foo’ls errand of the moment.”
Rudolf looked at the photo and slapped it back on the bar, face down. His normally lighthearted grin was gone, replaced by a serous look Ed had only a handful of times in their years of friendship.
“If I told you your fool’s errands were at an end, would you leave a real tip this time?”
“If you know something useful, I’ll leave as much cash as I have on me right now.”
“Turn around and check out the table by the side window. The one with the purple flowers.”
Ed turned. Clara Weiss was indeed sitting at the table with purple flowers. In the chair to her left sat one of the ugliest and best dressed men Ed had ever seen. From Clara’s smile, casual stroking of the oaf’s arm, and general disparity in their appearance; Ed knew at once that she was being paid to pay attention to the otherwise unlucky gentleman. Clara was wearing a pale, blue summer dress that showed off her lean frame well. Ed mentally kicked himself for not seeing her when he walked in. Not only because she was the object of his search, but because she was the best looking woman in the restaurant.
Ed spun back to Rudolf trying his best to erase the look of shock on his face.
“I need to know everything you know.”
Rudolf spun a story Ed had heard a hundred times from a hundred bartenders. She drank gin fizzes, flirted with everything on two legs, showed up with the same ogre at the same time each week, left smiles and winks as tips. Rudolf did not know how long she had been coming to Marconi’s with Mr. Weatherly, but it was long enough that Rudolf could not remember a Thursday lunch without her.
“One last tip, and this one’s for free: she’s going to get up and use the ladies room before they eat. She always does,” Rudolf said sliding a bowl of soup over to Ed. “Better get this down quick so you can catch her without her sugar-father interfering.”
“You mean “sugar daddy”, Rudolf.” Ed bolted the soup and excused himself to take up position by the ladies room. He could hardly believe his luck. What tactic should he use? Try and set up a date? Ed rejected that one right away. Ms. Weiss clearly had expensive tastes and she would know by his suit that he was not the man to satisfy them. Honesty? Ed considered it. Archie told him not to let her know the Masters were looking for her, any explanation would inevitably lead to disclosing his client’s identities. Half truths then, Ed decided with a sigh. He’d made up his mind just as the platinum blonde walked down the hallway toward Ed’s spot.
Instead of going into the ladies room, Clara walked right up to him. The hall was not long, but the young woman’s casual gate gave Ed time to study her. She was on the tall side, certainly not as tall as Ed, but taller than most. Her platinum-blonde hair was cut in a short bob. Ms. Weiss’ arms and legs were long and she moved with grace, though it appeared effortless to Ed. The feature that captured Ed’s attention was the same feature he had taken notice of in the photo: her dazzling smile. Some women were able to smile with only their mouths, but Clara seemed to smile with her whole being. Even her eyes seemed excited to see him, a stranger, standing in a restaurant hallway. Ed felt inclined to trust her, and Archie was always telling him to trust his gut.
“Do we know each other?,” she asked tilting her head to one side. “I saw you staring at me from the bar. You looked like you recognized me, I would remember a handsome man like yourself.” Clara smiled and locked her eyes on Ed’s own.
“No, miss,” Ed heard himself uttering from far away. “We have never met. Allow me to introduce myself,” Ed produced a card from his pocket. “I am Edwin Zeit, private detective. I have some questions about your lunch date. Nothing serious, I just need to confirm his whereabouts last Thursday. Not here, and please don’t tell Mr. Weatherly. Is there somewhere I could meet you later?”