| General Fiction posted March 7, 2025 | Chapters: |
...10 11 -12- 13... 
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Many questions answered but new ones arise
A chapter in the book Trouble In Red
Ethan's Theory of the Case
by Jim Wile
| Background Old time noir-style mystery |
Recap of recent chapters: After being sent to Vito Torrello’s restaurant in Chi Town to find out what may have happened to Ruby “Strawberry Shortcake” Pratt, private eye Ethan Cole learns from Vito that the stolen jewels belonged to his sister Carla, a lounge singer who went missing two years ago. A velvet bag with unknown contents is placed on the table by Vito, who later signals his goons to escort Ethan out. On the way out, Ethan disables the goons and escapes their clutches. He notices an idling car but quickly slips away.
Before heading to his hotel, he stops at a park on the edge of Lake Michigan to try to make sense of what he’s learned. He wonders what he’s gotten mixed up in and begins having doubts about his chosen profession. With a sudden hankering for coffee, he heads to a nearby Waffle House, where someone bursts through the door and shouts, “Cole, you’re a dead man!”
Earlier, while Ethan had been sitting on the park bench, he’d finally come up with a reasonable theory of the case, at least where the jewels were and what the play was. He’d had many thoughts and questions, but it finally coalesced into a unified picture for him. It was a pretty clever scheme, he had to admit, but for proof, he needed to do some further digging. This is what he figured must have happened:
Ten years ago, Mama George Pratt had stolen the jewels from Carla Torrello, who went to her big brother Vito to steal them back. Vito dispatched two of his goons, one of them Tony Ferraro of the high squeaky voice, to go to work for Mama George, who happened to be looking for bodyguards right about then. They were to find where she kept the jewels and steal them back, but young Ruby and the stable bum, Joe McGonigal, stole them first. That’s when Mama George had originally hired Ethan to find the jewels, which he did in Morocco, accompanied by Tony.
When she had gotten them back, Mama George hid them so well that Tony never could find them and limped back to Vito, who let things lie for a few years. When Vito’s restaurant began failing, mainly due to Covid, it never recovered its former glory, and Vito was strapped. This reawakened his interest in getting Carla’s jewels back, since she had promised him a substantial reward for finding them for her.
Vito had heard through the grapevine that Mama George was not well, and he bribed a medical assistant at her primary care physician’s office to send him her medical records. She had a disease that was driving her to senility and paranoia, and she probably didn’t have long to live. So, he devised a plan for Tony to go back to work for Mama and to convince her she needed a bodyguard. He was to tell Mama George he’d heard Ruby was after her jewels once more and would stop at nothing to steal them again.
Vito’s plan was not only to get Carla’s jewels back but the entirety of Mama’s estate in the bargain. Tony was to become so endearing to her that she would cut Ruby, whom Mama had long ago forgiven, out of her will and insert Tony into the will instead.
Mama hid the jewels in her house while Tony watched, but Mama’s failing memory caused her to forget where she’d hidden them. Tony convinced her that Ruby had stolen them, but neither he nor Vito figured on Mama’s hiring Ethan Cole again to find them.
Now it became necessary to throw Ethan off the trail, so Vito got Carla, who wasn’t missing at all but who had simply retired from singing, to impersonate Ruby and hire Ethan to find the “missing” jewels. So, Carla was the lady in red, but where was Ruby?
An interesting theory of the case, but now Ethan realized he wasn’t really working for anyone. Certainly not Carla through Vito, and, in her current state of mind, Mama George probably wouldn’t even remember hiring him.
The only thing Ethan couldn’t quite square was that velvet pouch placed on the table in front of Vito back at The Tap Room. What was in there? The flunky who set it on the table had no idea what Vito and Ethan were discussing. For that reason, it wouldn’t be the jewels, and Ethan was fairly certain they were still at Mama George’s house anyway. A gun perhaps? Not likely. There were enough goons around watching this table that Vito wouldn’t need his own. Vito was a blimp—a heart attack waiting to happen—so Ethan figured it was probably his evening pills discreetly proffered, to be taken with his meal that would soon be forthcoming.
This was the point in his thinking when Ethan headed for the Waffle House to clear his mind and decide what to do next over a cup-a-joe. And, while talking to the cook, a man burst through the door like he owned the place. “You’re a dead man, Cole.”
With gun drawn, the man went straight for Ethan and stuck it in his back. He was a little guy, wearing a lousy suit. Funny-looking, with a big overbite and a pencil-thin mustache over thick lips. “Come with me, Ethan, and don’t nobody else move,” the little runt squeaked.
Unable to react quickly enough to draw his own gun, Ethan preceded the man out with the gun at his back and into the backseat of a waiting car. Behind the wheel, drumming his fingers against it, sat none other than Joe “Corky” McGonigal himself.
“Jesus, Joe. You send your brother in to threaten my life?”
Joe turned around to face the back seat. “What’ja say to him, Liam?”
Ethan answered for him. “He said, ‘You’re a dead man, Cole.’ Comes in and interrupts a man trying to relax over a cup of coffee. Why couldn’t he a just asked me to come politely?”
“Because he’s an idiot.”
“Hey, I’m right here, guys,” said Liam.
“Alright, I’ll say it to your face. You’re an idiot.” He turned back to Ethan. “Don’t pay him no mind, Ethan. Whad’ja find out from Vito?”
Ethan turned to Liam, sitting beside him with the gun still on him. “Would you put that thing away before you hurt yourself, Junior?”
Liam hesitated, then stuffed it in his pocket and sat back, sulking.
Turning his attention to Joe’s question, Ethan said, “So, you gave me the tip, then tracked me here so you could find out what I learned. What’s your big hurry, Joe? Couldn’t you a waited for my return?”
“I don’t know where Ruby is, and I’m gettin’ kind of frantic, old pal.”
Ethan could tell from the look on his face and the tone of his voice that this wasn’t the guy who earned the nickname “Corky” by slamming a corkscrew through a man’s hand. He was seriously frightened.
“Yeah? Well, here’s the plan, Joe.” Glancing at Liam, he said, “Drop off the dead weight next to me and find us a nice, quiet place to talk. Cuz I get the feelin’ you ain’t tellin’ me everything.”
 Recognized |
CHARACTERS
Ethan Cole: A private investigator and the main character.
Ruby Pratt aka Strawberry Shortcake: She is the 28-year-old daughter of Georgina Pratt.
Georgina Pratt aka Mama George: A famous jewel thief who is Ruby's mother. She hires Ethan Cole to find her missing jewels.
Gigi: The bleach blonde, buxom cocktail waitress at Ethan's favorite bar.
Joe "Corky" McGonigal: Owner and bartender at Far Away Joe's tavern. Former lover of Ruby Pratt.
Tony Ferraro: One of Mama George's bodyguards.
Vito Torrello: Chicago restaurant owner and brother of Carla Torrello
Carla Torrello: Vito's sister. A renowned lounge singer whose jewels were stolen by Mama George 10 years ago. She has been reported missing for a couple of years.
Liam McGonigal: Joe's little brother. A would-be thug.
With much thanks to Carol (Begin Again) for helping me with the noir style.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Ethan Cole: A private investigator and the main character.
Ruby Pratt aka Strawberry Shortcake: She is the 28-year-old daughter of Georgina Pratt.
Georgina Pratt aka Mama George: A famous jewel thief who is Ruby's mother. She hires Ethan Cole to find her missing jewels.
Gigi: The bleach blonde, buxom cocktail waitress at Ethan's favorite bar.
Joe "Corky" McGonigal: Owner and bartender at Far Away Joe's tavern. Former lover of Ruby Pratt.
Tony Ferraro: One of Mama George's bodyguards.
Vito Torrello: Chicago restaurant owner and brother of Carla Torrello
Carla Torrello: Vito's sister. A renowned lounge singer whose jewels were stolen by Mama George 10 years ago. She has been reported missing for a couple of years.
Liam McGonigal: Joe's little brother. A would-be thug.
With much thanks to Carol (Begin Again) for helping me with the noir style.
Multi-Author Book
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