The Legend of Joe Moran
Chapter 1Audrey Moran had an appointment with Stu Bailey at eleven o'clock. "What's it about?" Jeff Spencer, his partner, asked him as they sat in Stu's office and drank coffee. It was somewhere around nine o'clock on a Wednesday morning. The sun was shining and it promised to be another beautiful day in Los Angeles.
"I don't know," was Stu's answer. "She wouldn't say. Just told me it was a most urgent matter and she needed to see me right away."
"Maybe it will be an easy case." Jeff's expression belied his words. His brow wrinkled up as if he didn't put any faith in what he'd just said. Recently they'd investigated one strange and difficult problem after another, and both were just a little worn around the edges.
"Ha! When have we ever gotten an easy case?" Stuart had a point.
"Well, there was . . . no, that didn't qualify. Then there was . . . no, not that either. How about . . . I guess you're right. None of them have been easy."
Stu sighed deeply. "A nice little case of murder would be just the thing. Somehow I don't think that's what Miss Moran wants to talk to me about."
"Probably not."
The intercom buzzed. It was Suzanne. "Jeff, Provident Insurance Company is on the line. Mr. Gus Higgins needs to speak with you."
Stuart smiled as Jeff rose to go to his office. "Good luck, old buddy."
"You, too, dad," Jeff called back over his shoulder.
Stu stared at the papers on his desk. He'd been in the hospital for a month, then home recuperating for almost another month, and had only been back to work for about a week. Jeff had done his best to keep abreast of the paperwork while Stu was gone, but it just couldn't be handled by one man anymore. The hope of both of them was that they could bring Kookie in as a junior partner one day, but he still had a lot to learn before that could happen. Stu sighed and pulled the top form off of his 'In' basket. Maybe he could get some things done before Audrey Moran arrived.
He'd finished two reports and signed off on a third before the intercom buzzed. "Stuart, Audrey Moran is here to see you."
"Alright, Suzanne, ask her to come in please."
The woman that walked into Stu's office was not at all what he'd expected, and he immediately stood up. She was beautiful, from head to toe. Hair a deep, rich auburn, just brushing her shoulders, eyes a smoky blue, with the face of an angel and a body to match. To finish off the picture, her taste in clothing was impeccable. And expensive.
"Miss Moran, won't you have a seat."
"It's Mrs. Moran, but please call me Audrey. You come very highly recommended, Mr. Bailey. But I'm sure you know that."
"Please, I'm Stu or Stuart. And yes, I do know that the firm has developed quite a reputation." Stu had resumed his seat and taken out his pipe. He needed something to steady him after being as blindsided by Mrs. Moran as he was. "Do you mind?" he asked before he lit it.
"Not at all. There's something very masculine about a man that smokes a pipe. And I don't mean that the firm comes highly recommended, although it does. I mean that Stuart Bailey comes highly recommended."
"Well, thank you. What can I do for you, Mrs. . . . Audrey?" Stu flipped open the lighter on his desk and lit the pipe in his mouth.
"I seem to be missing a husband, Stuart. And I'd like you to find him for me."
"When did you see him last?" Something made the hair on the back of Stu's neck stand up. He had the distinct feeling this was no routine missing persons case. In fact, he couldn't actually put a label on what he was feeling; just that there was something very odd about the whole matter.
"Four days ago, at breakfast. He just seems to have vanished off the face of the earth."
"Have you reported him missing to the police?" Stu never ceased to be amazed at the number of people that didn't think of doing this.
"I have. They took some information from me but didn't seem that concerned about it. So I came to see you."
"What about his place of business?" Audrey Moran dressed too well to be married to just another working man. It seemed much more appropriate that Joe Moran owned his own business.
"He seems to have vanished from that, too. I've called everyone I can think of, Stuart. Joe is nowhere to be found."
"I assume you want him to be found. That is why you came to see me, isn't it?"
"I do, and it is."
"What kind of a business does he have, Audrey? And what's the address?"
"He owns a chain of dry-cleaning stores. Zippy Dry-Cleaning. You've probably heard of it. The plant itself is at 617 North La Cienega Blvd. That's where Joe's office is."
"Did they see him at all the day he disappeared?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, they did, but just for a few minutes. His plant manager said that Joe came into the office as always, went into his own office and, a few minutes later, came back out carrying his briefcase. He told them he'd be back later. He failed to say where he was going or just what later actually meant. That was his last contact with them."
Again, that feeling there was something going on here beyond the normal 'husband takes a powder and leaves wife holding the bag.' But he asked the questions anyway. He had to eliminate everything else before he could draw any actual conclusions. "Was the business in any kind of financial trouble, Audrey?"
"Not according to his bookkeeper. I contacted Harry when Joe didn't come home. Harry LaMar is his name. Feel free to ask him anything you'd like. I've already given him permission to cooperate fully with you."
Rather presumptuous of Mrs. Moran, Stu thought, but said nothing to that effect. "I'm sorry to have to ask this, but did Joe have a girlfriend on the side? Or a mistress of any sort?"
The abandoned wife didn't even blink. Her voice was cool but not distressed. "Not to my knowledge, no."
"Did he drink? Something stronger? Or gamble? Horse racing, perhaps?"
"The occasional cocktail, Stuart, but nothing beyond that. And he definitely wasn't involved with drugs of any kind. As for gambling, we enjoyed going to Las Vegas once or twice a year, but Joe didn't have any particular affinity for the track."
The last step in his questioning. "Do you have a picture of your husband?"
Audrey Moran opened her bag and fished in one of the pockets. When she brought her hand out it held a photo that she promptly gave to the P.I. "This was taken just a few days ago." Stu examined it with a tired professional eye before coming to a conclusion. Once more the man in the photo was not what he expected. Tall and slim, wearing clothes of the same quality as his wife, Joe Moran was a not unattractive man. Wide-set expressive eyes and a ready smile, he wore a small mustache below a straight aquiline nose. His hair seemed dark and luxurious; he had an arm around his wife and appeared quite content.
"May I keep this?" Stu asked out of politeness, already surmising the answer.
"Most certainly." She appeared waiting for Stu's next question.
"Mrs. Moran . . . Audrey, we are not inexpensive. We charge . . . "
"The cost doesn't matter, Stuart. Is this enough to serve as a retainer?" Again she went into her purse, this time withdrawing a check. Stu glanced at it briefly. It was made out to Bailey and Spencer, Private Investigators in the amount of one-thousand dollars. When he didn't immediately answer she asked again, "Is that enough?"
"What? Oh yes, yes it's quite enough." The woman had seemingly come prepared for most anything.
"Is there anything else you'd like to know, Stuart?" she practically purred.
"Yes, one more thing. Is his car also missing? And can you give me the make and model?"
"His car disappeared with Joe. It's a 1959 Buck LaSabre, black, license plate MRB284." Stu was once more impressed with the anticipation of his questions and the answers provided to them.
"I can't think of anything else at the moment, Audrey. Is there anything you'd like to ask me?"
"There is, Stuart. Would you care to join me for lunch at Dino's?"
Momentarily taken aback, Stu did his best to recover as quickly as possible. He hesitated to get personally involved with a client, but at the same time he might be able to learn something more about Joe Moran. Since he had what he believed to be all the pertinent facts to the case at the moment, what he was looking for was some clue to the man's personality or habits. It seemed like a wise decision to pick through the marriage and their lives together. Was there a reason for Joe's disappearance that might be found in the course of the relationship? Some flaw in Audrey herself that had pushed her husband out the door? Or something that he could have possibly hidden from his wife? Stu laid all his doubts aside and decided to run the risk. "I think that would be most pleasant, Audrey."
He put out his pipe and escorted Audrey Moran out of his office, stopping at the switchboard. "Suzanne, Mrs. Moran and I are going to lunch at Dino's. Will you please let Jeff know?"
"Oui, Stuart. Have a pleasant lunch."
As they walked across the parking lot to the restaurant, Stu could see Kookie smiling and nodding his head. Stu smiled back. He was going to do his best to learn anything he could about the Moran marriage while enjoying the company of a beautiful woman. Even if she was a client.