Hype P.I.

[Hunter Rider]

Ive went for something a bit different here,i'm writing this in the first person using old 40's and 50's pulp P.I. movies as the influence
It's not set in a specific year just in that era

Hope you all like it

Part 1

It was a morning like any other,i had my usual breakfast of Whisky with a cigarette chaser
I made my way to the office to see what the day held,most probably nothing as i was going through a dry spell but hey every P.!. goes through it i told myself

I hadn't been sat down 5 minutes when there was a knock at the door and in strode this dame in a white dress with all the trimmings,she looked like a wannabe movie star,legs that went on forever and a body that wouldn't quit.....her face was a bit of a wreck but I'm not picky
She introduced herself as Holly Goodhead and started to tell me her tale......a classic cliche of a tale

Holly:"I came to LA to be a movie star"

So my powers of deduction did function before midday

Holly:"i got into modeling to make contacts"

Hunter:"Modelling ?"

Holly:"Yes for stockings mostly:"

Ahhh that made sense

Holly:"in my bid for stardom i took some.....compromising photo's......I was young and foolish!....not long after that i met my husband green at a party Greta Garbo threw,i got an invite after a girl i knew had worked as an extra on one of her movies and was allowed to bring a friend"

heh a cling on and a butterface,hell of a combo

Holly:"I thought my dreams had come true,green is a big Hollywood producer and extremely rich.......oh and i love him"

Sure you do sweetheart

Holly:"I forgot all about the pictures,we were married inside a month and have been so for the last 3 years....I thought it was all behind me until this envelope arrived for me yesterday"

She handed me over an envelop,inside was a couple of her nudies and a note.
The nudies proved that when you got money you can buy anything,this wasn't the same body filling out that size 4 in the chair opposite me but it sure was the the same mug..i guess money can't buy you everything....

The note was full of spelling mistakes and demanded she meet him at 313 rancon street apartment 25 this afternoon at 2 with $2,000...it was signed JAL....this wasn't the worlds smartest blackmailer

Holly:"I'll pay you $300 to take the money to the meet and warn thsi man off and another $300 when you return with the rest of the photos"

Everything about this broad said "Stay clear or catch a horrible disease" but money was short and that was 600 bucks for an hours work

Hunter:"Ok Miss I'll take the case"

Holly:"Thank you,i'm so very grateful"

She upped and left my office,i had a few hours to kill so I put on some Sinatra and kicked back

It's 1:30 i better make a move,i put on my Fedora and trench and head across town,yeah i'm a walking cliche whose seen to many Bogart movies but hell who else is a P.I. gonna model himself after in this town

I reached JAL's apartment right on time and knocked at the door,there was no answer,i lit one up and knocked again...still nothing......something smelt off and it wasn't just this dump..i took out my lockpick and worked the door.....i knew it,this schmuck was hanging from the ceiling by his belt buckle......just then a sound caught my ears,an all to familiar sound,....the sound of sirens...damnmit i knew that broad was trouble.......

 

[The FallenAngel]

I like it hunter.

Looking forward to part 2.

 

[enterthemadness]

Good story. Good first chapter. Why in the hell aren't you a screenwriter for a living? I'm trying to become one for a living, and I must say...you out do me in the department.

 

[Socrates]

Very nice.

 

[The Chairman]

Very good job, hunter.

 

[SoulManX]

Good so far HR..there better a sleazy part for me....t:

 

[Bad Superman]

Very nice! I think H is about to get framed.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Part 2

Spending time in the cells was never a pleasant experience..the dried urine and vomit aroma fills the air and even my trusty cigs couldn't deter it......After stewing for an hour a little officer came to my cell and took me to the interrogation room.......waiting for me was Detective Cine,he was a good cop,one of the few not on the take in this town but i could see in his eyes that he had me pegged for the blackmailers death

Cine:"Ok Hunter we've known each other a long time but i have to ask what were you doing in that apartment ?"

Hunter:"I was on a job......so you saying the guy didn't hang himself ?"

Cine:"Yes the signs indicate he was beaten unconscious before he was strung up......what was the job ?"

Hunter:"Simple pay and collect.....the guy had some pictures a client of mine was anxious to retrieve,i was to go there and collect them"

Cine:".......and exchange them for money ?"

Hunter:" yes"

After a few more standard questions it was clear he had nothing concrete on me and was fishing for a bite....the hope that i might incriminate myself.......30 minutes later and I'm collecting my things from the officer at the front desk and heading out into the rain...this day just gets better.....i put my head down and my hands in my coat pocket..........something had been stuffed in the right one.......this battered envelope wasn't mine and it was packed with butterface's nudies....i guess someones palms got greased.....

I went back to my office and waited for for butterface to arrive.....about 7:30 and she finally arrives with my 300 bucks and i can put this deal behind me....except for the whole suspected of murder part....

I made my way home...despite the 600 in my pocket it had been a lousy day and it just got worse......standing outside my apartment was Bad Superman,he was a leg breaker from Chicago........we'd crossed paths briefly in my time there........not a guy you want looking for you...........what the hell did he want with me ?

BS:"Hey Hunter,You had a good day ?"

Hunter:"Not really..........what can i do for you"

BS:"An associate of mine's......shall we say "better half"...had a little situation....you resolved that situation now i just want to make sure you're gonna forget all about this unfortunate incident"

My initial thought was that i can't.....i gotta find out who hung the schmuck from the ceiling to make sure they don't pin it on me but i also like my knees where they are.......

Hunter:"What incident ?"

BS smiled at me,the kinda creepy i know where the bodies are buried smile

BS:"You always were a smart guy...I'll see you around"

I feigned a smile.......seeing him again anytime between now and death was not something on my agenda....As much as i like Cine and as fond as i am of my knees i couldn't let this case go....tomorrow i was gonna have to start looking around in the garbage and i was curious what a Chi town enforcer was doing here

CLICK

Home not so sweet home.......i was ready for bed and a whisky......i smelt the air......it wasn't as musky as usual and smelt almost good.....I stick my head into the bedroom and sitting on my bed is Kmack......Now any other day this would be a good thing....today not so much

Kmack:"Hey honey.......i hear you're in the sh1t"

She smiled...could never tell if she meant it,she'd been a professional at fooling men and turning tricks since god knows when........she was the classic hooker with a heart of gold....what she wanted with me i didn't know but sadly my guess was it wasn't multiple orgasms......I sat down to listen to her tale.....


To Be Continued.........

 

[green]

Great job Hunter, Im digging the interior monologue.

 

[Bad Superman]

Awesome second delivery!!!

HH, it's nothing personal. It's just business. **wink**

 

[Cmill216]

Oh come on, hunter. Cine not being a foreigner. I'm disappointed.

Nice so far.

 

[Kmack]

OMG Hunter I'm so hooked! I want MORE! You capture noir fiction impeccably. Your writing just keeps getting better

"hooker with a heart of gold" *loves it*:heart:

 

[SoulManX]

Yep Hunter this story is getting better.

 

[Hunter Rider]

part 3

I poured myself and Kmack a glass of whisky,Damn could this broad fill out a dress.......she looked like every chorus line girl you'd ever dreamed of........i believe in olden times they would have said her bossom's were heaving

Kmack:"My eye's are up here sugar"

Hunter:"heh"

I took another drink

Hunter:"why you here Kmack ?"

Kmack:"That guy you found dead.....he came to me for.....services"

I raised my eyebrow

Kmack:"I turned him down......I have my standards y'know........anyway i passed him onto another girl i know in the business and she said he was pretty nice really...he wanted to learn what to do for when he met his perfect girl.....sometimes they'd just talk,others she'd teach him how to kiss or cuddle"

Jesus i'm struggling to pay rent and this guy is throwing money away learning how to hug....man life sure was a funny thing

Kmack:"He started telling her recently that he'd just moved into a studio apartment that he'd bought,the previous owner had disappeared and he got it cheap as they wanted to fill the vacancy....now he told her that something the previous guy had left behind was gonna make him a rich man"

Hunter:"Did she say what it was ?"

Kmack:"Nope sorry honey that's it but i figured you'd want to know"

Hunter:"Ok but i'm guesing you knew about the deal for the nudies that i was involved in and that was hardly for the big bucks"

Kmack:"Exactly! i didn't get an exact figure but one of the officers is a client of a girl i know and he said that he thought the guy had went way to low on what he was asking,
Now yeah JAL was a bit of a schmuck but he was no fool,he said he was gonna be a rich man and like the rest of us he knew what that meant in this town so i figure he must have had something else up his sleeve.....c'mon Hunter you're the detective!"

Hunter:"Thanks sweetheart i appreciate the tip off,who does this girl you know work for ? the one that was doing JAL ?"

Kmack:"The guy is called Blackhardknight(BHK) and the girl's name is andthepickles(pickles)"

I got a handful of notes out of my pocket to pay her

Kmack:"Put that away sugar this is a freebie"

Hunter:"Really ? what'd i do to deserve that"

Kmack:"Being one of the few guys in this town not to treat me like garbage....i aint forgotten the early days"

She got off the bed and walked to the door,i hated to see her leave but man did i love to watch her go

Hunter:"You wanna stay for a.....game of cards"

Kmack:"heh! you wish sugar...I'll see ya around"

She closed the door behind her.....well now i got a little piece of the puzzle,what exactly had JAL gotten himself into and why was he killed for it...my first stop tomorrow would be BHK's joint,maybe pickles could shed some light.....

To Be Continued.......

 

[The Joker]

Hunter being one of the good guys??

Yeah right

Great story so far hunter old chap

 

[Cmill216]

Dude this is freakin' priceless. Keep it coming.

 

[Superman \S/]

Hunter, my friend. These stories are gold!!!! Keep it up, man.

 

[Socrates]

I look forward to reading the next one, Hunter.

 

[Kmack]

YES! I want moreup:

 

[Lobo]

This is my fav of your fics

 

[TKing]

Good job. Can't wait for more.

 

[SoulManX]

Ya my joint is loaded....now the plot thickent:

 

[Hunter Rider]

Part 4

It was a warm sunny morning when i awoke....time for another day on the grind
I set off for the first stop of my day....BHK's joint......He ran club Rump..it was a place with dancing girls and jazz music and was legit.......his real money was made on his side business trading the bodies and souls of young girls coming to this town looking for fame a fortune and ending up with a slap across the face and a foot in the ass....they were to scared to quit and to broken to ever go home........

Look behind the eyes of the chorus girls that also work as hookers at his club....they're all painted and glamorous but the eye's tell the true story.......soulless drones or hard bitten crones it didn't matter,what they came here as was long gone their souls crushed to dust and washed away by the rain on the boulevard of Broken dreams along with hundreds more like them...


There were exceptions like Kmack who's current life was better than where she'd been,she wasn't here for the thrills she'd been kicked around since she was a kid,mother left,father was a drunk,youve heard it all before.
she was sleeping on the streets by the time she was 13 and came under the wing of and old pro called Dew,they ran scams and did a bit of hooking and made a living.......

I entered the club and some of the nights acts were warming up,Doglips was sweeping the floor and the club singer Twy was practicing her evening number with piano player Colossal spoons

BHK was a big guy with a been there done that look about him,i would certainly approach with caution

BHK:"What can i do for you ?"

Hunter:"I was wondering if you had a girl here called Pickles ?"

BHK:"yeah who wants to know ?"

Hunter:"The names Hunter I was looking for a good time and was told this was the place to come"

BHK:"Well ya don't smell like a cop.......Go through the back there and tell Sava i sent you...he'll show you where to go"

I made me way through to the back part of the club,a small squat guy was waitng,i told him BHK had sent me and he took me to a room.....

When i got inside it was like something out of a bad dream,there was minimal light a basic bed and it smelt like cheap perfume and i didn't want to think about what the other smell might be........a few minutes later a girl entered the room.....It was Pickles...she was one of the former girls i mentioned,she had a well beaten beauty about her and the saddest eyes ive ever seen....

Pickles:"So what would you like to do first:"

Hunter:"Sit down sweetheart i wanna talk"

Pickles:"Oh you're one of those"

Her face almost cracked a smile,the pain in her eyes lifted briefly,i didn't take it as an insult,instead it made me feel kinda good that i had lifted her day just a bit

Hunrer:"You know Kmack and you knew JAL that's who i need to talk to you about

Her face changed to a look of fear,her eyes darted around the room

Pickles:"I don.....don't know anything"

Hunter:"C'mon we both know you do,Kmack told me that JAL had told you that he had found something in the apartment he had bought that was gonna make him rich"

her eyes looked sorrowful

Pickles:"he wasn't such a bad guy just misunderstood........look all i know is that whatever he had they didn't find"

Hunter:"How can you be sure ?"

Pickles:"Because BadSuperman came here asking me the same questions you are,why would he do that if they had found what they were looking for ?"

She was right if they had found it and thought Pickles knew anything they would have just iced her,the fact they are asking if she knows where it is means they haven't found it yet

Hunter:"Thank you....I have to go....here's a 20 for your boss and a 20 for yourself"

With that i left..i didn't look back......to hard to see her sitting there clutching a 20 like i just gave her the world

I made my way through the club and took a couple of stares.....guess they figure i finish quick....heh with the right amount of whisky that would be considered a marathon

I stepped out into the morning sun....i had to go back to JAL's apartment and take a look around but i'd wait for tonight so i had the rest of the day to fill in.........guess I'll go get a drink

To Be Continued.......

 

[Cmill216]

Good update.

 

[SoulManX]

Club Rump...nice I like it.