Now Playing: Save The Girl!
Episode Three concluded with:
“I hang around during
the auditions. The girls are nice to look at. Heard Richardson talk to them
‘bout the theater. He tells ‘em that most parents have a very old fashioned
idea about singers and actresses. They shouldn’t tell their families where
they’re going. Just leave a note and run off. He says when they are
famous like Carrie Whiting their families will thank them.”
“How did you find out about the saloon?”
“He told me when he paid me to…keep quiet. Richardson is a funny guy. He
doesn’t want other people talking about him much but he likes to brag on
himself.”
“What does the funny guy look like?”
“Brown hair, medium height. Tries to talk like a limey, but the accent is
phony.”
“How many girls does he take from each audition?”
“Five… ten at the most. They gotta be pretty, but they also hav’ta be able to
sing some. Phil likes ‘em young and innocent like. Doesn’t want girls who’ve
worked in a saloon.”
Episode Four
Guffaws
sounded from behind. Three men were standing outside the Laughing Lady enjoying
Harry’s humiliation. One of them ducked back into the booze hole, apparently to
get more patrons for the free show. Worry came over Harry’s already pale-white
face. The tough guy was scared of losing his reputation.
Dehner exploited that fear. “One
more topic and then our conversation is over.”
“Okay.”
“At the last audition, did you hear
Richardson call any of the girls he hired, ‘Maria’?”
Harry paused; he seemed to be
revisiting recent memories. “Yeah. I think his special lady this time around
was named Maria.”
“Special lady?”
“Phil
always selects one of the girls as his special one. He really talks it up with
that phony limey accent. He will make her the star of the show, introduce her
to real important people, all that stuff. If you ask me, bein’ Phil’s special
lady means only one thing.”
“Thanks.” Dehner stood up and sighed
deeply. Maria’s “special lady” status was nothing to be happy about.
The detective kept an eye on Harry
while walking off, but the theater manager began to nail the sign as if nothing
had just happened. The spectators who now numbered five were not fooled. They
were laughing and nudging each other.
Harry was a thug who had thought
nothing of attacking Dehner with a hammer. But the detective walked away from
the scene feeling low. Humiliating such a man had brought him no pleasure, only
an uneasy sense that he had diminished himself.
Dehner shook his head, trying to rid
himself of those thoughts. Maria was in serious trouble. She needed a
detective, not a philosopher.
Tomorrow: Episode Five of Save the Girl!
