Devil at Dusk Installment number eighteen!

Here is a link to part one of Devil at Dusk for those of you that are interested in reading the series from the start: http://artdecogirls.blogspot.com/2013/05/van-pelt-1950s-private-investigator.html

Welcome and thank you for joining us for installment number eighteen of Devil at Dusk!

On the fifth day of searching for Bet, I did not go because I had to spend some time at the office. I could not neglect the business any longer. After a long day of catching up at the office I went home. Once I got home I put on my apron and started cooking some dinner. A few moments later there was a knock at my door and I went to it. It was Jerry, I told him to come in. I asked if he wanted a cup of tea or coffee, he said tea would be great. I motioned for him to have a seat on the couch while I made us some tea, several moments later I came back with the tea. I sat in the chair across from Jerry and he leaned in close to me. He says to me I am so sorry but I have some bad news to share. I said no! Please say it is not so!!!  I tried to hold back my tears because I wanted to remain strong but I just could not do it.

He leaned forward even closer and took both of my hands in his and held onto them. He said to me I am so sorry to have to be the one to bring you this news. In between sobs I asked him where they found her. He told me in an old abandoned car out in a field with weeds about knee high. Normally they call me out when they find the victims and I take the pictures and notes, this time they did not. Jerry took the notes and the pictures. They did not want for me to have to see my dearest friend like that. I thanked him for coming to let me know and I told him I needed some time alone at that moment. I walked him to the door and told him good night. He said he would call me.

I was in shock, I just kept hoping we would find her alive and well. I knew in my heart though when she did not turn up after the first day that was never going to happen. I took a couple of days off, during that time I got together with Bet’s parents (they had already been contacted by Jerry, so I did not have to break the news to them) I spoke to them about funeral arrangements. We set up the funeral for Tuesday March 28^th. I was still reeling over the thought of Bet, my best friend in the whole wide world not ever being there, ever again! I cried for days.

I started to think about little Will, he was now a target for the killer! Since now the killer had murdered two members of the same family. I became very alarmed at that thought. My only idea and his only hope was to get him out of Laurel ASAP! After Bet’s funeral, I went and talked to Bet’s parents about my fears for Will. They had agreed that he was very much in danger. My best suggestion was to send him to Chicago to the boy’s boarding school which was only 6 blocks from my mom and dad’s house. This way he would be protected there and within walking distance of people who already consider him family. My mom and dad have always loved little Will, just like one of their own. He was really like a grandson to them anyways since they did not already have any grandchildren. I had spoken to my parents on the phone and they thought it was a great idea. Will would be able to sometimes come home (to the van Pelt's) for lunch and always on the weekends.  There would also be opportunities for Will to come over to the van Pelt’s during the week at times after school. Plus they would be there if he ever got sick also. Will’s grandparents and I would travel to Chicago to have holidays with everybody at my parent’s house.

My parents know the people who own and run the boarding school; they told me they were very honest and good people.  Next we had to break the news to Will. Will’s grandparents and I sat down with him; we explained we had to do this for his safety. He listened to what we had to say and he said he was so glad that he would be able to see his nana and papa van Pelt all of the time now. Then he started crying and said he was so sad he would not ever see his momma again! I took him in my arms and I held onto him tight while he cried. I told him his momma was now an angel up in heaven looking down upon the earth, watching over him and making sure that he would be safe. He asked me if she would be able to see him in Chicago. I told him no matter where he went in the world she would see him. I told him she would have wanted this for him, it was the best solution. He said he would do it because he did not want the bad man to come get him too.

To be continued…….

Devil at Dusk - Installment Seventeen

Thank you for joining us for Devil at Dusk – Installment Seventeen!

After Jerry left, I spent the rest of the day with Will, we played some board games and then I made us some lunch. Later we went and saw a double feature at the movie theater, after that we went to the diner and got burgers, fries and chocolate malts. I basically spoiled him, he was a good kid. I felt he deserved to be spoiled every now and then, especially under the circumstances. Deputy Hill told me (before he left my cottage) that Sheriff Holifield thought it was a good idea for me to spend some time with Will rather than join in on the search party today. If it was necessary to have the search party a third day they would have me be a part of it.

Right after Will came over to my place (the day before) when he realized his mom was missing, I contacted Bet’s father and mother. I let them know what was going on with Bet. I called over there again today to let them know that we still had not found her. I made arraignments with them to have Will spend the night at their house, that way they could get him ready in the morning for school and I would be available if needed to be a part of the search party. Later on in the day Deputy Hill came to my cottage and let me know, they had not found anything. He said he was going to go home to sleep for a few hours and then he would be back out there ready to search some more. He told me to plan to be ready to go to search the next morning, unless of course I heard otherwise. He said they would all be meeting at the stables at 6:00 in the morning. I told him I would be there.

I touched base again with Will’s grandparents to let them know I would be bringing Will over to spend the night. I had him pack a few things in an overnight bag and I drove him over to his grandparent’s house. We got to the house and knocked on the door; Robert Lee, Will’s grandpa came to the door and let us in. He asked me if I wanted to come in for a moment, I said yes just to be polite even though I always felt uncomfortable in his presence. He told me he was going to get Peggy, that she was in her sewing room. Peggy emerged from a room down the hallway and told me to have a seat and she would bring me a cup of coffee plus some homemade chocolate chip cookies and milk for Will. Peggy came back with the refreshments and at that time Robert Lee also joined us in the living room. Peggy asked me if the search party had found anything at all. I said so far no, they had not come up with anything. We chatted for a few more moments and I told them I had better get going because I had to be up very early the next day. I gave Will a big huge hug, told him to be strong and to do well in school tomorrow. Will looked up at me with his little freckled face, big blue eyes and his tousled strawberry blond hair, he told me he would be strong for both of us. He said thank you Aunt Brooksie for such a fun day. I told everybody good bye and went out to my car to go home on the way home I started to cry, I was so worried about Bet. 

The next morning I was up really early and out the door, I made it to the stables at 6 am. Deputy Hill was there and he nodded to me so I stood next to him. The search party was forming; Sheriff Holifield said he would give it 10 more minutes to see if anyone else came. Nobody else did, there were a total of eight people, Sheriff Holifield said we would all break up into pairs, that way two people can go to a big area and search it together. Deputy Hill (Jerry) asked me if I wanted to search with him and I said sure. After we all got into our pairs then Sheriff Holifield showed us where he wanted each pairing to go. Jerry and I headed off to our location together.

We searched for hours and about mid day we took a break. We sat down for a moment and took our sandwiches and thermoses out. We had a little picnic however it is too bad it was not a real picnic. Jerry and I were able to share a lot about one another in the last few hours, I was really starting to like him, and he seemed to be a great guy. Plus he was good looking too which is always nice if you have to spend hours with a person. After we were done we set out for more searching. We searched for hours again, it started getting later in the day. Jerry asked me if I wanted to go for another couple hours and after that call it a day. I told him that was a good idea. Then he asked me if I wanted to go to Ling’s Garden with him for dinner.  I told him that I would love to as long as he gave me time to go home to get ready. He said no problem; I will pick you up at 7pm.

A couple of hours rolled on by so we stopped. We made it back to the stables, Jerry headed off and I went to my cottage. Sure enough at 7pm there was Jerry pulling into my gravel driveway, he parked his car and walked up to my door. He knocked on my door and I was ready to go. He pulled a small bouquet of flowers from behind his back.  I said wow what a nice surprise! I told him they were lovely and thanked him. I went back into the house and found a vase, filled it with water and put the flowers in it. Then we walked out to the car and proceeded to go to Ling’s Garden.

To be continued…..

This concludes this week’s installment of Devil at Dusk!

Devil at Dusk - Installment Number Sixteen

Bet is Missing!
Model: Kristen Harral
Photography by Dave Haworth: davesphotoexploration.wordpress.com

Thanks all for joining us for Devil at Dusk – Installment Number Sixteen:

A few more days went by I had been busy with a couple of other investigations, for which the clients had called and talked to Bet while I was in Chicago. She had let them know I was away and as soon as I got back I would contact them.  I got a hold of the new clients by phone right after dealing with Mrs. Rothschild. I started working on the new cases as soon as possible. In the mean time I stopped off at the Sherriff’s Office to see what had been happening while I was away. I talked to Sheriff Holifield and he told me he wanted to introduce to me Assistant Deputy Jerry Lee Hill, the newest member of the Sherriff Office. Sherriff Holifield leads me into Deputy Schneider’s office (where they now had two desks and where both of the new assistant deputies would share an office) and introduces me to Jerry Lee Hill.

Jerry Lee is in his mid 30’s, is very friendly and outgoing. He is the type of guy that always has a smile on his face and is always willing to lend a helping hand. Jerry Lee is also very witty and has a sharp sense of humor. Sherriff Holifield told me Jerry had only been working there for a week (he was hired shortly after I had left for Chicago). I could tell right away he was going to make a great addition to their team. I congratulated him on his getting hired on here and told him it was very nice meeting him. Then I told them all good bye for now that I had some investigations to do.

I headed back over to the office and made some phone calls. I looked over the files and plotted my next move on these new investigations. It was Saturday and 5pm came around, since I started early today I decided to take off a little early this evening since I had no night time surveillance to do. I got into my car and headed home. I walked in the door and started cooking some dinner. I ate and cleaned the kitchen. Then I went in to the living room to relax and listen to the radio. They had on a great murder mystery radio show that was an hour long, it was on at the same time every evening. I was really enjoying it, of course because it was right up my alley! After the radio show it was dark out and I went to grab the newspaper from the kitchen and I heard a knock at my door. I went to the door and it was Will.

I said hello Will, come on inside. Will had a very worried look on his face, so I said to him aw honey what’s wrong? He said mom has been gone for over an hour and half now. I said what? What do you mean? Where is Bet, where did she go? He said she left the house just a little bit before dusk to go and check on Bessie, the horse that has been sick. He said she told him she had to give the horse it's medicine and that she would not be too long. He said he waited about a half hour then he went to look for her. He looked all over the place; he said he searched for about 45 minutes. He could not find her anywhere so then he went back to the house to see if she came back while he was out in the stable. He looked everywhere in the house and could not find her anywhere there either! So he came here to see if I had seen her.

I instantly got chills and the hair on the back of my neck stood up! I thought to myself not Bet! My very best friend in the whole world, who is like a sister to me!!! I did not get upset because I had to remain strong for Will, I did not want him to know what I was really thinking: That the monster had got her, the psychopathic serial killing monster had got her! Of course that was just my assumption and I really did not know where she was. I told him to sit on the couch and that I would call the sheriff. While we were waiting for the sheriff to come I would make him a cup of hot cocoa.

The new Assistant Deputy Sherriff Hill came right away. I told him that Bet was missing and Will came over right away to my house, when he realized that something seemed to be wrong. Deputy Hill goes into the living room and talks to Will. He asks him questions about what happened and he told Hill the same thing he told me. When Deputy Hill was done taking Will’s statement he called the others guys in from the office and a neighboring office to form a search party. Even though I was usually a part of the search parties, this time I had to stay behind to keep an eye on Will (since Will was only seven years old) because somebody needed to be with him. When Deputy Hill was done, I said thank you so much for your help Deputy Hill and I shook his hand. He told me you are very welcome and for me to call him Jerry rather than Deputy Hill.

All the other sheriffs and deputies showed up, they formed their search party right here in our yard. They set out and searched for many hours. I nervously paced the floor for about half the night waiting to hear something. Before it got way too late, I put Will to bed in the spare bedroom. I stayed up a couple more hours and then went to bed. The next morning Deputy Hill came to the cottage and told me they had not found anything while searching. He said to me I am so sorry ma’am, we have not been able to come up with a single thing. I told Jerry to please call me Brooksie. I asked him to come in for a cup of coffee and he did. We sat and talked for about an hour then Jerry said he had to go.

To be continued….

Devil at Dusk - Installment Number Fifteen

Airliner Hotel Chicago IL

Thank you for joining us for the next installment of Devil at Dusk!

I spent the week in Chicago getting my apartment ready to move out and spent half a day cleaning it for the next person that comes along. I was able to spend time with my family and got to visit with my brother who I had not seen in a while. One night I was able to hang out with my friends, unfortunately I ended up with a hangover the next day. Chicago is bad, very bad for me. I don’t seem to party at all when I am in Laurel. The reason being that from the moment I set foot in Laurel I had to put on my big girl pants and take over on an in depth murder investigation, deal with a death of a loved one then take over an investigation firm. I was also able to connect over lunch with Winslow, of course he already knew I was not coming back but I felt the need to see him in person and talk to him.

My mom and dad ended up having a surprise going away picnic for me in the park; they invited family, friends of the family and neighbors. We had quite the turn out and it was a lot of fun. We played croquette and horse shoes. Mom and dad gave me a really nice three piece Samsonite Luggage set (train case, medium round suit case and large suit case) in burgundy. That was a great gift and something I had been wanting for a while plus it will come in handy for when it was time to pack up all the rest of my belongings because they will all fit perfectly in my luggage.

Then my “wild bunch” friends had a going away party for me on Friday. We had it at the Airliner Hotel's Lounge on Cicero Avenue, so if we got too drunk to drive we could just stay over in the hotel. 35 people showed up to my party and over half (including me) stayed at the hotel that night. The Airline Hotel was a very nice and luxurious place. Good thing I had the whole entire day on Saturday to recuperate from the wild hi jinks from the previous night!

Finally Sunday morning rolled around and it was time for me to be on my way back to Laurel. I said good bye to my folks and my brother and I was on the road at 9am. That night I made it to the halfway point at about 7pm, checked in to a cozy little motor court and had a late dinner. The next day I was up bright and early and on the road by 8:00 am. I finally made it home to the cottage around 6pm. I was exhausted so I made a cup of tea and listened to some music on the radio.  At 8pm I called it a night and went and tucked myself into bed.

Tuesday morning I woke up, got ready and went in to the office. When I got to the office I called over to Mrs. Rothschild’s Estate and Avery the butler answered the phone. I told him it was Brooksie, and then I asked him if Mrs. Rothschild was available and if I would be able to speak with her?  He said he would go and check, a few moments later Mrs. Rothschild was on the line. I asked her how things had been this past week. Mrs. Rothschild told me that something interesting happened that very evening following the staff interviews. She said sometime in the night Paris Le Roux (one of the cleaning girls) packed up all of her belongings (she only owned enough to fit into a large suitcase) and left. I told her to still keep a watchful eye on her belongings however we did both agreed that this was an admission to her guilt and she no longer to cared to stay on board now that there was another set of eyes keeping an eye on Mrs. Rothschild and her belongings.

To be continued…..

Stay tuned next week for another installment of: Devil at Dusk

Devil at Dusk - Installment Number Fourteen

Photo by Dave Haworth: davesphotoexploration.wordpress.com

Welcome again everybody for installment number fourteen of Devil at Dusk!

Once I got to the office, I pulled out my notes regarding Mr. Boggs. I typed up a full report of what I found pertaining to Lenny plus the few pictures that I had taken. Then I called over to Mrs. Boggs’ house and asked her if she had a moment to speak with me, she told me to come on over. I drove over and she met me at the door and let me in. I explained to Mrs. Boggs’ that her husband had not been cheating that he was just having an occasional boys night out which entailed having Chinese food by himself for dinner and then pool with the boys in the lounge and occasional flirting with the cocktail waitresses.

She said ah yes, you must be referring to Ling’s; they have the best food in town. I replied yes and the friendliest staff in town also! Mrs. Boggs’ started to laugh and I joined in. I could tell she was relieved to find out that Lenny was not cheating on her. I gave her the report I had typed and the bill for what she owed, she paid it and I gave her a receipt. I told Mrs. Boggs’ thank you very much and headed on my way. I went home and had dinner, then did a little bit of reading and got ready for bed.

The next morning I went back to Mrs. Rothschild’s house to interview all of her employees. I interviewed them separately for about a half hour each in the library. When I was done I collected my notes and all of my things. I told Mrs. Rothschild that I was done and that I would call her when I got back into town.  I headed to the office and attached the notes to the file I made for Mrs. Rothschild. I left the file on the desk with a note for Bet to type the notes (keep the originals) and put them all in the file. In the note I wrote to her, I reminded her that if she needed me while I was in Chicago I would be over at mom and dad’s off and on while I was there. I went back to the cottage and got ready for my trip to Chicago. I went to bed early that night and was up bright and early the next day.

Saturday March 7^th, 1955 at 8:00 am I was on the road again heading back to Chicago. While I was there I was going to see my mom and dad, clear out my apartment then connect with Winslow my old boss at the investigation firm I used to work at in Chicago. I was also going to visit all of my friends who were planning a big going away party for me. This time I did not need to be in such a hurry on this road trip as the last one, thank goodness. At 6:00 pm I got to the halfway point found a motel to stay at, I went and had some dinner then went back to the room to listen to the radio and read the paper. Finally I drifted off to sleep and was awake and on the road at 7:00 am.

I was pulling up in mom and dad’s driveway just in time for dinner. They heard my car pull in and they both ran out and gave me a big hug hello. I came in and put my things down while mom tells me to go and wash up. We all sit down for dinner, mom made a roasted chicken with all of the fixings! She made sure to have my favorite meal all ready for me. They asked me a lot of questions at dinner about my life in Laurel and how “the family” was doing down there. Then they asked me questions about the investigation and the firm I inherited from JT. They told me that Nathan – my older brother and only sibling - was going to be coming down for a small vacation in a couple of days. Nathan went to law school; he passed the bar a few years ago then moved to Boston to work in a large law firm. I had not seen Nathan since he moved away; it would be great to see my big brother. Nathan is five years older than me; I always admired and looked up to him. Mom and dad both said they were so proud of both of us (with me being an investigator and Nathan an attorney).

After dinner we all went in to the parlor to relax, read the paper and listen to the radio. That evening before it got dark I headed over to my apartment in down town Chicago. I had called ahead to let the apartment manager know that I would be moved out by the end of the week. I had tried to make it back to Chicago right after JT passed away and right before the first of the month but then the latest murder back in Laurel happened so I was not able to make it back at that time. So I took the first opportunity that I had to get back here. I spent the night in my old apartment and the next morning mom and dad met me here to help me get my things cleared out. We ended up donating my furniture, kitchen ware and some old clothes. I consolidated only my things that I needed or were my favorite into one closet, that way when it was time to leave I would pack everything up and go with it in my car. We saved the apartment cleaning for tomorrow because we all just wanted to go have a nice dinner and relax for the rest of the night.

To be continued…..

Thanks again folks for joining us for yet another installment of Devil at Dusk!

Devil at Dusk - Installment Number Thirteen

Thank you so much folks for joining me for yet another installment of Devil at Dusk!

I did not stay out to late the night before; I pretty much got all the information regarding Lenny that I needed to know, so there was no reason for me to stay out late. I made my way home, tucked myself in bed and several hours later my alarm went off. I got ready for the day, it was Thursday. Today was the day I was going to meet with Mrs. Rothschild in the morning at 10:30am and then later on in the day to meet with Mrs. Boggs.

I got into my car and left the cottage at 10:15am and I made it to Mrs. Rothschild’s house in 10 minutes. The house was a big old Victorian home with cupolas, stained glass windows, a huge wrap around porch with a porch swing and a gazebo in the back of the giant yard. She had quite a bit of property behind her house also. I went up to the front door and rang the doorbell. A very tall, thin, older gentleman came to the door; he had on a black suit with a white starched shirt. I introduced myself and he said he his name was Avery the butler and chauffeur for Mrs. Rothschild. I told him Mrs. Rothschild was expecting me at 10:30am. Avery asked me to take a seat and told me he would go get Mrs. Rothschild. A few moments later a very grandmotherly looking lady came into the parlor, she looked to be close to about 80 years old. She had on a high necked dress with a cameo broach pinned to the neck, a shawl and granny boots. Her steel grey hair was rolled up into a bun at the very top of her head. Not only did her house appear to be from the Victorian era so did her clothing too. It was a very charming look for her and it suited her well.

Avery was a few steps behind Mrs. Rothschild and she told him to make some tea and bring it to us. I introduced myself to Mrs. Rothschild; she told me she was very glad I was here. She has called upon me for my services because she strongly believes that someone who is among her staff has been stealing from her. She told me she had compiled a list of the missing items and the date she realized they had been missing. I asked her if I could take a look at that list, she got up and went to the roll top desk behind us. She took a key out of her pocket and unlocked the desk then pulled out a small note book, she handed it over to me. I took a look at the list and notated all of the items in my head: check book, very old jewelry that she had inherited from her grandmother which consisted of 2 rings and a pair of earrings, a necklace and a bracelet, a few pieces of silverware, and a couple of tea cups (fine china), a 50 dollar bill and two rare books. These items were all taken over the last 3 months.

Soon Avery came out with our tea plus he had a plate with small cookies, scones and biscuits. I took my note pad out and made notes about the missing items. I asked her to tell me about her employees, their names, their position there, how long they have been there and there approximate ages. Mrs. Rothschild began naming off employees: Avery Thomas Brown he is the butler and chauffeur, she guesses him to be about 60 years old, he has been there for about 25 years and is like a son. Next is the gardener Terry Jo Parson, he has been there for about 15 years and he is around 45 or 46 years old. The gardener’s son Bo Parson is his gardening assistant, he just started 4 months ago and he is 20 years old. The cook is Bessie Morton, she is around 50 years old and has been there for over 10 years. Mrs. Rothschild tells me she has two cleaning girls, Paris Le Roux who has been there for 6 months and is 19 and April Leigh Devlin, who has been there for almost 4 months and is 20 years old. She tells me that is all of her employees.

I folded up my note pad and put it away. Then I asked Mrs. Rothschild if I could come back by tomorrow- at the same time-to interview each of the employees and Mrs. Rothschild said yes you most certainly may. I told her that over the weekend I was going to head up to Chicago-where I was from- to tie up some loose ends. I was going to be gone for about a week and that I would touch base with her as soon as I got back into town. Then I discussed my retaining fee with her (which she paid), I had her fill out the appropriate paperwork and sign it. Then I thanked her very much for her time and I was on my way.

Next up I would head over to the office to type up a report and to stop over at Mrs. Boggs’ house.

To be continued….

Stay tuned next week for the next installment of Devil at Dusk! 

Devil at Dusk - Installment Number Twelve

Photo by: Dave Haworth: davesphotoexploration.wordpress.com

Hello again and welcome all to Installment number twelve of: Devil at Dusk!

The next day I went to the office in the afternoon, it was Wednesday. I brought the notes in from the most recent murder and put them in the appropriate file. Bet was in the office, she said she had gotten a call from a Mrs. Clara Rothschild; she is an elderly widow that lives at the top of the hill in a giant mansion on Willow Street. She said she was in need of an investigator, she believed that one of her employees there at the mansion was stealing from her. Bet handed me a slip of paper with Mrs.Clara Rothschild’s number on it. I gave her a call and set up an appointment to speak with her on Thursday. In the mean time I asked Bet how she was doing, she said pretty good. She had just been busy organizing the files in the filing cabinet.  I dropped off my notes in the file folder then I told Bet I was going to head over to speak to the sheriff. I gave her a hug good bye and told her to have a good day.

Next I walked over to the Sheriff’s Office, I checked in with Sheriff Holifield, I asked him if they found anything new. The Sheriff said no however he did inform her that he was in the process of hiring another assistant deputy sheriff because they had been spread a little thin lately with just the three of them. Not only did they have the sheriff’s office, they had the jail there too. He said he had just started doing interviews that morning, so far he got one out of the way, then he had two more the next day and another on Friday. I wished him the best of luck and told him to have a very good day. I went home to take a nap because I was heading over to Ling’s to have dinner and then to hang out in the bar. I was hoping that Lenny would show up, if so that would be the last and final investigation on him.

When I got to my cottage I tucked myself into my bed and napped for a few hours. I woke up and got ready to go to Ling’s. I went and borrowed another one of JT’s vehicles, this time it was a modest sedan. I left the cottage a little bit after 6pm and headed over to Ling’s. When I got there I went in to the restaurant and there was a sign that said please wait to be seated, in a few moments the hostess came to seat me. She seated me at a table by the window; I looked around to see who all was here. There was a family of four in a booth, a couple in a booth and a single man at a table. I did not see Lenny yet, a few minutes went by and then speak of the devil (well in this case it was think of the devil, I guess) Lenny comes through the door. He waves hello to the hostess and says hi Mihn how have you been doing? Mihn replies that she has been doing really well and thank you so much for asking Mr. Boggs. She seats Lenny at a table across the building from me. After a short bit the waitress comes out and takes my order. The hostess makes some more small talk with Lenny and then says Loretta (the waitress) will be right out. My food arrives in a timely manner and it was delicious! Now I was starting to see why this place was so popular, the staff was very friendly without being overly friendly (they did not dote upon the restaurant costumers as much as they did in the lounge) but they were very efficient. The service was prompt and the food very good, I was impressed. Lenny made some more small talk with the waitress. I finished up my meal, paid and then I made my way to the lounge.

I sat at the bar, the bar tender asked me, what would ya like ma'am? I told him that he could get me a scotch on the rocks please. I looked around and the place was starting to fill up. I noticed the cocktail waitresses flirting and doting upon the patrons again. I told the bar tender I had just eaten next door and I had a great meal. I told him this place was different than most, usually at a restaurant or diner there seems to be at least one thing missing for example they may have great service but bad food or vice versa but this place had it all. Then I mentioned in other lounges the cocktail waitresses were not as friendly, these girls catered to their customers every whim it seemed. I also made a point to tell him, I had driven by here on several occasions and every time they were busy, they seemed to be doing a land office business!

The bartender then introduces himself as Bernie and I tell him my name is Brooksie. He then thanks me for noticing that it is quite the business. He tells me it is a great place to work and that he loves working for Mama Ling. Ah ha, the business is owned by a female and here I had assumed it was run by a man. I tell him Mama Ling is a very smart business woman! He tells me she came over to the states from Hong Kong in 1934, she lived on the east coast for a few years and then traveled down south and ended up here and opened this restaurant and lounge in 1938. Prior to 1934 when she lived in Hong Kong, she ran a brothel (for close to 20 years) which was where she learned her business acumen. That also explained why the waitresses were so friendly because obviously Mama Ling trained them to be that way to help garner business. Then Bernie the bartender added - just so you know even though Ms. Ling used to run a brothel in Hong Kong - that does not mean there is any funny business going on here. She does not allow anything at all like that here. Then he asked me if I would like to meet Mama Ling? I said why yes, I would love to. Bernie tells me she comes in occasionally but for the most part she just lets her staff run the place. He goes in the back and brings out Mama Ling; Mama Ling must have been close to being about 60 years old but did not look a day over 30! Out from behind the door comes this tiny, beautiful, well dressed lady with a face like a china doll. Bernie introduces us to one another; she says to me, you do not sound like you are from these parts. You sound like you are from Chicago; I told her yes that she is indeed correct. She said she spent several months in Chicago right after she lived in New York and New Jersey for a while. She explained that when she came to the states she arrived in New York, lived there for a while and then moved on to New Jersey. She really did not like either city, then she spent time in Chicago and that was not for her either. So she made her way south until she landed here.

Then she asks me if I am just passing through and I tell her no that I just moved here. Now she is really curious (because Laurel is a hole in the wall kind of town in the middle of now where) and I tell her that I was JT’s god daughter and that I inherited the cottage and have since moved in it after he had passed away. She then made a tsking sound and said the death of JT was such a shame and it was a very sad day when he died. I wholeheartedly agreed with her, JT was one of my best friends and was like an uncle to me, I had explained to her. She tells me she is deeply sorry for my loss and bowed her head for a few minutes. She then tells me it was so wonderful to meet me and that she has things to get back to doing in the backroom. She then tells me to stop by any time and to ask for her again when I come back, so she and I can chat a little bit more next time. Mama Ling mentions that she is not here on a regular basis but she does pop in from time to time. I thanked her so much for coming out to meet me and saying hello.

After that I watched Lenny and the others play pool, while I enjoyed my Scotch. I took in the whole scene, this time I was on the inside rather than the outside looking in. I watched the cocktail waitresses flit and flirt about. I thought about Mama Ling running a brothel in Hong Kong for many years and then coming to the states and opening up a successful business here. There was no Mr. Ling ever mentioned, I was beginning to wonder if there is a Mr. Ling. I proceeded to ask Bernie if there was a Mr. Ling, he said as long as he has known Mama Ling, he has never known of there being a Mr. Ling. Bernie tells me he has been working here ever since Mama Ling opened the place. I thought to myself, Mama Ling is just one of those strong women that has been able to do it on her own. That is pretty rare these days.

By the end of the night I had learned a lot about this particular business establishment and got to meet some new people. I also had come to the conclusion that Mr. Leonard Boggs was not cheating on his wife. I would write the report regarding Lenny tomorrow, right after meeting with Mrs. Rothschild. Then I would be in touch with Mrs. Boggs to let her know my findings and to give her a copy of the report.

To be continued…..

Well that concludes another installment of: Devil at Dusk. Stay tuned next week for another segment of our story!