Julius Katz and Archie Read online

  “Of course not,” he said dismissively. “The man’s a pompous ass, and that’s the best thing I can say about him.”

  “The pot calling the kettle,” I said.

  Julius ignored me and instead addressed Kingston’s wife. “How about you, madam?” he asked. “Assumptions are always dangerous, but I still need to assume that since you have remained married to my client that you have favorable feelings towards him, as opposed to the animosity that Mr. Richardson makes no attempt to hide.”

  She smiled bitterly. “You’re right. Mr. Katz, assumptions are dangerous.”

  “So you do feel animosity towards your husband?”

  Her smile faded as concern pinched her mouth. “I was joking,” she said. “Did Ken tell you that?”

  “Not at all, madam. Simply that your manner since you’ve been in my office has been borderline hostile.”

  “Hostile? That’s what you think?” She shook her head. “No, Mr. Katz, I’m afraid you misread me. Maybe I’m annoyed that Ken wouldn’t tell me what this is about, but no, what you’ve taken for hostility is mostly concern. Ken is always punctual. In the twenty-three years that we’ve been married he has never been late to an appointment. Not even a minute. I’m worried.”

  “Fair enough,” Julius said. “I’m not infallible. It’s possible I misread your body language. To put your mind at ease, your husband isn’t late. He arranged with me to arrive here at two thirty to give me a half hour alone with all of you.”

  If Gail Kingston was relieved by this news, she didn’t show it. Richardson, on the other hand, glowered hotly at Julius upon hearing this. Mable looked up surprised, no longer showing his boredom. Marriston showed little reaction, and neither did Zoe Chase who continued to look scared. Paul Burke broke out laughing.

  “I’m sorry, Julius,” he said. “Is that why Kingston hired you, to find out whether or not we like him?”

  Julius smiled thinly. “No, Mr. Burke,” he said. “That is not why I was hired. Nor is it what I’m attempting to determine.”

  “So you just wanted a chance to make small talk with all of us?”

  “Not exactly. How about yourself? How do you feel towards my client?”

  “I like the guy,” Burke said. “He’s been good to me, both in throwing investigations my way and in boosting my career. I’d say we’re friends. Good friends.”

  “You’ve never resented him for his Paul Buck character? A character that is a thinly-veiled grotesque mockery of you? I read Kingston’s last book, and I could imagine you being offended by it, especially with a certain insinuation that was made.”

  “Not at all, Julius,” Burke said, his eyes still sparkling with amusement. “Those books have helped me a great deal. I wouldn’t have my radio gig if it wasn’t for them, and I wouldn’t be doing the business I do either. And I also wouldn’t be having TV producers talking with me now about basing a reality show about me.” Burke took a drink of his beer, the sparkle in his eyes dimming a bit as he met Julius’s look. “The fact is, Julius, I solve almost all my cases, just like you, but I don’t make a big show and production out of solving them, so I’m not branded by the Boston media as a genius. Instead I solve them by hard work and grinding them out. Without those books, I’d just be another no name private investigator, and would probably just be scraping by. I love those books, I love what they’ve done for me. Besides, Ken lets me give my approval before he publishes them. If I have any problems with them, he’ll fix it. So far I haven’t had a single problem.”

  I knew that Kingston frequently hired Burke to do research for his books. It would be impossible not to know that with the way Burke crowed about it on his weekly one-hour radio slot and in the papers. I’d also recently seen short mentions that had been leaked to the newspapers about Burke’s proposed reality show. At forty-six he was a few years older than Julius. He was also two inches shorter and stockier than him. In some ways he looked more like how you’d imagine a PI to look than Julius with his thicker body, broad face and this tough-guy look about him, but in other ways he tried hard to project the image of a celebrity— his hair dyed jet-black and groomed at one of the most exclusive hair salons in Boston, a deep tan that I knew came from a tanning salon after hacking into his credit charges, expensive clothing, gold chains around his neck and diamond stud earrings in both ears, and the way he fashionably allowed one day’s worth of stubble to show on his face.

  Somehow I had failed to make the connection that Kingston’s fictional PI, Paul Buck, was based on Burke, or at least meant to poke fun at him. The character as written in Kingston’s books was violent, amoral, and often solved his cases due to luck or serendipity. I was disappointed in myself. I thought I had thoroughly analyzed his books, and yet I missed this, and looking at it now it should’ve been obvious. I was going to have to work on my neuron network so I’d be able to make these types of associations in the future.

  Julius stared impassively at Burke for a long moment, then a thin smile cracked his face. “Not even with Kingston’s last book?” he asked.

  Burke smiled back, still very amused. “Especially not with that one,” he said. “It’s fiction, Julius. I’ve never been what you’d call thin-skinned. I’m not a temperamental genius. Those books help me get business, and that’s all I care about. It was that last book that got the TV producers to contact me.”

  Julius accepted this and moved on to Kingston’s agent, Edward Marriston, asking him whether he disliked Kingston. While Marriston told Julius in a tone that dripped with insincerity that he had only strong admiration and warm feelings towards his longtime client, I analyzed Kingston’s last book more carefully and couldn’t find anything in particular that Burke could’ve taken greater offense at. Maybe the character came off more vulgar and crude than in some of Kingston’s earlier books, but not enough to cause Julius to point it out. I’d have to ask Julius later what he was referring to. If there was an implication I missed that he had picked up on, I’d like to know it so I could work more on my neuron network. Whether or not this was only a charade, there was no reason I couldn’t take advantage of it. My attention was snapped back to Julius when he commented how Marriston did not seem particularly sincere with his answer.

  Marriston pursed his lips as he considered Julius. “I suppose you wanted to ask us about our feelings towards Ken without him present so we might be more likely to answer candidly. But really, Mr. Katz, with a portion of my livelihood dependent on Ken, and with Gail sitting here with us as well as no confidentiality being offered or implied, how could I possibly answer your question any differently regardless of how I might feel? But rest assured, I love Ken like a brother.”

  Marriston said this more straight-faced than his previous answer. Julius nodded, either accepting this or realizing he wasn’t going to get anything different, and next asked Zoe Chase the same question. For some reason, she seemed startled by it.

  “I have no problems with Mr. Kingston,” she said in a startled voice. “Why would you think I do?”

  “I could think of a number of reasons,” Julius said. “But it would not be worth pursuing those now, your livelihood being somewhat dependent on my client, as with Mr. Marriston. We can revisit this further another time.”

  It was Jonathan Mable’s turn and he didn’t wait for Julius to ask him the same question he had asked everyone else. Instead he volunteered that he held no grudges with his ex-writing partner.

  “I’m more interested in whether you dislike my client, not whether you hold any grudges.”

  Mable gave Julius a weary smile. “Let’s just say I’m indifferent,” he said.

  Burke laughed out loud again. When Julius looked his way, Burke tilted his beer bottle to take a long drink, then wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.

  “Am I amusing you?” Julius asked.

  “Not you in particular,” Burke said. “More this whole situation. On a tip, I spent the last two nights camped out in the cold and rain behind a dumpster hoping
to find a teenage runaway girl, and here you are making probably ten times what I made those nights asking people whether or not they like some guy as if their answers are actually going to mean anything.”

  While we were so far having a temperate May, the last two nights the temperature did reach lows of forty-two and forty-one degrees Fahrenheit, respectively, and we at times had a light rain both nights. I informed Julius of this. He seemed to pay no attention.

  “Did you have success in finding her,” Julius asked Burke.

  “Not yet.”

  Julius grunted at that. “That is a shame. And a shame also that I’m keeping you from that task, especially given that my questioning here will probably prove as fruitless as those two nights. Let us hope not.” Julius paused for a moment, then added, “If you wish to consult freely with me on this missing teenager, consider it gratitude on my part for your taking time to come here today.”

  Burke’s smile was gone as a more serious look hardened his face. “Thanks, Julius, but for the time being I think I’ve got this under control. But I’ll take you up on this if I find myself stuck.”

  That was admirable on Julius’s part, even if Burke did turn him down. I held back, though, on mentioning that to Julius. I didn’t understand the reason for that at the time, but when I analyzed it later, I realized it was petulance on my part; partly over my disappointment that Julius willingly got involved in this farce, and partly for him turning me off for almost two days.

  Julius nodded solemnly to Burke and turned back to Jonathan Mable.

  “Sir,” Julius said, “I find it hard to believe that your feelings towards Kenneth Kingston would be those of indifference. Twelve years ago the two of you were writing partners. Since he ended your partnership, you have published only one book, and that was over seven years ago. While that novel, in my opinion, was highly readable and showed significantly more skill and talent than Kingston has demonstrated with his books, it sold poorly. Kenneth Kingston, on the other hand, has achieved a fair amount of notoriety and financial success with his writing while you’ve mostly been mired in obscurity, or worse, as a footnote along the lines of Peter Best and the Beatles.”

  Mable’s lips twisted into a smile that was caught somewhere between whimsical and sardonic.

  “First, Mr. Katz, I’d like to thank you for acknowledging that you found my last book highly readable. Secondly, about my split with Ken, it was a mutual decision regardless of what Ken’s been saying in interviews, and thirdly, about Ken’s success, his last book sure as hell tanked, didn’t it?”

  A call came in for Julius. I was surprised to see that it was Tom Durkin, who was one of the local private investigators Julius would frequently use. I decided this must’ve been an arrangement Julius made with Kingston so that this farce would look more authentic. When I asked Tom to leave a message, he told me he needed to talk with Julius.

  “He’s got an office full of people right now. Six to be exact.”

  “Yeah, I know, Archie, but this is important. And we need to talk in private, not in front of his gathering.”

  It didn’t make sense. The assignment was a joke. What could Tom possibly need to say to Julius that was so important? But I didn’t argue with him and passed his message to Julius and asked him what he wanted to do. He answered this by announcing to the gathering that since they were running low on food and drink, he would temporarily be leaving them so that he could return with a new round of refreshments, and for them to stay seated in the meantime. With that, Julius was out of his chair and moving quickly out of his office and closing the door behind him.

  Chapter 4

  Julius’s office was soundproofed so the crowd he just left wouldn’t be able to hear him standing in the hallway talking to Tom, but still, Julius continued on until he reached his kitchen. Once he had poured himself a cup of coffee and was seated, I patched him through to Tom. During this, I kept a watchful lookout over the crowd in Julius’s office through a webcam feed. When I saw Richardson leave his chair and head towards Julius desk, presumably to search through a folder that Julius had left behind, I called Richardson on his cell phone, which startled the hell out of him.

  “This is Archie Smith, Mr. Katz’s assistant,” I told him. “I’m watching you right now over a closed circuit TV. Get back in your chair, or I’ll come in there and pick you up and drop you in it, okay?”

  Of course, I couldn’t do that, but he didn’t know that. The shock of the call caused him to pale, and then as the humiliation set in, his cheeks were left mottled pink and white. About the time he was sitting back down looking both sheepish and angry, Tom was explaining to Julius what was so urgent.

  “It’s twenty past, Julius, and no sign of him. His car is still parked out front, but I’ve been watching the building’s main entrance since nine o’clock after taking over from Saul. I’m sorry, Julius, I should’ve had another man covering the back. I just didn’t think he’d be making an effort to slip the tail. I have no idea how he made me.”

  “It’s not your fault, Tom, it’s mine. You were performing your tasks as asked. Have you tried making contact?”

  “I’ve tried both his home phone and cell. Nothing. Do you want me to investigate? I could ring the bell. If no answer, I could break in. I checked the locks earlier. It would be a piece of cake.”

  Julius got very still for a moment, his features turning marble hard. I knew what that meant. He was deep in thought. What I would’ve given to be able to tap into his thought processes and study them! Julius stayed that way for ten seconds before coming out of it.

  “Better that you don’t. I doubt it will do much good, but stay where you are and watch for him until a quarter to three. If you see him, give me a call. If not, leave then.” He hesitated, then added, “Did you see her leave? And please don’t take offense at this borderline insulting question, since I know you would’ve volunteered the information without being asked, but did you spot any of the others?”

  “She left the building at ten thirty-nine and got into a cab. And no, Julius, I didn’t see any of the others, and no offense taken. Saul didn’t see any of them during his shift. Any further instructions?”

  “None at this time. I’d like to ask that you keep yourself available for the rest of the day. I’ll call you if something comes up. Thanks, Tom.”

  I disconnected the call and Julius went about loading up a tray with more refreshments—two more plates of hors d’oeuvres that he must’ve prepared ahead of time, two more bottles of beer for Burke, a fresh bottle of San Pellegrino water for Zoe Chase, and three more bottles of Riesling for the rest of them. That told me he was planning to keep them in his office for a good while longer, and his leisurely pace made it clear that he was in no hurry to join them. Julius paused, a wistful smile showing.

  “Archie,” he said, “I’m afraid I haven’t had a chance yet to welcome you back. I trust you had a restful nap?”

  Julius putting me out for almost forty-seven hours was more like him inducing a coma than simply having me take a nap, but I didn’t push it. I was too interested in these new events so instead I thanked him.

  “Yep, very restful, thank you,” I said. “I was surprised to see that you’ve assigned Tom Durkin to what is only a publicity stunt. And not just Tom, but Saul Penzer also. This is more than a publicity stunt, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know, Archie.”

  “But you suspect that it is. And you’ve suspected so from the beginning.”

  His wistful smile turned sour. “I don’t know any more what I suspected,” he said.

  “You assigned Saul and Tom to watch and tail Kingston? Twenty-four coverage, twelve hour shifts each, right?”

  Julius nodded, maybe showing a hint of moroseness. “I better bring this tray to my guests before they cause any trouble.”

  I informed him that I was keeping an eye on them, and told him of Richardson’s attempt at snooping and the way my phone call sent him back to his chair with his tail between hi
s legs. “Other than that they’ve behaved themselves. None of them have bothered speaking to each other, not even to ask each other their thoughts on why they’re there. Zoe Chase continues to look scared, Paul Burke amused, Herbert Richardson angry, Gail Kingston annoyed, and Mable and Marriston mostly bored.”

  “Thank you, Archie,” Julius said. He picked up the tray to take back to his office. I didn’t ask him then his thoughts on why Kingston would’ve slipped his tail, or why Kingston would’ve even suspected that Julius had put a tail on him in the first place. It was almost two-thirty and I figured Julius could ask his client these questions when he showed up.

  When Julius arrived back at his office, he distributed this second round of refreshments, and seemed to take his time doing so, clearly dragging things out. Once he was done and back in his chair, he dropped his earlier line of questioning, and asked them what appeared to me to be mostly unimportant, mundane questions. I understood what he was doing. He was distracting them, playing for time as he waited for Kingston to show up. I didn’t much care. I was too busy studying Julius’s two earlier meetings with Kingston trying to figure out what Julius saw that made him think that Kingston had another reason for hiring him and that the publicity stunt angle was only a ruse. I had no luck, but I was pretty sure of Kingston’s real reason for hiring Julius. It was what he had first said. He must’ve genuinely thought someone was trying to kill him. It explained why he slipped past Tom Durkin—he wasn’t trying to lose Julius’s tail, but instead trying to leave his townhouse without being discovered. This was probably also why he wasn’t answering his cell phone. He knew that his location could be traced through his cell phone, and he didn’t want to give an assassin the chance to locate him that way. What I couldn’t figure out was why the ruse in the first place. Why not just tell Julius why he was hiring him? Why the subterfuge?

  When two forty came around, I started to have second thoughts about all this, as well as to why Julius was asking his innocuous questions since returning from the kitchen. Five minutes later Julius addressed the group, telling them that it appeared as if Kingston has either forgotten about the meeting or has been detained, but in either case he wasn’t going to keep them waiting any longer.