A few days later, I’m sitting at my office in the morning working on my writing since I’m still recovering. The bruising is still showing and my stitches itch, but I’m alive.

Discovering Alice is a kind of automatic typewriter changes my perception of the future. Now, I’m just telling her my story and the machine pecks away. When we first worked together, I found a lot of wasted time when I needed to stop and think the story through. To make things easier, I hand wrote the stories at home, then put them on Alice’s desk when I walked in.

While getting this idea of becoming a radio playwright and producer is the goal, I realize my big problem is my lack of contacts in the industry. It’s something I’m still trying to work out a plan around.

Oh, there’s one other thing that’s new about my invisible secretary. She’s not so invisible now. Yeah, I know it’s crazy sounding, but when I entered the office after recovering from my injuries, I found someone sitting at Alice’s desk.

Well, it wasn’t clear that it was a person, more like the outline of a person. You see, Alice now looks a bit like the two-dimensional images of Cora and her demon friends I witnessed when they left my hospital room. The difference is that her outline is a blue aura with enough definition to show me she’s a female with the hint of a pretty face and body. The great thing about this change is I can hear and speak with her without the need for the intercom box. My only concern is what she’ll do when I close the office.

Yeah, I’m getting used to being worried about these familiars, as Cora calls them.

As for my home life, I’m happily fucking Adele every night and some mornings in her bid to become pregnant. The truth is that I’m not really looking to be a dad, but I am a curious idiot at the same time.

Can I have kids in this dimension? Cora mentioned it happened.

I tell myself that if it makes Adele happy, then I’m alright with it, so I guess that’s love in a way.

Yesterday, Cora stopped by with a few moments of pain in my mind to remind me not to forget her problems. So, Miss Wonderful’s problem went to the top of my list even though I still had stitches in my shoulder.

Fortunately, Adele volunteered to work at the library when it opened. My wife’s delighted interest in the idea showed that I had a new assistant to focus on the Elders and other things concerning the events of her disappearance. It seemed to be Adele’s way of keeping me on the right track to quit my work as a shamus.

I’m sure it beats her hanging out alone at the apartment all day.

The phone rang, interrupting my story work and making Alice stop typing.

“Lane Dagger’s Office, can I help you?” she said in her sexy voice.

She turned her head to me and put her hazy looking hand over one end of the handset.

“Sally Vaugh would like to talk with you.”

Nodding, I pointed to my office as I walked back. Closing the door behind me, I went to my desk and picked up the handset when it rang.

“Hello Sally, how are you doing?”

There was a pause, then Sally responded.

“Lane, would it be alright to invite you to my office for lunch? I’d like to speak with you if you have time today.”

My mind scrambled for a reason that she wanted to talk, but I accepted the idea.

“Sure, I don’t have any plans,” I said, after looking at my new watch that Adele picked up for me. “I’ll drop by at noon if that works?”

Sally agreed, and I hung up. I sat at my desk, thinking about her. The last time I noticed the haunted look in her expression. Hoping she was doing better, I heard someone enter the outer office. A moment later, there was a knock on my door. I told them to enter, and Jeffrey came in with a serious look on his face. He laid the morning paper on my desk.

“Is Alice taking care of you?”

“Sure,” his face beamed, then leaned close to whisper.

“She’s a doll. How’d you get her as a secretary?”

“Alice came with the office,” I chuckled.

The kid frowned. I thought it was my joke.

“Say, Mr. Dagger, have you still got Antonio’s men gunning for you?”

I cocked my head in surprise at the question.

“Why are you asking?”

The young man stepped to the closed shades by at the window and pointed down to the street below.

“Something caught my attention as I was coming over,” he said. “If you look across the street, there’s a guy in a gray hat that’s been hanging out on that bench seat under Charlie’s awning. He’s been there a couple of days.

I got up, then used my finger to pull the shade aside to peek out at the sidewalk across the street. Sure enough, the man sat there outside of the delicatessen. He wore a blue pinstripe suit while holding a newspaper in his hands. Even from my vantage point, he didn’t seem interested in the stories. The man below certainly looked like a thug that Antonio would hire. Big arms and belly, the man carried an imposing attitude that I could see from the distance.

“Did you sell him the paper?” I asked after going back to my desk.

“Yeah, I noticed him come by my spot down the street. He’s wearing a black bowler hat which caught my eye. Thing is, I’ve seen him before twice a while back.”

I scowled at the news after hoping that Antonio might just leave me alone. Hell, I’m not even a witness against him. Then again, I’m probably number one on his revenge list.

“You saw this guy before, huh? Do you remember any more like if he’s a local or not?” I rubbed my chin. “I thought Antonio had enough problems since the cops shut down his operations.”

In fact, O’Conner told me that some of Antonio’s hoodlums were gunning to take over his spot. Jeffrey came over to the desk and leaned against it.

“I don’t think he’s local. My guess is that he’s from back East. I remember that guy on the sidewalk was talking to a local guy, a lawyer I’ve seen around town.”

“Lawyer, maybe Hyde?” I thought aloud.

“No, everybody knows that guy. Especially since he’s gonna lose against the D.A. now. I just don’t remember the name off the top. He’s one of those lawyers that likes rich widows. You know the type.”

The kid tapped his head with a roll up newspaper.

No way, I thought as an image came to me. It was the first lawyer I met in Stull Junction.

“It wasn’t a guy named Lloyd Childress, was it?”

Jeffrey’s expression brightened.

“Yeah, that’s the one, small guy with a handlebar mustache. He was talking with two men, and one of them was that man on the bench. I didn’t hear what they were talking about.”

I nodded and told him thanks for the heads up. The kid took off, and I watched him with a grin when he nearly ran into the door while staring at Alice on the way out of the office. 

Well, the rat came back with help; I thought when I went back to the window and peered out the window. The man remained sitting, occasionally glancing at the front of my building. The fact that I had someone, probably working for Lloyd, watching the building, pissed me off. I knew the weasel was gunning for Adele’s money, and I threw a monkey wrench in his plans. However, I couldn’t understand why he’d have someone follow me unless he thought I was cheating on Adele. However, another thought came to me about what Miss Wonderful said at the hospital.

Cora mentioned that the men taken from reality and placed here before me had died. That brought me to the point of wondering if Lloyd had a part of those deaths. Thinking back to when we first met, his fear at meeting me seemed overblown. I mean, it wasn’t like Lane Dagger didn’t know Lloyd was pumping Adele at night. He just didn’t care.

Maybe Lane got killed and Lloyd wasn’t expecting a new Lane to show up at the door.

Trust me, the idea sounds crazy when I thought about it. But it’s no more irrational than bleeding from my eyes or seeing three people disappear through a solid wall. After all, I’m in the land of looney tunes, otherwise known as Stull Junction.

 It sounds like I need to play offense soon!

A smile comes to my face as a plan develops. I don’t want Adele to worry, but I need the truth from Lloyd. If he knocked off my predecessors, then I have to become very careful and find out who he works for. But, at the end of the day, I’ll won’t care much if Lloyd can’t play in this game anymore. As far as I’m concerned, he’s among the characters who will receive no sympathy from me.

After looking through the little black book, I found the name and number of someone with the ability to help me stage my coming play. Flipping a switch on the intercom, I asked Alice to call the office of Mr. S. B. Bellow. As I waited, I started sketching the layout of a building that I remembered walking by in the rain the night I confronted Antonio. It was time to invite Lloyd to my party. I glanced at my .45 hanging in my holster on my hat rack with an overwhelming sensation that I wanted to avoid using it. Alice told me it took her a couple of hours waiting at the police station to get it back.

Did I mention how wonderful it is to have a secretary?