Since I couldn’t find a parking space in the back of the building, I pulled around the side and entered the front doors. A quick glance revealed my black hat spy no longer sat on the bench across the street. When we entered my outer office, I spotted the bluish haze sitting in her chair as Alice swiveled around. After saying hello, I directed Adele back to my office. However, my wife stopped and introduced herself to my secretary. I’m sure I stood there looking like a dunce, since I never considered the idea that they never met. Also, I found it surreal while watching Adele speaking with Alice while all I saw of the woman was a blue haze outline of a person.

As they talked, I walked into my office and looked down at the street, where I saw the man in a green fedora sit next to my shadow. I watched him from the side of the window as he observed the street.

Well, that’s interesting!

Not long after arriving, the man in the black hat came to the bench, spoke with the man who follow us. After the brief conversation, the black hat man crossed the street to follow 2^nd Street. I watched him until he disappeared. Glancing back at the sound of the door to the outer office open, then close, I saw Adele enter my office.

“I think I’m jealous,” she said in a light tone. “You had Alice here and never introduced me. She’s a beauty.”

To avoid talking about a woman I couldn’t see, I waved Adele over to the window.

“Our friend is now parked on a bench out front. He spoke with the guy who was watching this place this morning.”

Adele’s blue eyes surveyed the street below, and she pressed her thumb to her lips.

“You think they are Antonio’s men?”

I shrugged.

“I’m not sure, but I’ll find out. However, I’m betting on another horse.”

“Who?” She put her arm around my waist as I saw a blue outline moving like a ghost across the street.

“It’s too early to tell you,” I replied. “You won’t like it, so I want proof.”

Feeling her stare, I turned and kissed her. Adele hesitated, then she put her head on my shoulder, and we continued to watch the street.

“Not everyone is against us, are they?” Her defeated tone made me shake my head.

However, my mind remained on my dilemma. I held affection for two women, and I never believed in the idea of a harem. That’s only the domain of super powered alphas in fantasy novels and Mangas. Maybe Stull Junction had similarities to the problems in those fantasies, but I couldn’t shake the core beliefs I grew up with. While Sally stated she didn’t want to break up my marriage, Adele left me with strong doubts about having two lovers continuing once she found it. Hell, I didn’t know if either woman here could go back with me or if they even wanted to attempt it.

Life must be good for the fantasy characters on TV!

~~~

As Adele and I ate our sandwiches while sitting on the couch, I kept avoiding looking at Alice eating. It’s more than strange to see a sandwich slowly disappear as it dangles in the air. From the conversation I overheard, it appeared that Alice and Adele hit it off well. Of course, I was the brunt of several jabs given by my secretary. Of course, Adele added her thoughts about my shortcomings. Fortunately, my behavior quarks that Alice brought out appeared more rooted in the previous inhabitants of the Lane Dagger name. So, I tried to act like I remembered and let them have their fun.

It wasn’t all bad, since I learned quite a bit more about Alice. She carries the unusual last name of Duchess and comes from Stull Junction. While I could barely make out her facial features, it appeared she continued to observe me enough to make Adele uncomfortable.

Fortunately, a phone call from S. B. Bellow interrupted the women’s office festivities. While I spoke with Bellow’s about the property, Adele went back to the window to observe the man sitting on the bench. When I got off the phone with the realtor, I finished some notes and told Adele that we’d head home with a stop on the way.

“What about my car?”

“I want you to stay close since we don’t know who those men are,” I said.

As she gave me a pout, I went to the hat rack and got my gun and holster. After Adele watched me put the holster on and check the clip on the .45, her attitude changed.

“Since you’re so stubborn, you can drive me over tomorrow and pick up my car,” she said while brushing my coat jacket with her hand. “But I think we should set up a time to speak with Mr. Lees.”

“Hell, I almost forgot about that,” I grinned.

Her ability to shift into an almost childlike feigned innocence while she brings us back to the point of the morning made me like her that much more.

Damn, she’s good!

On the way out the door, I asked Alice to call Sally’s office to let her know about the man following us. As Adele and I took the stairs down to exit the building, she asked about Sally. I explained I went over to her office, and we talked about her company.

“I forgot about the folder of information she gave me. We need to sign for our, well, your forty percent of the company,” I explained while keeping my guard up about our shadow sitting on the bench outside.

“Dear, don’t do that,” Adele replied. “I know it’s my fortune, but you purchased the share of the company, so it’s ours. Did you get anything else from Sally?”

My mind spun around on that innocent question, and I remained quiet.

“Is something wrong?” She noticed my expression.

“Just wondering what’s waiting outside,” I lied.

When we got into my car, I noticed our shadow moving quickly across the street to get to his vehicle. A smile came to my face.

“Let’s ditch this bastard following us,” I said as I hurriedly started the Hudson. “They’re becoming way too obvious about getting into our business.”

Sure, it’s childish, but I felt a rush acting like one of those TV detectives when I cut in front of a truck. I didn’t see the driver, but I heard his curses as I pushed the accelerator to the floor. Only a half block from where I pulled into the street, I turned down an alley, then sped along to the next street and took another left. Adele gripped the door handle, trying to stop from sliding across the seat with each quick turn. But she held an excited look on her face while glancing back. After several blocks and a few turns later, we were confident we lost the man tailing us.

Our drive along 14th Street peaked Adele’s curiosity. As she looked over the warehouse district, the woman frowned.

“This is near where you nearly died.”

“It’s alright. I’m not here to reminisce. I noticed the Potter building that night and thought it might be useful as a place to build a kind of studio.”

Now, my lying explanation came out on the fly since I needed a cover for looking over the place. I pulled into the alley, which led to the back of the small warehouse. I noticed the narrow passageway that night when I walked Antonio’s men to his building. Since I couldn’t see much in the rain, I wanted to look over the place to see its suitability for my plan.

As expected, an alleyway which had no exit since other buildings boxed in a small parking area and dock. Getting out of the car, I walked around the loading dock, which came up to my chest. Discarded barrels and wood crates sat scattered along the dock and down one side of the alley. Overall, the place reminded me of a movie that I saw with my granddad. An interesting thought came to me as I looked over the area.

“Don’t you want to see inside?” Adele’s voice brought me out of my thoughts.

Nodding, I stepped up on to the concrete platform leading to the warehouse doors. As I waited for my woman, I survey the lot again.

“You seem interested in this loading area,” she pointed out with a smile.

“Not really. I’m concerned about how isolated this place is,” I said. “But it might work.”

“Sure, but why are you looking for a studio?” Her question didn’t surprise me now as I developed the reasoning behind my lie earlier.

“Since I think being a producer carries the best opportunities, I thought that setting up a studio for us to hold auditions made some sense.” I rubbed my chin.

Adele’s agreement to the idea made me happy as I slid open one of the large doors. Bellow told me over the phone that he’d make sure they unlocked the back door for me and told me to lock it when I left. The funny thing was that I realized my lie actually made sense around the idea of quitting this private detective work. That Adele saw the value of the idea reinforced my belief showed I’m on the right track.

When I looked over the building, I decided this place would not work for my future plan. The place was too large and expensive.

“Actually, this may be too large to start off with,” I said after looking closely at the window by the dock and opening a metal door to the outside. “Besides, it’ll take a lot of cash to build out areas that we might not need.”

“Yes, I can see what you mean,” Adele agreed as she took down notes. “We might want something closer to your current office, since the radio station is downtown. I’ll call the radio station for a tour or something. I think they have live audiences, so we should go to look it over.”

 “You are always on top of things. Alright, we’ve seen enough,” I told her as I made sure the door that I closed remained unlocked.