of them,” Softee shook his head.
“This guy seems to have made some threats, at least he threatened to harm you in some way.”
“ Not much help. That could still be just about anyone I know,” he said.
Lola nodded in agreement.
I wasn’t going to argue.
“You remember one of your ice-cream truck drivers from awhile back, last name Sneen?” I was looking for some sort of reaction.
Lola may have shot a quick glance at Mr. Softee, maybe not. I wasn’t sure.
“Sneen, that the last name ? Can’t say I remember anyone like that, but there’s so damn much turnover with those bastards. What makes you think he might be the one?”
“Claims he was assaulted or something . I’m still checking that part out although he seems to have gone missing all of a sudden. I was planning to follow him around, see what I might learn.”
“And now you can’t find the bastard . I’m not surprised. Hell, he’s probably up in the tree out front with a high-powered rifle and a sniper scope. Wonderful! That’s just great!”
“No, I checked the tree.”
“What did he say we did?” Lola asked.
“As near as I can determine he claims he was wrongfully discharged for stealing funds,” I sugarcoated Bernie’s version.
“Wrongfully discharged? ” Mr. Softee chuckled. “Bastard was stealing from me. I remember now, he was pilfering cash. I think he had some sort of chemical problem, nervous little son-of-a-bitch. We attempted some sort of rehabilitation, if memory serves. Yeah, definitely the unstable sort.”
Lola nodded in agreement.
“Rehabilitation.” It was my turn to chuckle.
“You know how these people are,” Lola said.
“Idiots, thieves, dregs of society,” Mr. Softee added.
“So you think he ’s the one that crashed into us the other night?” Lola asked.
“I think it’s entirely possible . I’d like to check out a few more leads I have, see what I can come up with. Nail down his whereabouts, type of vehicle he drives, that sort of thing.”
“T hat won’t be necessary, he’s our man. I’ll handle it from here,” Mr. Softee said, then picked up his phone and punched in a number.
“Well, in all honesty, Sneen looks like a good candidate , but there are a lot of other people who don’t think all that kindly of you.”
“You don’t get to be a man like me without stepping on a few toes along the way. No, that’ll be all. I’ll handle things from here. Just send me your bill so I can get this off my desk, I got a lot of things about to happen.”
“ Your bill? Look, you only signed up last night, less than eighteen hours ago. I really think it might be wise if I…”
“What part of no don’t you understand ? Hello. Carl, hang on a minute,” he said into the phone. Then looked over at Lola and nodded.
“Let me show you out,” she squeaked, sounding only too happy to do so.
“Carl,” Mr. Softee shouted as he spun around in his chair to face out the window.
I followed Lola back down the hallway toward the fron t door. She was taking little steps again, this time due to a pair of black, sling-back stiletto heels, some sort of red flames emblazoned across the toes and up the sides, the perfect outfit to lounge around the house.
“Gee, really sorry we couldn’t do more together,” she said at the front door. Then smiled and gave another of her patented shrugs. “Bye-bye” she giggled and hustled me out, closing the door before I had a chance to say anything. I heard the door lock behind me.
Fortunately, my luck seemed to hold and the dogs were still inside. I made my way quickly to the gate, but not before glancing at the front steps. There, chewed almost in half, was a black high-top shoe, faded almost to gray, with a red shoelace. Cheap. It looked an awful lot like one Bernie Sneen was wearing the day I saw him at Dizzies. Just as I approached the gate I heard a buzz and the electronic click releasing the lock, a moment later the front door opened and the dogs were
“This guy seems to have made some threats, at least he threatened to harm you in some way.”
“ Not much help. That could still be just about anyone I know,” he said.
Lola nodded in agreement.
I wasn’t going to argue.
“You remember one of your ice-cream truck drivers from awhile back, last name Sneen?” I was looking for some sort of reaction.
Lola may have shot a quick glance at Mr. Softee, maybe not. I wasn’t sure.
“Sneen, that the last name ? Can’t say I remember anyone like that, but there’s so damn much turnover with those bastards. What makes you think he might be the one?”
“Claims he was assaulted or something . I’m still checking that part out although he seems to have gone missing all of a sudden. I was planning to follow him around, see what I might learn.”
“And now you can’t find the bastard . I’m not surprised. Hell, he’s probably up in the tree out front with a high-powered rifle and a sniper scope. Wonderful! That’s just great!”
“No, I checked the tree.”
“What did he say we did?” Lola asked.
“As near as I can determine he claims he was wrongfully discharged for stealing funds,” I sugarcoated Bernie’s version.
“Wrongfully discharged? ” Mr. Softee chuckled. “Bastard was stealing from me. I remember now, he was pilfering cash. I think he had some sort of chemical problem, nervous little son-of-a-bitch. We attempted some sort of rehabilitation, if memory serves. Yeah, definitely the unstable sort.”
Lola nodded in agreement.
“Rehabilitation.” It was my turn to chuckle.
“You know how these people are,” Lola said.
“Idiots, thieves, dregs of society,” Mr. Softee added.
“So you think he ’s the one that crashed into us the other night?” Lola asked.
“I think it’s entirely possible . I’d like to check out a few more leads I have, see what I can come up with. Nail down his whereabouts, type of vehicle he drives, that sort of thing.”
“T hat won’t be necessary, he’s our man. I’ll handle it from here,” Mr. Softee said, then picked up his phone and punched in a number.
“Well, in all honesty, Sneen looks like a good candidate , but there are a lot of other people who don’t think all that kindly of you.”
“You don’t get to be a man like me without stepping on a few toes along the way. No, that’ll be all. I’ll handle things from here. Just send me your bill so I can get this off my desk, I got a lot of things about to happen.”
“ Your bill? Look, you only signed up last night, less than eighteen hours ago. I really think it might be wise if I…”
“What part of no don’t you understand ? Hello. Carl, hang on a minute,” he said into the phone. Then looked over at Lola and nodded.
“Let me show you out,” she squeaked, sounding only too happy to do so.
“Carl,” Mr. Softee shouted as he spun around in his chair to face out the window.
I followed Lola back down the hallway toward the fron t door. She was taking little steps again, this time due to a pair of black, sling-back stiletto heels, some sort of red flames emblazoned across the toes and up the sides, the perfect outfit to lounge around the house.
“Gee, really sorry we couldn’t do more together,” she said at the front door. Then smiled and gave another of her patented shrugs. “Bye-bye” she giggled and hustled me out, closing the door before I had a chance to say anything. I heard the door lock behind me.
Fortunately, my luck seemed to hold and the dogs were still inside. I made my way quickly to the gate, but not before glancing at the front steps. There, chewed almost in half, was a black high-top shoe, faded almost to gray, with a red shoelace. Cheap. It looked an awful lot like one Bernie Sneen was wearing the day I saw him at Dizzies. Just as I approached the gate I heard a buzz and the electronic click releasing the lock, a moment later the front door opened and the dogs were
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