The Lovely Chocolate Mob - By Richard J. Bennett Page 0,21

the employees while they’re working out back, or maybe it was for the flowers to help them grow. I wouldn’t know, but I guessed giving the plants music beat spending time talking to them.

Gary came over and said, “Okay, we can talk now. Sorry about all the cloak and dagger.”

“That’s okay, Gary. I’m getting used to it. The older we get, the more we seem to do this kind of thing.”

“You just can’t be too careful; you never know who’s listening.” He looked around as though he was searching for somebody with a camera. “Were you followed here?”

I chuckled at that, but said with a straight face, “No, nobody followed me. I’m not in any trouble, so nobody wants anything to do with me.”

“That’s good to know,” he said. He pulled up a stool and sat down. I don’t think he liked to stand too much, since I’m sure he was always on the move in this job. He probably sat down every chance he got, like I do; I decided to follow suit, so I pulled up a stool as well. Gary looked at me, and said, “I don’t know where Walter is these days. He’s been kind of hard to find since his release. He took a hard fall, and I think he’s embarrassed that he hasn’t been able to get back into the corporate world, now that he has a record, even with all his expertise.”

I nodded, and added, “He said he was going to lay low until his parole was over. That time has passed.”

“I’ll put the word out that you’d like to speak with him,” said Gary, “but I can’t guarantee anything.”

“That’s okay,” I said. “I may not have any need with him. It’s a concern I have; it’s nothing pressing.”

Since that was out of the way, we talked about people we knew, schoolmates, old girlfriends, old teachers, for about 20 minutes, reliving our youthful days. Gary was a businessman now, and I didn’t blame him for being careful. He had to keep himself far from being associated with controversial and shady characters, and I guess Walter had somewhat of a reputation for being a character, although I felt he had been misunderstood. Nobody understands genius; they’re labeled as ”eccentrics,” which serves to isolate them socially.

I finally got up to leave, and Gary walked me to the front of the store, talking all the way. He probably didn’t get many schoolmates and old friends here at his business; it must be lonely at times although he does have much of his extended family here with him. He’d become a family man, and had to be thinking about them as well; it wasn’t just about himself anymore. It’s good to see that in a person; Gary had become a humble man looking after his kin.

I went home to get something to eat and catch some shut-eye; the next day was Saturday and so I’d be able to relax and mow the yard or not, clean up around the house or not, or just sleep late, or not. I got home, turned on the television; I didn’t watch it much anymore, but wanted to hear some noise in the house, in the background, because I usually spend my time on the computer. Speaking of which, I decided to type in the name “Susan Lovely” on the search engine to see what would show up about Dr. Franklin Burke’s maybe/perhaps girlfriend.

I found what Helen had told me, that Susan Lovely was 37 years old, no longer a child, no longer a young adult, but a lady who was now in middle age territory. She’d never been married and had no kids, which was kind of unusual for a rich and beautiful woman like herself. Surely there would have been sharks or gold-diggers or suitors who would have swept her off her feet, years ago. Wonder why that never happened. She had a pretty portrait photograph…

The cell phone rang and I picked it up. A strange voice said, “I hear you’re looking for me?” It had an electronic, tinny quality to it, with no inflection or accent. I said, “I think I’m looking for you if you’re who I think you are.”

“I’m probably who you think I am. Let’s meet. Leave your house and walk to the Janet Field park. Take your phone with you.”

It was getting late, but I didn’t want to miss this meeting. It was 8:30 p.m. and dark already, so I took a flashlight and