“You may not want an answer to that, Your Honor. The last thing Caradona said to me was ‘Don’t let the criminals take this city over.’ I intend to honor that. I can do it easier and better with your help.”
“I don’t believe in hatchet men,” held the mayor.
“Not a hatchet man, Your Honor. I’d be your own personal detective. I shall investigate, I’ll be armed for my own protection and I’ll mete out justice to those beyond the reach of the law.”
A lamp flicked on. A toff in a black suit, topcoat and hat with white gloves, and a white mask over his eyes came into focus. The only thing pointed at the mayor was a cane.
The mayor considered this and said, “A masked avenger seems preposterous.”
“This mask is only for when I have no particular disguise to use. Perhaps some day you’ll find someone who looks like Caradona come up to you and show you this.”
He presented a ring with a chameleon on it. The lizard was his old unit’s symbol. It held meaning to him.
“I’m not asking for much. Direct your police force to cooperate with me. That’s all. In return, I guarantee you crooks will be stopped.”
“You’re saying you’ll be some sort of revenant of Detective Caradona?” grinned the mayor. “We had tales of revenants back in county Mayo.”
“You can call me that. The Revenant Detective. Yes, it has a nice ring to it.”
“A wee bit of theater, eh?” the mayor noted, bringing a smile to Curtis’s lips.
“One more item, Your Honor,” added Griffin, pulling up a shopping bag. He removed a cathedral radio of a few years vintage. “This is how we will communicate,” he began.
“With a radio?” asked the mayor incredulously. “Going to send me bulletins?”
“Inside is a two-way radio, Mr. Mayor,” clarified Griffin. “Twist the tuning dial to speak.”
“Ingenious!” decided O’Dwyer.
“Now that I come to think of it, your question: ‘Is that the mythical beast, a first name, or the proud Irish surname?’ is a good way for us to identify ourselves.”
“‘Take your pick’ being the correct answer,” nodded the mayor. “Yes, I like it. Well, well. I shall be proud to call you partner. And what do you think we will be investigating first?”
“I should look into this Silver Manticore menace,” Griffin offered. He heard something outside the door.
“That modern Robin Hood bedeviling our city. Well, what’s your plan, Griffin?” the mayor asked turning his back to his guest, to look over a gigantic wall map of New York City.
When no answer was forthcoming, the mayor wheeled back to Griffin. But all he saw was an open window, curtains billowing.
“Darling, who were you talking to?” Mrs. O’Dwyer asked as she entered the office.
“Oh, nobody, my dear. Just practicing my speech.”
“A phantom!” she laughed.
Blocks away, a well dressed Eldon Curtis III was stuffing a white cloth mask into his breast pocket. It looked like a handkerchief. His top coat was now fawn brown, white gloves reversed to show black, and his hat was at a jauntier angle and the cane had disappeared. Curtis smiled to himself.
The End
You have just finished reading
DEADLY ROLE
by P.J. Lozito
This story is part of the Single Shots Signature Series.
Edited by Tommy Hancock
Editor in Chief, Pro Se Productions-Tommy Hancock
Director of Corporate Operations-Morgan McKay
Publisher & Pro Se Productions, LLC-Chief Executive Officer-Fuller Bumpers
Cover Art by Jeff Hayes
E-book Design by Russ Anderson
Pro Se Productions, LLC
133 1/2 Broad Street
Batesville, AR, 72501
870-834-4022
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