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Clerow, his wife Cora-Beth , my wife Sepia and I sat in the hospital room where Bonita had still failed to regain consciousness... Dr. Winton Farber addressed us.

"We induced a coma and we have pumped her stomach.....We are going to bring her out of the coma and she should be fine...just a little weak...It's funny though...The other guy died instantly while her system fought it off and rejected it..You said that she brought some of it up at the restaraunt eh? Incredibe!! How one persons system fought it off and the other didn't." he said.

"Doc , this wasn't a run of the mill case of food poisoning though was it?" I asked.

"Well no..it was definitely poisoning though...a rare poison from Guyanna...Never seen it here in the U.S. This is a first." said Dr. Farber.

"Could it have been mistaken for a seasoning ?" I asked.

"No..That's like asking me if Arsenic could have been mistaken for a seasoning..Whoever done this, knew what they were doing and they meant to do it...This stuff is poison and it shouldn't even be around food..." he said.

"So this was attempted murder?" I asked.

"Yes...I'd say so...This pretty little lady couldn't possibly have an enemy in the world could she?" he asked.

I didn't answer...but I got to thinking....Maybe she wasn't the intended victim...maybe it was Jack Gable, the dead fellow! I had to get back to that restaraunt...Maybe Ralph Scallion was back and could tell me something.

"Cora-Beth...could you take Sepia home....I've got to run down something." I said.

"Sure Kev." she said.

"What baby?" asked Sepia.

"Got to go back to that restaraunt! ,Oh , did you call Robert?" I asked....but no sooner had the words come out of my mouth than Robert Foxworth came into the hospital room...He looked bad...Like he had been up all night....His young protoge' Chance Howard was with him....He pulled me to the side.

"Kev...I aint never seen Mr. F. like this...He was at Josies all night, closed the joint..Gus aint want him to drive so he called me..and I got him...He's just distraught man..." said Chance.

Robert was slumped over Bonita's bed...silent... I wanted to say something to him...but now wasn't the time.

"Stay with him Chance." I said as Clerow and I got in our car and pulled off.

"Man, Bottom of the C. is closed" he said.

"I know...but Dollar Bill is still up...He goes to Ciros after closing...Maybe he can shed some light on the dead guy, Jack Gable....Maybe he was the target!" I said.

When we got to "Bottom of The C" , it was closed , but a crowd of people were still around talking
about what had happened...I imagined all kinds of rumors were floating around. Clerow and I worked the crowd, asking questions about Jack Gable....It seemed that everybody knew him and everybody liked him...Everybody had a funny story to tell about him...yet not one person had a bad word to say about him....I found that strange.

From someone in the crowd..We found out where he lived...We drove to his house...We comforted his widow and his two grown daughters....He had four grandchildren....He was a family man...He had just recently retired from the Post Office....He definitely wasn't rich..just a regular guy it seemed and he definitely was not a playa...He didn't appear to have an enemy in the world from what we could see.

Next..Clerow and I drove to Ciros and just like I said...Dollar Bill was there...Blubbering like a baby and crying, with his head between the two huge breasts of some woman (not his wife) who was drinking with him....

"Oh baby...it's gonna be alright..." she said..

"Ohhhhhh...Ohhhhhh...I feel so bad....Could I stay with you tonight? I need someone to just..to just hold me.....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." said Dollar Bill.

''Alright Bill ...you can stay with me tonight" she said.

"Okay...pay the check....I aint got no cash on me..."he said.

Clerow and I walked up to Dollar Bill...

"Bill hold up a minute." I said.

"I want to ask you about Jack Gable." I continued.

"What about him?...He was such a nice man...didn't have an enemy in the world...Always tipped well....Ohhhhhhhhhh my lord..I caint believe he dead...That was my friend...ohhhhhhh." wailed Dollar Bill.

"Bill, did he have a woman on the side? Maybe she had a jealous boyfriend?..." asked Clerow.

"Naw...Naw...Jack didn't play that..All the years I knowed him..He went home to his wife...He didn't cheat.." asked Dollar Bill.

"He owe anybody any money?" I asked.

''Nah Jack didn't gamble and didn't borrow money..He wouldn't bet more than five bucks on the Baseball game...." said Dollar Bill.

"Alright man...get some sleep." I said and winked. Dollar Bill looked at his lady friend and then shot me a sly grin....Clerow cracked up laughing and the two of us left.

"Okay boss...what now?" asked Clerow...

"I don't think this man was the target...but it couldn't have been Bonita....." I said.

"You think Ralph Scallion was the target?" asked Clerow.

"That's occurred to me...Only tonight...He ate crabcakes instead of the Lobster Bisque....That's not like him.....Lets roll by his spot...Maybe he's there." I said.

We drove by Ralph Scallion's place.... From the time we got there...I didn't like what I saw...The door was open...Ralph's car was not on the street!! We pulled our pistols and turned on the lights.
The place looked like no one had been here..The bed was made...The Kitchen was spotless and in the living room everything was super tidy...

Something wasn't right! Just then the side window exploded!! Glass went flying in every direction...Clerow and I hit the floor....

"Somebody's shooting at us Kev....Kill the lights" yelled Clerow... I crawled to the light switch and cut it off....I cracked the door open and saw a figure on the move...I fired two shots at the elusive figure...He turned and fired two shots back..I ducked behind the door...Clerow fired out the window at the figure.. He returned the fire... Clerow and I both fired at the elusive man..but it was dark and he was moving very fast.

"You bastard....I'll be back, you som of a beeetch ...." said the figure, which leaped into a black vehicle, I couldn't quite make out and pulled off into the night.....tires screaching!

Clerow and I exited the house....A small crowd of people began to gather around outside.....they had obviously heard the little gunfight!

"You get a good look at him Kev?" asked Clerow...

"Nah....He was moving too fast..but I swear..something about that voice...I heard it before..but I can't place it.." I said.

"Phew...he tried to kill us." said Clerow...

"No..He was trying to kill Ralph.....Ralph was the intended target.." I said.

"Yeah..well Ralph needs to tell us somethin..I don't like gettin shot at for him." said Clerow.

"I hear that...We gotta find Ralph first....It's been quite a night buddy..I'm tired, how bout you?"
I said.

"Helll yeah...I call myself takin my wife out for dinner...and I witness a murder, see a friend take sick...Run into you and almost get kilt....quite a night man." said Clerow.

"Well, let's go home, get some sleep.....We'll get after Ralph tomorrow." I said.

"Now you're talkin jack." laughed Clerow as we got in my car and pulled off!

(To Be Continued....)