Old Wounds

It was late in the afternoon at the Tracy Agency.  Tess Tracy was at her desk, reviewing some photographs from a recent surveillance job.  Her partner, Johnny Adonis, was in the records room, helping their new assistant organize the agency’s case files. Johnny entered the front office that he and Tess shared.

“Hey, Tess, we got any more staples?” Johnny asked.

“They should be in the supply cupboard.” Tess answered without looking up. Johnny walked to the cabinet set into the office’s far wall and braced himself. To his surprise, only a packet of notepads came tumbling out when his opened the door. Still, the disorganized cabinet was difficult to navigate.

“Once we get done in the back room, this is our next project.” Johnny announced.

“Plus, you know… Cases.”  Tess smirked.

“Well, right. Obviously.”  Johnny began digging the cabinet. “I don’t know how we lasted so long when it was just you and me.”

“Patience, mostly.” Tess replied, diplomatically.

 “Yeah, I guess.” Johnny looked at the clock. “I know it’s only four, but I was thinking of cutting out early. You mind?”

“No, I suppose not.” Tess looked away from her computer. “Big plans for tonight?”

“There’s a new installation opening at a gallery downtown and I managed to wrangle an invitation.” Johnny turned and grinned at his partner. “I want to make sure I look my best.”

Tess steeled herself, summoning the nerve to raise a topic she had been meaning to bring up for some time.  “You know, Johnny, ever since Bonnie moved back home, she’s had a hard time meeting new people.  Do you think maybe you might like to take her out sometime? Show her the fun places around town?”

“Yeah, okay. Could be fun.” Johnny was non-committal. “Bonnie’s a nice girl.”

Tess pressed on. “Yes. And you know that things are over between her and Officer Sampson back in Washington, so, if you two really hit it off…”

Johnny looked at Tess, puzzled. “What?”

“You know. I think the two of you would be good together.”

Johnny chuckled with surprise. “What, seriously?” Tess nodded. “Tess, I… I mean…”

“You’re not worried about Dick, are you?” Tess said. “Johnny, I’m sure he would approve. He thinks the world of you.”

“No, it’s not that, it’s…” Johnny turned and looked at his partner. “Tess, I’m gay.”

Tess’ eyebrows raised. “What? For how long?”

“For the foreseeable future, at least.” Johnny grinned, trying to relieve the tension that had filled the room.

“No, I mean, how long have you been… That way.” Tess was clearly uncomfortable with the subject.

“For as long as you’ve known me.”  Johnny walked over to her desk and sat on the edge. “Really, I’m surprised you didn’t know.”

“It never occurred to me.” Tess said, astonished. “Does Dick know?”

“Well, he’s the world’s greatest detective, so I should hope so.”

“He never said anything…” Tess wracked her brain, trying to think of any reference Dick might have made to Johnny’s personal life.

“I can’t think why he would. I mean, there’s no reason why my love life should come up at your house.”

“No, of course not, I just… I’m surprised.” Tess exhaled. “And I guess I feel foolish for not knowing.”

“It’s not a big deal. I just hope you didn’t get Bonnie’s hopes up or anything.”

“No, no, I hadn’t talked to her about it. For all I know, she already knew. I think young people must have a better sense of these things nowadays.” Tess rested her head in her hand. “So much for my powers of observation, right? All this time and I had no idea.”

“Relax. It’s fine.” Johnny comforted his partner. “I can still take her around sometime if she wants. Introduce her to some nice people, maybe.”

“I’m sure she’d like that. Let me give you her cell number. And I have her e-mail…”

Tess began writing down Bonnie’s contact information when there was a knock at the office door. Johnny stood and opened it. An older woman was standing there, clutching her handbag in front of her. She looked tired.

“Hello, can we help you?” Johnny asked.

“I want the detectives.” The woman answered. “I need someone found.”

“This is the Tracy Agency, we’re private detectives.” Tess stood and gestured to an empty chair by her desk. “Why don’t you sit down, ma’am.”

“Thank you.” The woman made her way to the seat and rested heavily.

“Now, is this a missing person case?” Johnny asked. “Because that would be a police matter, of course.”

“No, it’s not that. I want someone found, and they don’t want to be. That’s why I’m here.” The woman looked back and forth between Tess and Johnny. “You can do that, can’t you?”

“Why don’t you tell us the whole story, ma’am?” Tess poured the woman a glass of water while Johnny grabbed a pad and pen to take notes.

“All right. My name is Agnes Yonem. Several years ago, my husband Charley got involved with a hoodlum named Little Face Finny.”

Tess and Johnny looked at each other. Mrs. Yonem went on. “I’m sure you’ve heard of him. His real name is Leonard. Sometimes he spells his last name with an ‘E’ in it, if that helps, but usually it’s just F-I-N-N-Y. My husband found him while he was hiding from the police, and this Finny person got him arrested as an accessory. Charlie served 10 years in a state prison.”

“Yes, we’re familiar with the case.” Tess offered.

“My husband was a good man, you understand. He just made a mistake. Saw an opportunity to improve our lives, and it ruined him. After he got out, he couldn’t get work. Prison changed him. He was distant, lifeless. Two years after he got out, he had a stroke and died in our living room. I was out working and found him when I came home. He had been all alone…"

Tess offered the woman a tissue, but she waved it away. “I’m not crying. I’m done crying. Charlie’s gone, and I’m trying to get on with my life.

“But this Little Face person, that’s a different story. I was furious when he was paroled. It was only just recently. He should have rotted in jail for the rest of his life, but they let him out. Said he was reformed. That’s crazy! The man’s a monster and he deserves to be behind bars.”

“Mrs. Yonem-“

“That’s why I’m here.” Agnes cut Johnny off. “After his release, he disappeared. No new address, no public record of his whereabouts. He’s supposed to check in with a parole officer, but even those records are being kept secret for some reason. I’m not good with computers, and I thought that with your connections to the police department, you could find him. Make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else.”

“That’s admirable…” Tess’s voice was low, waiting to see how worked up the woman would get.

“I don’t have much money, but I’ll pay what I can. You have to find him, do you understand? He’s a menace, and he’s out on the streets doing God-knows-what…”

“Yes, Mrs. Yonem, my partner and I understand that this is very important to you. I think we can help.” Johnny stood and walked back to the records room. “Sheldon, could you come out here, please?”  

Johnny waited while the new office assistant emerged into the front room. He was a tall man with a slim build and wavy blond hair that he wore swept back.  His face was uncommonly small. Mrs. Yonem gasped and jumped to her feet.

“You! What are you doing here!  Have you been following me?” Mrs. Yonem stepped toward ‘Sheldon’, but Tess held out a hand. “What is going on?” Mrs. Yonem demanded.

“Mrs. Yonem, this is our office’s assistant. He goes by the name Sheldon Pettit, but you knew him as Little Face.”

“Hello, Agnes.” Little Face’s features remained neutral. “How’s Charley?”

“He’s dead, you animal.” Agnes spat. “It should have been you.”

Little Face sighed. Agnes turned to Tess.

“This is how you run a detective agency? With a convicted felon? A thief and a killer?” she demanded.

“It’s a long story, Mrs. Yonem.” Tess tried to calm the older woman. “You see, shortly after his release, Leonard helped the police by providing some information that led to the dismantling of a major criminal organization here in the city.  But, by doing that, he made some very dangerous enemies. People who want him dead.”

“So, rather than go into protective custody, a deal was made to keep Leonard here in the city,” Johnny offered. “Where we could keep an eye on him.”

“Besides, even in a new city, I would tend to stand out in a crowd.” Leonard raised his eyebrows, hoping to lighten the mood. Mrs. Yonem scowled at him.

“So that’s justice, is it? He ruins my husband’s life, and now he gets to walk free, protected by the authorities? That’s outrageous.”

“I’m not exactly walking free, Agnes.” Little Face proclaimed. “I live here in the office. There’s a back room with a kitchenette and a cot that I sleep on. There’s a TV and wi-fi, but I can’t go outside because I might get recognized. I help here at the agency to compensate for the room and board, but that’s pretty much all that my life is.”

“He’s been very helpful, Mrs. Yonem,” said Tess. “With his knowledge of the criminal underworld, and his expertise with precious gems, he’s an extremely valuable resource.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better? ‘Cause it doesn’t.” Mrs. Yonem glared at Leonard.

“Look, Agnes, I hope you’ll understand. I’ve done a lot of bad things in my life. I’m trying to do whatever I can to make up for it. I know that doesn’t make you feel any better, but maybe this will.”

Leonard took Johnny’s pad and turned the page. He wrote a name and address on it, tore the page off and handed it to Agnes.

“That’s a woman named Dolores Mullaney.  Her husband was a police officer. I killed him.”

Tess gasped and covered her mouth.

“I don’t talk about it much, Mrs. Tracy.” Leonard continued. “I was making a getaway from the police. I grabbed Officer Mullaney’s gun and used it to kidnap a woman and hijack a taxi cab. I shot Mullaney as I was escaping. Later that same day, I killed the cab driver.”

Johnny put his hand on Leonard’ shoulder. “Leonard…”

“I don’t pretend to be anything that I’m not, Agnes.” Little Face’s voice was steady, though his hands were trembling slightly. “You say I’m a killer, that’s true. The state says I’ve reformed, and maybe I have, but I know that doesn’t do you any good. If there’s any other person in the world who will understand how you feel about me, it’s Dolores Mullaney. Maybe you two can help each other.”

Agnes Yonem narrowed her eyes and put the piece of paper in her bag. “I’ll be going now.” She turned away.

“Mrs. Yonem-“ Tess stopped her. “You need to understand, Leonard’s life is still very much in danger.  There are people out there who wouldn’t think twice about killing him, and wouldn’t care who they had to go through to get to him.  They’d probably pay well to know his whereabouts.”

“I’m not getting mixed up with any more killers and hoodlums, Mrs. Tracy.” Agnes took another look at Little Face. “I hope he spends the rest of his miserable life in this office.”

With that, Agnes Yonem left. Silence hung in the room for a moment.

“You want some water, buddy? Maybe I can go grab you a sandwich or something?” Johnny offered.

“No, I’m fine, thank you Johnny.” Leonard took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “I’m still chipping away at those old files. One of these days I want to hear your version of what happened with the ‘Ghost of Itchy’. I met Twitchy Oliver in the pen, so I only know his side of things.”

“Sure, pal, any time.” Johnny clapped him on the back. Tess remained quiet as Little Face retreated back into the records room. After a moment, Johnny noticed the awkward silence. “Tess?”

“I’m sorry, Johnny.” Tess shook her head, as if dislodging an unpleasant thought. “I forget sometimes. The things Leonard did…”

“People can change, Tess.” Johnny assured her. “In his case, it’s mostly because of how Dick treated him.”

“I know, I know.” Tess was still composing herself. “I’ve met Delores Mullaney, you know. And I can’t help thinking about how it could have been Dick. There were so many times that it could have been Dick, and I don’t know what I would do. What I would think of the person that did it, if I could even go on…”

“Hopefully, we’ll never have to find out.” Johnny grabbed his coat, then picked up Tess’ as well. “Come on, let me drive you home. Maybe Bonnie’ll want to go to this gallery show with me tonight.”

“Thanks, I’d appreciate that. I’ll fix you some dinner when we get to the house.”

Johnny flashed her a toothy smile, then went to the door to the back room. “Leon- I mean, Sheldon! We’re about to take off. You need anything?”

“No!” the unseen man responded. “Make sure to lock up!”

“Will do!” Johnny replied. He tugged on his coat and turned to Tess. “Hey, did I tell you that Leonard measured the size of our back room?”

“No. Why would he do that?” Tess asked as they walked out.

“Just curious. Turns out that the room he’s living in now is smaller than his jail cell was.” Johnny’s smile had a somber edge to it. “Maybe mention that to the landlord sometime, huh?”

END