Elmore's Corner...Round Seven.

Hewey was curled up in the exact center of the bed, under the blankets. He had destroyed Beth's neatly made bed but Beth was so unsettled she didn't have the heart to scold the dog. Instead she dropped into bed besider him, letting him smother her with excited licking and vibrate the bed with all-over wiggling. Sam appeared in the doorway, crutchless.

Sam:  Baby?  You okay?  You're white as a sheet?

Beth's only answer was a heavy sigh.  She finally managed to stop the
dog, pushing the blunt head away with her hand.  She rubbed his head and
shoulder affectionately while mopping her face with her sleeve.

Sam:  Get the damn big ape off the bed and he won't do that. Gotta let him
know who's boss, baby.

Hewey growled softly and arranged himself so that he was half on top of
Beth.

Beth:  Where's your crutch?

Sam:  Well...I...

Beth:  Just lettin' you know who's boss.

Sam:  We're having some guests, hon...hope you don't mind too much.  I
thought you might be able to join us out on the patio later, so you can
tell them what you know.  Foltrigg's one of 'em.

Beth rubbed at her eyes with the heels of her hands.  She whispered...

Beth:  Christ!

Sam was instantly on the alert and he hopped determinedly across the
floor to the bed.

Sam:  What's wrong?

Beth:  It's not a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  Hewey, go lie
down.

Beth patted the big animal on the head.  Grunting, he jumped down and
lumbered out of the bedroom.

Sam:  I don't like the sound of that, baby girl.  What the hell happened 
over there at that shitpit?

Beth:  Nothing much, unless you consider that we walked right into a 
visit by Cosmo and Cole, the original Gruesome Twosome.  Lots of macho
bullshit posturing, lots of conversation, lots of veiled and not so
veiled threats.  Just what I wanted to end my afternoon with.

Sam:  Did anybody threaten you?

Beth:  Not...really.

Sam:  Either they did or they didn't.  What was said?  Roy, Eddie, you
wanna come on down here?

The first one in the room was Roy Foltrigg, casually dressed in a pair
of trimly cut Levis and a simple white shirt.  He was followed by another
man, wearing a rumpled suit.  Beth had never met the second man before.

Roy:  Why, cher... you look like you've seen a ghost.

Eddie:  A WHAT!!??

Sam:  Figure of speech, Eddie, figure of speech.  Tell him, hon!
Eddie, here, has a thing about ghosts.  Tell him you didn't see one
and we can move on.

Beth's eyebrow shot skyward as she regarded the suddenly animated
figure in the firesale suit.  Her first response was meant for no ears
save her own, and was delivered in a whisper...

Beth:  God, give me strength...

She raised her voice for the second half of this...

Beth:  Tell them what, Sam?  I didn't see any ghosts, though it
might have been nice if the explanation was that simple.  Um, Sam?  An
introduction here?  And, by the way, nice to see you again, Roy.  Welcome
to the Revolution.

Roy:  Always my pleasure, cher.  What revolution?

Sam:  Sorry, baby.  Eddie, this is Beth Franklin, my...

Sam always paused at this point in introductions and it always made Beth
squirm.  He said it was because he was unable to think of a suitable word
to describe her place in his life.  'Lover' seemed a little...coarse, while
'girlfriend' offered none of the dignity and permanence of the relationship.
Beth had mentioned several alternatives, but 'general factotum' was too
snide and 'concubine' infuriated him...

Beth:  Carpenter.  I'm his carpenter.  I'm working on the kitchen
cabinets.  Eddie...?

Sam:  Dammit!  Eddie, this is Beth, my lady.  Beth, this is Eddie Mallard,
provate investigator, ghostbuster...

Eddie cringed, and Beth had a strong urge to smack Sam.  Beth decided
she was going to keep Eddie away from Deb as long as she could.  Eddie was
such a sad, defeated, lonely looking sort of man that all of Deb's
frustrated mother instincts would come roaring to the fore.

Beth:  Oh, you're the private dick?

Eddie:  GUMSHOE, private gumshoe.

Beth:  Sorry.

Roy:  Now that we have all of that out of the way, what precisely happened
there with Cosmo and Cole?

Roy removed a small notepad and gold-tipped pen from his shirtpocket.

Sam:  Why don't you come on out onto the patio, hon...

Sam began herding the other two men out of the bedroom and down the hall.
Sam erupted in a yell, and Beth knew that poor Hewey was about to get it
again.

Sam:  Get the goddam hell out of that fridge, Hewey!  Beth!  Can't you
do something with this animal!?

Beth sighed, pushing her fingers deep into her hair.  She saw that her
dream of a quiet, relaxing evening had just been blown to hell by a
Howitzer.  Her Sam had stepped out for the night, and Deputy Sam had moved
in.  She got up, almost but not quite resigned to her fate, and went to
the kitchen.  She filled Hewey's bowl with more dogfood and freshened his
water, grabbed a bottled water out of the fridge, and slipped out onto the
patio.  She planted herself by the sliding glass door and leaned against 
the brick wall next to it.

Sam:  C'mon, baby girl, sit down.

He patted the cushions beside him, but Beth shook her head.  Sam's
expression briefly tightened.

Beth:  What do you boys need to know?

Roy:  What happened at Elmore's Corner today, cher.  That might help us 
with what Eddie, here,  brought us from De-troit.

Beth:  Cosmo was there again trying to induce Elmore to take him up on
his offer to buy the bar and keep Elmore on as manager.

Roy:  Which would have allowed him use Mr. Pratt as a scapegoat should the
money-laundering scheme have been found out.

Beth:  Money-laundering...?

Sam:  What's wrong, honey?  Please...come on and sit down.

Eddie:  Cosmo would've got off with nothing more than a warning to be
more careful in his hiring practices.

Beth:  Well, Elmore's safe.  Bill won't let him and the place fall into 
Cosmo's hands.

Roy:  And then we come to Strannix.  We have a pile of evidence against Mr.
Strannix.  Perhaps we can move on that while we're here, Sam.

Beth:  That's it.

Beth started to turn and take herself back into the house.

Sam:  Stop right there.

Beth thumped her head against the wall and turned back to the men.

Sam:  You're gonna have the common decency to tell me what's crawled up
your ass before you punish me with it.

Eddie:  I think the lady wants you to leave Strannix alone, Mr. Foltrigg.

Roy:  I get that impression, Eddie.

Beth:  Cosmo yakked for a while about how no-one in this crowd is an
experienced businessman and how he would be so much better for this
property.  He went on and on about how much potential it had.  He
also made some remarks about how Elmore should keep an eye on everything
down there so nothing would happen to it.  His good buddy Cole came
in from nosing around God knows where, and of course Deb got all up in his
face, pretty much sealing in his happy mood.  Before all hell broke
loose with Bill and Cole, Cosmo pulled Cole away.  Said he wanted to wish
everyone luck, no hard feelings, yada yada yada.  And Mr. Cole, who has a
passing acquaintance with me, left me with a parting shot as he left.  Now
...I've had a really fucking horrendous day, gentlemen.  I was hoping for
a little peace and quiet and...comfort, when I got home.  Forgive me if my 
mood is less than choice.

Roy:  Deb?  Is that who I think it is, cher?

Sam:  Strannix' woman.  You met her once a while back.  Beth, hon...that 
all makes sense, but why...you've gotta know Strannix is gonna trip and 
when he does, one of us, Roy or me, is gonna be there to catch him.

Beth looked at Sam very seriously.

Beth:  I will not be a party to Bill's downfall.  Period.  Excuse me.

Beth yanked open the heavy glass door and automatically stepped aside
for Hewey, who bounded into the yard in search of blowing leaves or that
pesky ground squirrel or whatever had caught his fancy.  As soon as the
dog was clear, Beth went back inside.  Sam rose, wishing he had his
crutch, since it would have let him move a little faster and with a lot 
more dignity.

Sam:  You boys excuse me?

Roy and Eddie nodded, knowing this was something they had no business in.
Sam followed Beth into the kitchen, finding her leaning with her head
against the smooth surface of the kitchen counter.

Sam:  Hon?

Beth raised her head slowly, tiredly.  Her eyes were slightly bloodshot.

Sam:  What the hell was that about?  Nobody was suggesting you be a party 
to anything concerning Strannix.  We can get him without you, if we want 
to...

Beth:  Thank you so much.  That was immensely comforting.

Sam:  That's not what I meant and you know it.  If I wanted to, I could have
ten warrants in five minutes.  I'm not gonna bother with that.  It would
hurt you.  And I'm not gonna be a party to hurting you if I
can avoid it.

Sam scrubbed a hand down the side of his face.  Beth smiled at him
halfheartedly.

Beth:  Thanks.  Really.

Sam:  Hon, I mean it.

Beth nodded her head, lowered it back to the counter top.  Sam reached
out to her, almost overbalanced so that he could stroke her lightly between
the shoulderblades.

Sam:  Baby...

Beth raised her head again.  It looked to be just about as much as she
could handle.

Beth:  Yeah?

Sam:  It's cold out here.

Beth:  What?

Sam:  I said it's cold out here...when you're angry.  You're freezing me 
out.

Beth:  I just really needed to come home to some peace and quiet
and...and I can't really do the social thing right now.

Sam:  I understand that.  I'll excuse us for the night, they'll make
themselves at home, look after the dog.  Eddie likes dogs.  Are you so
upset with me that I need to go to the doghouse and let Hewey have my
spot beside you?

Beth:  Dammit!!  I'm not upset with you...okay, well I've become upset
...but it was just not a thrill to come into an interrogation, barking
back at the poor dog, and guilt because I'm treating you the way you told
me specifically you wanted to be treated.  For Christ's sake, you'd think I
was supposed to be apologizing to you for something!

Sam hopped toward her, using the counters to support himself.  His
voice was incredibly gentle.

Sam:  Honey, your friends are in a great deal of trouble with this
situation.  I don't know if they realize just how much, how dangerous
Cosmo is.  I know how much it would pain you to see them hurt.  I'm
doing this for you, for my Lil Sis, even for Strannix because, God help
me, the asshole grows on a person.  If I upset you, I'm sorry.

Beth:  To tell you the truth, right now I couldn't really give a flying
fuck about the whole mess.  Great friend, huh?  Quite frankly, I've just
had a horrifying experience thrown up in my face and I'd just prefer to
pretend this whole day didn't happen.

Sam:  We can do that.  If you want.

Beth nodded.  Sam made his way to the patio door, opened it, Hewey shot
round the cast and down the hall.  For once Sam ignored the big dog.  He
spoke in a quiet voice to Roy and Eddie.

Roy:  We'll be just fine, won't we, Eddie.  You go on, take care of that
lovely lady and we'll see you in the morning.

Sam returned to Beth, reached out to her.  Beth caught his hand and
pulled herself closer to him, held herself against the broad chest and 
listened to the slow, steady thimp of his heart.  Already the threat of
George Cole was beginning to seem slightly unreal.

Sam:  Come on, baby...I think I know a way to help you forget about all 
that...

Beth:  Not tonight, Sam...that's too easy.  Sometimes...sometimes I just
need to be held.  That's all I want.

Sam:  Big bastard did scare you, didn't he?  He'll pay for that.  Come on,
hon...I've got a warm lap, if you want it.

Beth looked down at the floor and nodded her head.

Sam:  Come on...let's go...quiet time for my girl...

Sam tugged on her hand, led her down the hall to the bedroom.  Hewey was
already planted in the center of the bed, and he turned adoring eyes on 
Beth when Sam brought her in.  Sam spoke gently to the dog.

Sam:  Go on...shove it over, you big moose...I'm takin' care of your mama
tonight.

Hewey jumped down with a groan.  He curled up on the doggie pillow
Beth had bought him some weeks earlier.  The pillow lay at the foot of the
bed, and Hewey's Boo-Boo Bear was kept on it.  Beth slid up on the
bed, resting against the pillows.

Sam:  You want a bath, baby?

Beth:  No.  I just want to rest a bit.

Sam:  Then what do you want from me?

Beth:  Just be here.  Please, just be here.

Sam stretched out beside her, gathered her close and arranged her head
on his shoulder.

Sam:  I love doing this.  We used to do it all the time...now we never have
a chance.

Hewey groaned and sighed, chewed on Boo-Boo Bear's ear.

Sam:  Quiet, you, dog.  Mama's tryin' to sleep...goofy dog.  What's with 
the bear..?

Beth:  That's his...never mind.  Yeah, we don't get much quiet time 
anymore.  It's been such a circus around here lately...chaos central.  We're
due for a break.

Sam:  Too much time around Strannix, baby.  

Beth managed a tired giggle.  Cole was a million miles away...

Beth:  Something to do with Deb.  He never used to get into so
much hot water.  The two of them together...they're like a magnet...

Sam leaned over and began lightly kissing Beth's face and hair. stroking
her body in a way that was anything but sexual.  His touch was comforting,
reassuring as the sound of his voice low in her ear.

Sam:  Go to sleep if you need to, baby...I'll be here...anything gets past 
your dog'll have to get through me...you're as safe as I can make you...

Beth rolled over, slid down a little farther.  Her back was to him, but 
she still held tightly to the arm that encircled her.

Beth:  Promise?

Sam:  Cross my heart, the whole nine yards, baby.

Sam pulled her closer, molded his big body to her small one.  He made
some sense of the covers Hewey had disordered earlier and pulled them up
over her.

Sam:  ...let it go, honey...nobody's gonna hurt you...nobody at all...

Beth cuddled his arm against her torso.  Eyes closed, her voice came
from a long way away.

Beth:  ...nobody...

Sam:  Nobody...they won't get at my little girl...go to sleep, baby...

The sound of her deep, even breathing told Sam that she had done so.
He lay his head beside hers, his nose in her hair...and slept himself.
At some point during the night, each one awakened just enough to remove 
their clothes, and naked they were able to press closer and find greater
comfort in one another.  In this way, through the night, the spectre of
George Cole faded to nothing more than a small irritation, so that when
Beth awoke to Hewey's head beside her on the pillow instead of Sam's,
she was able to smile and nuzzle the dog awake instead of the other way
around.  Just a few hours with Sam were better than a tonic.  Of course
...a shower would help the tonic kick in...

Nothing like a hot shower first thing in the morning to clear the
head.  Or so she thought.  Freshly scrubbed, clean hair, comfy
clothes, Beth was ready to start the day.  As she headed down the
hall, she was halted by the sight of Roy emerging from a steamy guest
bathroom.

Roy:  Mornin', cher'.  How'd y'all sleep last night?

Roy smelled of soap and shaving cream and cologne.  He was tucking a
pin-striped, cotton oxford into his jeans.  He smiled as he rolled the
sleeves up his forearms.

Beth:  Slept like a . . . a log, Roy.  You?

Roy:  Like a baby, cher'.  This cool, crisp, dry desert air is a marvel.

He raised his voice and threw it back over his shoulder.

Roy:  All yours, Eddie!  'Scuse me, cher'.

Roy sidestepped Beth and headed down the hall toward the guest
bedroom.  Beth took a moment to get her bearings straight and then
continued her journey down the hallway.  Only to be stopped by the
sight of Eddie lumbering out of the office.  His hair was mussed,
sleep still in his eyes, and a sad, tired look on his face.  Come to
think of it, he *always* had a sad, tired look on his face.  But this
morning the picture was complete by the fact that he was only wearing
his pants from the cheap suit he had on last night.  No shirt, no
shoes, carrying what looked to be a small athletic bag.  She wasn't
sure.  Her gaze didn't quite make it down that far.

Eddie:  Mornin'.

Beth:  Good morning.

Beth stumbled into the kitchen and propped herself up against the
refrigerator for a moment.  Sam was pouring himself a cup of coffee.

Sam:  Mornin', darlin'.

He bent down to give her a light kiss on the lips.

Sam:  How'd you sleep?

Beth:  Like the dead.

Sam cringed.

Sam:  Baby, while Eddie's around, could you avoid any death references?

Beth:  Uh, sure.  You feed Hewey already?

Sam:  Yes, and before you ask, he went tearing off outside after a
prairie dog or a ground squirrel or a blowing leaf or something after
he ate.

Beth:  And you made coffee, too?

Sam:  Yeah, don't tell me *you* want a cup.

Beth:  No, no, I've had enough stimulation this morning.  I was
wondering just how busy you've been this a.m.

Sam, too, must have had an early shower.  His wet hair was slicked
back, and his denim shirt had a damp spot between his shoulder blades
where he hadn't quite toweled off sufficiently.  She was amazed that
the house had any hot water left at all.  Sam reached behind him on
the stove to pick up a cup of tea which he handed to Beth.  She
placed her hands around the cup and his hand, breathed in the spicy
aroma of the Earl Grey, and spoke in a mock serious tone.

Beth:  Will you marry me?

Sam spoke in a completely serious tone.

Sam:  You *know* my answer to that.

Beth:  Kidding.  Kidding!!  Forget I mentioned it.

Beth took the cup from him, and the two set about making breakfast. 
Within the hour the foursome was seated at the dining room table to a
simple meal of scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits, juice, and milk. 
Everyone but Beth was juggling files and papers and notepads as they
tried to put their case in order.

Roy:  This polecat's into everything.  We been tryin' for five years
to nail him on racketeering charges stemming from some businesses he
owns in N'awlins, but he is 100 percent teflon.  Nothin' sticks to
this guy.  What's goin' on on the federal level, Sam?

Sam:  Justice Department's been on him for the past decade.  Trying to
get him on the RICO act.  He's got alleged connections with the
Gambino and Trafficante crime families, tie-ins with elected officials
on state and federal levels.

Roy:  But *that* is the problem.  "Alleged connections" aren't the
same as connections.  I can't do a damn thing with "alleged".  Eddie,
what'd you dig up on your trip to De-troit?  What's Mr. Perino's
involvement in all this?

Eddie:  Well, the Perino family isn't without its gangster branch, but
Angelo only has a fleeting knowledge of them.  He's always been more
interested in fast cars and pretty girls.

Roy grinned.

Roy:  A dangerous combination.

Eddie:  Real dangerous for Angelo 'cause while his attention's been on
the playboy life, his car company has gone into the crapper.  Shoulda
filed Chapter 13 long time ago, but he keeps hanging in there,
cornering new investors.

Sam:  Enter Frank Cosmo.

Eddie:  Exactly.  Cosmo knew what he had.  A news media name, a
perfect patsy, and the chance to take over the entire Perino family of
companies.  He "loaned" Angelo enough money to put him in debt to
Cosmo for the rest of his natural-born life and then some.

Roy:  And it's Perino's face and name recognition that Cosmo is
cashing in on for this national chain of rock and roll memorabilia
restaurants-slash-bars.

Sam:  So the question is why this new business.

Eddie:  Maybe he's taking money from his illegal activities and using
the bars to launder it.

Roy:  It's a possibility.  We had once suspected he was using his
congressional bank checking account to launder money, until the
scandal with that broke a few years back.  He has enough companies and
bank accounts around the world, he could easily clean up his dirty
money anywhere.

Sam shifted through the papers in a large manila envelope.

Sam:  All these new bars of his are slated for construction in cities
that are all ports of entry.

Eddie:  So why Lubbock and not El Paso?  That's right *on* the border.

Roy:  I think mostly because he had a tie-in here.  How long has
George Cole been operatin' in the Hub City, cher'?

Beth had simply been listening to the boys on a roll.  The direct
question startled her.

Beth:  Well, I don't know that he *still* does, but four, five years
ago when I met him, he had some strip joints outside of town.  All
fronts for gambling and prostitution, as I understood it.

Roy:  And I'm willin' to bet Mr. Cosmo's interest in Mr. Pratt's
property would be proof that Mr. Cole still had *some* hand in those
joints.  And personally I'd like to see Mr. Cole get taken down as
well.  He's another one with a rap sheet as long as your arm from
cities all over the country.  Not the least of which is a possible
murder charge out of Baton Rouge.

Beth shuddered, slightly enough to be missed by the guests, but not
by Sam.  He reached over to her hand on the table and covered it with
his own.

Eddie:  So where does that leave us?

Roy:  Gentlemen, we have a very difficult and complex case ahead of
us.  If we do not dot all the i's and cross all the t's, Mr. Cosmo
will walk away clean just like he has in the past.  So will Mr. Cole. 
But for the first time there is a weak link in Mr. Cosmo's team.  And
somethin' tells me we need to hit that weak link just as hard as we can.

"Beth Franklin" - 1998