The doorknob is clean and polished. A stark contrast to the door and frame around it. Ken slowly turns it but it’s locked. Holstering his pistol, he pulls out his lock picks. After a few moments of lining up the pins, he turns the cylinder and the door unlocks. The door quietly opens. Ken and Joan expect loud squeaks, but the door almost silently slides on its lubricated hinges.
“Curiouser and Curiouser.” Ken whispers to Joan. She nods and holds the closed knife in her hand, ready to use it.
The old record plant smells of hot vinyl, and they hear the sound of the machines pressing disks. “Not what I expected at all.” Ken whispers.
Slowly and quietly, they move along a corridor. Old signs point to “Recording Studio” down the hall and “Offices” up the stairs. Ken pulls his pistol again and motions for them to go up the stairs. Even though the building looked abandoned from the outside, inside things are clean and maintained. As they climb the stairs, they see boxes at the end of the assembly line, full of records. Ken makes a mental note, and continues up to the office.
The office door is unlocked and also opens quietly. The lights are off, but the switch on the wall turns on the overheads. Closing the door behind them, Ken and Joan look around the office. There are framed pictures of Alison and Ben Goode on stage, or posing by an upright piano. Ken places the .45 on the desk as he searches it, not finding anything out of the ordinary. It looks like the record company is in business, pressing disks, but he doesn’t find any client lists.
Joan searches through the filing cabinet. “Most of these files are from ’44 or earlier.” She says quietly.
At the end of the room is a thick metal door with a large lock. Ken goes over and hands the pistol to Joan. “Cover me as I unlock it.”
Using his picks, he gets it open after a couple of minutes. The large door slides on greased tracks. A switch turns on the lights and reveals an apartment. There is an electric range and kitchenette, a brass bed, and a large wardrobe with dresses. A vanity along the wall has multiple wigs with a complete set of makeup brushes and cosmetics. Joan hands Ken back his big-bore automatic. “Boss, what’s the deal? Are they living here?” Joan looks at the dishes drying next to the sink.
Ken walks to the bed. There are restraints and chains. “I think it’s worse than that. We need to find Francine.”
They close the metal door but leave it unlocked. Going through the office, they turn off the lights and slowly walk down the stairs. “If it’s bad, Boss, shouldn’t we rush down and try to find them?” she asks quietly.
Ken places his finger to his lips slowly shaking his head. “We need to keep quiet, so we don’t spook them.”
“But where are they?” She whispers. Ken points to the sign marked “Recording Studio” and motions for her to follow quietly.
At the end of the hallway, a red light bulb flashes, showing that someone is using the studio. Ken grabs the doorknob and nods to Joan. She has the knife open and at the ready. Slowly the door opens.
“No Aly, I need you to sound happier when you sing. Let’s try it from the top.” A thin masculine voice says.
Screaming though the thick glass, they hear a voice respond “I’m not Aly you sicko. How many times do I have to tell you I’m Francine?”
“Baby, you just need your medicine. If you just relax and sing, we’ll make that record. Or do you need a dose for your nerves?” the man’s voice asks.
Ken pushes in the door all the way and aims his gun at the man by the control board. “Stop right there.”
Joan follows him in. Ken nods towards the door for the booth. Joan opens it.
“No! Leave her alone. Leave us alone. We aren’t hurting anyone. Aly and I own this studio.” Ben Goode says. “We aren’t hurting anyone. Just leave us alone.” He repeats.
Ken keeps the gun trained on Ben, but notices Francine hugging Joan. Francine is wearing the same dress and wig that Alison wore on one of the record covers. They walk out of the booth.
“Don’t take her away from me. She’s the love of my life.” Ben whines.
Removing the wig, Francine throws it at him. “You sick bastard. She’s dead.” She says with a sob in her voice.
“You whore! You’re just like the others!” Ben screams as he pulls a hypodermic needle from his jacket pocket and lunges towards her.
Ken fires twice. Two red blooms form on Ben’s chest as he falls. The syringe still in his hand.
“Shit.” Ken exhales a shaky, frustrated sigh. “Let’s call Brian and have the cops come down.” They go up to the office, call, and wait.
A number of cops show up. Sergeant Hoolihan is in charge. He explains that this is his territory. He knows Sergeant Mulrooney, but this is out of his district. They each give a statement. Ken tells how he was hired to look for Francine. Joan mentions that Raymond Martin, the personal secretary of Theodore Huddler, hired them to find his cousin, Francine Martin. Francine, still wearing the dress, and a wig cap, explains that she was drugged outside of The Happy Clam, taken here, and kept prisoner. They point to the apartment behind the metal door.
“Did he hurt you miss?” The Sergeant asks, in a soft but professional tone.
She covers her face and nods as tears streak down. “He kept saying I was his wife. I needed my medicine, and then he’d… He’d…”
Joan gives her a hug. “Sergeant. Can’t you see the restraints on the bed?” Francine holds up her wrists, revealing dark pressure marks.
“Ok, Ok. I got the picture.” He says. A cop comes into the office. “Sergeant, we found a stash of drugs, down by the boxes of vinyl blanks.”
Sergeant Hoolihan nods. “Ok. Mister Cooper, Why don’t you take the ladies home? We have what we need for now.”
Ken nods as he stands and extends his hand. “I think you boys will be busy down here for a while. You might try to see if there’s any proof that he also kidnapped a Lois, Patty, and Laverne. I don’t have last names, only their stage names. They also worked The Happy Clam.”
“Oh God.” Francine exclaims “He was with Lois before she went missing. They’d sit at a table and talk some nights.” Sergeant Hoolihan writes down a few more facts, including those concerning Lois’s actions when she would be nervous and edgy then later be calm and relaxed.
Ken takes the ladies to his car. “Mister Cooper. Can we stop at The Happy Clam? I want to clean up and change out of this.” Francine asks as she points to Aly’s dress she’s still wearing. Ken agrees.
Ken recognizes the guy behind the bar from the other day. “Hey Mack, got a phone I can use?” The guy behind the counter nods and motions to the payphone by the stairs. Ken nods back. Plopping in a dime, he dials Ramon’s number.
“Raymond Martin, Mister Huddler’s assistant.” The voice says.
“Ramon, It’s Ken Cooper. We got Francisco. He’s going to be okay. We’re at The Happy Clam and he’s getting cleaned up before I take him to Tia Barbara.”
“Madre de Dios, Thank you so much Mister Cooper. I’ll wait for your bill.”
“Just pay what you think is fair. If we hadn’t found him, I feel like there’d be another stiff fished out of the water. If you understand me?” Ken says in a matter of fact tone.
After a moment Ramon asks “Was he dressed as Francine?”
“No, she was dressed as Alison Goode. I’ll write a full report if you need.” Ken replies.
There is another pause. “Mister Cooper, do I really want to know?”
“I can’t tell you that. Nor can I tell you how to live. You and Teddy already live differently than me. But, I think if you love your cousin like you say, you’d see her for who she is. A beautiful and talented singer. But what do I know? I’m just a peeper who sees what others miss.” Ken turns and looks up the stairs as Joan and Francine walk down. “I gotta go. I’ve gotta take the ladies home.” He says and hangs up.
Francine’s face is made up nicely and she is wearing a simple calico dress, with a short stylish wig. Joan holds her hand to help keep her steady on the stairs.
“Are you ladies all ready?”
Joan nods. “We looked for a suit, but she only had the one she was wearing when Ben attacked her. He cut it and burned it in front of her, telling her ‘no woman of mine will dress like a man’.”
Tears well up in Francine’s eyes. “I just want to look nice and Miss Joan recommended this instead of one of my show girl dresses.”
“You both look wonderful.” Ken says as he escorts them to his car.
Soon they are at the tenements. Francine’s hands shake. “She’s never seen me like this. What if she..?”
Joan gives Francine’s hands a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll be there. If there’s any fuss, we’ll come back to our office and make a new plan.” Ken nods, parks the car, and holds the door for the ladies. The mid-day sun is trying to poke through the thinning clouds.
Knocking on the door, Joan says “Tia Barbara, Hemos regresado y temenos a Francine. I mean Francisco.”
The door opens and Barbara throws her arms around Francine. “Estas a salvo, mi nino, estas a salvo.” She quickly brings them all inside her small apartment. She hugs both Ken and Joan. “Gracias. Gracias a Dios. Gracias mi nino esta a salvo y en la casa.”
Both Joan and Ken say that she is welcome. They only did what they said they would do. Ken watches as Francine and her mother talk. Francine asks something about ‘isn’t she ashamed’? And something else about ‘being a disappointment and a freak’.
Barbara replies in rapid fire Spanish, something about the village where they came from and performers who sang, danced, and dressed as they wanted. She is proud of her child. Especially if she is happy like that.
Ken watches the tears and hugging. “Joan, I think we should get back to the office.” They try to leave but Barbara stops them and invites them back for a fiesta. Before he and Joan can turn the offer down, Francine recommends holding it at The Happy Clam on Friday night. That way her mother can hear her sing and meet some of her friends.
“The Happy Clam on Friday night. We’ll be there.” Ken says as Barbara hugs him again.
“Thank you.” She says in English.
“You’re welcome Tia Barbara.”
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