I had been putting the last of my things in paper bags when the pounding began.
I wondered who the hell it could be.
I opened the door.
It was some man in a suit. I'd never seen him before. Maybe he was a cop. No, the suit was too expensive. Whoever this guy was, he didn't go hungry at night.
"Can I help you?" I asked.
"Are you Mike Orlando?" he asked. "Are you a friend of Gregory Shamus?"
"Yes. Now that we both know who I am, who the hell are you?"
He handed me a business card. "No need for vulgarities."
The card said that his name was Richard Milhouse. "I'm an employer of Gregory's. He works for me at the Jack of Hearts. He hasn't shown up for work the past few nights and I was a bit concerned. He put you down as an emergency contact."
"I haven't seen him in awhile. Have you talked to Fran, or any of his other friends?"
He adjusted his tie. "No. They wouldn't know where to find him. You're the only one he would tell the truth to."
I stood there for a moment. "What do you mean? I don't understand?"
"Gregory loves you."
Those words stunned me. What has Greg been telling people? I thought we'd worked this out sometime ago.
"I don't. I'm sorry, I don't know where Greg is. If I see him, I'll tell him that you're looking for him."
"Find him for me," he said. There was a real concern in his voice. "I'll make it worth your time."
He handed me a hundred dollar bill.
"Okay, I'll look for him."
"Call me when you find him," he said, walking away.
I didn't say anything. I just closed the door.
That guy gave me the creeps. I went over to the night stand. Next to the phone I had scribbled the motel address where Greg was camping out-- as he said "to get away from everyone for a little while." The Tropical, room 9. I put on my coat and headed over there. A hundred bucks is a hundred bucks.
I found room 9 and knocked on the door. No answer.
I peeked through the narrow slit in the window curtain and saw Greg lying on the bed. Next to his one hand I saw the empty bottle of pills. I threw all my weight into the door and it gave.
"Come on Greg, you stupid asshole," I said, lifting him off the bed.
I hoped I was in time.
