ROD BALSAC – PRIVATE DICK
EPISODE 1 – PART 2
by Matt Harvey
Click
Here to Read: Episode 1 – Part
1
_____I
never cared much for sweets. I’m a meat and potatoes kind of
guy. But I
learned a long time ago; never refuse a cup of sugar when
it’s offered by a beautiful
women. So when Quinn LaToilet, heiress
to the LaToilet Candy fortune, asks you to
give her a hand…well…I
made it double-time down to the factory.
_____Old
man LaToilet had been receiving threats against his life and Quinn had
come
to me for help. Who was I to say no? Plus, money appeared to
be no object
to the LaToilets. Obviously there was more money to be had
making gum balls than
in being a gum-shoe.
_____I
hadn’t realized how far the factory was from downtown. Walking
had been
a mistake. Halfway there I flashed my old police badge to a
kid and commandeered
his pogo stick “for official police business.” In
times of need I’ve never been too
proud to work my own stick. Even
if it caused blisters on my hands.
_____As
Quinn requested, I arrived promptly at noon. The factory was surrounded
by
a high wall, with a large main gate at the front. There was something
strangely
welcoming about a front gate made of candy canes with gold
accented ornaments of
butterscotch. Famished after my long trek, I walked
up and tried to break off a
chunk of butterscotch in the shape of a gold
leaf. No go, so I just hunkered down
and tried to break off a piece with
my teeth, when-
_____“What
are you doing Mr. Balsac?”
_____With
my lips firmly wrapped around the butterscotch, I saw the bombshell
Miss
LaToilet, standing on the other side of the gate.
_____“Nuffim,” I
said.
_____“Those
are made of iron, not candy.”
_____“Oh.” I
pulled my mouth off just as the gates began to swing open. Quinn
walked out to
greet me, as I wiped along strand of saliva off my
chin.
_____“It’s
nice to see you, Mr. Balsac. Thank you for being on time.”
_____“As
always, my pleasure.”
_____Quinn
and I walked down a long road to a small door on the side of the main
building.
_____“Lots
of smoke coming from those stacks up there,” I noted.
_____Quinn
opened the door. “The
by-products of sweet chocolaty goodness.”
_____Stepping
inside the factory was like entering Grand Central Station. People
and
crates of supplies moving every which way. However, the entire
staff appeared
to consist entirely of midgets. It reminded me of a story
I once heard about another
candy factory.
_____“Hey,
Miss LaToilet, are all of these little guys—“
_____“Oompa-Loompas?”
_____“Yeah.
Are these the same guys Wonka—“
_____“Wonka
is a fool,” Quinn shot. “That imbecile spent millions
rescuing those
little buggers of his and then put them to work in his
factory. Do you know what
kind of health coverage those orange-faced
parasites need.”
_____“No
I guess I don’t,” I confessed.
_____“A
hell of a lot. That’s why my father got a great deal on these
pygmies from
inner Cambolonam.”
_____“How’d
he swing that?”
_____“It
was easy. Nike closed a factory in their hometown. That’s why
they all
have sneakers.”
_____“Makes
sense.”
_____“Can
I take your coat Mr. Balsac?” Quinn asked.
_____“Yes
thank you.” I pulled off my coat and noticing a white-haired
butler
approaching, I tossed it to him. “Thanks pops.”
_____The
butler looked at first confused, then pissed, as he walked up to me.
_____“Mr.
Balsac, my I present my father, Pierre LaToilet.”
_____“Hello,
Mr. Balsac.”
I quickly removed my coat from Mr. LaToilet’s arms. “My
apologies sir. I
don’t normally run around throwing my old raincoats on
other men.”
_____Mr.
LaToilet snorted, “That’s quite a comfort.”
_____“Father,
maybe Mr. Balsac would like to see the factory?” Quinn
offered.
_____“Oh
would he? How magical! Death threats against my life and he wants see
how gumdrops
are made.” Mr. LaToilet turned around and began
to march off, still
grumbling. “Oh goodie, goodie.”
_____Quinn
pushed me to follow her father. As the two of us followed a number of
steps behind
Mr. LaToilet,
I could understand why people would want
him dead.
Such a warm and magnetic personality. But dodging out of the
way of push carts
being pushed by operators to short to see over, Quinn
stayed close to me. Close
enough for me to smell her and remember why
I took the case.
_____We
continued on through a number of tour stops. After the sugar boiling
room, the
coloring stations, the packaging department and nougat research and
development,
we took a break in the shipping area. Cranes and forklifts
moved
boxes of yummies on to trucks to go out and brought raw supplies
in on crates.
_____“So
you started receiving threats when you backed out of a deal to build that new
factory across town?” I asked.
_____“That’s
correct Mr. Balsac. It’s nice to see you were listening
during the
tour,” countered Mr. LaToilet.
_____“After
my father decided not to build, he took heat from city politicians and the press,” Quinn
chimed in.
_____“As
I recall, it would have meant lots of new jobs for the city, right?”,
I asked.
_____“Ah
rubbish,” said Mr. LaToilet. “I didn’t make it in
this business by selling
sugar-plum dreams to the masses. I sell good
wholesome, all natural candies made
from the finest preservatives, colorings
and chemicals. And all at affordable prices,
mind you. But apparently
I haven’t given enough.”
_____All
of a sudden a large crack was heard above us. We looked up to see a
large crate
cracking open above
Mr. LaToilet.
_____“Look
out!” screeched the pygmy crane operator. I dove and knocked
old
man LaToilet out of the way, just before the crate crashed to the
warehouse floor.
_____Quinn
ran to us. “Are you both alright?”
_____“Yes,
except for being crushed by Balsac,” said Mr.LaToilet.
_____I rolled off of him
and dusted myself off as I got to me feet. Quinn helped her father up.
_____“That
was a freak coincidence,” I said.
_____“It
would be, if it wasn’t the second time its happened this week,” Quinn
said.
_____I
walked over and examined the broken crate. Bags of spilt cocoa were
mixed in
with broken shards of wood. There was something missing though.
For
crates this size, where were all the nails? On the sides that were
still intact, it looked
like someone had pulled most of the nails.
_____“Where
do these shipments come from Mr. LaToilet?”
_____“From
all around the world. Cocoa from Colombia, rice paper from Japan,
honey from
the Crescent Valley and evaporated milk from the Grand Tetons.”
_____“No,
I mean where do these shipments arrive directly from?” I inquired.
_____“The
docks down at the pier.”
_____“I
think it’d be a good idea for me to make a little stop down at
the docks.”
_____“Do
you think these accidents have some connection with the threats against my father?” Quinn
asked.
_____“You
can bet your vanilla fudge on that,” I said grabbing my coat.
_____“But
Mr. Balsac, I was going to show you our nut testing room.” said
Mr. LaToilet.
_____“Father,
he has to go. If Mr. Balsac has time later, I’d be glad
to show him
how we test nuts.”
_____I
said goodbye to Mr. LaToiilet and Quinn showed me to the front gate.
_____“I
might just take you up on your offer, Miss LaToilet.”
_____“Quinn
please. It all depends on what you can find out at the docks. I’m
a
woman who likes to see a man finish what he starts.”
_____“I’ll
keep that in mind.”
_____As
the gates closed behind me, Quinn called out.
_____“Why
don’t you come up to the house for dinner tonight. I’m
sure my father would love to have you for dinner.”
_____“I’ll
be there.”
_____Watching
Quinn turn and walk away was like watching a sleek ship riding over gentle round
waves. Thinking of ships, I wanted to get down to the docks and ask some
questions,
but I couldn't help thinking about the meal tonight. Maybe Mr.
LaToilet would want me for dinner, but all that mattered was what Quinn might
have planned for dessert.
