text: DANIEL.BOOKS THE BLOODY LETTER SECRET 
   
   
     
   THE BLOODY LETTER SECRET 
  	Cold and wet, Rufus Hancock stood outside the building in the pouring rain. Rufus was a detective for twenty one years for the city.  Now retired, Rufus worked as a Private Investigator.  Yes Rufus was qualified for the job he was about to delve into. 
  	Star Tucker, a stunning brunette had just hired Rufus to find her missing Husband. Blake Tucker had been missing for three weeks. Star had given up on the police because all she got from them was No madam we haven’t found Blake yet. Star knew that with each passing day chance’s, to find Blake grew slimmer. Star said her husband had never been gone this long. The last time Star saw Blake he was writing a letter.  When he finished the letter he told her he was going to get a stamp and mail the letter. What was in the letter was a mystery to Star. 
  	Star and Blake lived on the third floor of the Southern Arms Hotel.  Pinky’s bar was just around the corner. Star told Rufus, Blake spent a lot of time with the boys there. A bar, that’s a good place to start a search. People talk a lot in bars if you buy them a drink or two, thought Rufus. But Rufus always started his work from a bar anyway.   
  	Entering a bar at ten am is like going into a morgue, if anyone is there it’s like they are dead. Pinky, the owner and bartender stood at the bar counter. One other soul was there and his head was down on the bar at the far end.” What’s yo poison bud” Pinky asked.” Salty Dog” hold the juice and salt said Rufus. “That’s vodker right” yes Rufus said” tall glass”  
  	Do you know Blake Tucker Rufus asked? “Sure as hell do, comes in here a lot. He ain’t been here lately, .He must have that pig flu.  Lots of people gits that you know. Not the flu, he’s been missing for three weeks says his wife. When was the last time you saw Blake. Been near about three weeks I thank said Pinky. Was he acting like something wrong or odd Rufus asked? Was one thang that happened, He got into a little fight with a stranger that drifted in here? The stranger hit the que ball off the table and hit Blake up side his head. Stranger acted smart like, handed Blake a twenty dollar bill and told Blake to git him some stitches with it. That just pissed Blake off pretty good. Grabbed the stranger round the neck and damned near choked the life outta him. Then hit him in the gut a few times. That’s what the stranger got from Blake Tucker.  Stranger limped outta here like a whopped pup. I ain’t seen nare one of them since, been just about three weeks if I recollect right. 
  	Who is the guy down at the end of the bar? That would be Paul Baker Pinky said,  We all just call him Red cause his face gets red when drinks a  lot. Mind if I talk to him? Sure as hell don’t, won’t git much outta him. Red been drinking bloody Mary’s all morning. It ain’t helped none though .Give me a bloody Mary for Red on me, I’ll try to talk to him anyway. Rufus slid the drink down the counter as he walked to Red..  
  	Rufus bumped Red on the arm to get his attention then offered him a tall cool bloody Mary. Who the hell are you growled Red. I’m just a guy giving you a drink for a little information.” Rufus knew a free drink to a sot would get him to talk so he started asking Red about the night Blake Tucker had the fight .Red said they all thought I was passed out but He saw what happened. Blake beat him up good and sent that crippled up asshole limping out of here. They don’t know it said, Red, but I seen Pinky pick up the letter Blake dropped when he was fighting. The stranger’s blood was all over it. Red whispered to Rufus that he saw Pinky wiping blood off the letter but he read the letter too before he gave it back to Blake, .Red also said he saw Pinky talking to the cripple stranger in the back  of the bar later that night about closing time. They were saying something about ten thousand dollars. Time for another bloody Mary Rufus asked? Hell its eleven o’clock , time for the real stuff now, bragged Red. Rufus called to Pinky, give Red the usual on me. You tell anybody what I said and I will deny it all Red whispered to Rufus, this is my drinking place you know, I have to come back here. 
  	Rufus left the bar wondering what was in that letter. Red said Pinky and the man with the limp said something about a lot of money.  As Rufus stood there in the rain, He imagined the money in that envelope. A letter sized envelope couldn’t possibly hold ten thousand dollars, Rufus thought. Rufus knew he had more work to do.  He had no idea where this was leading, or if it even had anything to do with Blake’s disappearance. The rain started pouring so Rufus pulled his coat up to cover his head and raced to his car. Rufus got into his car so quick he didn’t even notice the flat tires on his car until he tried to drive off. 
  	Rufus looked at his tires; what the hell, someone took the valve stem out of his tires. Back to Pinky’s he ran. Another salty dog, Pinky asked. Yes, called Rufus from the door. I got to wait for the tow truck,. My tires are flat. The wrecker driver told Rufus while laughing, somebody’s got it in for you buddy. Rufus rode back to the shop with the driver silently thinking and waited for his car. 
  	Rufus went back to Star tucker’s hotel to let her know what he had found out at Pink’s. He knocked on the door, then louder he knocked again. No answer. Rufus was on his way to the elevator when he heard Star’s door open. A man came out and limped to the stairway to go down.”.Hey you there” Rufus yelled. The man ran down the stairs  he fell and was killed instantly when his head hit the steel stairs. Rufus felt for a pulse and knew the crippled man was dead. When he rolled the man over he saw the bloody letter in his coat pocket. Rufus quickly looked and saw the address was Star Tucker’s room 303. Rufus took the letter and went to Star’s room to check on her. The dead man had left the door unlocked so Rufus let himself in. He called for Star as he wandered around the apartment. Rufus found Star dead in the bedroom from a stab wound.  He knew that letter had to be the connection to all the incidents happening. 
  	Rufus sat on the edge of the bed and read the already opened bloody letter. The letter was short and to the point. It read there is 10,000 dollars in our secret place. I may be already dead when you get this in the mail so get the money and leave  Don’t worry about where it came from it was legal not stolen. Rufus had checked for an ID on the dead man so He knew the man did not have the money.  It was still in the apartment.  Rufus walked around the apartment looking for the secret hiding place, He looked under rugs and taped on the walls. He checked all the boxes he found all clothes pockets. He was checking all the drawers.  Rufus was checked the bathroom vanity drawers. A gap in the wall inside the medicine cabinet caught his eye Rufus pushed the wall inside and the whole cabinet swung outward revealing a combination safe. This had to be where the money was Rufus thought. 
  	Rufus wondered where the combination numbers could be hidden because he knew most people write it down somewhere just in case they forget. After searching the apartment a second time Rufus noticed 4 of the months on the calendar on the wall were circled, March June, October and December. The months converted to the numbers three, six, ten and twelve. Rufus rushed back to the safe and tried the numbers in every order possible with no luck. Rufus knew he could not break it open. It seemed hopeless to get the safe open. Rufus knew also it was now or never, before Star was found dead. After that, no telling when he could get back in. Rufus stood looking and the safe, this is an old safe, maybe it only uses three numbers in its combination.  He started over using the calendar numbers, again no luck. Rufus looked again in Star’s purse for anything with numbers. He found both social security cards with the numbers but they could not be the numbers. Rufus found a card with everyone in the family birth days and year they were born, leaving the year born off left three numbers Rufus could use. He started at the top and when he tried Blake’s mother, SNAP went a sound and Rufus easily pulled the door open. Amongst the things in the safe was a large manila colored envelope. 
  	Rufus hands were sweating and shaking as he felt inside the envelope. He slowly pulled one of the stacks of bills out. All in 100’s, a bag full of 100 dollar bills. Rufus convinced himself that the money would not be missed and was payment for the work he had done, maybe no one even knew about the money since he had the letter and the other two that knew about the money were dead. Rufus said aloud “not bad for a day’s work.” 
  	Just as Rufus was ready to leave someone hit him from behind .Rufus went out like a light. Blake Tucker reached over the front seat for the bag of cash. The guys Blake won the money from wanted their money back, even though Blake won it fair and square. Blake had been hiding out until he could get home to get the money. Blake had hoped he and Star could move to a bigger city with the money. That money had cost him his wife and almost his life. He wasn’t about to lose it. 
  	Rufus came to, just as Blake got out of the car. Rufus drew his gun. Hold it or I will shoot you. Rufus had never met Blake but he knew what he looked like from a photo Star showed him. Rufus said you owe me some of that money. Blake asked who the hell are you. Your wife hired me to find you, and now I have found you. Your wife is dead so you will pay my fee,. Blake said I’m not paying you a damned thing, I didn’t hire you. Ok said Rufus, I’ll take it all then. How about a thousand asked Blake. I’ll take half of the money in the bag or all the money in the bag, your choice. Blake pulled out 5,000 dollars and laid the bag on the ground, Blake turned and walked away and never looked back. 
  Oh well it was only a half a day’s work anyway Rufus said, as he took a silver flask from his coat pocket and took a long pull of Smirnoff vodka. 
   
   
   Publication Date: October 9th 2009 https://www.bookrix.com/-daniel.books