The two determined detectives plowed through remorseful morning-after headaches. Boundless issues needed to be resolved before the big night. Each hoped their partner would come up with the easiest solution. Sir Henry seemed indifferent.
Guy tossed yesterday’s paper and finished his coffee. He leashed the dog and announced, “We’re going for a walk.”
Babs failed to understand his logic. “Won’t that be the third one he’s had this morning? Please don’t tell me he ate something from the garbage.”
Guy shook his head. “I might’ve forgotten to secure the cover on my sidecar. Don’t want curious onlookers poking around since it’s parked in a public garage.
Babs asked to borrow his phone book and waved him off.
Guy returned full of pep and couldn’t wait to tell her the breaking news.
“Babs, you won’t believe what happened.”
Desperate for an encouraging sign, she looked up from her paperwork.
“Here I was, checking on my wheels. Sir Henry jumped into the sidecar, expecting a ride. A man with a remarkable accent approached and startled me. Babs, remember Ivan Alexandrescu, the countess’s butler?”
Their front door opened. A long-legged man with a prominent nose stepped inside. His face? Familiar. His name, not at all. She thought he resembled Arthur Treacher, the actor, the perfect Jeeves for Bertie Wooster. Her immediate knee-jerk reaction was, “What’s he doing here?”
Instead, she asked, “How can I help you?”
Ivan came forward. “My status…here in the States,…not quite legal. I am a Romanian but lived in Germany. A ref-u-gee, fleeing Nazi oppression—”
“We’ve never worked with immigration and aren’t in the habit of turning in our clients unless—” Babs hesitated. “Have you taken part in a criminal act?”
The man paled and broke out into a cold sweat. “My em-ploy-er. To keep my po-si-tion, she has forced me to assist her.”
Babs got out her notepad. “Her accomplice… Not sure if this is the type of case we take, but go on.”
“She has ordered others…many people besides me, but the countess…Countess von Rache stole dogs from movie stars. From famous films and an-i-mal people. She plans to smuggle them overseas. Sell to rich buyers.”
Babs raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure?”
“Maybe she has Toto and Asta,” Guy said to her in a whisper.
I just knew it. “Then I have a question for you, sir. Does the phrase, ‘Authorities are powerless,’ mean anything to you, and could there be a connection between that and the Queen Mary ocean liner?”
“Will you hear my story and…not call the police?”
Babs glanced at Guy. They both nodded. Maybe he could fill in the blanks where they failed to do so.
“The countess said law people were powerless once these animals were off Amer-i-can soil. She claims to know plen-ty of people. From her time spent overseas. They want to purchase these dogs. Lots of money.”
“The Queen Mary?” asked Guy, “What’s the connection?”
“To transfer her stolen dogs on the ship…which will sail far away. But she assigned others to handle. No turning back once the ship goes to sea.”
What a shrewd plan, thought Babs. She wanted to know who would be involved. When she asked Ivan if the name, Rennie Renfro, rang a bell, he shrugged. “By any chance, you wouldn’t know where these people will keep the dogs? I’m told the ship is larger than the Titanic.”
Ivan shook his head. “My boss… She gets upset if I ask too many questions. Tells me what she thinks is nec-es-sary.”
Babs rubbed her forehead. “So, you’re not sure—”
Guy interrupted. “Did you go through an employment agency to get your job with her?”
Babs sensed where this was heading.
“No agency. People like me will do… any-thing to stay in this free country. Yes, a big price to pay. Es-pe-cial-ly if you knew my real back-ground and ed-u-ca-tion. You are so lucky you live here and not over there.”
“Now, I’m curious. What is your background?” Guy asked.
“I have a PhD in Zoology…with a spe-cial-ty in an-i-mal behavior from Friedrich Wilhelm Uni-ver-si-ty in Berlin.”
“A bit overqualified to work for the countess,” said Guy, “but I can imagine she considered it handy given her obsession with animals, and you also speak German.”
“Nazis burned twenty thousand books in our library. To quote the German poet Heinrich Heine, ‘Das war ein Vorspiel nur, dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen.’ That translates to, ‘This was but a prelude, where they burn books, they ul-ti-mate-ly burn people.’ I had no choice but to flee for my life.”
“I’m sorry. How do people like you make the connections to find work if they aren’t here legally?” Guy asked.
“Word of mouth. Clubs, hotels, and places like those bars which sold bees during Prohibition.”
Guy gave a half-suppressed laugh, so as not to embarrass Ivan by correcting his English.
“I think you meant booze, not bees.”
“Ah, yes. Booze. I mix up words all the time.”
Guy tried to get him on track. “You’re referring to speakeasies, right?”
“We have un-der-ground networks of fu-gi-tives. No protection. Always danger for us.”
“I’ve heard there are Nazis hiding in plain sight here in Los Angeles,” said Guy.
“People like…countess… They take ad-van-tage of us because we are outside…the law. I work as her chauf-feur. I was supposed to drive her to…upcoming event…at the Queen Mary. Errol Flynn… His driver will pick her up…”
“You have the evening off?” Guy asked.
Ivan nodded.
“Babs, what if what he’s saying is true? We still haven’t devised a plan for how to round up the dogs. In fact, we haven’t even squared away our own transportation.”
She took her eyes away from her steno pad and looked at Guy with one of those what do you mean stares.
“Do you mind stepping outside while we have a moment alone?” Guy asked Ivan before closing the door.
With Ivan out of earshot, he turned to Babs. “How do you think it would look if someone saw us when I’m supposed to be blind, but driving my motorcycle with you in the sidecar and Sir Henry on your lap?”
Babs countered. “How do you think it would look if the Feds thought I was conspiring with people who may or may not be Nazis?”
“You’re missing the point. Ivan is trying to avoid political persecution, and he can drive our getaway car.”
She took a deep breath and blew it out. “Open the door and let him back in.”
Guy popped one of his slugs into the vending machine and offered Ivan a soda.
She disclosed their plan. “So far, we’ve determined my partner will pose as a blind music critic. Sir Henry will serve as his guide dog.”
“For obvious reasons, nobody can see me drive my vehicle,” Guy explained. “Someone else needs to get me there who also doesn’t mind traveling with dogs.”
“She has several cars. The biggest one is a Cadillac V-16 Limousine.”
“Could it hold a lot of dogs in case we find the ones we need to rescue?”
“Many, depending on…size.”
“All right, here’s the deal,” said Babs.
Her nose tickled. Unable to figure out what caused it, she tried to ignore it.
“Can’t promise anything,” she said, “But we can plead on your behalf to give you immunity from deportation and admit you played an important part in catching a criminal.”
Guy asked, “Are you willing to work with us, given those conditions?”
Ivan agreed, but Guy needed to contact him. When he realized it would be too risky for either him or his partner to call over at the countess’s, Guy suggested he check in with them instead.
“I think you found your zauberkugel,” Ivan said.
Guy said, “What’s that?” while Babs dug into her desk and pulled out a battered book.
“I picked up a German-English dictionary this past week, although I never used it until now,” she mumbled, trying to look up the word. “Must’ve been nuts to think I could learn the language so quickly.” She got lucky with guessing its spelling and found the right page.
“Zauberkugel… Hmmm, makes sense you’d pick a biology or zoology-type of word since that’s your background. It translates to a magic bullet, a medicinal term for a remedy of natural antibodies, which come out of the clear blue and fly to their specific target in an unharmed fashion.” She looked up at Guy and Ivan. “Okay, I’m not a science expert, but it sounds good to me. I guess you’ll be our zauber—whatever.”
Everyone shook hands, and Ivan departed.
Guy helped himself to another soda. He took one long, refreshing gulp and patted himself on the stomach. “I feel good about Ivan coming forward. We’ll just have to figure out how you’ll get there.”
Babs had her reservations. “One step at a time.”
“Our problem is we’re running out of time,” he said. “Didn’t you also mention that Strickling expects his retainer back if we don’t meet our deadline?”
She nodded, unable to hide the grave expression on her face.
Guy coughed. He set down his soda and pinched his nose with his handkerchief. “Babs, do you smell an odor? Something like seashells…covered with algae?”
Sir Henry barked and sniffed around the room.
She took in a deep breath. “Come to think of it, I do sense the slight scent of Parfum de la Mer…”
“Like Ivan picked up the catch of the day,” Guy explained. “Straight from its source.”
Babs clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Don’t know about you, but let’s hope he doesn’t plan on using us as bait.”