"Look, Linda," I said. "Why don't we leave my past out of it for now. We can come back to that later, if we need to. Tell me what's going on, and what happened tonight with you, me, the hospital, and the cops."
"Okay, Cheese, I guess I do owe you an explanation. When my dad started acting weird, I did a little snooping around. I was looking through the papers in his desk and I found a bunch of stuff in a folder. I probably shouldn't have looked in it, but I did. It was a bunch of copies of letters to some company in Colombia, some more letters to a guy in Oregon, and some letters to some sort of corporation I never heard of here in Old Town.
"The letters to Colombia were asking questions about import and export laws, U.S. customs stuff, ship and airline costs, that kind of thing. And the letters mentioned stuff about selling coffee. Cheese, my dad doesn't drink coffee, doesn't like coffee, and he sure doesn't sell exotic Colombian coffee at the arcade. I think its some kind of code word for cocaine.
"I didn't say anything. I was thinking about what she'd said, and figured the best thing to do was just listen. So I waited while she kind of caught her breath. The grandmother clock on the bookcase ticked away, emphasizing the silence.
"Then," she continued, "I was looking over the letterhead for the company here in town, and it had some names listed that I recognized. Most of them were doctors, and one of them was Dr. Ramis. I'd met his wife Sylvia at the library reading club, and thought I'd kind of ask her if she knew anything. You know, just kind of casually mention something about my dad and her husband being in business together, isn't it a small world, that kind of stuff.
"Well, the next time I saw her at the library, I got up my nerve and started talking to her. She's not the friendliest person in town; you know how some doctor's wives can be. She has that lacquered, high-maintenance look that's kind of intimidating, but I figured, what the heck. I really wanted to find out what was going on with my dad.
"So, after the meeting I walked up to her as she was getting ready to leave, and just casually mentioned something about my dad and her husband going into business together. Cheese, she looked at me like I had two heads! She said,' That's news to me, young lady. And why would my husband be going into business with a person like your father?' Can you imagine, 'A person like my father?' I was kind of stunned, I mumbled something stupid, and left with my tail between my legs. What a witch!
"Well, I kind of gave up on that approach, so I did some more checking around. I called the number for that company, and there was just an answering machine there. I left my name and number three times, and no one ever called me back.
"I kind of gave up after that. I didn't know where else to look or who else to talk to. That's why I decided to ask you about it. I figured with what people were saying about your background and you working in the library, that you might know some of these people, or be able to tell me where to look next for some ideas. I know that librarians know how to find information, and what with you setting up the Internet access you'd be able to show me where I could find some places to look up some stuff.
"So, when I was on my way to the diner tonight, I wasn't paying much attention to where I was going, and that car came up behind me and knocked me for a loop. When I came to, I was in the E.R., and that Dr. Ramis was in the examining room with me. He was real nice and all, and after he was done looking me over, he said, 'Well, Linda, I can't see any reason why we need to keep you here. You've got a few cuts and scrapes, but nothing serious. I'll write you a prescription for some painkillers and send you home. And, it just so happens that my wife is here. She's just leaving and I'm sure she wouldn't mind driving you home. Why don't you go out this door here to the parking garage, and she'll be glad to give you a lift.'
"Well, what could I say? I didn't know you were waiting for me out in the waiting room, so I walked out that other exit, and Sylvia was there in her SUV waiting for me. Then as she's driving me home, she's acting real concerned and sweet and all, and starts asking me a bunch of questions about my dad, like do I know anything about his new business. I was still a little woozy from the accident, and thought she was just making conversation. But then she said, Linda, I think maybe you'd better leave your dad's business affairs alone. He's involved in some delicate negotiations, and you're too young to understand these things. Why don't you keep your nose where it belongs, and leave these things to the people who are qualified to deal with them?
"Cheese, I was so hurt and mad and irritated and confused, I told her to just drop me off here. I didn't know where else to go, and I just hope you're not mad at me. I need some help, and you're the only person I could think of. Can you help me, or should I just go home and forget all this?"
Damn! Now what do I do?
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