Sam Spade 03: Case of the Fallen Angel

He lay back down, "just for tonight." Sighing he closed his eyes, "Ok Samantha, but I want to know everything first."

I gave him a quick rundown not mentioning meeting Don Bruce and added at the end, "If you could, call Fat Johnny and find out if his men made it out alive."

Jimmy nodded and told me how to get into his apartment using his pass card and key. As I was leaving he added, "Samantha, thanks for dressing for your visit. You look the cat's meow."

Blushing I left the room and made my way out of the hospital.

As long as I known Jimmy the Geek as he was known on the street, he had a paranoid streak a mile wide. He also had knowledge of esoteric weapons and systems. You take those two together and you can guess that his shop was set up like a fortress. That someone was able to get past them to rough him up worried me. Even so, I figured his apartment attached to the back of the shop would be safe for the night.

Reaching his shop, I snuck around the back. The lock of his apartment door was a perfect example of his paranoia. I had to insert the pass card, and then put the key in, turn it all the way to the left, all the way to the right, back all the way to the left. Then remove the card, before turning the key back to the right before opening the door. Shaking my head at the precautions I had to take to enter, I walked into Jimmy's apartment with the feeling like a child about to open a Christmas present.

Somehow, I expected his apartment to be filled with junk and other stuff just like his shop. Instead, it was tidy and neat. You would think an interior decorator had been there and they were fixing to do a photo spread for house beautiful or one of those magazines. As I walked around the lights would brighten and dim behind me. Reaching the living room, I heard my voice, "Welcome home James, how was your day?"

I froze expecting a clone to walk out but after a moment my voice came again, "Welcome home James, how was your day?" Looking up towards the sound, I saw a small speaker set in the ceiling.

"I'm sorry, James is not here. I am Miss Spade, who are you?" I asked looking for the camera.

"Good..." the voice paused, "Morning Miss Spade. Where is James?"

"James is in the hospital." I replied. I still had not found the camera and listening to my voice, I concluded that it had a slight mechanical tone to it. Between that and the pause in good morning I realized I had to be talking to a house computer. Leave it to Jimmy to have every bell and whistle in his place.

"Thank you. Confirming now..." My voice said and a minute later added, "Confirmed, welcome home Miss Spade. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No thank you" I said as I searched for something to drink. As much as I tried, I could not find anything, "Where the hell is the booze?" I asked frustrated. I really needed a drink to calm my nerves.

"You will find bourbon in the cabinet over the refrigerator," my voice answered.

It was a little unnerving to hear my voice, yet at the same time, I was flattered that of all the voices Jimmy could have picked he chooses mine, that of a true and longtime friend. "Thank you," I said as I went after the bottle.

Dragging it down I noticed right away the massive amount of dust on it. It seemed that Jimmy was not a drinking man. Pouring myself a highball, I wandered back to the bedroom. My plans were to see if he had any clothes I could wear. As everywhere else in the house the bedroom was immaculate, even the bed was made. Sliding the dress off my shoulders, I let it fall to the floor as I walked towards the closet. Stopping at the dresser I slipped the stub nosed 38 out of my stocking, placed it on the dresser, and after taking a sip of the bourbon, set it beside the pistol.

In the closet, I managed to find a pair of jeans and a dress shirt that seemed to fit well enough. Coming out I kicked of my shoes, removed my garter and stockings before heading to the shower. Jimmy's bathroom was cleaner than mine. With a rueful grin, I thought to myself that I would have to find out who his house cleaner was and hire her away from him. When I came out, I found a surprise waiting for me. My dress and stockings were sitting folded on the corner of the bed. Looking around I called out, "Who else is here?" and dashed for the pistol.

After a moment my voice came back from the overhead speaker, "There is no one else in the premises Miss Spade."

"Okay, if that's the case. Who folded my clothes?" I asked gesturing with the pistol towards the dress and stockings.

"One of my remotes" my voice replied calmly.

"Ohh" I said. I could not think of anything else to say. Setting the pistol down I took the folded clothes and put them in the hamper before grabbing my drink. I laid in the bed resting the glass on my lap and thought. I was still no closer to finding my sweet angel or finding out who Jojo was. Turning I set the drink on the nightstand and noticed the picture he had there. Being a busybody I picked it up and looked closer, "Oh my god!" I said staring at it in shock. It was a picture of Jimmy and I, standing side by side at what looked like a prom.

Ever since the accident, I had lost great chunks of my memory of the time before it. Every now and then, something would come along and jar the memory back. Angela was a case in point, as was my teddy bear. Now, staring at the picture, more memories came flooding back.

Chapter 3

Jimmy and I met back in ninth grade. It was the first day of classes and I was shy and timid. A group of bullies was shaking down the freshmen as they entered the front doors. When I walked up, they turned their attention to me and started. Because I had no money, it escalated to them wanting sexual favors instead of money. They dragged me around to the side of the school and had me down on the ground, my mouth covered as they prepared to rape me.

That was when I first saw Jimmy. He was wearing thick glasses with tape holding the parts together, pants that missed the ground by 5 or 6 inches, and a white shirt with a pocket protector. I watched as he walked up behind each of the other boys and touched them on the back of the neck. It was something out of a science fiction show; at his touch, each fell lifeless to the ground. Jimmy managed to take three down before they noticed him. I remembered feeling bad that rescuer would end up being hurt because of me.

The fight was short and savage. In the end, my rescuer stood alone. Standing I hugged him, tears rolling down my face thanking him repeatedly. From that day, forward you never saw one of us without the other. He became my knight in shining armor, always the gentleman.

Though I wanted more, James, as I called him, wanted to wait until we graduated from college. Even though he was a year older than I was it made no difference. James was my best friend and I was in love with him head over heels. We would sit out on the porch swing at night and talk about our lives together and love for each other. The highlight was his senior prom. He looked so sweet in his tux. That night after the prom, we made love for the first time. I was in heaven. After that first time we made love almost nightly, each was more special than the last.

Then it all changed, James went to MIT and though we promised to write daily and see each other on breaks, he became wrapped up in his work and classes. I met Angela and found a kindred spirit. We fit together even better then James and I did. When he came back to see me graduate I broke the news to him, Angela and I were now a couple. Without a word, he nodded sadly and walked away.

Now I understood why Jimmy would never let me touch him, why he programmed his house computer with my voice. He was still in love with me. To think that he helped in creating Angela when he could have refused and rekindled our love for each other speaks volumes. It then hit me like a ton of bricks, he knew that by letting me in his apartment I would find out.

"Computer.... Can you place a call to the hospital and get Jimmy on the phone for me?" I had to talk to him.

My voice replied, "It is 3:25 am. Is this an emergency?"

I thought for a moment, "No, cancel request." I would get a few hours' sleep and call him in the morning. We had to talk, and I needed his help finding Angela. Putting the picture back on the nightstand, I crawled under the covers, turned off the light, and tried to find sleep.

I dreamt of Jimmy and I healing old wounds, making love just as we had back in high school. Tender passion, is what he loved to call it. When I woke from that wonderful dream, I found him beside me in bed, my head on his chest and him running his fingers through my hair. "Good afternoon sleepyhead" he said softly.

I guess I should have felt guilty but in fact, I felt grand. Kissing him I said softly, "good morning James." Stroking his face tenderly as I looked into his one good eye, "I'm sorry I hurt you."

"That's ok Red, it was a long time ago." He replied with a lopsided grin. Jimmy kissed me and then said, "I was hurt that you left me for a woman. I realized when I met Angela that she was in love with you as much as I was. That made it better." He stroked my hair once more as I rested my head on his chest. "All I ever wanted for you was for you to be happy Samantha." He paused a long time, "You never knew that Angela and I used to sit up nights talking about you. I needed to understand her to get over you. Instead, I found that with the exception of our sex, Angela and I could be mirror images of each other. We came to love each other, just as strongly as we loved you. The difference was that our love was that of a brother and sister. When she died..." His voice trailed off.

I looked up and saw the tears rolling from his eyes. I had never seen Jimmy cry before, not like this. Scrunching up I pulled him into my arms and rocked him as he sobbed. "You were a mess Red, I can still see you lying in the hospital. Angela had died but you, you were not so lucky." He clung to me sobbing like a baby, "We saved you, but you were broken inside. Hell we all were. I stayed, opened the second hand shop, so I could be close, keep an eye on you, loving and protecting you."

I was floored; Jimmy had quit school, came here to watch over me, knowing I did not remember us together. "I'm glad you did," I had to say something but could not find the right words.

He looked up at me biting his lip and said, "Samantha, I was with Angela when they took her."

"What? What happened?" I asked.

He explained about how he and Angela would sit and talk when I was busy on a case. He knew about the mask she wore, "She showed me it to me and placed it on my face so I could find peace." He looked down and said, "We were consummating my joining your sisterhood when they broke in. Though we three fought them, they still managed to overpower us. They left me for dead and took Angela and Cindy. I woke up in the hospital just before you came in."

"I'm glad you didn't die." I said. I was floored that Angela had added Jimmy to our merry band. But as I thought about it, I would have done the same. Kissing him, I smiled and said softly, "Welcome home." I paused for a moment, "Does this mean you are a porcelain slut now? My porcelain slut?" I felt his manhood stirring and rise to attention as Jimmy's breath came in short gasps.

Pushing him onto his back, I mounted him and fucked him. This was pure animal rutting. It was if a switch clicked on for both of us and there was no turning back until we had orgasmed. A tongue is a wonderful thing, as is a strap on. But nothing beats the real thing. We made passionate love, rough and randy for what seemed an eternity. We calmed down by licking each other clean in a 69 position. As Jimmy sucked and licked his cum from my cunt I told him to cum again. I had become the porcelain mistress once more, and Jimmy, my slut.

Afterwards I smiled and said, "You know you will have to move in with me now James. But first, I need to find Angela, and Cindy."

Jimmy winked, "Finding Angela will be a cake walk. I can track her for you."

Getting up I dressed and then looked at the peashooter Fat Johnny had given me. "Jimmy you have anything better than this piece of crap?" I said gesturing to the pistol.

He looked up from a keyboard, "yea." He came over and led me to the bathroom. Turning on the hot water and closing the door he locked it and then turned off the hot and turned the cold on. When he did that, I heard a soft click behind me. Turning around I saw a small door open up. "Take what you need," he said as he unlocked the bathroom door and left.

Shrugging, I entered the small room, the lights coming up automatically. "Damn!" I said looking around. There were more types of odd-looking weapons here then I had ever imagined existed. I recognized like 1 in 5 of them. Over at one side I saw a small hand unit sitting in a glass case. It was the palm taser he had made and used on the boys who tried to rape me.

I selected a pair of colt 45's just like mine back at the house and a simple pump shotgun. I was afraid of using any of the other toys he had. Coming out I found Jimmy hard at work at a computer terminal. "Any luck?" I said coming up behind him.

Not looking up Jimmy replied, "She's at the old fish packing plant on 43rd and Pine." He stood up, "Give me a minute and I will be ready."

"No Jimmy," I said resting my hand on his shoulder. "It's safer if I go alone." He looked so much like a whipped puppy I added, "If you don't hear from me in two hours call Frankie Desalvo. I do not care what you have to do to get her on the phone. But once she on the phone, tell her where I am and that I need help."

"You mean he," Jimmy said.

"No, he is a she. Not only that, she is your sister now, your porcelain sister," I said. Slipping on a pea jacket I found in the closet I made my way out of his house. It was not hard to get a robotic cab to drop me off about a block away from the fish packing plant. This part of town was filled with old factories that had once been the life's blood of the city. Now they were nothing more than a blighted area.

Even though I was loaded for bear, I was scared down to my toenails. I talked a good game but never had to kill someone before. Generally, waving a 45 around did the job, if not; a warning shot did the trick. This time I knew I would not be so lucky. I managed to make it to the plant unseen and inside through one of the back windows. The stench was horrendous, it smelled of rotting fish heads.

Working my way up into one of the overhead conveyor belts I found the source of the stench. The conveyer had a thick layer of rotting fish slime covering it. Keeping to one side of it I worked my through the building towards the office in the back. Below me, I could see men patrolling the machinery. Just as I almost reached the office, there was a ruckus at the front doors. 'Had they discovered me?' I wondered.

No, I had entered through a window not the doors. Using the distraction to my advantage, I scurried like a mouse closer to the office. Inside I could see Angela tied to a chair. I do not know how she knew I was there, but she looked right at me and slowly shook her head. She then pointedly looked across to a door. A moment later Cindy walked in clinging to a man's arm.

I knew him. He was the man she worked for in New Orleans. This must be Jojo from down south. That bitch sold me out, I decided to save a bullet for her. Once I had Angela free, Cindy was dead. Any qualms I had about killing died with the sight of her turning to Angela and slapping her. The man left leaving Cindy and Angela alone. I decided this was my chance and moved forward.

Chapter 4

However, it was not to be. The disturbance was someone coming to meet Jojo, I was shocked to see Don Bruce walking up and shaking Jojo's hand. Damnit, not only was Cindy in on this, but also Don Bruce. Helplessly I watched as they went in and stood over Angela. I could not hear what they were saying but her reply seemed to upset them more. When Jojo lifted his hand and hit Angela something inside me snapped.

Cocking the shotgun, I charged the office, firing my first shot as I entered. The pointblank blast took Jojo in the back of the head blowing his brains all over Don Bruce. The head of the families turned to me, his face a mask of gore and shock. Angela's screamed, "No!" Instead of shooting him, I reversed the shotgun and slammed the butt of it against his head.

I could hear the sounds of running footsteps getting louder. As I turned towards Cindy, I saw Don Bruce fall to the ground like a sack of cement. If he had not been Frankie's father or Angela's warning I would have blown his head off. I saw Cindy, mouth open, eyes as big as saucers, looking in horror at her lover's corpse. Reversing the shotgun, I pushed it into her mouth, "YOU BACK STABBING BITCH!" I screamed at her.

Just as I started to pull the trigger, Angela jerked the shotgun upwards. "No Samantha!" She had broken free of the restraints and saved Cindy. I should have known that she could break free anytime she wanted. However, my mind was not working well as we struggled for control of it.

Shots rang out and the windows shattered. Letting go of the shotgun I drew both of my pistols and made my way to the door. The bullets were flying thick, whizzing by like angry bees. A pair of figures reached the door and went down as my 45's roared. Screaming, my mind on automatic and seeing everything though the red haze of rage, I charged through the door. Behind me, I could hear Cindy's wails of fear and Angela screaming "No Samantha stop!" at me.

I was a force of nature; no one could stop me. Unlike the cop shows where the gun battles are done behind boxes I charged down the middle of the main isle. As a figure would pop up, I would pull the triggers. I felt a stinging in my side and at one point; then my left arm would not work anymore. I did not slow even as I felt shot in my shoulder. Like a tornado, I ran through the factory firing. The only thing that stopped me was taking one in the leg. I reloaded my remaining 45 and waited for them to come to me. I was going to kill every man in the building or die trying. I could only hope that Angela made it clear.

There was a lull in the shooting. As best I could figure there were two or three more of them out there still gunning for me. "Come and get me if you dare!" I yelled out taunting them. I could hear hurried footsteps but could not tell where they were coming from. The shotgun thundered and I saw a body flying backwards about 20 feet to the left of me. Cindy followed the path the body took, the shotgun in her hand sweeping left and right like a crazed bloodhound. As she passed by, she glanced in my direction but did not stop. Again, the shotgun roared, this time in tandem with a pistol and I heard her scream of pain.

I was looking towards the sounds of Cindy's moans and did not realize someone was beside me until I heard the voice, "Damnit Spade" I turned and brought up the 45. There was Angela holding Don Bruce up. It was his voice I heard, "You broke my nose!" Angela helped him to the floor beside me as I lowered the pistol. I noticed she had the other 45, the one I had dropped, in her hand as she left us there. "I was securing peace between you and mob down south, so they would leave you alone." I heard the sharp report of Angela firing off to my left punctuate his words.

A few minutes later I watched as Angela carried Cindy in her arms. She had been shot in the chest and I could see the red foam forming at her lips as she breathed. Angela set her down beside me and sat down. I leaned over her and stroked Cindy's face. In a broken voice she said, "Mistress..."

"It's ok. Just rest and we'll get you fixed up as good as new." I said trying to calm her. I looked at Angela and saw her shake her head slowly no.