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Who's Afraid of Joe Vincente?
A Kenneth Hall Mystery
Chapter Five
Ken was fed up with red herrings. As much as he hated to think about it, someone out there was trying to frame Joe for murder and/or kill people near and dear to him ... and that might include him. He made up his mind that he was going to take off his kid gloves. This evening, he was going to force Joe to remember every possible incident in his life which could have made him someone's enemy. If need be, he would take him to a hypnotist.
About 4 PM Ken got a call from Joe. It was as if Joe could read his mind. "When your shift ends," Joe said, "go home and pack an overnight bag and then come here. My maid/cook leaves at five, but she's prepared a delicious dinner for Tom and me. She always makes enough to feed an army, so have dinner with us, and then sleep over."
"I thought we agreed that I wouldn't sleep over."
"I've kinda had some sort of catharsis," Joe said. "Now that I finally have you and your love, I don't freaking care who knows about me, about us. I just want to be with you."
"Wow! That's more than a catharsis. It's one big awakening. But the fact of the matter is that I have a murder to solve, which personally concerns both of us, so you and I are going to have a brainstorming session after dinner."
"Of course; I expected as much."
When Ken got to Joe's house, he gave Tom a hug, but he embraced Joe in a bear hug and started to kiss him so passionately that even Tom became embarrassed. The boy started to giggle.
"What's so funny?" Ken asked the giggling teenager.
"Nothing's funny, but you two shouldn't be doing what you're doing in front of a sixteen-year-old. I'm so hot, I gotta go whack off."
Ken and Joe thought Tom was kidding, but Tom ran to the bathroom and closed the door. He was back in three minutes.
When Tom rejoined them, Joe said to Ken, "I'd like you to meet my ward, Tomas Guzman. A courier delivered all the necessary documents to me just before you got home. Tomorrow, I'm going to visit our old high school and get him enrolled."
"That's terrific. When I get to the office, I'll see if I can be spared for a couple of hours. I'd love to go with you and visit good old Lincoln High again. How do you feel about it, Tom?"
"I can't wait, but I still can't believe what's happening to me. How could all this good fortune come to me? I'm so grateful to both of you. My birthday is Sunday, and this is the best birthday present I ever had. I love you both so much. I just wish you'd let me show you how much."
"Cool down, Buster," Ken said. "It ain't gonna happen."
"Well, be warned," Tom threatened, "I intend to wear you down."
Ken rolled his eyes.
Dinner that night was veal piccata served with warm, fresh Italian bread and white wine. Ken used up half the bread soaking up the sauce. Tom was allowed a small sip of wine and a whole bottle of Coca-Cola. While they were being gluttonous, they also made plans to celebrate Tom's birthday on Sunday evening at Vincent's Copper Kettle. Unfortunately, Tom had no friends to invite, but time would change all that.
After dinner, the three men loaded the dishwasher and cleaned up the kitchen and the dining room. Ken told Tom to get lost in the den and watch television. Tom was happy to do so. It had been weeks since he had been able to. He browsed through the channels until he found a rerun of his favorite cop show. Ken never watched those shows. He found them to be ridiculously unreal.
Ken led Joe into the living room, and the two men got comfortable seated side by side on the sofa.
"Look, Joe honey," Ken began. "We've got to shake up your brain cells, and go back to your earliest memories. I know the world sees you as a murderous crime boss, but we both know what a pussy cat you are. Somewhere back in time, you must have made an enemy. Think."
Joe began to think hard. His imagination brought him to the schoolyard during his early grade school years.
"When I was in grade school," he thought back, "I became aware that some of the kids were so poor that they didn't even have lunch money. I had so much, and I felt so bad for them, I used to slip them money. Do you think that maybe my actions made them resentful instead of grateful? I never looked for gratitude."
"Geez, Joe. You're a bigger pussycat than I dreamed you were. How many kids did you help?"
"Maybe half a dozen or so. I can't remember their names."
Just then Joe's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and smiled at Ken. "It's Monte Barnes," he said. Monte was a successful Broadway producer and a friend to both of them.
"Give him my regards," Ken said, visibly upset by the interruption to his interrogation.
"Hi Monte, what's cookin'?" Joe asked.
"Listen, Kid, I have some terrific scripts. I'm going to produce a couple of them, and I wondered if you would be interested in investing in them."
"I might be. Can you have them delivered to me?"
"They're on their way."
"Ken Hall is here. He sends regards."
"Right back at him," Monte said and he hung up. Monte was a man of very few words.
"Ken, honey," Joe said, "Monte reminded me of an incident. It was bad at the time, but everything turned out okay."
"Tell me."
"About a year ago I invested in one of Monte's musicals. One day I went to a rehearsal to check on my investment. The male lead, Keith Kane, was handsome and very talented, but he was awfully miscast. It was like casting Tom Thumb to play Lenny, the gentle giant, in `Of Mice and Men'. I urged Monte to replace him or I might withdraw my support. The next day Keith called me. He was cursing me out, so I hung up on him."
"Sounds like motive to me."
"Yeah, but a few months later, Monte gave me a musical comedy script to read and possibly invest in. I loved it, and I told him that Keith would be perfect for the lead. In fact, I hinted that I would only be interested in investing if Keith got the role. It turned out that `Mardi Gras' was a tremendous hit, and Keith won the Tony. He could hardly be mad at me anymore. I did him a favor."
"The ticket stub we found was for `Mardi Gras'. Does Keith know what you did for him?"
"I don't know. I haven't spoken to him since he called me to ream me out."
"Do you know if Keith Kane is his real name? It sounds very theatrical to me."
"I have no idea. I do know that I can't think of anything else right now, but I can think of some things you and I can do."
"You win. I'll do a background check on Kane tomorrow, and I'll do whatever you have in mind right now."
They ran upstairs completely forgetting that Tom was in the den watching TV. In fact, they forgot that he was in the house. They undressed rapidly and showered together. When they had enough of cleaning each other, they fell onto Joe's bed. Ken was fucking Joe doggie style when Tom looked into the room. He wanted desperately to join them, but he was a smart kid, and he knew he would have to wait until he had their consent. He retreated to his room and closed the door.
The next morning, in his office, Ken initiated a background check on Keith Kane. Then he went to his boss and got some personal time off from 10 AM to 2 PM. He figured that would be enough time to accompany Joe and Tom to school and to have lunch with Joe. He also figured that the background check report should be available by the time he returned.
Ken met Joe and Tom at the school, and they went directly to the principal's office. Mrs. Baum remembered both of them.
"I'm so glad to see that you two boys have remained good friends," she gushed. "So many school chums lose touch after graduation." She smiled at both of them and they smiled back.
She proceeded to study all the documents Joe had given her, and all three men sat perfectly still and quiet, not wishing to disturb her.
"The last full grade you completed, Tom, was the ninth," she began. "The school year is about one quarter over, but your grades are so good, I'm going to take a chance and put you in the tenth grade. But Tom," she admonished the frightened boy, "if you find yourself having difficulty, please let me know. We'll put you back in the ninth grade as a refresher, and you can start the tenth grade at the beginning of next school year."
"He'll be just fine," Joe said. "Ken and I will tutor him."
"That's wonderful," she said. She went over to a file cabinet and took out a class schedule. She handed it to Tom.
"Your algebra class is in progress right now. I'll take you there, and introduce you. Mr. Hamm will give you a book. All your teachers will. I know you'll do just fine." She smiled at Tom.
Joe gave his ward some money.
"What's this for," Tom asked.
"It's lunch money," Joe said, and he winked at Ken.
When they left the school, Ken said, "I have enough time to have a go at it."
"But Maria, the maid is home."
"I don't give a fuck."
When he got back to the precinct, Ken asked one of his co-workers about Keith Kane's background check.
"No can do," she said. "The fucking computers are down. The tech geeks are working on it now. They don't think they'll have things running before 10 PM."
"Shit," Ken muttered. He sat down at his desk and called Monte Barnes. They chit-chatted very briefly. Neither of them was fond of telephone small talk.
"Monte," Ken asked, "when you hired Keith for the lead in `Mardi Gras' did you tell him that Joe Vincente went to bat for him?"
"I'm pretty sure that I didn't. I got a distinct impression that Joe wanted to remain anonymous."
"That's very interesting," Ken muttered. "What time does Keith usually get to the theater?"
"About six, I think. Why are you asking?"
Ken wanted to say that Keith was a suspect in a murder case, but he just answered by saying, "He may have some information I need."
Ken called Joe and told him that he couldn't do dinner until 7:30 or 8:00 PM.
"I'll keep it warmed up for you."
"I want to hear all about Tom's first day at school."
"I assure you it was great. I've never seen a kid so excited."
"Love ya; see ya later."
When Keith got to the theater, Ken was waiting for him. Ken flashed his badge and asked if Keith could speak privately with him.
"Sure," Keith said, and he led Ken to his dressing room.
When they got there, Keith wisely closed his door. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked.
"Joe Vincente. You know him, don't you?"
"Sure, everybody in the business knows him. What about him?"
"He got you fired from a major gig. You must have a lot of animosity."
Keith laughed. "I did at first. I even called him and reamed him out, but then I got this role. It saved my career. I wasn't right in the first role, and it could have been a disaster. In fact, it could have ended my career. This part in `Mardi Gras' made my career. I worship the ground Joe walks on."
"What do you mean?"
"He's the guy who made Monte hire me."
"Did you ever call and thank him."
"I wanted to, but I got the impression from Monte that Joe wanted to stay anonymous, so I never did."
"When you were angry about him, who did you complain to?"
"Just about to anyone who would listen."
"But those people know nothing about what he ultimately did for you, do they?"
"I guess not."
"Thanks, Keith, you've been a big help."
"I have? I don't see how?"
"Just trust me. You have helped. I'll leave you now. Go out there and break a leg."
Ken stood outside the theater and speculated. Well, he thought, Keith may be another red herring, but somebody, who loves him very much, thinks that Joe did him very wrong, and he's seeking revenge. Or maybe, she's seeking revenge.
To be continued ......