Lady Justice on the Dark Side (Volume 19) by Robert Thornhill Page A

uniform and have some time on your hands, you should think about doing this professionally. There are a lot of folks out there who could use a guy like you on their side.”
        As I drove home, Wally’s words kept running through my mind.
        Maybe there was something more I could do before I resigned myself to frying little sausage boogers at Hy-Vee.

CHAPTER 8
     
        I really enjoyed my rib dinner at Houston’s on the Plaza, so I figured that might be a good place to take Maggie for our special night out.
        Maggie tends to be conservative when we go out to eat, rarely ordering the most expensive entrée on the menu. I noticed she was mentally calculating what her order would set us back.
        “Don’t be shy,” I said. “Order anything you want. Wally Bunker is treating us tonight.”
        She gave me a quizzical look. “Wally Bunker? Why is he buying our meal?”
        “Let’s order and I’ll tell you the whole story.”
        With appetizer, soup, salad and entrée, it was going to cost Wally close to a hundred and fifty bucks for the capture of his shoplifter.
        “Okay, spill it,” Maggie said, forking a bite of her smoked salmon appetizer. “What’s the deal with Wally?”
        Maggie had been really busy with out of town buyers, coming home each evening exhausted and ready to hit the sack early, so I chose not to make her life more complicated with my daily exploits.
        Actually, I was quite relieved that she hadn’t quizzed me about my day, because I wasn’t sure how I was going to break the news that I was still out there collaring perps.
        I had sworn Willie, Mary and Kevin to secrecy, but I decided that I’d better fess up before she heard the news from some third party. I figured she might take it better accompanied by a center cut filet.
        “Well, it all started when I took Willie to the pharmacy to get some liniment for his arm.”
        “What happened to his arm?”
        “It was sprained when Mary fell on it.”
        “What? Mary fell? Is she okay?”
        “She didn’t actually fall. Willie pushed her to the ground when some creeps drove by and shot up the hotel.”
        “There was a drive-by shooting at the hotel and you didn’t think to mention it to me?”
        “You’ve been so busy and no one was hurt so I figured ---.”
        “Well you figured wrong! When three of the people I love most in this world nearly die, I want to know about it! Now what’s with this Wally thing?”
        “While we were at the pharmacy, Wally mentioned he was being ripped off by a shoplifter. He couldn’t actually catch her in the act, and wondered if I might have some time to keep an eye on her. Since I wasn’t doing anything but playing checkers with Willie or video games with Jerry, I said I could give him a hand.
        “The next time she came in, he gave me a call. All I did was sit in my car and watch her come out of the store. When she got in her car and started unloading the stuff she had stolen, I called Ox and he and his new partner came by and put her in cuffs. Simple as that. Wally is treating us to this nice dinner as a gesture of appreciation.”
        At that moment, the server brought steaming bowls of baked potato soup.
        As she spooned a few bites, I could see the wheels turning in her head.
        “I have the feeling there’s more you want to share.”
        Then I saw a light go on.
        “You mentioned you had spent a few afternoons with Kevin. Walt Williams, what else have you been up to?”
        Maggie may be seventy, but she’s sharp as a tack.
        “Kevin needed some help with a couple of cases he was working on, and knew I had some time on my hands ---.”
        “Kevin is working cases? Did he get a P.I. license?”
        “Uhhhh, no not really. He’s just been doing some odd jobs for people who knew he was in town.”
        “So my brother is doing