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

investigative work without a license and has dragged you into the middle of it?”
        “Something like that. Here, let me show you what we did.”
        I pulled the article from the Star that told about Spivak bowing out of the councilman race out of my pocket.
        She read it. “So what? Am I supposed to be impressed?”
        “That article doesn’t tell the whole story. Spivak was backed by the Russian mob. He had a significant lead and if he had won, the mob would have gotten a foothold in the Northeast District. Kevin and I tailed him and caught him with a Russian hooker at a seedy motel. He bowed out rather than be exposed. All I had to do was sit in my car and take a few photos.”
        “So do we have another dinner coming for your afternoon of work?”
        “No,” I said, pulling the envelope with the thousand dollars out of my pocket. “But I do have this.”
        She shook her head in disbelief. “Walt, what are you doing? I thought you were retired.”
        “I’m trying! But if I don’t do something, I’m going to go crazy. I can’t just hang around the apartment all day. I even thought about getting a part time job at Hy-Vee, but that’s just not me.”
        “So what are you saying?” she asked, biting her lip.
        “I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. Several people have told me that I’d make a heck of a good private investigator.”
        Maggie buried her face in her hands.
        “I know. I know. You wanted me to give up the badge because of the danger and I get that, but this is different. As a P.I., I can pick and choose what I want to work on. I’ve been on three cases so far and I haven’t even set foot out of my car.”
        “Three cases? You’ve only mentioned two.”
        “I did one other one with Kevin.”
        “Good grief!”
        “Maggie, I told you before, you’re the most important thing in the world to me, and if you don’t want me to pursue this, I won’t.”
        She looked deep into my eyes and I could see her begin to soften.
        “So you’re actually thinking about getting a P.I. license and starting a real firm.”
        “Only if you’re on board with it.”
        “I suppose my crazy brother will fit into the picture somewhere.”
        “I haven’t said a word to him. I didn’t want to get him excited until I cleared everything with you.”
        “And you think you can do this without getting shot, blown up or thrown off a roof?”
        “That’s certainly my goal.”
        She didn’t speak for the longest time. Finally, she said, “I remember Helen Foster’s words when I asked her why she would let her husband run for office knowing he might become a target. She said, ‘My husband is a man of passion. Life is meaningless without passion and without a purpose. Nursing homes are full of people who have lost their passion for life, and that can be worse than death.’ Walt, I don’t want that to happen to you. If you think this will give your life purpose, and you promise me you won’t get killed, then go for it.”
        I wanted to jump across the table and give her a big hug, but at that moment, our sizzling steaks arrived.
        A beautiful loving wife, a sizzling filet and a new lease on life. It was the happiest I had been since I handed my badge to the captain.
     

     
        If I was going to do this, I wanted to do it right and I knew absolutely nothing about setting up my own company, so I figured my first call should be to an attorney.
        In my opinion, the best attorney in town is Suzanne Romero. She had successfully defended Mary, Ox and me on several occasions, so I called her office and scheduled an appointment.
        “Walt, so good to see you again,” she said, extending her hand. “What can I do for you today? Has Mary clubbed or shot another intruder?”
        “No, nothing like that. Maybe you heard I had retired from the