Luck of the Draw

Chapter 41 - Surprise - Kind of

Malcolm sat in his car on the corner of the service station lot and read, through vacant eyes, the e-mail message from his offshore bank. A cartoon reindeer delivered the news and Malcolm wished he had a gun. To access any of his funds, the bulk of which was in that account, he needed to do it in the name of Harry Wagner, because that was how the account was originally set up.

It had not occurred to him at first that the minute he identified himself for the money transfer, he would be creating an electronic trail that would lead anyone looking straight to him. The whole point of the name change and the offshore account was to bury Malcolm and leave Harry to live a new life.

Harry could not access his money electronically; he would have to go in person. The big drawback to that plan was his lack of funds... and a passport; Malcolm had one, but it couldn't be used for ID. He slammed the wheel with his hand and swore aloud.

To top it off, he had trashed his old credit cards and only had enough cash to last for a week or two. Suddenly his decision to leave town did not look so well-thought-out. He stared glumly through the window and watched the rental car skid to a halt in front of the pumps.

A cloud of dust swirled up and Harry blinked as the driver got out and grabbed the gas nozzle. He leaned forward and squinted for clarity. Playford! It was bloody Teddy Playford!

He slammed his car into gear and shot across the lot, pulling up right in front of the other car. When he got out and slammed the door, Teddy looked up in surprise and then in fear. His hand fell away from the nozzle, and it slipped out onto the ground, spraying a stream of gasoline before it shut off. Harry's shoes soaked up most of the spill and he cursed aloud as he leaped forward to grab Teddy.

!!!!!

Harry sat on the doily covered, overstuffed sofa and gaped open-mouthed at the four women fussing over Teddy. After a call to the local Sheriff by the station attendant, Teddy and Harry were hustled downtown and questioned for an hour before being released. Luckily, they escaped without having to reveal identities, stating it was just a simple disagreement over who got to the pump first.

The Sheriff found it more of a nuisance than anything and sent them both on their way with a stiff warning, and with no place else to go, Harry followed Teddy back to the rooming house.

The reception stunned Him. Four women immediately surrounded Teddy like some form of Praetorian Guard, hustling him inside and into a huge comfortable chair where they plied him with calming words, pats on the various parts of his head and hands and plied him with a healthy shot of what looked to Harry like arterial blood in a crystal tumbler.

"This is uh- where I live." Teddy managed when the women's ministrations ebbed. "Mrs. Kinsky is the owner." He pointed to Megra. "And this is Mrs. Dwyer, Mrs. Roche and Mrs. Wurst."

Harry looked up the slope of four noses and nodded uncertainly.

"We need to talk, Playford."

Teddy's eyes shot up and he shook his head.

"Playford? Who is Playford, Edward?" Megra turned and asked.

"It uh- it was a hyphenated name at one time. Fulton-Playford. I just tired of it and dropped the Playford." He glared at Harry.

"Oh, I rather like that, don't you Inga?"

"Yes, I think it gives Edward a unique touch of class." Millicent's smile inflated. "What about you, Meg—"

"Could I have a private word with- Edward, please?" Harry struggled to stand from the sofa.

"It's fine ladies." Teddy gave them all a benevolent smile and led Harry from the room and up to his quarters.