A Crisis With Hop

Another Overdose

A couple of days passed. Carol was worried about Phillip, since he hadn't come home. I wondered if Phillip was hiding in shame for what he did. Or possibly in fear of what I or Luke might do. Either way I began to wonder if he would come back to the apartment. Luke's men had been alerted to bring him to the mansion if they found Phillip.

My friend, Rae North, was known for her racy plays and notorious 'Warehouse Theater'. It had survived a fire, a group of vigilantes, and critics so far. At the end of the day Rae North was closing up when she found a couple of young college students sleeping at the back of the pews she used for seating. Only they weren't asleep. The poor things had overdosed as the couple did on our party boats.

Where as Luke had disposed of our inconvenient dead bodies in an alley way to misdirect authorities, Rae thought nothing about calling the police. She wasn't doing anything illegal at her theater, just immoral in some people's mind.

Rae's favorite detective, the rough and gravel voiced Zach Nathon had come to her theater to investigate the deaths. That man was ten year's younger than her, yet she flirted shamelessly with the man. Zach on the other hand always stayed for tea. Although coffee, strong and black, was more his style. Who am I to judge though, I simply am making an observation.

I happen to arrive at the theater as Zach was finishing his tea with Rae. He had also concluded his interview concerning the dead couple in Rae's theater. Rae had been unaware of drug use in her theater.

"If I had been, I would have thrown them out." Rae told Nathon as I walked in the back door of the theater. "I don't mind them taking a nip from their flasks now and then. I mean, they are grown boys and girls. Drugs I don't tolerate."

"You do understand that the serving of alcohol is prohibited." Nathon said. "It they bring the alcohol in the theater, it isn't illegal, since there are no laws against the possession of alcohol. You just can't sell it."

"I would never serve alcohol to my customers." Rae acted shocked. "I have enough problems. Any flasks that get passed around during my plays isn't my fault. I can't check everyone for hidden flasks on their persons."

"You have no problem with alcohol, but hop is where you draw the line." Nathon said.

"Oh, darling. alcohol is a tonic. Soothes the nerves. Hop is everything that most people claim that alcohol is. It destroys your life, family, and friends." Rae smiled sweetly at the man. "I have actors who used to be hop addicts. They will tell you the same thing."

"Just be careful. We'd hate for your theater to become a public nuisance." Nathon got up and turned to the door.

"Oh, darling, that horse has already left the barn."

Nathon smiled and shook his head. He tipped his hat to me as he left.

"Why do you encourage that man?" I asked Rae as she embraced me.

"I like him. He is a gem in the rough. Besides, I have to give the Flyboy a run for his money." Rae was talking about Bobby O'Brian Luke's partner and a excellent pilot.

"Another man far too young for you." I commented.

"Really? I never noticed. A man is a man. No matter his age. You have to use your personal assets to manipulate them and eventually bend them to your will. Age has nothing to do with it. Or, depending on the man, everything." Rae laughed.

"Rae North, you are ten years older than both of those men. Where is your dignity? You are far to old to be manipulating men with your assets." I said, though not really serious.

"What does dignity have to do with it? As for being to old, I'll be too old when my assets don't attract men anymore. At present I don't see any men turning their noses up at my assets."

"You are impossible." I said.

"Just hard to get, not impossible." Rae began cleaning up the tea. The players would be coming in soon.

"You didn't come down here to talk about my taste in younger men." Rae said as we cleaned up.

"Phillip has been beating Carol." I explained to Rae everything that had happened.

"Luke is correct. Killing Phillip for abusing Carol is not the answer. Especially if the girl is still in love with Phillip. I think that drying him out slowly is the best method. Leave it to Luke to handle this situation." Rae didn't want me getting to involved in this. "All you can do is comfort Carol and wait. It is possible that you won't find Phillip again if he is afraid. He may have run off to another big city like New Jersey, Chicago, or Boston."

Rae was right. He had good reason to fear my wrath. Friends with Luke, husband of Carol, he was, but he had no right to strike my sister. She was the only real family I had left. Rae, Luke, Clara I loved dearly, but they were not connected to me the way Carol was. She was tied to me by blood.

"In fact, you should visit her again." Rae chided. "You don't visit nearly enough, if you had. you would have known the problems they were having."

"You know I can only take Carol in small doses." I said. "What about you? When did you visit her last?"

Having turned the tables on Rae she confessed. "Not often enough. We were never friends like I was with you."