In the last episode of Special Delivery, Rocky had been forced into finding the radioactive statue, Il Pollice Nero, by Jesse Weller and her associates. The following takes place later that morning, as Rocky makes his way back to his office:
The brief and sunny respite from the weather ended about halfway back to my office as the dark clouds swiftly rolled in and dropped their loads of rain in one steady sheet. Fortunately I had remembered to bring my overcoat and when it was time to get into my office I held it like a small tent above my head. The raindrops kicked off the pavement and drenched the last ten inches of my trousers. I secretly hoped the empty elevator would take its time as I shook my legs in a ridiculous dance to get them dry.
Wanda hit me with the bad news before I had a chance to put my drenched coat on the hook. There had been a call from my sister while I was on my way. She left a short message, which Wanda had written on the back of an envelope: “Jesse's men are here.”
If it was true, that let out any chance of getting out of this without that statue in my hands. But Jesse was a con artist and I wasn't about to let that go unchallenged. She could find a way to fake it. Sure, Wanda knew my sister's voice by heart but I'd believe it more if I heard her voice myself. I sat on the corner of my desk and got a hold of the operator and she fixed me up with San Francisco. The voice that answered the telephone was Amanda's, and it was shaky.
“What did you do?” she asked me.
“Stuck my nose out where it doesn't belong. Had I known they'd get you involved, I never would have...”
“There are three of them. They told me they're not leaving until you get the statue. What does that even mean?”
“I'll let you know all about it later, sis. Just sit tight and don't get them going. I have a pretty good idea where the statue is.”
“You better!” she yelled, and hung up. As I put the phone on the receiver, I couldn't help feel that if they were foolish enough to get on her last nerve, three muscle-men probably weren't enough to take care of Amanda.
I picked up the phone again. One way or the other, the answer to where the statue was was in the hands of James Wong. I dialed his office and his secretary put me straight through. He sounded like he was in a good mood. “Rocky! It sounds like Lieutenant Hardacre finally let you off the hook. Unless of course, this is your one phone call.”
“I'm free as the wind, brother, and wondering where that statue went. From everything I could see at the scene, it looks like Jesse Weller has it back.”
His response to that was just the one I wanted. There was no pause or hesitation is his voice. He was eager about it. Too quick. “Looks like. We'll just have to wait until she tries to sell it again. My clients aren't too happy about it but at least the opposition doesn't have their hands on it.”
Before I signed off, I said something about how I would contact him if I knew anything and he should contact me if he knew anything, but the fact of the matter is I already knew who had that statue, and it was just a matter of where they had put it. Il Pollice Nero was in the hands of the Nationalists. They took it from the Hoffman mansion and got in a skirmish with their Communist friends. Somebody ended up dead and it didn't matter which side they were on.
Wong told me everything, just like I thought he would. He wanted me to think Jesse had it so I wouldn't suspect him. One thing left to do: find out where they were keeping it. I stepped into the outer office, where Wanda was typing a letter.
“You bring your car in this morning, kid?”
“Yes, why?”
“I need to borrow it for a job. James Wong knows what my car looks like and he can't know I'm following him.”
Will James lead Rocky to the statue? And if he does, how can Rocky get it away from the Nationalists and into the hands of Jesse Weller? Find out in the next episode of The Adventures of Rocky Stone!
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