FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Quote:

Have you ever felt uncomfortable in your own skin?

Maybe there's a reason...

Betty Lou's maneki neko waved at me when I entered the Really Good that evening. I was always amused that a Japanese cat adorned so many Chinese restaurants. On that level, at least, the two countries weren't fighting. I figured Betty Lou was busy in the back, so I went to find Moon Bear at our usual table and wasn't disappointed.

"Two nights in a row," Moon Bear chided gently. "Are you testing your luck or your capacity for spices?"

"Not the luck," I said. "I went by the ATM."

I outlined my day's experience during the soup. Dinner arrived as Moon Bear made his observations.

"I can help with the surveillance details. Manny and Bucket are available for a few days at least, and we'll find you some backup after that. Usual shifts and pay?"

"Absolutely. We'll start tomorrow. I contacted the client this afternoon, and he has provided a rather generous retainer, as well as arranging for some very sophisticated equipment for viewing the back docks. Seems that the security company is going to give us access to a web-based feed. There may be some time delay in the transmission, but the job is only to watch, not intercede. Not that I'm all that worried about having some hanky-panky going on in the back."

"You think it's all going to happen up front."

"I think they want to be seen. And I think the client knows it."

"What gave you the clue, Sherlock?"

"His tenant's company name - Clu-Pea Ruber Wholesale Goods."

I smiled at my mentor as he worked on teasing out the answer.

"A good thing that I do crossword puzzles. The herring, that fabulous fish, is_clupea herengus_ in Latin, and _ruber_is red."

"You're kidding." Moon Bear laughed good and long over that one. "Does he think you're stupid? I mean, you can try Latin tricks on an old Injun like me, thinking I wouldn't know any better, but you're clearly a college boy. Did he think you wouldn't figure that one out?"

I shook my head. "It's possible that there really is a Mr. Gillig, although it sounds like a short form of 'Gilligan.' My cursory check on d.b.a.'s came up with nothing, and the name 'Gillig' shows up sporadically in the ordinary state records available online, but nothing to do with business. You can guess that the business name itself is nowhere to be found."

"Sloppy," Moon Bear commented. "If this is supposed to be a set-up for something, why isn't your client more thorough?"

"Beats me. However, everything else that he's told me checks out. He is the registered owner of the property; there are various small businesses in the offices, some of the tenants have been there for as much as five years. The client purchased the place about eighteen months ago, so far as I can tell."

"What does that mean? Isn't his name on the title?"

"Shell corporations. Like peeling away an onion. The man seems to like his privacy."

"He who wants not to be seen should not hire someone to watch him."

"Was that in your fortune cookie?"

"Along with the winning lottery numbers."

"Count me in."

Moon Bear chuckled. "So okay. What's the game plan?"

"For now, let's play it straight." I shrugged. "There's nothing illegal in what he's hired me to do: Watch over a place that he owns. There's no instruction beyond keeping tabs on the place, noting who comes and goes, a rough description of whatever it is that might be going in or out. Time seems more important to him than anything else. Night deliveries to the front dock."

"Any surveillance cameras on the front?"

"No. I wasn't even sure that there were cameras at the back. For a moment, I think even he wasn't sure that there were cameras on the back."

"Sounds pretty spooky, Mulder."

I laughed. "The truth is out there." I shook my head. "None of this makes sense. I mean, reason this out with me. Let's say something hinky is going on..."

"_Hinky?_What sort of word is that?"

"I watch too much NCIS. Sue me. So someone knows that there are surveillance cameras at the back, so they want to make illicit deliveries and pick-ups at an unmonitored location - the front dock. Trouble is, the front loading dock is not merely visible from the street, it practically has neon signs pointing to it. It's well-lit, off to the side of the building yet still up front, and has a completely clear view from the street across a little-used parking lot. The only advantage is that there aren't cameras to record the event; otherwise, you might as well have searchlights calling attention to your activities."

"No one said that somebody had to be smart to be a crook."

"True. Then again, there's just plain ignorant." I sighed. "Looks like this one is going to capture that well-known curiosity of mine."

Moon Bear nodded slowly. "You've got that in spades. Probably inherited."

"And you would know that, how?"

"Intuition. We Injuns are full of it."

"My God, what an opening."

"Sit on it, junior." The big man chuckled quietly. "So okay - nothing illegal in the transaction, and we can all use the cash. I'll make sure Manny and Bucket keep an eye on you."

"And the property."

"Hey, they each have two eyes. Should be plenty to go around."