Max Helms: Curse of the Relic (Max Helms - Private Investigator Book 1) Read Free Page A

Heinrich and I’m looking for the man who just walked in here ahead of me. Can you tell me where he went?”
    “Nice to meet you , Mr. Heinrich. I’m Max Helms. Do you mean the dumb-looking face just a few minutes ago? Leather coat?”
    “ Yes, that is him.”
    “ He had the wrong office. He wanted the office two doors down.”
    Mr. Heinrich was getting annoyed with the whole situation. He took a deep breath and composed himself. He looked past Max into the office and noticed two cups of coffee with steam still coming from them. He smirked ever so slightly as he spoke. “I’m sorry to have bothered you , Mr. Helms. You say he went to the office two doors down?”
    “Yeah, I think it ’s an insurance company.”
    Mr. Heinrich put on his gloves, straightened out his hat and said, “I bid you good day, sir.”
    T urning to the door, Mr. Heinrich opened it. As he exited he turned to Polly and said, “My sincerest apologies if I was a bit…brash miss.”
    Mr. Heinrich continued out the door and closed it behind him. Polly and Max sat in silence for a minute, taking in everything that had just happened.
    “What was that all about?” asked Polly.
    “Rico got himself into trouble again, and this time it may be serious. I need to run an errand for him. Hopefully it won’t be a trip for biscuits! Do me a favor and call our chum Gordon at the police department and see if he knows anything about this Heinrich character. I’ll be in touch with you later.”
    “Will do, chief! Be careful!”
    “I always am.”
    Max checked his gun and holster, put on his coat and hat and headed out the door.

Chapter 4: The Chase Is On
    There was a different smell in the air that afternoon, a smell that Max hadn’t smelled in quite some time. That smell was excitement. Max couldn’t help but smile as he walked down the street to his car. Sure, it wasn’t a paying job. But it was better than falling asleep in his chair while reading the paper.
    M ax pulled out the keys to his grey Plymouth and noticed two men sitting in a car across the street watching him. He pretended not to notice them as he unlocked the door and entered the car.
    Max started the car and proceeded down the street. He checked his rear view mirror and saw the men turn their car around in pursuit.
    The drive to the Southern Pacific station was uneventful. Max watched the men follow him all the way there. He parked his car and got out. He noticed the men following him had parked a few spots away. Max smiled and thought, “These brunos don’t know what they’re in for.” Brunos was a word Max used to describe low-level flunkies in a gang. They reminded him of an old friend, Bruno, who wanted to be a gangster but never made it. He tilted his hat down over his brow and continued into the train station.
    *               *              *
    The train station bustled with activity that day. Max walked in a few feet, pulled the piece of paper that Rico gave him from his pocket and read “South S37 21-12-39.”
    Max looked around and saw signs for the different platforms. He figured “South” must have meant the South platform, so he went off in that direction.
    He approached the platform and noticed a row of lockers. They were numbered S1, S2 , etc. He scanned the numbers until he saw S37 and made his way through the crowd to the locker.
    He looked around to see if the brunos were anywhere in sight. Feeling safe, he knelt down and began to try the combination. He mumbled the combination as he tried it. “Right 21. Left 12. Right 39.” He paused for a second, lifted the handle and the locker opened.
    Inside the locker he saw the sack Rico spoke of. He reached in, grabbed the sack and slowly pulled it out. Something about the sack enticed Max to open it. He could feel the power that Rico mentioned begin to emanate from within. He composed himself, stood back up and looked around. He saw the brunos in the crowd behind him watching his every move.