Penny Max and the Runaway Lottery Ticket: Hilton Head Chronicles Part 1

XI: In Which Phil Hanover Makes a Connection

 Warm up: "Two Hearts" by Phil Collins

Phil Hanover heard the sound of steel drums, then realized his phone was ringing and reached over to his passenger seat. "Phil here," he announced into his cell phone. "Ok." "Ok." "Ok." He answered the questions in short staccato notes, taking in the information he was laser-focused on. He dropped the phone back on the passenger seat and rubbed his forehead, deep in thought.

He'd finally quit following the mumu lady after she pulled into what seemed to be her home, with lots of barking dogs. He passed by the trailer a couple times within an hour but her car didn't move so he started heading back to Savannah. Once he got the phone call, he turned his car around and headed back to the island. In about 45 minutes he pulled up to The Dunes Beach House, where a friend of his was tending bar. 

She nodded as he sat down and asked for beer. He took his time sipping from the bottle as she talked with a couple at the end of the bar. After about 30 minutes, they left and he swung his bottle in front of the bartender to get another one. After she brought it to him, she began to talk to him in low tones.

"It looks like there's been another one," said Stella Martines, allowing her long dark hair to cover the sides of her face as she talked to Phil. "He's just a small time lover boy who likes to play the numbers a bit much. But he said there's new guys who are handling the operation and are bastards to deal with. He had a broken finger, and possibly a dislocated right shoulder. I think they knocked him to the ground. Whatever they did, there's some new kids in town and they're not here to play." She gave him a receipt to sign though she didn't charge him. He noticed on his copy there was a different name on the receipt and also a license plate number written on it.

As he reviewed the slip of paper for a moment, he asked her about the weather for the next few days. Stella played along and they chatted briefly as he wrote on the receipt 'description'. She responded out loud about the the red sky and white clouds during yesterday's sunset she'd seen. "You know what they say, red sky at night, sailors delight," Stella said with a smile. Phil returned the smile and said, "Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning." 

Phil tilted his head for a moment, and gave her an almost imperceptible nod and then handed his bottle back to her. He left a $20 on the counter and left. She poured the almost completely full bottle out in the sink and watched as he left. Then she wiped down the counter and pulled her hair back up into a ponytail as she wiped down the counters. She focused on her bartender work while mulling over the details of the situation. As an undercover investigator playing a bartender, she enjoyed the dual component of her role. 

While she had been an actual bartender at one time, and enjoyed the tips and keeping people safe from awkward drunk situations, since adding private investigator to her list of job duties, she found her life far more satisfying. Wiping down counters was much more fulfilling when it was mixed with paying attention to small talk; and observations of too much to drink now connected to observations of emotional cues - which was all pretty much the same as bartending - was far more challenging. Though she still enjoyed the creation of new cocktails, she liked the feeling of helping people in more consequential ways instead of just imaginative libations. 

Stella had become a work-for-hire PI about two years before, doing private jobs here and there for their mutual friend Goddy. She found bartending was a good way to hear bits and pieces of information plus she was good at it - with an arsenal of great drinks with a Stella twist to back her. She only took jobs that she felt helped the greater good which was usually clear cut. As she cut limes, she thought back a bit to what got her into this specific job with Goddy and Phil in the first place.

She was working her day bartending job nearby at the Charming Seagull during a busy shift when she overheard a couple starting to raise their voices a little at each other over the crowd at a table almost directly in front of the bar. When Stella glanced over, her normally emotionless demeanor almost winced as she saw the man had a painful looking black eye and pretty fresh looking cut across his forehead. Her intuition piqued, she grabbed a pitcher of water and went over to check on nearby tables and listened a little more closely.

"You have to tell someone Joe, you have to," said the woman sitting with him sounding panicked and a little loud as she spoke. "Honey please!" "Stop. You just need to stop." said the man more quietly reaching for her hand. "I'll be fine. I just shouldn't have played again. It's fine. I'll get the money. We'll be fine." The woman started to cry putting her hands over face for a moment. Then she looked at him, trembling. 

He reached over to her and told her to go the restroom. She grabbed the table napkin, stood up to go then turned to him and said, "Where will we get the money Joe? We're already behind on our rent!" Stella could see by her profile that she was at least six months along. He handed her his wallet and said "you can have everything I got right here," and gave her a smile. As the woman walked away, and Stella started to wipe down a table with a towel hanging from her belt, she saw his smile disappear. Then he got up and left the restaurant. Without her. Less than a week later, Stella saw the obituary for a Joe who accidentally drowned off a fishing pier.

Something bad was going on around the island and Stella didn't like it. She approached the local police chief about her concerns but he made light of it. When she insisted there was more to it than a bankruptcy/suicide, he said he'd be in touch. A few days later, Goddy showed up at the beach bar. Small talk lasted an hour. Then he left her his number on a cocktail napkin with two words - Problem solver. 

When she touched base with Goddy, they connected a couple dots together on a problem he was noticing in Savannah. As they connected dots, dots would get reported and resolved. But then dots began to grow into boulders. So then Goddy brought Phil into his 'problem solving' network and connected him to Stella. They began to discreetly share notes at her bar on occasion and she began to look forward to his visits. Island life was lovely for vacationers, but sometimes lonely for it's denizens. A friendly face made her singular life easier. 

Raised in foster care since 13 when her grandmother passed away, Stella survived the foster homes by her observational skills which helped her mostly avoid troublesome situations. Once she was 18, she spent three years at a landscaping company mowing golf courses on the island,  and worked her way up to manager under the owner, but management was somewhat isolating of a role. Once she hit 21, she began working weekends at the beach bar, hoping it would help her make connections in a livelier location, eventually giving up landscaping for tending bar. And yet, she was still apart. But her observational skills translated well to bartending and now, to private investigation, and both were enjoyable. Especially the interactions with Goddy and Phil. 

"Where you at?" Stella shook her head for a second and realized she was being asked a question. "Sorry my head was in the clouds I guess," she said, giving Kiki one of her distracting smiles. But the Ohio transplant knew something was up and wouldn't be put off by the normal ploys Stella had learned as a bartender and as a young woman working the beach life. "Seriously, what's going on?" Kiki asked her. "Just working out a problem in my head, no big deal," Stella responded, aware that with Kiki, direct was best. 

"Ok, just let me know if I can help in any way." Kiki held her eyes for a moment longer so that Stella knew she was serious. Stella popped her head to the side and looked directly back at her, also a friendly face, and the two women exchanged looks for a moment. They had been working adjacent to each other for over a year now, and had slowly become friends, exchanging witty repartee, which slowly became sharing challenges and brainstorming work-related solutions together. 

So when Kiki turned to go, paused, then turned back and asked, "do you have any plans for dinner?" Stella was caught off guard for a moment. This was the first time Kiki had ever invited her for something outside work. Stella looked at her as she considered the invite. And realized this might have more meaning than just dinner. Opening up that door was something she did not expect tonight. But after a pause, she decided maybe the unexpected would be the difference. 

She gave Kiki a smile and said yes.