Sexy beast

Context:
•  Mojonbo : The dark face cam makes me think DP would make a good noir detective protagonist


The dame entered like she owned the place. I knew her type- red dress, sharp heels, and a sharper tongue. I knew she was serious since she didn't giggle when she said 'I hear you're the best dick in the city’

DP put out his cigarette in the tray in front of him, littered with the day's remnants. He knew it would be a big case. "What do I owe the pleasure this time, Knox?"
Knox sauntered into the darkened office, almost as dark as the detective's checkered past. "What else would I come to a grimy corner of New Florida for? There's been... a murder"

DP shuffled his feet on his desk. The toughest cases never failed to come to him just as he thought about retiring for the night. But justice never rests. "And who's the poor sucker who kicked the bucket this time?" After a couple of decades in the business, you start to get a sixth sense for these kinds of cases. But what came next still sent shivers down the private eye's spine

Knox smirked and held a cig out in his manicured hands, waiting for DP to light it. The small flame of the lighter ignited the dank room for a moment. "The victim was... IateyourPie. My husband. And of course, the police suspect me"

Tonight, even the dame's red dress and redder lips couldn't hold his attention. The ghost of Stream Big, inc had that pleasure right now. Knox's eyes drilled into DP, demanding his cooperation for the case. But he ignored them and kept his gaze on the window of the 1980's city skyline.

“Knox, I'll have your killer's name to the fuzz by dawn." The client raised his powdered eyebrows in suspense. "Because... he's sitting right in front of you. That's right, I killed Pie."

For the first time tonight, he raised his eyes, and his gaze met Knox's. They also met the business end of a revolver. "You don't plan on going quietly, do you DP? You've never been one to stay in the limelight since... the war"

DP only smirked; it wasn't the first time he'd been looking down the barrel of a grisly death. "Knox, if you know me so well, you'll put that gat down" The hand that former held his lukewarm drink had deftly reached into the desk drawer and pulled out his colt, the only friend he had trusted for the past decade

The two had each other at gunpoint, but mutually lowered their arms. The tense air lifted for a moment, as much as it could in this dangerous city, and resumed their roles as client and private eye

"So why;d you do it DP... why did you kill my husband, THE IateyourPie? He hadn't yet named you as the heir of his corporate empire"

Detective DP shook his head. By this time, Knox's cigarette was nearly out, and he offered him another. Such a beautiful lady didn't deserve to be kept waiting.

"No, it wasn't for revenge, or hatred... it was for his own good. Pie knew too much"

A beautiful damsel knows how to fake a smile; this, DP knew. All dames in the city were like that. But for the first time tonight, a *true* smile flashed across Knox's face, one that a private eye may see only once or twice in his gritty life

"So he knew... about us?"

DP didn't answer. A detective never gives all his answers away until the case was closed. But this particular case would be investigated and handled inside-out before dawn

DP stepped past his client and wandered closer to the window. The window looking out over the city that he had been rooting the dirtiest criminals out of since the 70's. "He knew... that it's over between us, Knox. You know that I could never give you the attention you need.... not since... the war"

Knox gasped. "Don't say that, dick. My husband's death, everyone knew it would come eventually, but he was just another patron, as you would. There are plenty of men with the jewels and bits I'm after, but a hard-boiled man like you.. I'd say you're the only one in the city."

"And that's why I killed pie, Knox. You're too naive. When pie found out about us, he swore to punish you. You don't need him.. and you don't need me. This hard-boiled man of yours needs a break.

Knox's mind whirled. But the city had left him tough enough to know what comes next.

DP's colt had been forgotten on the table, but now found itself back in his dangerous Damsel client's hands and once again pointed straight at his heart. His hands, though daintily clad in silk white gloves, did not waver. "You don't know what I need. Don't go to the coppers, baby... just run away with me to Rio. The city will always steal away my dreams... don't let it steal you"

DP lost his temper for the first time. The dame just didn't get it, just hadn't been on the inside like he had. The life of a private eye changes you. "I can't let myself be with you Knox... I can't punish you like that." He stole the colt from Knox's manicured grip, and he struggled, ripped his dress and stockings as well. Left humiliated, and unarmed, Knox finally let down his facade of a gritty damsel and wept. "I won't let the scum of humanity tear you apart, DP. I won't let Pie do it, and I won't let the police do it. Goodbye." He made a final lunge, not for DP, but for the window. The glass shattered, and DP's breath caught in his throat. In that instant, his mind flashed back to the war... the mustard gas, the fire bombs, and the image of his only daughter (AND4H), sharing the same cruel fate, thrown through a window by a looter following a battle. He remembered the reason he became a private dick in the first place... and he couldn't save the life most important to him.
The city night air flowed in through the shattered window, and the scent of smoke slowly left the grubby office. The city had claimed another life... and his investigative prowess and knack for intuition had failed him again. Knox, IateyourPie, AND4H... their ghosts floated before his eyes, and he knew that maybe Knox had saved him. He knew there was no more to do as a detective... he glanced down, at where Knox's torn stockings lay on the floor. Next to them, his scarlet purse lay- the same color as his dress, and likely the same color as what remained of Knox 20 stories down on main street. A single plane ticket lay visible within.

DP lit another cigarette to calm his nerves, the final of countless that night. Maybe he'd be going to Rio, after all.