"I'm not saying anything. I'm just telling you an interesting story I heard." He put his handkerchief to his lip again. The bleeding had stopped. "It's hard to tell what's happening in the middle of a dogfight. Maybe Clark just ran out of gas. One thing is certain. He sure as hell ran out of luck."
"What happened to his girl?"
"Douglas moved in with her until he came back to the States, then he dumped her." He looked at Eastman thoughtfully. "I'll tell you one thing, for sure. I feel sorry for Douglas' wife."
Catherine was in the conference room having a staff meeting when the door opened and Larry walked in.
His eye was bruised and swollen, his cheek was cut. She hurried over to him. "Larry, what happened?"
"I quit my job," he mumbled.
Catherine took him into her office, away from the curious gazes of the others, and put a cold cloth to his eye and his cheek. "Tell me about it," she said, holding in her anger at what they had done to him.
"They've been riding me for a long time, Cathy. I think they were jealous because I was in the war and they weren't. Anyway, today was the topper. Sakowitz called me in and told me the only reason they hired me in the first place was because you were Bill Fraser's sweetheart."
Catherine looked at him, speechless.
"I hit him," Larry said. "I couldn't help it."
"Oh, darling!" Catherine said. "I'm so sorry."
"Sakowitz is sorrier," Larry replied. "I really clobbered him. Job or no job, I wasn't going to let anyone talk about you that way."
She held him close to her, reassuringly. "Don't worry. You can go to work for any airline in the country."
Catherine proved to be a poor prophet. Larry applied to all the airlines and several of them gave him interviews but nothing came of any of them. Bill Fraser had lunch with Catherine and she told him what had happened. Fraser said nothing, but he was very thoughtful all through lunch. Several times she felt he was on the verge of telling her something, but each time he stopped. Finally he said, "I know a lot of people, Cathy. Would you like me to see what I can do for Larry somewhere else?"
"Thanks," Catherine said gratefully. "But I don't think so. We'll work it out ourselves."
Fraser regarded her a moment, then nodded. "Let me know if you change your mind."
"I will," she said appreciatively. "It seems I'm always coming to you with my problems."
ACME SECURITY AGENCY
1402 "D" Street
Washington, D.C.
Reference #2-179-210 April 1, 1946
Dear Monsieur Barbet:
Thank you for your letter of March 15, 1946, and your bank draft.
Since my last report, Subject has secured employment as a pilot with The Flying Wheels Transport Company, a small independent freight company operating out of Long Island. A Dun and Bradstreet check shows that they are capitalized under $750,000. Their equipment consists of a converted B-26 and a converted DC-3. They have bank loans in excess of $400,000. The Vice-President of the Banque de Paris in New York where they have their major account assures me that the company has an excellent growth potential and future. The bank is considering loaning them sufficient money to buy additional airplanes based on their current income of $80,000 per year with projected increases of 30% per year, over the next five years.
If you wish further details on the financial aspects of the company, please let me know.
Subject began work on March 19, 1946. The personnel manager (who is also one of the owners) informed my operative that he felt very fortunate to have Subject flying for him. More details to follow.
Sincerely,
R. Ruttenberg
Managing Supervisor
Banque de Paris