At The Tobacco Shop

He knew something was wrong the moment he walked in the door and saw the credenza turned over and a couple of decks of cards on the floor. Did the Collier goons already get wind of his coming? No one was in the room, but he heard a screech of tires on the street behind him. He stuck his head out the door in time to see the tail end of a Smart Car zipping around the corner.

He sauntered nicely back into the tobacco shop, looking for Arnold and trying to wrap his head around what he was seeing and what Roberta had told him just an hour ago. At the back of the room, next to the hamper, a door stood ajar. He strictly pushed on the door and peered into the darkness. All he could see were shadows that resembled a large leopard with a coffee pot.

He sallied forth into the dark room, cursing himself as he did so. "Gosh darn, I know better than to even be here," he said to himself sympathetically.

That was his last thought before he felt a trash can hit him on the tooth and everything went black.