The Crooner

By M.L. Lindberg

Morey Ames is a crooner in a night club in Chicago. He and his his wife, Sally, take a well-deserved vacation to Door County. Instead of just an enjoyable vacation, it turns out to be something totally different. Amateur sleuth, Sally is very irritated by the anti-social behavior of her next door hotel neighbor. She can't help herself, as her suspicions turn out to be real. A scam is about to take place, and Sally sets out to prevent a crime, dragging her reluctant husband along.

• Language: English
• Publisher: M. L. Lindberg
• Release date: Jun 14, 2012
• ISBN: 9781620507582

M.L. Lindberg

Marvin Lindberg is an author of many books of fiction including the Crooner series, four books with Wayne Davis, a Texas private investigator as the central character. Mr. Lindberg lives in Racine, Wi.

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The Crooner

Door County

M. L. Lindberg

Copyright M. L. Lindberg 2012

Published by M. L. Lindberg on Smashwords

Formatted by eBooksMade4You

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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CHAPTER ONE

What a year it has been for Morey Ames. He landed his dream job of being a crooner in Chicago. He not only became a crooner, belting out his favorite songs at Romeo’s, a night club and restaurant in downtown Chicago, but the top lounge act as well.

He married the love of his life, Sally, six months ago. Morey met Sally a few days after he arrived in Chicago. Sally ran a restaurant on State Street.

They bought a home in Skokie, a suburb of Chicago, shortly after their marriage. This was Morey’s first home, after living in apartments all his adult life. He finally felt more settled. The life of a musician for the most part is not a settled one. You live and die by you next gig.

Now, however, Morey had a permanent ‘gig’ at Romeo’s. He was the headline singer every Friday and Saturday. He entertained a packed house every time he sang. Morey loved what he was doing.

Many of Chicago’s movers and shakers from business owners to politicians and celebrities came to hear him sing. They all, it seemed, wanted to be introduced to Morey. Al Nightengale, the owner of the club, always made a point of circulating around the club, shaking hands with the guests. They all complimented Al on the club and the success of Morey and the band. Morey, when asked about his success, always deferred to the band. He would be nothing without Pete, Sam, and Mike, the other members of the band.

Morey would often wake up in the morning, and pinch himself to make sure it was all real. He had gone from being a rock and roller in Milwaukee, to a blues singer in St. Louis, to his current job as a crooner in Chicago. This was what he had always wanted to do, so perhaps it was all part of the grand plan for his life.

Al and the band had worked very hard for the last year to really establish itself. It was now time for a vacation. Al felt it even more than Morey. He not only was the owner of the restaurant and lounge, but also ran sound for the band. He felt a real need for a vacation, so in mid-June, he announced to the band that he was giving them two weeks vacation, effective Sunday, July 1. Al would put his restaurant manager in charge of the restaurant, and close down the lounge for two weeks. He had the idea that even the customers needed a vacation from your music. They then miss you and want you back.

Morey and Sally had two weeks vacation. Where would they go? What would they do?

Sally, said Morey, the day before his last performance, have you ever been to Door County?

Where’s Door County?

It’s near Green Bay, you know, the Packers?

Oh yes, the Green Bay Packers. I saw a Chicago Bear game a few years ago. They were playing the Packers. They had this great quarterback. I can’t think of his name…..

Brett Favre?

Yes, that’s it. He was amazing. The Bears really got shellacked that day.

Yeah, Favre was really good. I’ve never seen him play in a live game. When I was growing up in Milwaukee, the Packers used to play some home games in County Stadium, but stopped doing that before I had a chance to see them. Getting a Packer ticket in Green Bay is almost impossible, unless you want to pay through the nose. When I was in St. Louis, I was given a chance to see a St. Louis Ram/Packer game in St. Louis. Unfortunately I got sick. I performed Saturday night, even though I felt rotten. I couldn’t wait to get home and get in bed. I slept all day Sunday. I gave my ticket to our bass player, who also was a Packer fan.

So what is the attraction in Door County?

It’s a real tourist magnet. Door County is a peninsula. When you look at a map of Wisconsin, you see that finger-like part in northeast Wisconsin? That’s Door County. It’s surrounded by water. There are all these tiny towns that really come alive during the summer months. A lot of Illinois people go there for vacation. Many have vacation homes. It is a really popular tourist attraction.

Well Morey, I must admit I haven’t heard much about it, but if you want to go, that’s fine with me. I’ve already asked Julie to take over the restaurant for me. She’s a little nervous, but she will do O.K. I have a lot of faith in her. My friend Elly will be popping in every day to check on things.

Good, I’ll call tomorrow to get reservations at a motel. I’ve got a friend of mine who has a cabin up there. He and his wife have been going there every year for a long time. They will help me get a good motel. They’ve been asking me to come there for years. Now I’m finally going. I’ll call in the morning. He’ll be surprised to hear from me. I called him a few months ago to let him know about my new job. He said when I come up, he’ll show me around.

That’s good Morey. The trouble with going on vacation is, you miss half the good places to see if you don’t really plan ahead. It’s always great when you have someone there that knows the area. I took my mother to San Francisco a few years ago. We didn’t really plan anything, and I’d never been there before, so we were just winging it. We heard there was going to be a parade in downtown San Francisco, so we thought we’d go there. It turned out to be a Gay Festival that they have every year. All these gay men dressed up in strange outfits. There were even some guys running around totally nude. My mother had a fit. She was so embarrassed. She said to me: ‘Why would you take me to something like this? I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life!’ She couldn’t believe that I didn’t know it was a gay parade. I didn’t. Needless to say, we left, and went down to Fishermen’s Wharf.

Well I don’t think you have to worry about a gay parade in Door County. It’s a very conservative community. They wouldn’t allow that on a bet.

When do you want to go?

Let’s leave Monday morning. It will take about four to five hours to drive up there. No hurry. We’ll get to see some parts of Wisconsin that I’m sure you’ve never been to before.

I went to Summerfest in Milwaukee one year. I went with a friend of mine. They really packed them in there. I had a ticket to see Bonnie Raitt. She was fabulous.

Yeah, she’s my favorite female blues singer. When I was singing blues in St. Louis, I had this fantasy about singing a duet with her. I should have told my agent to get in touch with her. Then when she came to St Louis, maybe she could stop in to Jake’s, the club I was singing at.

That would have been a real hoot.

Oh yeah, she’s great.

I think I have all her songs. I play them quite a bit, as you’ve noticed by now.

I have noticed. Why don’t you bring the CD’s along with you? We can play them on the way up to Door County.

You know, Morey, she has that mournful, lost my man kind of voice.

And that’s not easy to do. I sang blues for two years, and never developed that, as you call it, ‘mournful’ quality.

Morey, believe me, you don’t need mournful in your voice. I love your voice just the way it is. Don’t go the mournful route. You won’t be Morey Ames.

Sweetheart, I better get ready for tonight. Al wants us there a little early. It’s his mother’s birthday, so he’s planning a birthday party for her before the show. He’s invited a few friends and family over to give her a real special day.

Morey, by the way, I have a gift for her. I found out through the grapevine that it was her birthday a couple weeks ago, so I got her a little something.

Oh you are something, Sally, so thoughtful.

My mother also just had a birthday. It was fun to be with her. She is so appreciative of those little things. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy buying her presents. I think I get more out of it than she does.

How old is Molly now?

She is seventy-two, but acts much younger. I took her and her boyfriend, Ed, to a family restaurant in Skokie. She loves the food there. All she ordered was a hamburger and soup. The waitress brought in a piece of cake for her. Ed made up for it by getting a big steak. He claims it is the best steak in the Chicago area. They have a converted pizza oven left over from when that place was an Italian restaurant. They sear the steak on both sides to seal in the flavor. Ed just loves them. I tasted it after he insisted. It was good, I must admit. He said I should get an oven like that for my restaurant. No thanks.

Are you coming tonight?

I better not. I want to get everything squared away at work. I want to do the ordering for Julie, so she doesn’t have to worry about it. I’ve got to pay some bills too. I don’t want to go on vacation, and worry about things that I should have done. I’ll be thinking about you though.

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Morey and Sally were up early Monday morning. The weather forecast for Chicago was warm and muggy. I was July 2nd after all. The humidity level slowly rises from early summer to mid-summer in the mid-west. Sally seemed very happy that morning. She had been very efficient over the weekend. She got everything buttoned down at Sally’s Restaurant. She was leaving it in the capable hands of Julie, her manager. She had packed everything they needed for the vacation. All that was needed was to put the suitcases in the car and go.

Are we all set Sally? said Morey, with that look that a husband gives his wife when she has emerged from the bedroom all dressed for the occasion, whatever it may be.

I’m all set to go my love. Did you get the luggage into the car?

I sure did. All you have to bring is your purse.

That’s what you think. I don’t want to forget the CD’s, remember?

Oh yes. Oh, by the way, Al gave us our first CD recording of the band. Do want me to bring that along?

Of course, I never get tired of hearing you sing.

I knew you would say yes. It’s already in the car. He gave me five copies. I think he wants me to pass some out.

O.K., I’ve got my Bonnie Raitt CD’s and my purse. Let’s go.

Morey and Sally got into the car and drove off. They were both in a happy mood as they started their drive to Door County.

I can’t tell you how happy I am to be going on vacation Morey. Can you believe that I haven’t had a decent vacation in the eleven years that I’ve had the restaurant? Even our honeymoon was only a few days.

Yeah, Al said no vacation yet. I tried to get a week out of him, but he was stubborn. He wanted to get the band really established.

Well you guys are certainly established now. You’ve been at it a year now.

Yes, and we’re still packing them in. I’m really happy at the way it turned out.

Morey, I never did ask you where we will be staying in Door County.

My friend Jerry got us a motel that is right on Lake Michigan. It’s called Bay View Motel. It is a really nice place he said. We’ve got a two room suite that overlooks the bay. They even have a boat dock, but we don’t have a boat, so we won’t need that.

That’s alright with me Morey. I’ll be happy just being on solid ground with you holding my hand.

I’ll be happy to hold your hand dear. You have such nice hands anyway.

Yours are pretty nice too, Mister.

Oh, its Mister now is it? Married six months and she calls me Mister.

Should I call you Mrs.?

Oh, please don’t do that. Anyway Sally, Jerry got us a real good price on the room. A friend of his owns the motel. I guess there was a last minute cancellation, so we got the two weeks at the low rate. He was happy to fill the two weeks at that late date.

Where in Door County is it?

"It’s in Egg Harbor. Egg Harbor is the first of the small towns on the peninsula. All these towns run into each other on the bay side of Door County.