Chongo regretfully ditched the Lincoln on 24th Street after carefully wiping off all his pawprints, left the keys sitting in the ashtray, and took a cab uptown to Joey's. Chachi usually hung out at Joey's, and Chachi was a good source of information, even if he did have the character of a poisonous snake crossed with a Sicilian loan shark.

Joey's hadn't changed at all. It was still the same greasy little short order diner it had been for the last 30 years, but the coffee was strong and good, and the soup and spaghetti were the best deal in town.

"I'll have the usual, Mavis." Chongo slid into a handy booth that provided a good view of the street and front entrance. "Sure thing, Chongo." Mavis was a brassy but dependable waitress who'd worked at Joey's forever and knew her job like an alley cat knows the inside of a trash can. She was fast, sharp, and had a good sense of humour too. "She's almost simian," mused Chongo. "Wonder what she looks like out of uniform?"

He'd have been loathe to admit it, but Chongo had a thing for human females. Their general lack of body hair was disturbing, and it was further complicated by the fact that they also had more hair in certain places than most chimps do, but they made up for it with those unnaturally long and graceful legs, they generally smelled pretty good, they looked great in heels...and they were tall. Some were really tall. "Sorta like climbing a mountain," he thought. "Ya gotta do it just cos it's there..."

If Chongo had ever seen Liv Tyler, he probably would have melted right there on the spot and run down the nearest gutter like a spilled drink.

Putting aside these pleasant thoughts, Chongo got down to the business of filling his little monkey gut with a steaming order of flapjacks and bacon, and running the few facts of the Frizzell case through his mind.

Evidently, Lenny Frizzell had gotten involved in something big that was way out of his league...but why? And how? He didn't seem like the sort of guy who would be drawn into risky or shady activities...but maybe he had had no choice about it. That sort of thing could happen to little people in Chicago, specially since the Westside Baboons and the East Side Gorillas had really gotten into the rackets bigtime.

Now there was an orangutan involved too...an important one from the looks of it, cos he was commanding gorillas. Who the hell was he? Chongo searched his mind, running down the rogues gallery of faces that papered the walls of his hall of memories. There was something about that Orang that rang a faint bell, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it...

"EXTRA! EXTRA! Big gangland shootout on Anvil Street! Five slain! Gang wars erupt again in Chicago and Big Daddy is in town!!!" A newsmonkey was bawling out on the sidewalk.

"Big Daddy"! That was it. Big Daddy Malone. Chongo had heard of him, but only fleetingly. He was the kingpin of organized simian crime in Schenectady, a town that may not rank large in the annals of G-men, but it had its share of fast operators, hired guns, and shady apes. Big Daddy was a legend in Schenectady. Well, Schenectady must've just gotten a bit too small for him...and now he was in Chicago. Not good. This would probably mean a major shakeup or some full-scale gang wars in the Windy City.

Enough to keep a chimp busy and knee deep in Cuban cigars, if he played a careful hand, Chongo thought. Enough to get him concrete waders if he didn't.

Then he saw Chachi. Coming in the front door. Chachi saw him too, and he looked nervous, but when Chongo gestured he came over, sat down, and ordered a bottle of Schidt's Beer.

"So," said Chachi. "What's the rumpus? I hear that Big Daddy's in town."

*******