Last night and this morning, it finally hit.
I did not want to write. And getting 1,000 words today felt like a slog through molasses. I’m starting to doubt the story, and it’s funny. I knew this would happen. I prepared myself for it. And yet, when it hit, it hit with full force. But I know this is temporary. This is the runner’s wall, and if I can get through this, I can get to the finish line. I have to do another session later today so as not to fall behind, but, boy howdy, I can feel that tug to just quit right here and right now. But I’m past the 1/3 point. I just have to keep reminding myself it’s one word at a time. Below are the words that bled out of me today.
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I could only see her midsection at the moment as she was still standing. A tight tank top sat over an exposed midriff. White skin, well toned. As she leaned over and I saw her face, I gasped. It was Athanasia!
I closed my eyes and shook my head. When I reopened them, Athanasia was gone. My mind was playing tricks on me, probably due to my reminiscing on her just a few moments ago. This woman was not Athanasia, but she was beautiful nonetheless. Blonde hair and green eyes, just like my wife, but apart from that, her face was rounder, more youthful.
Her eyes met mine and then it was her turn to gasp. “Oh! You’re–“
“Yes,” I cut her off. “I’m the cop from the paper, so you might want to reconsider your proposal.”
She glanced over at Ernie, who gave her a salute, and then back at me. “Yes, that’s where I know you from.”
“As long as we’ve got your attention, Miss…”
“Jennifer.”
“Jennifer? I expected something a little more exotic, like Candi.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” she said, her smile saying the opposite.
“Jennifer, since you recognized me, I imagine you read about the murder that happened here.”
She nodded.
“And you’re still wandering these streets at night? Aren’t you worried you could be next?”
“Hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”
“I suppose. But it really is not safe.”
“Hey, getting out of bed in the morning and facing the world isn’t safe. You gotta live your life, you know?”
It was my turn to nod. “Have you seen anything strange recently? Anything or anyone out of the ordinary?”
“Can’t say that I have. Other than you two.” She smiled again. She met my eyes again with an intensity that almost felt like a physical blow. Then she looked back at Ernie, who had ignored the entire conversation, focusing on a bag of Doritos instead. She stood up, rummaged in her purse, came out with a pad and pen. She wrote something, tore the page off the pad and leaned back into the car again. She stuffed the paper into my jacket pocket. “You change your mind on that fun, give me a call.” Then she was gone, as silently as she had arrived.
“Brave girl, that one,” Ernie said.
“Yeah,” I agreed, “but that bravery could get her killed.”
The rest of the night passed uneventfully, as did the following nights. I caught a glimpse of Jennifer once or twice, walking around the parking lot, but she never approached. There were the usual one on one interactions that either involved money and goods changing hands, or involved renting one of the rooms at the Twin Palms. If I had not been after bigger fish, I could have made enough arrests to fill our holding cells twice over. Those would be issues for another day.
In the meantime, Ernie asked more questions about my life. I gave him as much as I could without going into extraordinary detail. It would never be an easy conversation to explain to someone I have been alive since the 1600s. B.C. I learned from experience people tended to fear what they did not understand, and that had gotten me nearly killed several times. I had learned since then to keep the truth extremely close to my chest, in order to keep myself out of trouble.
As I sat in the station after the third unsuccessful night, I got a call on my desk phone.
“Officer Smith, how can I help you?”
“Is this the policeman from the paper?” a shaky male voice asked.
I sighed. “Yes, I am.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I heard something today and I knew I had to call you.”
I sat up a bit straighter in my chair. “What did you hear?”
“I didn’t get to see him, or her, but I heard them talking. He invited her to the Paradise Inn, promised her a night to die for.”
“Well, that’s a common enough phrase. Was there anything else?”
“I know, but there was something about the way he said it. Then he said to meet him in room 313 tonight at ten.”
I jotted that down and decided it couldn’t hurt to check it out. I’d have to figure out how to ditch Ernie tonight, though. “What’s your name, sir?”
“Uh, I’d rather not say.” Then there was a click as he hung up. I looked at the pad. Could this be the break I was looking for? It seemed almost too good to be true. But I could not afford to ignore this, just in case it was Jack.
I decided the best thing to do would be to rent the room next door, 312, and wait for Jack to show up. Once he and the girl were in the room, I could record their conversation and intervene if things went badly.
I let Ernie know I would not be able to do the stakeout with him tonight, but would appreciate it if he would still look out for strange doings at the Twin Palms. I figured that would get him out of my way while I was three blocks down at the Paradise. At eight p.m., I paid for room 312, set up my recording equipment, and waited.
And waited.
Nine p.m.
Nine thirty p.m.
Nine forty five p.m.
Ten p.m.
Ten fifteen p.m.
By ten thirty I was beginning to think I was chasing wild geese, and by eleven, I was sure. But I waited until midnight, just to be sure. When the room next door continued to be uninhabited, I went back to the lobby, checked out, and headed home, defeated.
I still had two days before the drop would be made by Xavier, and I was out of ideas on what to do next. Jack was being strangely silent again, and once again I was perplexed by his actions lately. I wished I could make sense of things, but it appeared I would have to wait and see what he would do next.
I didn’t have to wait long. The next morning, as I got to the station, I had a surprise waiting for me.