The Silver Lake Murder

by Gregg Matthews

  Looking out over the beach, he sees the old wooden dock he and Rose used to jump off of. There is an old wooden lifeguard chair in the middle of the beach. It’s tilting to one side like the Leaning Tower of Piza. No one has been able to sit in the chair for years. Why don’t they remove it from the beach? Looking out into the water, he can see the safety rope around the beach area. He remembers as a kid the first time he swam out to the rope and how big of a deal it was. How innocent they were back then. In life, he is out way past the rope now.

  His heart sinks at the thought of Rose. Being here reminds him of her and how much he misses her. He has a pain in his midsection when he thinks of her. He pictures her here, walking up to him. He can picture her in his mind. When they were younger neither one of them had a care in the world.

  Gazing out over the water, he sees the tall green pine trees at the water’s edge. The trees line the perimeter of the water. Looking across the water, he can see the old rope swing with a couple of teenagers launching themselves through the air, into the water.

  Little Rock Island is seen off in the distance, with smoke streaming out of a couple of different smoldering fires from last night.

  There are some young mothers with several children playing in the shallow water. The young mothers don’t look familiar to him. He walks over to them to start a conversation. Maybe they have seen Rose.

  “Hi,” Blake says awkwardly.

  “Oy,” one of the women says.

  “I am looking for my friend. Maybe you have seen her?” Blake says, showing her a picture of Rose on his smartphone.

  “No English,” the woman says.

  “Oh,” Blake says awkwardly.

  Walking away dejected after showing them a picture of Rose, he sees someone else at the beach. An older man, wearing an overcoat and headphones. He is walking the beach waving a long metal stick with a metal detector on the end of it. Looking closer, Blake realizes he knows him. Slowly he approaches the man. He doesn’t want to scare him. He is within five feet of the man. He waves his hands, trying to get the man’s attention. The man keeps walking, waving the metal detector over the sand. The man doesn’t see him; he is going to have to tap him on the shoulder. Reaching out, he touches the man's shoulder. The man is startled but stops waving the metal detector over the sand and takes the headphones off.

  “Mr. Robins?” Blake says to his old neighbor.

  “Blake?” Mr. Robins says.

  “Yes, it’s me, Blake Rivers.”

  “Jesus Blake, you scared me half to death.”

  “Sorry, Mr. Robins.”

  “I have not seen you in three or four years, right?”

  “Right, me and Rose moved to New Orleans.”

  Surprised by how much Mr. Robins has changed since the last time he saw him. Blake thinks they better sit down while they talked. There are several picnic tables off to the side in the shade.

  “Do you have a minute to talk, Mr. Robins?” Blake says, pointing to one of the picnic-tables.

  “Yes, I have all day.”

  Blake helps Mr. Robins over to one of the picnic tables and helps him sit down.

  “Thanks,” Mr. Robins says, sitting down awkwardly.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Sitting across the picnic table from Mr. Robins, he watches him remove his vintage sunglasses. He can see the confidence in his eyes is gone. His look has changed since the last time he saw him. He is wearing a dirty fisherman’s hat and an overcoat in the same condition. A stained white T-shirt, jeans, and canvas sneakers. Something has changed since the last time he saw him. A few years ago, Mr. Robins was arrogant. He had all the

  answers for everything, a know-it-all. Today he is disheveled. Blake wonders what happened to him.

  “You OK, Mr. Robins?” Blake says to get the conversation started.

  “Do I look OK to you?” Mr. Robins says angrily.

  “Ah, no, you don’t.”

  “My wife Estell passed away a few years ago. I haven’t been the same since.”

  “So sorry, Mr. Robins.”

  “Well, thanks for saying that, Blake.”

  “Yeah.”

  “A lot of things have changed since the last time you were here, Blake.”

  “Oh, like what?”

  “Look around. This used to be a nice clean beach. Now it’s a mess. There are people drinking and partying here every night. Drugs and alcohol have taken over Silver Lake. There was a woman murdered here the other night as well. Someone has taken over Silver Lake and turned it into a cesspool.”

  “I didn’t know all that.”

  “Yeah, well, how could you know? You moved to New Orleans.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “What brings you back here to Silver Lake?”

  “Rose. I lost her in Hurricane Katrina. I thought she might come back here. Have you seen her?” Blake says with a little desperation in his voice.

  Pulling his smartphone out of his front pocket, he presses on the camera app. He swipes right a couple of times. He gets to the picture of Rose. She is wearing flip flops on her feet, cut off jean shorts, a T-shirt. She has long dark hair and a bright smile. She is pointing to the person taking her picture.

  “I haven’t seen Rose since you and her left a few years ago,” Mr. Robbins says, squinting at the smartphone.

  “I have to keep looking for her,” Blake says desperately, standing up.

  “Thanks for saying hello,” Mr. Robbins says, looking off into the distance.

  Before pulling out of the dirt parking lot, Blake does some fast work on the smartphone. He makes an appointment for tomorrow with the local realtor to look at some storefront space to start his new business. He needs to make money as fast as he can. The wad of cash in his front pocket is dwindling.

  Pulling out of the parking lot, he can see in his rearview mirror Mr. Robins waving the metal detector back and forth over the sand on the beach.

  Driving down the old dirt roads in and around Silver Lake, he stops at some of the old cottages his friends used to live at only to find they have moved on. Occasionally he stopped and talked to a couple of people walking along the dirt road. But none of them have seen Rose. He wonders if it was a mistake coming back here.

  The day turns into night, he pulls the car into a crushed stone parking lot closer to Route 38 to get some rest. He climbs in the back seat and makes himself as comfortable as he can. He starts to fall asleep listening to the sound of summertime, a symphony of frogs and insects. His last thoughts are, find Rose, find out what happened to Cindy Flynn, get the new tattoo shop up and running as fast as he can, he is low on money. His heart aches at the thought of missing Rose.

  CHAPTER 3

  Blake can feel the leather seat on the side of his face. He is exhausted from the last few days. His body wants him to stay down, but his mind is starting to wake up and wants him to move. He wakes up from the vibration and the sounds of the grasshoppers and frogs coming from his smartphone. His muscles are sore, but he moves around and gets the smartphone out of his left front pocket.

  “Hey,” Blake says with a faded Boston accent.

  “Hi, this is Eleanor from Lakeview Realty,” Eleanor says.

  “Hey, Eleanor.”

  “You called our office yesterday about the storefront property for rent on Shady Lane. Do you want to see it today?”

  “Yes.”

  “How soon can you get there?”

  Raising his head over the back seat, he realizes he is in the parking lot of the storefront property for rent on Shady Lane. Shady Lane is a dirt road; to the right is the crushed stone parking lot where his car is parked. The lake is within walking distance of the parking lot. Across the street is where the commercial building is. He knew he had the appointment today and didn’t want to miss it. He decided to sleep in his car in the parking lot, where his appointment today is. He is glad he did because it has made this morning so much easier.

  “I’m at the property.”

  �
�Perfect. I will be there in ten minutes.”

  “Right.”

  Squirming his large, lanky framed body around in the back seat. He catches his long, curly brown hair on the driver’s side seatbelt when he tries to get out of the car. He takes a minute to untangle his hair. He walks to the back of the car, opens the trunk, and puts on a fresh T-shirt. He adjusts his jeans and slides his cowboy boots on. He pulls his hair back and puts an elastic around the back. He reaches in for the toothbrush, mouthwash, and a bottle of water. He uses the three items and spits out the difference onto the ground.

  Closing the trunk, he walks across the crushed stone parking lot towards the empty storefront. He takes in the old strip of stores and the building housing them. The building is white, the paint is peeling and chipping. The building needs a lot of work. There are three steps in front of the building going across all the storefronts. There is a front porch going across the front of the storefronts as well.

  There are four storefronts with large windows in the front of them. There are several neon signs making various statements. Three of the storefronts have blue neon signs in various shapes and sizes with the same statement, they are Open for business.

  The storefront on the right side of the commercial building has an additional red neon sign spelling out the word Jackal. That storefront is also much larger than the other three. That storefront has two levels to it while the other three stores have one level. The sign on the front of the storefront to the right has a green base with white letters spelling, Lakeview Lounge. The storefront next to the Lakeview Lounge is a Chinese restaurant with a sign on the front of it reads. Sun Luck. The sign has a white base with red letters.

  The storefront next to Sun Luck has a sign on the front of it spelling out, K-9 Academy. The sign has a white base with blue letters.

  Next to K-9 Academy is the vacant store he plans on making Rivers Tattoo shop. He presses on the wad of cash in his right front pocket and hopes he has enough money to get this shop up and running. He takes a seat on the front steps in front of the vacant store and waits for Eleanor to arrive.

  Some time passes, enabling Blake to wake up and process what he saw in front of the new, Welcome to Silver Lake sign yesterday. He is confused, angry, and curious to know what is going on here. He also knows he needs to get his new tattoo shop up and running as fast as he can before he runs out of money. He is worried about how long the process to open the store will be. There are health code certificates he is going to need to apply for. He knows health code certificates can take a long time in a small town.

  An old pickup truck, green with white trim pulls into the parking lot, sending crushed stone dust into the air. The truck parks in front of the vacant storefront. He reads the writing on the driver’s side door Lakeview Realty. He notices below the writing there is a symbol that looks like a crude outline drawing of a dog and the word Jackal underneath. He realizes the symbol is of a Jackal and not a dog.

  Elenore steps out of the truck with a handful of paperwork and a smartphone. He seesshe is a middle-aged woman wearing black leather work boots, jeans with a two-inch-wide black leather belt, a green T-shirt with white letters on it, and an unbuttoned long sleeve green and white checkered flannel shirt. Her large chest makes the T-shirt hard to read, but he thinks it says Lakeview Lounge. She has a pretty face, with slight wrinkles around her eyes and nose. When she speaks, her mouth shows some lines too. Looking her in the eyes he can see she is focused and is here to get the job. She has a full head of long dark hair, with a couple of flaring gray patches on each side. Her body is toned and in good shape. She walks up to the front door of the vacant storefront. He does the same. He notices she has a pack of cigarettes in her shirt pocket.

  “Eleanor?”

  “Yes. Blake?”

  “Yes.”

  Blake and Eleanor shake hands. When Eleanor sticks out her right hand, he notices she has a crude outline drawing tattoo of a Jackal between her thumb and index finger. The same symbol on the driver’s side door of the truck. He makes a mental note of the tattoo. Eleanor unlocks the front door of the storefront and steps inside.

  “The store is two thousand five hundred square feet. The first three storefronts, this one, K-9 Academy, and Sun Luck are all the same size. The storefront on the end, the Lakeview Lounge, is two thousand five hundred square feet and another two thousand five hundred square feet on the second floor,” Eleanor says.

  “I understand, Eleanor.”

  Looking around the space, he can see lots of boxes and benches are still there from the previous tenant. He can see how much work he has in front of him to get Rivers Tattoo shop up and running. There is a strong smell of wet dog in the air.

  “Something smells?”

  “K-9 Academy started out in this location as a dog grooming store called the Barking Boutique. They used to wash and groom dogs here,” Eleanor says.

  “Does the owner want all this stuff?”

  “No, you have to throw it away. There is a dumpster in the back alley.”

  “Why didn’t you make him clean the store out before he left?” Blake says angrily.

  “Look, friend, do you want the space or not? I have three other potential tenants on their way here to rent it,” Eleanor says impatiently.

  “I will take it,” Blake says hurriedly.

  Blake and Eleanor walk over to the counter and start signing paperwork. He hands over a wad of cash covering the first month, last month, and security deposit. He watches her slide a set of old keys across the countertop.

  “What type of business?”

  “Tattoo shop.”

  Eleanor slides an additional packet of paperwork at him.

  “What’s this?”

  “This is the occupancy permit application. The health code permit application. And a few other certificates you will need before you can open for business. If you fill this outnow, you will have everything you need to be open for business tomorrow by 12:00 noon.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Blake says in disbelief.

  “Do I look like I am kidding?”

  “No. But how can the certificate approval process be done by tomorrow?”

  “Luke owns the building and most of the politicians in Silver Lake. This has been going on for a long time. Fill out the paperwork and pay your rent on time, and there will not be any problems, OK, friend?”

  “Yup!”

  Completing the necessary paperwork as fast as he can, he listens to Eleanor talk.

  “Listen, friend, you need to know how things work around here. Luke owns the Lakeview Lounge and a lot of other buildings, cottages in and around Silver Lake. There is a guy who works for Luke, the maintenance man. His name is Lester, he’ll come by and introduce himself. Ask him about what’s going on and how things work around here. Again, pay your rent on time, and we will not have any problems.”

  “Thanks, Eleanor.”

  “Yeah,” Eleanor says on her way out the door holding a handful of paperwork.

  As he looks around the store, he can see his new tattoo shop coming to life. The first thing he needs to do is empty the store. He walks to the back of the store and opens the door leading to the alley. He looks into the alley and sees the empty dumpster. He takes his time emptying the contents of the store into the dumpster. He also notices the store has a small bathroom and shower in it. Once the store is empty, he walks around checking out the walls to see where the electric socket and light switches are. He needs to know where he can set up his workstations for himself and the other artist he may hire.

  Stopping at a mirror mounted on the wall, he looks at his reflection in the mirror. He is wearing cowboy boots, jeans, a two-inch-wide belt, a white T-shirt. Both of his arms, chest, and back are covered in tattoo ink. He can see the ink through his T-shirt. He is six feet and five inches, lean and muscular. He has long brown curly hair going down to the middle of his back. He has a tired look in his eyes. The last few days have taken their toll on him. He knows he ne
eds to pull his life together.

  The second thing he needs to do is open all the doors and windows to air out the store. He takes a break and sits on an old milk crate in the alley. His T-shirt is wrapped around his head as he uses it to absorb the sweat. He walks through the store and out to the car

  opens the trunk, takes two bottles of water out, and drinks them quickly.

  His stomach groans. He checks the time on his smartphone: 6:00 p.m. He looks at the signs of the stores in front of him. He wants to talk to the owner of K-9 Academy, but he is also hungry, so he walks across the crushed stone parking lot in the direction of Sun Luck.

  Walking up the steps and across the porch to the entrance of Sun Luck, his stomach groans again. He puts his T-shirt back on his body. He reaches for the doorknob and steps inside. The middle of the restaurant has basic tables and chairs with exotic tablecloths. The paper placemats on the tables have patterns on them, explaining the years and the animals combined with each other. Tilting his head and reading the placemats, it looks like this year is the year of the dog. The silverware is meticulously placed on each of the tables in front of the chairs.

  On the right and left-hand side of the restaurant, there are booths. The booths are a vinyl blue-green color. The booth tables are covered with table cloths and placemats as well. All the colors in the room are exotic. There are large paintings of Dragons and Tigers on the walls. Over by the cash register, the pictures are small and framed with personal messages on them. Most if not all of the chairs have customers sitting in them. The noise of the crowded restaurant is at a decent level.

  In the back of the room, there is a full view of the kitchen. He can see several Chinese men cooking and preparing the meals. It is dinner time, and the kitchen is in full swing, outputting as many meals as fast as they can. The smell of the food makes his stomach groan again.

  There is a small side table with plastic-coated menus on it. He reaches down and quickly reviews one of them. Number seven: fried rice, chow-mien, chicken fingers. Looking up from the menu, he sees a small Chinese man walking up to him.