Tangled

by Uc Amalu, Jr

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Jay rolled into Bluey’s, his black slacks neatly pressed

  and his brand new polo shirt tucked neatly inside them.

  He scoured the room before his eyes finally rested on the

  bar to his left.

  "Yo Tadpole!" he yelled from the door-way.

  "Jayy, get over here." the smile on Tad-poles face was

  welcoming.

  In an effort to appear as his usual casual self, Jay

  sauntered over to the bar and held his hand out to

  Tadpole. The men shook hands and Jay ordered a beer.

  "I thought you’d still be recovering from last night?" asked

  Tadpole, a knowing smile on his lips.

  Jay chuckled, "It’s not the drink ya gotta look out for," he

  said, his eyes darting about the room.

  "Yeah, you’re right…" Tadpole grinned as he watched Jay

  studying the bar. "It’s the women!"

  Jay’s eyes flew back to him in an in-stant, "What’s that

  supposed to mean?"

  "I’m just saying, a woman can stay in your system a hell of

  a lot longer than alcohol can."

  "This beer tastes like shit!" cried Jay. "It must be flat,

  gimme another one, would ya?"

  He pushed the frothy ale back on the bar and pulled his

  cigarettes from his pocket, angry that Tadpole was

  goading him over the waitress. He understood that

  sleeping with a waitress from his regular bar was likely to

  cause problems, but he had been prepared for that. What

  he hadn’t been prepared for was the fact that he would

  actually fall for her and end up making a fool of himself in

  front of his drinking buddies.

  "Here you go," said Tadpole, sliding an-other beer over to

  him. "Fresh keg. Spiked it myself just now."

  "Bloody well oughta be, too," replied Jay.

  Tadpole stared at him for a while.

  Jay wondered if it was obvious to Tad-pole that he was

  looking for the girl. He was determined he wouldn’t

  mention her unless Tadpole asked about her.

  "So," Jay began, his eyes still wandering all over the bar.

  "How’s the wife and kids?"

  "Great thanks, mate. The littlest one’s just cut his first

  tooth actually."

  "Really?" It was clear Jay was more interested in the

  scenery than hearing about Tadpoles family.

  "Yep."

  "That’s exciting and all Tadpole, but I’m gonna wander

  outside for a bit. Have a smoke, enjoy me beer…"

  "By all means, Jayy. Go for it." Tadpole tried hard to

  disguise his humour over the situation.

  Jay stepped out onto the smokers deck and sat his beer

  on the table next to the railing. He pulled a cigarette from

  his packet and lit it. The bright orange flame danced at the

  end of his smoke, it’s blue centre glowing against the

  curtain of darkness behind it. He tucked the lighter back

  into his packet and sat them on the table. He picked up

  his beer and gulped it down leaving only about an inch in

  the bottom. He needed an excuse to call the waitress over

  when he finally spotted her… if he ever spotted her. No

  matter where he looked, he couldn’t find her. Maybe she

  wasn’t working tonight.

  Still staring into the bar, Jay drew back on his cigarette

  and swallowed the last of his beer. He glanced down at

  his watch and saw that it was only 9.05pm. Perhaps she

  hadn’t started just yet. Although, it was around this time

  last night that he and Ben had seen her there. With the

  empty beer glass in his hand, he crushed out his cigarette

  and ventured back into the bar, determined to find what

  he was looking for. The pool table was crowded with a

  dozen or more young men, all drunk and all believing

  they were the next Eddie Charlton. They hud-dled together

  at the far end of the table, forming a tight knit circle. When

  they dispersed, Jay saw her familiar face, she was

  standing in the middle of the group, her tray loaded with

  empty glasses.

  For reasons unknown to him, he high tailed it back out to

  the smokers deck, his heart was beating loudly and his

  palms were sweaty. He couldn’t understand what was

  happening, he had fallen for other women before, but this

  was different somehow. She had done something to him,

  and yet when he woke next to her this morning he hadn’t

  felt a thing. His hands slid down his slacks, wiping away

  the wetness from his palms, a million thoughts were

  running through his mind when she interrupted him.

  "Well, here’s a real gentleman if ever I saw one!"

  Jay turned and stared. He remembered her hair, the

  silkiness of her skin, how she smelled. He was

  dumbstruck.

  "Cat got your tongue or something?" she asked.

  "I ain't got no cat," replied Jay, embarrassed by his

  words as soon as they left his mouth.

  "Yeah, well the way you look after house guests, I’m not

  surprised."

  Jay fidgeted with his cigarette packet, trying to retrieve

  one without dropping the entire pack. He couldn’t believe

  his nerves. Unchartered territory was where he was right

  now, and it scared the living daylights out of him. A few

  seconds elapsed before he finally managed to free a

  cigarette and stick it in his mouth. All he could do was

  shoot her a grin, hoping that she thought he was cool

  rather than the mute mess that he was.

  "Well I came back, didn’t I?" he eventually managed.

  "Am I supposed to be impressed by that?"

  "As a matter of fact," he paused to light his cigarette.

  "Yeah!"

  "You’ve got some nerve, coming back here and taunting

  me like this. Isn’t there some other poor, defenseless

  waitress you can charm into bed?"

  "Probably."

  Her mouth fell open, but no words came out.

  "But I don’t wanna pick on somebody else. You’ll do just

  fine."

  His confidence grew; he could feel his old self returning.

  Pretty soon he would be in full swing and there’d be no

  stopping him. As much as he wanted to sweep her into

  his arms and hold her, he resisted the urge and decided

  to play for a little longer. He didn’t want her thinking that

  she had him eating out of the palm of her hand. Sure he

  liked her… a lot, but he wanted to tread carefully for now.

  "What if I don’t want to be picked on?"

  "See, that’s where I think you’re lying. I think you do."

  "Look, is this going somewhere? I got a job to do and

  you’re holding me up."

  "In that case, get me a beer would ya?"

  She made a growling noise and walked back into Bluey’s.

  She got a few steps inside the door before turning back to

  Jay.

  "It’s Danni, in case you’re wondering?"

  Jay shot her a broad smile, drew back on his cigarette

  and nodded his head. When she turned away Jay

  punched his fist into the air, he’d done it. He knew he had

  her. Satisfaction filled him and he felt like the cat that got

  the cream. He watched her body swaying beneath her

  clothes, how he hadn’t noticed her in the same l
ight last

  night surprised him. Sure he had been attracted to her,

  but in a sexually perverse kind of way. Now when he saw

  her, he saw something else… a woman, not an object.

  Although he was still shocked by his feelings, he liked

  them and knew that no matter what happened between

  them, he was still Jay Marnotti, bad-ass detective.

  Danni reached the bar and motioned to Tadpole. He

  walked over, grinning as he approached.

  "Hey Danni. Y’know Jayy’s here and I think he’s looking

  for you."

  "Yeah, he found me," she replied, her cheeks flushing.

  "So what’s happening with you guys?"

  "Who knows? He’s probably looking for an encore."

  Tadpole shook his head and beckoned her to come closer

  so he could lower his tone. "I don’t know, Danni. I’ve

  known Jayy a lot of years and I have never seen him

  come looking for the same woman twice. I think he might

  actually be serious about you."

  "Oh, lucky me!" she laughed.

  "He’s not so bad. Just a little rough around the edges is

  all. Give him a chance. You’ll see."

  "I can tell you one thing for sure," She began, "I won’t hit it

  off too well with him if I don’t bring him his beer!"

  "Comin’ right up love," chortled Tadpole, grabbing a

  frosted glass and filling it to the top before placing it

  squarely on her tray.

  "Thanks," she said.

  Danni wove her way back through the bar and found Jay

  leaning out over the railing on the deck. She stood back

  and admired his strong shoulders and muscular

  physique. His short, black hair highlighted his deep, blue

  eyes and chiselled cheekbones. Electricity surged through

  her body when she thought about their night spent

  together. He was quite a lover, his hands knew just what

  to do, and despite his gruffness earlier in the evening, he

  was attentive to her in bed like no other man she had

  been with. Jay was certainly no Prince Charming in the

  ro-mance stakes, but she was sure that he had many

  qualities they could build on.

  "Your beer, sir," Danni said, placing the glass on the table.

  Jay grinned and put a ten-dollar note on her tray.

  "Keep the change."

  "Is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked,

  stuffing the note into her pocket.

  "Yeah, you can have lunch with me tomorrow."

  "No, that’s no good for me," she answered attempting to

  sound disinterested.

  For the briefest moment, Jay became a little unsure of

  himself. He looked into her eyes and saw that she was

  playing with him, making him work for a date.

  "Gee, that’s a shame…"

  "I’m free for dinner though," she spat out and then

  scolded herself silently, for acting so desperate.

  "Dinner, eh?"

  Jay stared at her. He wanted so much to just take her

  back to his apartment and show her what he was capable

  of. He knew they had already been to bed together, but he

  was drunk and he hadn’t given his all that night. As

  difficult as it was, he resisted the urge to grab her. Next

  time he touched her, he wanted her to feel the difference

  in him, know that she wasn’t just a one-night stand.

  "Sure, I think I can manage a dinner appointment."

  Danni handed him a cardboard drink coaster, smiled and

  headed back inside to the rowdy group of men at the pool

  table. Jay looked down at the coaster and there in neatly

  printed pencil was her address and phone number.

  Unable to wipe the smile from his face, he opened his

  wallet and slid the coaster into the 182

  billfold. He finished his beer and made his way back to the

  bar to say goodnight to Tadpole.

  "Hey Tadpole!" he yelled.

  "Another beer?" He asked.

  "Nah, I’m outta here buddy."

  "No worries. Um, did you find what you were looking for?"

  "Who said I was looking for anything?" Jay asked, the

  smile still firmly planted on his lips.

  "You old dog! You did, didn’t you?"

  "You better believe it, Taddy," he laughed before walking to

  the exit.

  "Night, Jayy."

  "Night."

  The street outside was alive with the regular hoons racing

  their V8’s up and down the main drag. They yahooed and

  cheered each other on, the danger of their actions

  obvious to everyone but them. Shaking his head in

  disgust, Jay pulled his coat on and tugged on his collar,

  lifting it up to shelter his neck from the coolness of the

  evening. His left hand reached into his pocket for his

  cigarettes, at the same moment his phone rang. The

  smokes forgotten for the time being, he pulled out his

  phone.

  "Yeah, hello."

  "Jayy, it’s Ben."

  "What’s happening? Did you talk to Anna?"

  "Yeah, she wasn’t too helpful, I’m afraid. I did manage to

  get a next of kin for Kylie-Anne though." Ben sighed into

  the phone before adding. "You wanna come do the

  honours with me?"

  Jay looked at his watch. "It’s 9.40 Ben, you sure you

  wanna do this now?"

  "I’m sure. I managed to track her parents down through

  her father’s work. I phoned them and told them I had

  some news on their daughter."

  "I didn’t know she had been reported missing, why didn’t

  she show up on our missing persons data base when we

  ran Jane Doe’s stats through?"

  "She wasn’t reported. I told them that we had some

  dealings with Kylie-Anne and that it was important that I

  speak with them immediately."

  "Where are they?‛

  ‚32 Millbrook Avenue. You want me to pick you up?"

  "Nah, I’ll meet you there in ten."

  "How did you go with the waitress?" Ben asked,

  remembering Jay had plans to woo her that evening.

  "It’s in the bag, Benny boy. She couldn’t resist me!"

  "I’d have paid money to have seen her reaction Jay. I can

  just imagine how you swept her off her feet." he laughed.

  "Well I did that and more."

  "You did huh?"

  "Yup, I even got me a date for dinner tomorrow night."

  Jay reported, pride echoing in his voice.

  "You’re a regular Cassanova, aren’t you buddy? You never

  cease to amaze me with your boundless talents."

  "There’s plenty more where that came from. Anyway, I’ll

  see you in ten."

  "Right, see you then."

  Jay ended the call and stuffed his phone back into his

  pocket before lifting his pack of cigarettes out. He lit one

  and walked to his cruiser. Behind the wheel, he revved the

  engine and pulled out into the stream of youngsters still

  racing each other up and down the street. At the next set

  of lights he made a left hand turn and headed in an

  easterly direction toward Millbrook Avenue.