All Things Lost

by Josh Aterovis

  “The last name I don't know, but she was always telling me to come down and they'd fix me right up. I think she was implying something but I try not to think about. Let me see if I kept one of her cards.”

  She disappeared into the house and came back out a few minutes later with a business card in her hand. “It was Curl Up and Dye; I don't know how I could forget a name like that. And her last name is Tingle. You can keep the card.” She handed the card to Novak and he tucked it into his shirt pocket.

  “Well thank you, Mrs. Haynes. You've been very helpful. Is it alright if we contact you if we have any more questions?”

  “Please do. Anything to help Caleb.”

  We started walking away, but Novak stopped suddenly and turned around. “One more question, ma'am.”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you think Caleb did it?”

  “Killed Ira?” she asked in surprise; shocked, I guess, that he would ask her that.

  “Yes.”

  She thought for a minute. “I don't know, I honestly don't know. But I do know I wouldn't blame him if he did.” She turned and walked into the house, shutting the door behind her.

  Chapter 11

  We checked at Mrs. Fields' house once more before we left but there was still no answer. Novak stuck one of his cards in the doorjamb and we made our exit amid Bessie's noisy protests.

  “She thinks the kid did it,” Novak commented, interrupting my dark thoughts on the chances of our getting back to the office alive.

  “Mrs. Haynes?” I asked after my brain caught up.

  “Yeah, and so far we've not heard anything that would make me think otherwise. Have you thought about how you're going to feel if it turns out he did do it?”

  “It doesn't really matter much to me either way,” I said honestly. “I don't even know this kid and he didn't exactly endear himself to me on our first meeting.”

  “You're doing this for some reason.”

  “I told you, I'm doing this for my friend's sake. Why are you doing this?”

  “Insatiable curiosity,” he said with a big grin. He pulled the business card Becky Haynes had given him and flipped it over in his fingers a few times. “We're going right by here on our way back. Need a trim?”

  “It is getting a little shaggy, don't you think?”

  “Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but now that you mention it…”

  A few minutes later, we pulled into the small parking lot for To Dye For. It was a private home that had been converted into a beauty parlor, the type found in every small town in America. A small sign in the front yard bore the name of the business and a silhouette of a blow dryer and scissors. We walked in and six heads swiveled to stare at us, two of which sported plastic caps and sat under dryers. We were the only males in the room and quite possibly the only ones under 200 pounds.

  “We're looking for Nadine Tingle,” Novak said. I was impressed. He didn't sound at all intimidated. I was fighting the urge to hide behind him.

  One of the ladies stepped forward. She was a large daunting woman with even larger hair that was an unnatural shade of orange. “And who are you?”

  “My name is Shane Novak and this is my assistant, Killian Kendall. We need to ask Ms. Tingle some questions.”

  “What kind of questions?”

  “Are you Ms. Tingle?”

  “No, I'm Anita Johnson. You got a problem with that?”

  I was ready to sound the retreat, but Novak actually seemed to be enjoying himself. “Ma'am, I assure you it's none of my business what you need. I just need to speak to Ms. Tingle.”

  Anita sputtered and the other ladies tried to hide their guffaws under a sudden coughing epidemic. The back door swung open and a tiny woman with bottle-blonde hair strode into the room. From the looks of things, I would guess she spent a lot of time in a tanning bed; her skin looked like worn leather it was so tanned.

  “It's ok, Anita. I'll talk to him.”

  “Are you Ms. Tingle?” Novak asked.

  “Oh please, call me Nadine,” she drawled in a husky smoker's voice. On closer inspection she was quite a bit older than my first impression. A web of fine lines bracketed her eyes and lips, her teeth were tobacco stained. “Unless you're the IRS. In that case, you can call me tomorrow.”

  Novak held out his hand, “Shane Novak, I'm a private investigator. This is my assistant Killian Kendall.”

  We shook hands, and then Nadine gestured towards the door. “Why don't we step outside? This room has more ears than a bushel of corn and they don't mind telling what they hear.”

  Everyone pretended not to hear that as we followed Nadine's tight jeans out the door.

  “Hope you don't mind if I smoke,” she said, as she lit up a cigarette. I hadn't even seen her pull one out; it just appeared in her lips, as if by magic.

  “It's your lungs,” Novak said easily.

  “Amen to that. I'm so tired of the government trying to tell me what I can and can't do with my own body,” Nadine said as she blew a stream of smoke straight up into the air. “So what do you want to talk about? This something to do with Ira?”

  “Good guess. What can you tell us about him?”

  “About Ira? Ha! Not much. Not much good anyways. Mean son of a bitch. Meaner than a hog-nosed snake. And a drunk to boot. And he weren't no happy drunk neither.”

  “Weren't you dating him?”

  “Honey, I haven't dated anyone since I was 20. Dating is a young person's game. We met certain needs for one another.”

  “And what needs were they?”

  “Some things a lady just doesn't talk about.”

  Novak smiled knowingly. “What about his son, Caleb?”

  “What about him? Weird kid, he was real quiet. Didn't see him much when I was around. He was always out back somewhere. Prob'ly kept girly magazines in the barn or something.”

  “Were you surprised that the police think he might have killed his father?”

  She thought a moment. “I was and I wasn't. I was surprised that he would have the nerve to do anything as gutsy as kill anyone. He was scared of Ira. Can't say I blame him. Like I said, Ira was mean. And he was especially mean to the boy. That's what I mean by I wasn't surprised. I don't really blame him if he did kill him. My only question is: what took him so long?”

  “So you are comfortable with the idea of Caleb committing this murder?”

  “Comfortable? Who'd be comfortable with a thing like that?”

  “I meant you think he did it.”

  “Oh, well that's something else entirely. I don't know. That's not for me to decide, now is it?”

  “Is there anyone else who would have wanted to kill Ira?”

  She snorted and a puff of smoke shot out her nostrils. She was a lady alright. “Sugar, just list all the people who ever met the SOB and you'll know who's wanted to kill him at one time or another.”

  “What about right now? Who would have wanted him dead at this particular time?”

  She took one last drag on the cigarette, dropped it on the stoop, and crushed it out with a dainty little twist of her ankle before kicking it off into the grass. “Now I'm not saying anything one way or the other, understand? But have you talked to the folks down at the Ease Inn where he worked?”

  “No, is there any reason you would mention them?”

  “You could say things weren't real good between them lately.”

  “And why was that?”

  She smiled, “That's your job to find out, now isn't it?”

  Novak smiled back, I swear he seemed to be reveling in the banter. “I suppose it is. And who might I ask for when we visit the Ease Inn.”

  “You might ask for Prince Charming but God knows you won't find him there.” She snorted at her own joke. “Ask for Phil Zaranski. He runs the place. I gotta get back inside now. I got Ethel under the blower and her hairs as brittle as dry spaghetti. I can't leave her too long. We're done, aren't we?”

  “We're done,” Novak agreed. “And ma
y I just say that it has been a pleasure indeed.”

  “You wanna come in and say good-bye to Anita?” Nadine said with her hand on the knob and a wicked grin on her face.

  “That's one pleasure I can do without.”

  She turned with a cackle and went inside.

  * * *

  Novak dropped me off at home since Adam had driven me to work that morning. He would have come picked me up as well, but Novak insisted it was on his way. I had barely closed the door before Steve grabbed me from behind in a huge bear hug.

  “Uh, it's great to see you too,” I choked out.

  “I settled on the house today!” he laughed, “You're looking at the proud owner of one of the finest examples of 19th century architecture in the state!”

  “That's great! Congratulations, Steve!”

  “Don't go anywhere; we're going out to celebrate. Adam, Killian's home, let's go!”

  Adam padded into the hallway barefoot and wearing his working glasses, “I'm in the middle of this project and I need to get it finished. You two go on without me.”

  Steve frowned, “Adam, it's a celebration dinner. I'd really like you to be there. The job can wait. Come on.”

  “Fine,” Adam said with a sigh. “Let me get my shoes on.”

  We drove to the Cactus Café, a wonderful little Mexican restaurant that was a favorite of ours. It was an unpretentious, intimate place with great authentic food, live music and the cheesiest decorations you can imagine. Purple and pink sequined sombreros hung on the wall between papier-mâché burros and strings of light-up plastic chili peppers. We went there often enough that the waitresses knew us by sight and when they heard we were celebrating they brought us a round of sangria on the house.

  Steve prattled on excitedly about the house as we munched nachos and homemade salsa while waiting for our entrées. Adam was noticeably quiet. I tried to cover for his conversational absence by being overly effusive, but it was painfully obvious. Steve's enthusiasm began to flag as the tension built. I decided drastic action was called for.

  “You know the Cohen murder case that's all over the news?” I asked casually.

  “Is that the one where the police think that boy killed his father?” Steve asked obligingly.

  “Yeah, that's the one.”

  “With an ax, right?”

  “Uh, yeah.” I took a deep breath. “Well, Asher knows the kid, they're friends. He doesn't think he did it. So he, uh…” I suddenly wasn't so sure this was such a bright idea.

  “He what?” Adam said, speaking what I think were his first words since he'd placed his order.

  “He, uh, asked me to, uh, kinda look into it.”

  Adam picked up his wine glass and drained it in one gulp.

  “And I assume you said no,” he said calmly after he'd set his glass back down.

  “Well, not exactly,” I said with a growing sense of trepidation.

  He grabbed Steve's sangria and slammed it back.

  “Novak is working on it with me,” I said quickly, “It's nothing dangerous. We're just asking some questions.”

  “I've heard that before,” he said heatedly.

  “It's good training for me.”

  “Training? Training? Dealing with a dangerous psycho who chops people up with an ax is training?” His voice was climbing with every word and a few people were turning to stare.

  “Adam, calm down,” Steve said soothingly and Adam threw him a murderous glare.

  I rushed on, trying to diffuse the situation before it exploded, “If Caleb did kill his dad then he's in jail and he can't hurt me, right? And if he didn't do it, shouldn't someone be trying to figure that out?”

  “Someone like the police, maybe?” Adam snapped. “This is dangerous, plain and simple. Novak is a trained investigator and an adult. If he wants to risk his life that's his business, but you're just a kid!”

  Bang.

  “I'm not a kid,” I said angrily. I was beginning to lose my cool. “I have to learn somehow. This is what I want to do with my life. It's my decision, not yours.”

  “Nothing is my decision anymore,” he shouted. More people turned to watch the floor show. The guitar player played on, oblivious to the drama unfolding before him.

  “Both of you, calm down,” Steve tried again.

  “I will not calm down, damn it!” Adam growled through gritted teeth, “I'm sick and fucking tired of being calm while my life spirals out of control. I don't feel calm and I'll be damned if I'm going to pretend to be calm just to keep from embarrassing you.”

  He stood up abruptly, shoving the table back as he did and toppling his chair. Steve water tipped over sending a cascade of cold liquid into his lap and making him leap to his feet as well. This time even the guitarist took notice and stopped playing with an astonished look on his face. The owner of the restaurant, a barrel-chested, animated little man, came rushing out of the back as Adam stormed out of the restaurant.

  “Is everything ok?” the owner asked in a heavily accented voice.

  “Apparently not,” Steve said grimly. He pulled his wallet out and tossed a wad of cash onto the table. “That should cover everything,” he said and followed Adam out the door.

  “I'm so sorry,” I mumbled, my face hot with embarrassment as I rushed to make my exit as well.

  I could hear them arguing from across the parking lot as soon as I cleared the door.

  “What the hell is going on?” Steve was yelling.

  “What do you think is going on?” Adam yelled back.

  “I don't have the slightest idea! I wish someone would tell me! Ever since I found the house you've been acting like a spoiled brat. You told me I could do this, you know it's been my dream, and yet you can't even be happy for me for one damn night!”

  “Yes, this is your dream - your dream! Not mine. And yet you're expecting to me to just drop my life, move out of my home, give up my business, and for what? For what?”

  Steve looked like he had been slapped. “I thought when I moved in with you that we shared our lives. I thought it was our house, our dreams. I've never expected you to give up anything. Maybe it would be better if you just stayed in your house.” He started backing slowly away.

  “Maybe it would,” Adam snapped. He yanked open the car door and jumped inside. Steve turned and started back for the restaurant.

  “Where are you going?” I asked him.

  “I'm calling a cab,” he muttered darkly.

  I watched him walk inside and then ran across the parking lot and got into the car, which Adam had idling. He pulled away without a word. The drive home was silent and tense. When we pulled into our driveway Adam was out of the car almost before it stopped moving. He banged into the house and disappeared into the den. I didn't follow him, deciding that it would be safer for all involved (namely me) if I stayed out of his way for now.

  Steve must have stayed at a hotel or a friend's, because he didn't come home that night. I thought about their fight long into the night, wondering if they were going to break up or if they would somehow pull through this. I also thought about Asher and I, and wondered if we had done all we could to salvage our relationship. Had we given up too easily?

  I finally drifted off somewhere in the wee hours of the morning. I definitely wasn't ready to get up when the alarm went off a few hours later, but I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. I was moody all morning at work; snapping at telephone solicitors and generally taking my frustrations out on the office equipment.

  Finally, Novak had enough. “Ok, let's go,” he said as he breezed out of his office after I'd kicked the jammed copier for the third time that day.

  “Where are we going?” I asked in confusion.

  “We're getting you out of here before you destroy the office,” he joked.

  “Are we going anywhere in particular?”

  “Does the Ease Inn ring any bells?”

  “That where Ira Cohen worked.”

  “Bingo. We're going to pay a lit
tle visit to Mr. Zaranski.”

  The Ease Inn was not what you would call a quality establishment. Once upon a time, perhaps, it might have been a respectable motel, but these days it was simply a run-down, rather seedy affair that catered to druggies, hookers and those unfortunate souls who find themselves fallen on hard times. It was the type of place your mama warns you about.

  The motel itself is shaped like a horseshoe with the office occupying a separate cottage-like building in the center. Everything was squat and dingy, built of cinderblock and once painted a light blue that had faded to gray and peeled in places to reveal the white base-coat underneath. As we pulled into the parking lot Novak laid out the game-plan.

  “Ok, when we get in you stay quiet. We want him to notice you as little as possible. In fact, I won't even introduce you. I'll get him talking, get him to give us permission to look around, then I'll distract him. I want you to nose around.”

  “What am I looking for?”

  “Anything and everything; specifically anything that looks interesting, anything you think looks out of place or stirs your curiosity. You're a smart kid; you'll know it when you see it. You've got a knack for this stuff.”

  I glowed at the praise but wished I was as confident in my abilities as he was.

  A loud, annoying buzzer sounded when we opened the office door. A moment later, an inner door swung open behind the counter and a disheveled man appeared. He was not quite old enough to be called middle-aged but he looked like he'd passed his half-way point a long time ago. He was painfully thin with a receding hairline, a pasty pallor, and bloodshot eyes. He looked like he'd forgotten to shave that morning and maybe every morning for the last week. He eyed us suspiciously but didn't say anything. I guess we weren't his usual caliber of customer. Or maybe he thought I was turning a trick and Novak was my john. Then again, maybe he wasn't thinking anything. The last one seems the most likely now that I think about it.

  “We're looking for Phillip Zaranski,” Novak said.

  “What for?” the man asked nervously. I suppose one didn't get asked for by name very often in his line of business.

  “Are you Mr. Zaranski?” Novak countered.