by A. L Long
Walking double-time, I got to my truck and headed to the shop. I needed to do a little more research on this TJ. If I was right about my hunch, I knew exactly who he was.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Emma
Shit, shit, shit! All I could think about was what the hell I was going to do. The minute Lou said that the money was fake, all I could think about was everything that could go wrong. For one thing, I spent at least two thousand dollars of that money. If they found out that the money was fake, my days of freedom were over. TJ stealing the money may have actually been a godsend, but now he would be in trouble.
The minute the sun came up, I was out of bed and on my way to find TJ. He needed to know that the money wasn’t real. Hopefully he was filling me full of shit when he said the money was already gone.
Doing the best I could not to wake Lou, I grabbed my clothes and slipped out of the apartment. When I got off the elevator, I pulled my phone from my small bag and called TJ. Even though he was an ass the last time we talked, he needed to know the truth about the money he took. After the third ring, he finally answered. “TJ, we need to talk,” I demanded.
“God, Emma. Do you know what time it is?” he hissed.
“This is important. It’s about the money.” I said.
“If you are trying to get it back, I told you it is already gone.”
“Then you have even bigger problems, because the money isn’t real,” I barked. “Now, where are you?”
Heading out of the building, I caught a cab to where TJ said he would be. He told me to meet him at some hole-in-the-wall café in Brooklyn. Whatever in the world he was doing in Brooklyn was beyond me. It took nearly half an hour and twenty bucks to get to where TJ wanted to meet. Paying the driver, I closed the door and started towards the door of the café when my cell began to ring. Taking it from my bag, it was Lou calling me. There was no way that I could answer it. He would want to know where I was, and I just couldn’t tell him.
I spotted TJ the minute I opened the door. I had to admit that he looked a lot better than he did a few days ago. Sliding in the seat across from him, I sat there looking at him as a waitress came by to take my order. “Coffee, please,” I said, before she could ask.
The minute she walked away, TJ placed his hands on the table like he was some sort of negotiator. Looking at me with his beady blue eyes, he admitted, “I know about the money.”
“What do you mean you know about the money?” I inquired, still not understanding what he was saying.
“Well, not at first, but the man I owed money to was very pleased to see it. Matter of fact, he even wanted to know where it came from,” TJ confessed.
“What is going on, TJ? Why would he want to know that?” Things were becoming more and more confusing. If I found out that the person who owed me money was trying to pawn off fake money as real, I’m pretty sure I would be beating the crap out of them instead of wondering where it came from.
TJ moved from where he was sitting and joined me on my side of the booth. Placing his hand on my cheek, he asserted, “This could be our break, Ems. All we have to do is find out where the plates are that made the bills. I even got a pretty good idea where they might be, based on what he said.”
“Are you fucking crazy? Why the hell would I help you find them?” I cursed, pushing him out of my space. “Who the hell is this guy, anyway?”
“Let’s just say, someone that I have known for a long time. He helped me get off the streets and get a decent job. I would have never ended up on the streets had I listened to him in the first place. He was the only person that showed me any attention.”
“What you do, TJ, is all on you, but I’m telling you, this is bad and you need to get as far away from this guy as possible. Even if he did help you get off the streets, is helping him worth your freedom?”
“I don’t plan on getting caught, Emma. You should really think about it.”
TJ lowered his head and placed his mouth over mine, or at least tried to. Pushing him away, I choked, “You can’t do that, TJ.”
“Why, Ems? I am pretty sure that you and I have more in common than you have with that mound of muscle you’ve been around. Does he even know that you live on the streets? Bet that would change his feelings for you.”
“What are you implying, TJ?” I asked, perturbed.
“Just saying.” he replied, with a shit-eating grin, before he stood and left the café.
When the waitress came back with my coffee, she informed me that the gentleman had already paid for it. I knew that it wasn’t TJ because he didn’t stop to pay for anything before he left. The only other gentleman that it could have been was sitting at the bar drinking his own coffee while reading a newspaper. He was an older man in his late fifties to early sixties. Throwing a ten dollar bill on the counter, he turned my way, and I could tell that he was some sort of priest by the clergy collar he was wearing. When he looked straight at me and tipped his head, I knew that it had to be him that bought my coffee.
Taking a sip of my coffee, I watched as he left the café, only to notice the ring on his left ring finger as he pulled on the door. I began choking on my coffee, causing me to cough uncontrollably. Every set of eyes was on me as I tried to control my attack. The only thing I wanted to do was get out of there. Grabbing my small bag, I ran for the door and headed for who knew where. I knew that I needed to get in touch with Lou, but in doing that, I would need to explain where I was, and my past. I had to think, and the only place to do that was in Central Park. I needed to see my mom.
~****~
I walked down the walking trail to Balcony Bridge, surprised to find that there were so many people out and about so early. When I got to the bridge, my eyes fell upon the one person that surprised me even more. Sitting on a bench watching the early risers pass by was Lou. He was looking the other way, so I hid behind a tree, out of sight. I just needed to get out of here before he saw me. Talking with my mom was just going to have to wait.
I didn’t know what I was thinking. There was nowhere for me to go. Other than Lou’s, I had no other place to go. Then I remembered what Lou told me last night. I actually did have a place to go. Heading out of the park, I didn’t have enough money for a cab, but I could still take the subway to the New York Public library. I knew that they would have computers that I could use to find out more information on this Father O’Malley. If he had something to do with killing those girls, maybe I could find something out. It sure would make it a lot easier if I knew more about this O’Malley guy when it came time to tell Lou about my past and the money.
Pulling three dollars from my pocket, I paid the attendant for my one-way ride to the library. Hopping on the train, I found a seat next to an older lady who looked like she spent most of her life outside. When the train left the subway station, my phone began to ring. Pulling it from my bag, I looked down at the screen to see that it was Lou again. Knowing that sooner or later I would need to talk to him, I accepted his call and said, “I know what you’re thinking,” before he could say anything.
“All I want to know is are you okay and where you are at,” he said with concern.
Feeling like I owed him an explanation, I replied, “I am on my way to the public library. We need to talk, Lou.”
“Don’t go anywhere, Emma. I am on my way.”
I wasn’t planning on going anywhere but there. I was on a mission and I was going to find out all I could about O’Malley. I didn’t care if he was a man of the cloth or not, he was evil and he needed to pay for everything he did to Lou and those girls.
I was off the subway train the minute the doors opened. Heading up the steps, I took them two at a time so I could begin my research before Lou got to the library. I wanted to show him that I could be of use even if I had secrets that I was keeping from him. Even though I didn’t know that much about computers, I knew that there would be someone in the library that I would be able to ask.
Getting to the top of the steps, I spotted
the library right away. Running across the street to beat the traffic light, I was up the steps and inside the massive building that held so much history in a matter of minutes. Finding the librarian, I asked with confidence, “Can you show me where the public computers are?”
“Of course, right this way. Is there anything in particular you will be looking for?” she asked with a smile, in a quiet voice.
“Yes, I need to do some research on Catholic churches and priests. It is for school,” I answered, satisfying the curious look she had on her face.
When she pointed me in the right direction, there were already several people looking up information. I took a seat between a young girl who couldn’t have been much younger than me and an older gentleman that looked like he should have been in a nursing home. Trying to figure out how to turn on the computer, I felt around the back for some kind of switch. I was just about ready to lift the keyboard from the table when the young girl pressed a button on the monitor and the computer came to life. Smiling over to me, she said, “These things can be a little tricky.”
When the screen came up, I had no idea what to do next. Turning to the girl, I asked, “Can you help me get to where I need to be to look up information?”
“Sure,” she said, without questioning my ignorance.
When the Internet came up, I plugged Father O’Malley’s name in what she called the search engine, and waited for the information to pop up. Looking at the links, I tried to figure out which one was going to be the best. Having had little to no education, except what I learned living on the streets, I slowly read them until I found one that I could actually understand. There it was, as plain as the hair on my head, a picture of the man. The same man that was in the café. The same man who bought my coffee.
As I tried to read and understand the article about him, it seemed he was some important guy. It also seemed that he had his hand in everything that connected with the Catholic churches. He also seemed to be a very popular man amongst the people. Scrolling down the information, if I hadn’t been reading the article so slow, I might have missed the information on Walsh McGowan. He and Father O’Malley had a strong connection to each other through the charitable contribution this McGowan made to the churches.
Continuing my search, I heard a sexy voice behind me. “Finding anything good?”
I just about jumped out of my seat at the sudden interruption to my deep thoughts. Turning my body in the chair, I looked up to Lou and said, “You scared the crap out me,” as I took a deep breath while placing my hand across my chest.
“Sorry, didn’t realize you were so deep in thought,” he apologized.
There wasn’t a vacant seat beside me, so Lou remained standing while looking at the computer monitor. The old man must have found what he was looking for, because he got up out of his chair, placed his hat on his bald head, and gestured for Lou to take his place at the computer desk. When Lou sat down, just like me, he began doing research on O’Malley. Pointing to my monitor, I found McGowan’s name and asked Lou, “Do you know who Walsh McGowan is?”
Watching Lou’s reaction. I knew he knew exactly who he was. It was confirmed when he answered, “Yeah. He was the dead guy at the Park. Didn’t you know him?”
“I had no idea that he was the dead guy,” I replied.
“I just thought that since you worked there you may have known him,” Lou implied.
“Not at all. We don’t get to know the guest by name at the hotel, only room number,” I clarified.
Finding that there wasn’t any information on the Internet that Lou didn’t already know, we decided to grab something to eat. Heading out of the library, we walked over to Lou’s Tundra and got in. Lou pulled up to a small sandwich place thinking that it was a good place to eat and talk. I think more than anything he wanted to know why I had left so quickly this morning. I was beginning to have second thoughts about telling him the whole truth about my past. I knew I needed to, at the very least, come clean about the money and tell him the truth about TJ.
Heading inside the sandwich shop, we found a booth towards the back where we would be able to talk. As soon as our order was placed, Lou ordering a French dip and me ordering a BLT, I placed my hand on the table and blurted out, “I did something really bad, Lou.”
Lou took hold of my hands and began rubbing his fingers across them. “Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad, baby.”
Trying to gauge his mood, I looked down out our hands and closed my eyes for a moment before I began from the beginning. “Courtney asked if I would help her clean the suite on the 46th floor. She didn’t want to have to stay late, so I told her I would. She was cleaning the bathroom while I finished up in the bedroom. There was a briefcase on the floor and I accidentally hit it with the vacuum cleaner. It popped open and well… there was so much money. I never should have done what I did.”
“What did you do, Emma? “Lou questioned.
“Let’s just say, I helped myself,” I admitted, almost in a whisper.
“How much, Emma?”
His voice had changed to an uncomfortable tone as he pulled his hand from mine. Maybe this was a mistake. I couldn’t even look him in the eye and tell him the amount. I knew it didn’t matter. It could have been only one dollar and he would have been pissed off.
“It doesn’t matter, I can tell by the look on your face.” Rising to my feet, I looked over my shoulder as I walked away and said, “I’m sorry.” It was the last thing I said before I was out the door and out on the streets, at least until I could find some place better to live.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Gainer
There was no way that I could let Emma leave. Yeah, what she did was so wrong in so many ways, but I really cared for her, and I wasn’t going to lose her because she made the wrong choice. Letting the waitress know that I would be right back, I headed out the door to catch Emma before she got too far. Seeing her down the street, I began running towards her and yelled, “Emma, wait! Stop, baby.”
The minute she turned around, I could tell that she had been crying. When I was standing in front of her, I wrapped my arms around her and confessed, “It will be okay, Emma. Even though I don’t agree with what you did, we will figure something out.”
I could feel her head move up and down as she held me tight, spilling even more tears. I hated it when she cried. It tore me up inside seeing her so sad. Holding her at arm’s length I lowered my lips to hers and kissed her gently. Feeling her lips part, I slipped my tongue inside her warm mouth. Taking each other in, like we were the last two people on earth, I knew then that my feelings for Emma were much more than just caring about her. I was falling for her and in a big way.
Breaking our kiss, I said, “Let’s go back to the sandwich shop before the waitress comes looking for me.”
Emma let out a small giggle as we began walking back. I held her close to my side, when she said, “I am really sorry. I’ve kind of made a mess of things.”
Kissing her on her head, “No matter how bad, Emma, we will get through this together,” I reassured her.
When we got to our table, our sandwiches were already on the table waiting for us. As we began eating our lunches, Emma told me the whole story about the money, where she spent it, and who took it. I knew that I didn’t care for her friend TJ, but I didn’t tell her that I actually knew him from the orphanage and that he was so shy back then. I guess you never know how a person’s past can affect the way they live later on.
“What are we going to do, Lou?” she asked frantically.
“I think the best thing to do right now is to finish our lunch. Always better to think on a full stomach.”
I needed to do whatever I could to get Emma’s mind off of TJ and O’Malley. I just couldn’t believe that the boy I once knew as Tommy Porter was mixed up in this. As much as I hated to admit it, he was going to be the key to everything. O’Malley must have had something over him in order for him to want any affiliation with him. The thing that worried m
e the most was the fact that O’Malley now knew about Emma. He was there at that café for a reason. If I had to guess, it was to keep tabs on Tommy and hopefully find out where his plates were. I was pretty sure that Emma didn’t know anything about them. I also believed that the only person who knew for sure where they were was Walsh McGowan, and he was in no position to tell anyone.
Finished with our sandwiches, I paid the waitress and we headed out of the small eatery. We had a short distance to walk to my truck, and all I could think about was, “What was it about this whole thing that didn’t make sense?” For one, why the hell would Tommy be involved with O’Malley, with everything that he did to him? There was also still the question as to who killed Walsh. The money was left in the room, so whomever it was knew that the money was fake. Tommy told Emma that he knew the money was fake, but that could be because O’Malley told him. And the plates, where the hell were they? One thing for sure: O’Malley was willing to kill to get them. One thing I knew for sure was, I needed to find out where O’Malley was and bring him in.
