by H. B. Rae
“I didn’t think my line of work would be as dull as it is,” John said as he was taking another sip of beer. He knew he could not disclose anything to Rodney. He wanted to, but he had to keep everything confidential. “I want something more from my life than what I currently have.”
“You have freedom and success. You can make your own hours and you don’t need to answer to anyone other than yourself. How does that make anything dull?”
“The types of cases I work are predictable and I want something more than that.”
“You will eventually get what you want, but you will have to wait for that to happen,” Rodney moved slightly and shook his head. “Is there something else that you want to talk about?”
“Yeah. I want your opinion on a girl.”
Rodney was intrigued and swigged some more beer. He smiled. “I never thought you would talk to me about a girl again. You know, not after Shannon anyways.”
“Well Shannon and I were not really serious. We had a fling together that lasted a couple of months and that was about it. – And speaking of a fling did you know that Nancy was in town?”
“Yes, I know she is back. She just got a job in my office. How did you know that she was back?”
“She stopped by my office earlier and she invited me to dinner tomorrow.”
“Please tell me that you didn’t accept. Man! Is that the opinion on a girl you were wanting?” He didn’t even wait for a response before he spoke again. “Look Nancy is beautiful, especially now, but she is not what you need. She is too; what is the word I am looking for? – Ah! Impulsive and just over all crazy. She is also self-absorbed and just not the girl you should be with.”
John shook his head and glanced at the beer in his hands. “Alright, I will take your advice. Anyways how have you been with Emma?”
“I am thinking about marrying her.”
“Really? You have been with her for not even a year now. You don’t think you are rushing into it?”
“Nah. She is one of those girls that makes you want to lock in, that way she can’t move on. She is one of those girls that make you feel as if you aren’t good enough for her. I want to give her everything and she is worth everything.”
“Maybe I should meet her sometime.”
“You should, but when you do meet her just keep in mind that she is only mine.”
John smiled and leaned back in his chair. “So how has business been for you at the firm?”
“Lucrative to say the least. I mean a lot of the cases that come into my office are spouses that you have helped separate. If it wasn’t for you my firm probably wouldn’t be as successful as it is now. That is why hearing you aren’t happy with it is somewhat depressing.”
“There are other investigators that I’m sure would love to take that business. I have not made a decision to close up shop though. I might take another case or two.”
“But that is not what you want. Why would you want to continue working on cases that drive you crazy? – Oh,” he said as if he understood. “There is someone you want to keep around. Is it that secretary that works for you? She is gorgeous. Is that the girl you wanted advice on?”
“I do like her, but she is my coworker and I ought not to indulge in my feelings for her because that could ruin our working relationship.”
“There are some people that are worth the risk, but it is up to you to make the decision if she is worth it.”
“How do I make that decision?”
“I can’t answer that for you because it is up to you. You will just know one day if it is worth the risk.”
John sat there and wondered if he had already made that decision, but he knew he hadn’t. He wasn’t too sure he was going to ever make that decision. He wasn’t too sure what he was going to do at this point. He looked at Rodney. “Do you think that I’m crazy with wanting to close up shop?”
“No I don’t think it’s crazy. I think you want to get something more from your life than this and you should go for it. Do what makes you happy and never make decisions for your life because of someone else. That is all the advice I can give to you.”
John sat there and thought on it. He had never put anyone else ahead of him before and now he wondered if it was wrong of him. Rodney had always put everyone else ahead of him and he was still rather successful. Maybe John needed to change.
***
He met Nancy that following night, she was wearing a revealing black dress. Now that she had the body she was able to use it to her advantage. She was beautiful when they were in college and now she was just breathtaking. She walked over towards him and put her hand into his.
“I am happy that you showed.”
“Well I did tell you I would be here. Did you expect anything less?”
They walked past one of the fountains to a small table and sat down. She smiled at him and took in a deep breath. “I didn’t, but I wasn’t too sure if you would stand me up. I mean I was dating Rodney after all and I am sure he didn’t have too many good things to say about me.”
John had remembered the sort of things Rodney had said about her when they were in college, and they weren’t bad things. The things Rodney would tell him were the sort of things he would never repeat and smiled. “Rodney doesn’t like talking poorly about other people.”
“I know. So what is new and exciting in your life?”
There was nothing much for him to talk about, all he was able to do was shrug. “Nothing really. It has been completely dull and predictable at work. Once something like that happens I guess you start looking for something more exciting to get into.”
Nancy smiled and the waiter came to their table. He took their drink orders and had brought them a menu. “So are you happy to be back here?”
“Sort of. I moved back for various things. The pay is better and the town is much smaller. I am happier and have more people I know here.”
“Yeah? Well that is good. Everyone needs a support system.”
“Yes we all do. So, is there someone special in your life?”
John moved in his chair, he was becoming rather uncomfortable and he shook his head. “I want there to be, but I don’t think it will work out.”
“You have that as your flaw,” she said as the waiter came around with their drinks. She unwrapped her straw and took a sip of her lemonade. “You think about if it would work out verses attempting to see if it actually will. All you need to do is throw yourself at a woman and not think about the long term.”
“Well thinking long term is sort of what I do.”
“I know and that is why you and Shannon never worked out. You wanted more than she did. I mean in college people want to experiment and you were ready to settle down.”
“I have no idea what Shannon told you, but that is completely false. I was into a fling.”
“Sure John. – Do you know why I really asked you here tonight?”
He looked over the rim of his glass at her and watched as she played with her straw. It seemed somewhat seductive but he was sure he was just reading into it. He shrugged. “To catch up?”
She bit her lower lip and he could not help but feel something. “Would you mind if I showed you?”
There was hesitation on his part. He didn’t want to go with Nancy anywhere because in the back of his mind he was thinking about Sheila. He shook his head. They were coworkers and they would never be together in that way either. And of course he could not deny how attractive Nancy was. He finally nodded. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt anything.”
Nancy smiled and they got up from their seats. She threw down twenty dollars and he followed behind her. They were heading for the elevators and there were people in there with them. John wished the elevator would move quicker. Nancy took him by the hand and led him out on the third floor.
They walked towards a room and she took out her card key from her bosom and his eyes could not help but look. She was big breasted and always had been. Even with the weight loss her breasts didn�
��t seem to change in size. She pushed open the door and he followed her.
Closing the door behind them, she pushed him against the door. While her lips were being pressed against his he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt as he was thinking about Sheila.
Chapter 7
Three Months Later
There had been no cases, but at least there were less angry people calling in. That afternoon he was on the couch in his office; Sheila had bought him a television he had hooked up and he had been watching countless movies and series of shows to pass the time. All the while he had been waiting for someone to walk through the doors or to even e-mail Sheila, but nothing had happened. Nothing had transpired and he was becoming irritable.
He heard his landline ring and shot up, getting to his phone as quickly as he could. “John Watson,” he said into the line.
“Hey John, this is Nancy. I was just calling to check in on you and to see if maybe you wanted to get together again.”
He was silent for a moment as he was thinking on it. Part of him wanted to go out with her again. She was a great distraction, but he was not in the mood. He wanted to take a break from her and finally found his voice.
“Uh, right now I am sort of busy. How about I call you and then we can make arrangements?”
“Sure, I suppose. Well, bye then.”
She hung up. John looked at the phone for a moment. He needed to change this number for more than one reason now. He hung up the line and heard Sheila knocking on the door.
“Come in,” he said.
“Boss, I think we need to talk about something.”
“Alright,” he said as he motioned for her to take a seat. “What’s going on Sheila?”
“I have received an e-mail from someone.”
“Another multi-millionaire who is seeking to find out whether or not their twenty-some-odd wife is cheating on him with another man. The answer is, yes. It is always yes.”
“No. It is from an anonymous person and they have given me vague information and they want to meet you.”
“Do we know what they want?”
“No sir, there is no information that can tell me what they want, but they seem paranoid. I think it would be worth the trip.”
John thought on it for a moment and finally nodded. “It won’t hurt anything to go ahead and see what’s going on. Where are we going to do this meeting?”
“You’ll be going to the Aubrey Plaza and meeting them around seven.”
“Me? I would feel so much more comfortable if you would be there with me.”
Sheila nodded. “That sounds wonderful and I’m looking forward to it.”
***
Olivia was sitting at the computer screen waiting for a response back from the private investigator. She was on edge and she felt tears sting at her eyes. She heard Mar walking behind her. They were no longer at her husband’s residence, now they were in a sketchy motel. She had not heard from James and she knew something was wrong. If who she thought was behind it truly was they would have sent some form of correspondence to her, but there had been nothing. Of course she didn’t know what was going on and she needed to know. She needed answers.
“You have not slept for the past two days Olivia. Please get your rest.”
Looking away from her computer screen she looked to see her sister. She had not given up her life for this, but she had. Marissa was still working, but she was paranoid and she knew it. When Olivia was sixteen she had made a promise to Marissa that all of this would go away. She promised to protect her and she was not doing a good enough job. She was failing her; she was failing James.
“I keep wondering if he is still alive. I keep wanting to know if they have him. I don’t want him to be found dead. I don’t want this to happen to him.”
“James knew what had happened and he knew how to be cautious. He was the one who taught us hyper vigilance and he’s probably laying low somewhere. He is most likely protecting you. If he felt he was being watched he would lead them away from you and you know that.”
“That is a possibility, but there is no knowing. I need to know for sure that he is alright. I just keep having these images in my head. The way that we found – the way that we found mom.”
“We put him in jail,” Marissa said. “I know we got the right man.”
“But we still never knew why he did it. We never understood the connection.”
“Whatever that connection is it was reestablished when you got emancipated and you went digging into it. We were safe and no one knew we had seen anything.”
Olivia felt as if she had been slapped and bowed her head. Marissa was absolutely correct. Whatever was happening now was surely her own fault and she couldn’t prevent it. She wanted to be able to prevent it.
“Look,” Marissa began. “We know his name and we know he was there and we know he had more than one victim. The only thing we don’t know is why. Neither of us ever knew that and James knew we would never be able to handle the truth.”
She was thinking about James and remembered how they had met. He had been there that night when she was looking for those answers. She had never launched an investigation before, and had she been smart she would have known who Carlisle Castro was. He was a mob boss and he had ordered the hits on dozens of people. Somehow they knew when she’d launched her own investigation and had been sent out to eliminate her. James was a patrol officer at the time and he’d found her shot and bleeding out. He took care of her thereafter. It was from those events that led Castro to go to prison and she had fallen in love with James.
“I know you’re right, but it’s so damn difficult. Especially since the Lieutenant doesn’t even know what the hell is going on. It seems as if everything that had happened never did.”
“No one in Primer would know about what had happened and that was why we moved here. Look, we can’t be certain that Castro is behind it, but we’ll find out.”
“I know, and that is why I hired an investigator,” she said. Her eyes glanced back to her screen and saw she had a response. They had agreed to meet her and she took a sigh of relief.
“Why would you trust a complete stranger?”
“It’s better than going to the cops. Obviously they haven’t proven to be much help since it has been about a week since he’s been gone.”
“Fine, it’s your call, and I will support it. Olivia please go and get some sleep. You really do need it. Especially if you are going out.”
Olivia looked to her sister and saw so much of their mother in her. She took in a deep breath and reluctantly went to sleep; she didn’t want to admit she had been right.
***
They were sitting at a booth waiting for their mystery client to arrive. Sheila looked astonishing. She was wearing a red blouse and a black pencil skirt. He had noticed she had been dressing differently the past few days and he wondered why. Obviously he wasn’t able to ask her because he knew how awkward it would be and he was trying to avoid it at all cost.
She met his gaze and he attempted to look away but he was not able to do so.
“Is something the matter?”
“No, Sheila. I’m just a little anxious is all.”
“I could not agree with you more.”
John was silent and he knew she wanted this to be different than any other cases they had taken. They both knew the longer they were out of cases the quicker their funds would dry out. John sensed two women walking over towards them.
The hostess walked on over with them. “Are these the guests you have been waiting for?”
Sheila was the one to answer and both of them sat down. John could tell they were under a lot of stress and he wondered what was going on with them. He looked at each of them and waited for the formal introductions.
“My name is John Watson,” he began. “I am the private investigator you wanted to speak with. This is my assistant Sheila Awret.”
“My name is Olivia Shapiro and this is my friend Marissa Hughes,” sh
e said as she gestured over towards her friend. John couldn’t believe it however. They seemed to share similarities, but he let it go for now. He knew it was better to wait to hear what they wanted before making statements about what he saw.
“And how would we be able to assist you?”
They both shared a look and they seemed to share the same level of discomfort. “My husband, James, he has been missing for several days now. The police have been little help to us and I’m beginning to worry about him.”
“Do you know why the police would not show any interest?”
“Because my husband works with them and none of them had noticed anything awry. I have told them that he hasn’t returned home and they haven’t told me anything.”
“Does he have any enemies that you know of?”
John watched as she hesitated and it seemed that there was something she knew but she was debating about telling them. “He is a police officer so I’m sure he has a list of people that would want him to disappear.”
Looking over towards Sheila, she too seemed to think they were hiding something but she smiled to them. “I think we will be more than interested in taking this case.”
“That is wonderful,” she said. John could hear the relief in her voice and he wondered what really was going on. He wanted to skip dinner to start working on everything but their waitress brought out the appetizers.
“What are you able to tell me about your husband Mrs. Shapiro?”
She looked at him and fed him a story.
Chapter 8
John had thrown his coffee cup across the room and he heard it as it shattered on the wall; thankfully it was empty, but he could not help but hate it when people lied to him. He was a private investigator for goodness sake, he had to look into the lives of everyone. What he’d found made his blood boil. Mrs. Shapiro was not who she was claiming to be and he wanted answers.
He heard his door being knocked on. He didn’t want Sheila to see him like this; he didn’t want her to see how angry he could get over something so small.
“Boss,” she said as she opened the door. “Is everything alright?”
