Hidden Realms

by Dean Murray

  Once we were in the truck he asked, “Why the abrupt departure? You didn’t even mention our after graduation trip to either of them?”

  “Sometimes less is more. I like the idea of them meeting you, deciding that they like you before I announce that we are taking off for a couple months together. No sense pushing our luck the very first day you meet them.”

  We drove the whole way to his apartment without a word and were all the way inside before anything was spoken. Max began with, “I was thinking the Great Smoky Mountain National Forest. Have you ever been there?”

  At that moment my cell phone rang. I held a finger in the air, pausing the conversation with Max, so I could answer this unknown call.

  It was Paul, “Hi, Lauren, I’m out. I’m staying at my grandmother’s house. I don’t know how to thank you for posting bail for me. I really wasn’t expecting it. I promise I’ll pay you back, every dime.”

  “Don’t sweat it. Can you hold on for a minute?” I turned to Max with my hand over the phone and quietly asked, “I want to meet with Paul. You asked me earlier to ‘involve’ you when I did something you felt might be dangerous. Do you want me to meet him at a coffee shop or at his grandmother’s house?”

  Max’s lip tightened into two thin hard lines, his brow furrowed, and every muscle in his face seemed to be tight, “I don’t want you to meet with him at all.”

  “That wasn’t one of the options. Grandma’s or coffee shop?”

  “Can I talk to him?” I handed the phone over. “Paul, this is Lauren’s boyfriend, Max. Lauren wants to meet with you, but I’d rather she not meet with you by herself. I’m sure you understand. Will your grandmother be upset if we come over or do you want to meet in a coffee shop?”

  Max paused for a minute while Paul answered him. “Fair enough. We’ll see you in fifteen minutes.” He pressed the end button on my cell phone and with an over-emphasized sigh, “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Max and I pulled into the parking lot of the coffee shop after another silent trip in his truck. I reached out to touch Max’s hand before he could get out. My touch caught his attention for a moment and made him look my way, “Max, I know I’m doing the right thing. I know you don’t like it, but I am glad you’re here.”

  He paused long enough to gently squeeze my hand, then opened the door and got out. We walked into the coffee shop and saw that Paul was already sitting at a table in the far back corner. His back was to the wall, and he gave us a half-wave when we looked in his direction.

  Paul held out his hand in a gesture to Max to introduce himself. Max took his hand and held it for a second longer than was necessary, another male ego thing I’m sure. We all sat down in awkward silence for a minute. Then Paul began, “Look, I have no idea why you decided to help me, or even how I’m ever going to pay you back, but I promise you I will.”

  Max interjected before I could say anything, “Well, that’s funny, that makes two of us. If you’re innocent, like you say you are, the police would have released you. Being out in public when the public thinks you killed a well-liked couple is insane.”

  Paul responded, talking directly to Max, “Have you ever been in jail, Max?”

  “No.”

  “Being on the outside, no matter how many people believe you to be a criminal is far better than being in a cage like an animal. I know I didn’t kill them, I had no motive, and depending on the timeframe the coroner comes up with, I don’t think I even had the opportunity. The last time I checked it wasn’t my responsibility to prove I am innocent; it’s the cops’ job to prove I’m guilty.”

  As Paul’s voice began to rise, Max’s body stiffened, and I was worried it might come to blows if I didn’t interject. I placed my palm on Max’s knee and gave him a gentle squeeze right before I spoke. “Paul, I believe that you didn’t kill them. I’m not so naive to believe I can be as accurate as a polygraph, but rather than argue over who should prove guilt or innocence, I’d really like to ask you more about the timeframe.” I paused for a second, and Max rested his hand on mine that was still coupled over his knee. “I’m friendly with a couple of the police officers involved, and believe I can be of some assistance, if you want me to be.”

  Now it was Paul’s turn to stiffen and his eyes widened momentarily as if he were calculating the likelihood of this being some sort of a trap. I continued without acknowledging his new found nervousness, “I know police shows on television are not exactly like real life, but in order for you to prove it wasn’t possible for you to kill the McMasters, you should write down specifically where you went from the moment you left their house, until you met Rachael and me at the mall. List every street you drove down, any stops you may have made, anything you noticed along the way. If you can reconstruct your route, you may get lucky and find surveillance footage along the way that proves you weren’t at the house. My guess is you’re most likely their only suspect, so they’re less willing to identify new suspects than they are just to prove that you are the one who did the crime.”

  “How could you being friendly with the investigators possibly help me?”

  “If you have a solid timeline, I can give it to them. That way you don’t have to be interviewed.”

  “I don’t want to sound ungrateful, because I really am, but what’s in it for you? I mean you don’t know me, you sneaked into the jail under a false name, . . .” I could feel Max’s eyes burrowing through my head when Paul shared this revelation. “You made my bail, and now you’re offering to act as a go-between for me and the police investigators. Why?”

  Considering the question for a few seconds, I realized I didn’t have a good answer, “I guess because I feel responsible that you were arrested.”

  “Lauren, I appreciate that you want to help, but you know that the minute I pulled back into the McMasters’ driveway, I would’ve been an immediate suspect, right? I mean you don’t really think that you’re the reason that I was arrested?”

  With a sigh and not meeting Paul’s eyes, “Well - I did call the police to report you as suspicious at the mall.” I wasn’t sure if he was aware of this, and from the look he was giving me, obviously he wasn’t.

  “Suspicious? Really? You called the police from the mall?”

  “Yeah, I gave them the license plate number and within minutes all the police cars screamed into the parking lot.” Paul leaned back in his chair. This had obviously not occurred to him. “In my defense, you were coming on really strong to Rachael, and I wasn’t sure what someone our age was doing driving around in a Porsche.”

  “Now I really don’t understand. You were concerned enough to call the police at the mall, but two days later you met me at the jail to ask me questions? Wouldn’t it have been a lot less work just to ask me about the car at the mall?”

  “Yeah, in retrospect it would have been easier to, but I…never mind, it isn’t important. If you want my help with the police, I am happy to help; if you don’t, then I won’t bother you again.”

  “Lauren, you aren’t bothering me. I just don’t understand why the sudden change?”

  “It’s hard to explain.” Boy, that was an understatement. I got this crazy danger vibe and was sure that my friend Rachael was in danger from you. As the day progressed, I met with some cosmic secret keeper for the universe, and later decided that you were in danger from a murderer at a house where you borrowed a car, and if I let you take the car back you might be killed. I could just tell him that, right? “Let’s just say that I believe you’re innocent and would like to help if you want me to.”

  Paul turned his attention back to Max, “How do you feel about all of this?”

  Max shrugged his shoulders, “Lauren will do whatever she believes is the right course of action. Right, wrong, or indifferent, I am a bystander on this one. My opinion is irrelevant.” Though Max’s tone was frustrated, I felt a boost of power, as if his words had cemented that he truly was supporting my decision. After a short pause Max added, “If it were rele
vant, you’d still be in jail.”

  Paul nodded and his eyes fell to the table. The waitress finally came up and asked if she could get us anything. We all ordered a coffee, but it didn’t seem like there was much else to say. A few minutes of silence passed before Paul finally broke it, “Lauren, I have no idea what to make of you, but I’m glad you’re willing to help me. I’ll put together the timeline. I think I’ll head back to my grandmother’s house, so she doesn’t worry.” Paul stood up and left without another word.

  Max made no gesture that he was in any hurry to leave and asked, “Well, what do you want to do now?”

  Max looked at me, really looked into me, his green eyes mesmerizing. When he did this, it was hard to breath. I knew he was upset with the situation when he confessed, “I wish I understood you better.”

  I leaned my head onto his shoulder, “What would you like to know? I’m an open book.”

  Another customer at the coffee shop looked up from his paper then quickly back down. He had been two tables away, but I hadn’t noticed him before. He furrowed his brow, looked in our direction again, back to his paper, back to us, as if he were arguing with himself silently. He finally made eye contact with me, hesitated briefly, and asked, “You look really familiar. Do I know you?”

  I smiled politely and told him I didn’t think so. I got a strange feeling when I looked at him - not like imminent danger or anticipation, just uncomfortable.

  He moved his attention back to his newspaper and looked as though he were going to dismiss it, then as if his internal argument finally had a victor, looked back at me. “I’m sorry, but you really are familiar to me. Do you work anywhere I would have seen you, maybe at a boutique downtown?”

  Max rolled his eyes. “She was involved in a robbery a few months ago and her picture was all over the newspapers and television.”

  “That’s right! That’s where I’ve seen you. You were at some fast food place and got shot!” He was so loud, it sounded like he was a contestant on a game show. Now that all eyes in the coffee shop were on me, I was definitely ready to get out of there. He continued in his louder-than-necessary voice, “Wow, well it’s a real pleasure to meet you.” He stood up from his table and walked over to ours. “I followed the incident in the news. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you. You are a big time hero here.” He reached down and grabbed the ticket the waitress had left on the table, “Let me get this.”

  I was a little taken back by his zealousness, “No, that’s okay.” I tried unsuccessfully to remove the check from his hand, “We were just leaving.”

  “No really, I want to get it. It’s young people like you who restore my faith in humanity. I can’t tell you how much your story moved me.” He was a little over-the-top, but I had spent so little time in public the last few months, it was humbling to have a complete stranger say such nice things. His enthusiasm was overwhelming and made the uncomfortable feeling fade a little.

  Max seemed much more at ease with the stranger than he had with Paul. He pulled out the chair and motioned for the stranger to sit down, “Well, friend, do you want to join us?”

  “I don’t want to intrude. Are you sure you don’t mind?” His eyes darted between Max and me until we both nodded that we didn’t mind his company. “Well, I’m sure you don’t like to talk about the incident, but is it safe to assume you’re fully recovered?”

  “It doesn’t bother me. It’s not like it was some big life-altering event or anything. I just got shot. My leg’s healed.” I held out my hand in a gesture to shake his, “I’m Lauren, this is Max.”

  “I’m sorry, I invite myself over and I didn’t even bother to introduce myself. I’m Randy, Randy Newton.” He shook both of our hands, a firm grip but not overbearing.

  Max interjected, “Maybe it wasn’t life altering for you, but my life hasn’t been the same since.” He leaned over and took my hand.

  I laughed out loud and realized Randy wasn’t in on the joke. “Sorry, Randy, I should have introduced you to my hero. Max was the paramedic who kept my heart going that night.”

  Randy, enthusiasm oozing from him, “Well, now that’s a story to tell generations to come; if you two make a go of it, I’m sure your grandkids will love to hear about your first encounter! I can assume saving her life was a good introduction for asking for a date? That must be my problem: I can never find a damsel in distress to save.”

  Max squeezed my hand a little, “We’re always looking for volunteers. There never seems to be a shortage of people who need help. I do have to say that I am the only paramedic in town who has actually gotten a girlfriend because of the job. Most of the guys get dumped because of the hours.”

  Randy looked as if he were pondering the idea a little. “So, how does one volunteer if they have no formal training?”

  Max handed him a card, “I’ll ask my supervisor when the next certification classes are scheduled. If you’re serious, I’m sure we can get you in.”

  “Max, I would really like that. Here’s my number.” Randy pulled a grocery receipt from his pocket and wrote his number on the back. “Let me know when the next class starts. I should leave you two alone. I’m sure you have better things to do than hang out with some old guy in a coffee shop.” He signaled for the waitress to come over and handed her a twenty. “This bill’s on me,” then he looked back at us and insisted, “Max, Lauren, it really was my pleasure to meet you both. I hope to see you again.” He got up, tucked his newspaper under his arm and walked out the door.

  Much more lighthearted than we’d been even ten minutes ago, I realized Max was still holding my hand, “Well, that was a little strange.”

  “I liked him. Not many people go out of their way to say what’s on their mind. He seemed pretty genuine.”

  Although Randy was friendly and very upbeat, after he walked out the door, the discomfort I had been feeling seemed to go with him. Now that this stranger had put Max in better spirits, I didn’t want to take a chance and start a quarrel over nothing, “I guess you’re right.”

  I hated that uneasy feeling, but there were enough other things going on in my life, I decided not to waste any time thinking about some stranger who made me feel weird.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  The last couple days of school were monotonous. All my final projects were turned in, and the only thing left to do was study for exams. It was really just a series of review sessions in every class. I had considered cutting, but Rachael and Seth wouldn’t hear of it.

  I was walking to Seth’s car after my last class for the day when I saw my favorite black truck patiently waiting for me by the curb. Max leaned across the seat and opened my door for me. I climbed in, and it felt a little like being mauled; not that I minded, of course, but this was uncharacteristic of Max. He was very sweet and tender, always holding my hand, caressing my arm, touching my cheek with the back of his hand, but this was different. His kiss was deep and he held me tight. After thirty seconds or so and me consciously willing my lungs to breathe again, I finally gasped, “What got into you today?”

  Max smiled, “I missed you today, can you tell?”

  “I’d have to be having an out-of-body experience to have missed that. Is everything okay? Nothing happened today, did it?”

  “Happened, like what?”

  “Okay, Max, what happened today to make you miss me so much?” My mind always races when I have to speculate, and this was very much not like the Max who spent three hours with me every night before work.

  “You wouldn’t get it.” He tried to change the subject, “So where do you wanna go - I’ve got four hours.”

  A little frustrated with this dismissive answer, “What wouldn’t I get? Am I dense now?”

  “Can you just drop it. Most girls would be happy if they heard they were missed.” I couldn’t tell if the agitation in his voice was manufactured for my benefit or if it was genuine. “Nothing out of the ordinary happened. I talked to that Randy guy we met the other night. He’s got
to be the most upbeat person I’ve ever met. I bet he could give motivational speeches if he wanted to.”

  “From the coffee shop? Where’d you see him?” I was a little puzzled by someone having such an impact on Max’s demeanor. The hairs on the back of my neck began to tingle; I don’t know what it was about him, but I didn’t want him anywhere near Max.

  “He found me first thing this morning, right after I got off work. One thing led to another and we ended up sitting and visiting for over an hour. We went back into dispatch and I introduced him around. My boss said he’d do the training himself because we’re so short-handed. Randy’s probably still there.”

  Randy seemed very charismatic when we met him, but I really got the impression he was asking Max about his job just to be friendly. I hadn’t realized he was actually interested. It’s not like me to misjudge someone’s intentions.

  Creating enthusiasm in my voice that I didn’t feel, I asked, “Geeze, that’s great. How long does it take to get certified?”

  “Up to nine months through the community college or as little as five days of one-on-one instruction. He won’t be certified to do everything, but he could be a driver in five days and certified to do CPR. Are you thinking of a career change, too?”

  “Uh, let’s see…not a fan of blood, car accidents, train accidents, uncontrolled vomiting, or any number of other things you help people with.”

  “Speaking of plans for the future, you given any more thought to just taking off for a couple months?” I could tell from the way he asked the question he’d been thinking about our adventure.

  I couldn’t think of anything I would like better than just being with Max, having him all to myself: no saying goodnight so he could work all night, or waiting most of the day for him to recover from working all night. Of course I’d given it plenty of thought, but that voice that seemed to be creeping into my conscious more and more – didn’t want me to take a vacation, not yet.