3. Trouble BrewingA Chapter by Craig2591 Danger is looming on the horizon for our friends. Early the next morning Stefanie found Jonathon seated at a table in the hotel's breakfast lounge with his laptop and a cup of coffee. He was dressed in grey shorts, sandals and a rust colored tank top. Most fifty year-old men would do the general public a favor by not wearing tank tops. But most fifty year-old men didn't start off each day with a five mile jog and fifty push-ups either. She sat down with him. “Why aren't you outside on the patio on such a beautiful morning?” she asked cheerfully.
“I can't see my laptop display out there,” he answered.
She nodded. “So, what's the plan for today?”
“I don't know, yet. I'm still in an information gathering mode right now,” he replied. His face grew concerned. “For the life of me, I still can't figure out how that girl gave me the slip. I'd give my eye teeth to know that.”
“How were you tracking her?” she asked.
“Sorry,” he smiled, “trade secret.”
“You don't trust me?” she said with a pouty frown.
He looked at her for several moments. “I suppose I could tell you and Becka how I do it. But it will have to wait until some other time. It's complicated.”
He saw the almost imperceptible look of disappointment on her face when he mentioned Becka, too. He wished those two would get over their childish rivalry for his approval.
He went back to studying his computer while she signaled the waiter and ordered coffee and a danish. Something suddenly caught his attention. “Hello, what's this?”
She scooted her chair over for a better look. He ignored it when she placed her hand on his thigh as she leaned closer. She was flirting with him again. Maybe she really found him attractive or maybe it was just a part of that rivalry she had going with Becka. It didn't really matter. He never became romantically involved with those he worked with. He'd learned that lesson the hard way years ago.
“There's a news report about an apparent murder. A grounds keeper for the park found a young woman's body in one of their sheds,” he said, “Twenty-something with short blond hair.”
“Do you think that's her?”
“Not sure. They don't give a description. But I'll bet it was.” He shook his head. “Jesus! There was no need to kill her.”
“What was she wearing?”
“She was found nude.”
“Oh, God! They raped her?!”
“Doesn't say.”
“Why else would she be nude?”
“Why indeed? Think about it, Stef. She carried something that we and other people wanted. Something small.”
“She was stripped searched?”
“Bingo.”
“So it looks like we're too late, then. Someone else beat us to her and got that memory card. Without knowing who that was, we're screwed.”
He leaned back in his chair and looked thoughtful. “Maybe not,” he said, “What if she didn't have it on her?”
She gave him a suspicious look. “What are you getting at? Do you know something?”
“Well... say you're carrying something very valuable - something you don't want falling into the wrong hands. Something that others are willing to kill for. You discover someone knows you have it and is after you. What would you do?”
“Get help?” she tried.
“Help is not available.”
She shrugged. “Stash it?”
He pointed a finger at her. “Yes! Stash it somewhere and come back for it when the coast is clear.”
“You think that's what she did?” she asked.
“I think it's a strong possibility.”
“But where?! There must be a billion places in that park where she could've hidden a memory card.” she said with dismay, “We wouldn't know where to even begin looking.”
“If she knew she was being watched, it would have to be someplace sneaky, someplace no one would see her stash it.” He sat back up and began tapping keys on his computer. “Here.” he said after loading the snapshots that he took the day before. “Remember her?”
Stefanie looked at the screen. “That's the woman she ran into with her bike,” she answered, “The one with all the tattoos.”
“Right. Now what's she doing in this shot?” He clicked on another image.
Stefanie shrugged. “She's looking at something in her hand.”
“Right, but notice how she's looking at it.”
“She looks like she's never seen it before.”
“Yep. I remember taking this shot. She had just pulled whatever she's looking at out of her pocket seconds before. Why would she look at something like that if it just came from her pocket? Now... let me zoom in on it.”
Stefanie's eyes grew wide. “It's a memory card!!” He smiled and nodded. “Jon, do you suppose?...” Suddenly it all clicked into place for her. “Oh, my God! She did run into that woman on purpose!”
“Yep. She must've planted it on her during the confusion,” said Jonathon, “Then she planned to get it back later by picking the woman's pocket. Very shrewd! With those tattoos and that make-up, she'd be a cinch to locate again among all those people. Unfortunately, she never got the chance to retrieve it.”
“So... that family must still have it. We need to find them.”
He clicked on another image. “Here's a shot of their license plate. Run a trace on it and find out whatever you can about them. I don't know who else is after that card, but we need to find that family before they do. They don't realize it, but they are in grave danger!”
“I'll get started right away.” She got up and hurried off. He shook his head with disappointment. “Now I guess I'll never find out how she gave me the slip.”
© 2013 Craig2591Author's Note
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Craig2591OHAboutI am a visual artist with no formal training in creative writing. I get stories knocking around my head and sometimes I write them down. I decided to join this site to share them with other writers .. more..Writing
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