The Commissioner

It was almost noon by the time I finally awoke from my drunken slumber.  I looked around for almost an eternity, it seemed, before I realized she wasn't there.  She should be here, I thought.  She should be lying in bed like she is every morning; like she has been for the countless previous mornings.  I quickly lunged to my feet and stumbled my way into the living room while the world spun around me. She wasn't on the couch either! Panic invaded my pain studded mind which only made the headache from my hangover feel exponentially worse. I sat on the couch feeling more lost than I ever thought possible. I just sat there trying to clear my mind for what seemed like an hour, but when I looked at the clock it was only 5 minutes.

Suddenly, I remembered about my meeting with the Commissioner. I grabbed my phone from the bedroom and called Sam for a ride. I sat outside on the steps of my apartment building while waiting for Sam to come get me.  I had hoped the normalcy of the city's everyday hustle and bustle would take my mind off Veronica;  I was wrong. Sitting there alone, I only found myself even less able to avoid the thought of her.  After about twenty minutes Sam arrived to take me back to Cindy's Pub for my car.

"You don't look so well Shaun."  Sam said with concern.

"Well, you know, a hangover will do that to ya."  I forced a chuckle, but couldn't manage a smile to go with it.

She just looked at me.  "I know what you look like when you're hurting from a hangover.  This isn't it; this is deeper. This is much, much worse."

"Gee thanks for the helpful insight.  I didn't realize I was with a shrink."  I peered out the window blankly.

"That's not fair!"  Sam pulled over and stopped.  "Damn it Shaun, I'm your friend, not a shrink. I just want to help you find out what's going on.  I wasn't trying to analyze you, I'm just concerned..."  She hesitated.  "I care about you."

"I'm sorry."  I glanced at Sam then looked away again.  "I didn't mean to be such an a*s, I just don't know what's going on. That's still no excuse to take my frustration out on you."

Sam grabbed my hand.  "I'm here for you Shaun, whatever you need."

I knew I should pull my hand away, but right now, being with her was all that was holding me together.

We arrived back at Cindy's at ten minutes to 1:00pm; my appointment with the Commissioner was at 1:30pm. I thought about going to meet him earlier than planned, but thought I should try to relax a little first.

"Mind making me a cup of coffee?"  I asked hopefully.

"Of course not Shaun.  Would you like some eggs or anything?" Sam unlocked the bar and pulled down two bar stools as soon as we entered.

"No eggs, maybe just a couple pieces of toast."  I sat down and waited as Sam went to start the coffee and put the toast in.

"Will you come with me?"  I asked as Sam came back from the kitchen.

"I don't know."  Sam responded after sitting down with two coffees. "I have to open the bar at 2:00pm, and your meeting won't be done by then."

"Hold on a sec."  I pulled my cell phone from my pocket.  "Let's give Cindy a call and see if she can open for you."

"Today is her only day off all week... Let me call Shayla instead. She's supposed to close, but maybe she'll switch if I explain how important it is." Sam started dialing as the toaster buzzed in the kitchen. 

Sam went into the kitchen and brought me the toast, then went outside while she talked on the phone. This left me alone with my thoughts again. I didn't like this, but luckily my coffee and toast somehow kept my mind occupied. It was almost twenty minutes by the time Sam came back inside.

"Well, Shayla said she'll switch with me so I can go with you if you still want me to."

"Of course I still want you to."  I smiled at her.  "You're one of the few people I believe that I can actually trust to tell me the truth."

"I always will Shaun."  Sam went into the kitchen where she shut off the lights after cleaning out the coffee pot.

"Time to go."  I mentioned as I joined her.

"Right."  I followed her back to the front of the bar.  "Let me just lock up quick."

She made sure all the lights were off and doors were locked while I waited out in the car.  It took less than five minutes to drive downtown to the station.  When we arrived the Commissioner was waiting on the steps at the main entrance for us.

"We should go in through the back."  He mentioned as we walked up.

"Why's that?"  Sam asked.

"It keeps the nosy front office staff out of our business.  Besides, this is a  personal matter and I'm sure Shaun would like to keep the knowledge of this matter to a minimum."

The Commissioner, Sam, and I went to the back entrance and into the station.  We went to the Commissioner's office; locking the door and closing the blinds as we entered.

"Why is she here Shaun?  I thought you wanted this meeting to just be the two of us?  No offense, Ms.?" He looked at me with a quizzical stare.

"With all due respect, sir, as you said this is a personal matter.  I believe that means whoever I choose to let sit in and learn about this situation should not be brought into question."  I shook my head in disgust and apologized to Sam for the Commissioner's rudeness.

"I'm sorry Shaun, you're absolutely right.  I just want you to be careful who you let close to you." He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of scotch.

He offered Sam and I some, but we both declined. He poured himself a drink and sat at his desk waiting for me to initiate conversation. After a few moments, the Commissioner grew impatient and asked.  "So, where do we start Shaun?"

I just looked at him for a few seconds, wondering why he would ask such a dumb question.  "Well, at the beginning would be nice."

"Now, I don't know everything.  Just from when you met her until now.  If you want to learn more than what I'm able to tell you then you'll have to either investigate for yourself, or find out from Veronica... That is provided that you are able to find her."  He took a drink and smiled.

"I understand.  Anything will help at this point."  I looked at him, eager to learn about a time in my life that I was so sure was pure and true.

"Do you remember were the two of you met Shaun?  Where you first saw Veronica?"  The Commissioner pulled a key out of his pocket and proceeded to move to the bookshelf.

"Yes, like it was yesterday.  But, what does that have to do with any of this?"  I looked and felt puzzled to say the least.

"Well, you asked me to start at the beginning."  He chuckled. "That's just what I'm doing."

He put the key from his pocket into the spine of the thickest book on his shelf and gave it a quick turn. Within seconds almost half the bookcase was swinging open.  Sam and I watched with bewilderment as a safe appeared behind the false bookcase.

The Commissioner asked me again.  "Where did you meet Veronica again?  Oh, and would you by chance be able to remember the address?"

"We met in a small town across the sea called Perivoma.  It was at a little coffee shop there called Le Cafe Amoré. The address if I can recall was 72 Tramonto Boulevard."

"Is that all that you can remember?  Anything else will be helpful Shaun."  The Commissioner stared blankly at me across the desk.

"I feel like it was just yesterday, actually."  I began.  "She was wearing a lime green sundress with little white polka dots. Her hair was a dark brown, almost black, straight, and about shoulder length. Her skin was perfectly tanned, not too dark, but not too light either. She was facing the other direction while sitting at a table with friends. When their waiter delivered their order she turned and that's when our eyes met."

Honestly, I had met Veronica earlier that day, shortly after arriving at the train station in what is known as the Perivoma Transit District. We accidentally bumped into one another while trying to retrieve our luggage. I was immediately ensnared by her hazel eyes. I tried speaking, but quickly realized that only meaningless gibberish would escape through my lips.  I instead tried simply smiling, and to my relief and surprise, she did the same.

After that moment, she went her way and I went mine.  Although, I did turn to look back as I left the terminal; she was nowhere to be seen. You should have talked when you had the chance. I told myself. You know I couldn't, I would have simply made myself look like a stupid a*s.  My argument with my mind quickly ceased and I carried on with my day.  But, still, I could not escape the thought of her.

"So... That's it?  You didn't even talk to her.  When did you first talk to her?"  The Commissioner impatiently interrupted my moment of reminiscing.

"I'm getting there.  So we were both sitting at our respective tables when we saw each other. Then I overheard her friends ask for the check.  I did the same, but made sure to sit there complacently until her friends left. She got up to leave as well and I prepared to sit there in defeat.  Without notice she walked over to my table and sat down. We started talking and that's all I really remember."

I looked at the Commissioner and shrugged. "I wish I could remember more."

"That's alright Shaun.  I'm surprised you were able to remember as much as you did."  He chuckled.

This chuckle made me uneasy, but I tried not to let it show.  I was able to fool the Commissioner well enough, but Sam knew me better.

"Mr., uh Commissioner, do you mind if Shaun accompanies me outside?"  Sam grasped my arm.

"I could use a break, and some fresh air too sir."

"Mr. Tiber, Commissioner will do fine though.  Yeah, alright.  I'll be in here looking over the file.  Take your time."

 Sam and I left the room and went out back where we had entered earlier.  We barely made it through the door when Sam began interrogating me.

"Spill Shaun."  She sternly commanded.

"What's there to spill?"  I innocently asked.

"You know what Shaun.  We both know you met Veronica at the train station and that you remember a whole hell of a lot more than you're telling the Commissioner.  Why aren't you telling him everything?" She grabbed my arm again and looked at me with her deep blue eyes.

"I just want to find out how much information he really has.  If I forget a few details while trying to recall what happened, then he can fill in the blanks with what he's got.  If his information matches mine, then I'll know what he says is true." I gave Sam a hug and whispered. "I'll tell you everything I remember later."

"It's okay Shaun, I just wanted to make sure you had some sort of plan."

I smiled and the two of us returned to the Commissioner's office.  He sat there with a smug look on his face, drinking from his glass half complacently.

"So, what can you tell me about the day Veronica and I met?"  I inquired as Sam and I sat down.

"Well, you covered most of what I can tell you.  The only thing I can really add is that your meeting her was no accident or coincidence." He shook his head slowly.  "I'm sorry Shaun, I wish there was more I could say.

"What about the file you showed me?  Let me take it home and look it over;  see what I can find."  I reached forward to grab the over filled folder lying on his desk.

"I'm sorry Shaun, but I can't do that.  This file isn't even supposed to still exist.  I'm risking everything just letting you look at it now." The Commissioner grabbed the file and put it back behind the fake bookshelf.

"So you expect me to just forget Veronica and move on?  What the hell am I supposed to do?  You call me in for a meeting and then you tell me the same damn thing you told me last night! It was a waste of time for me to come here."  I got up and Sam and I prepared to leave.

"I'll see what I can do to help you as much as I can.  Take whatever time off you need, with pay, and we'll sort this all out."  The Commissioner reached out his hand to shake mine.

"Look, just call me if you come up with any new information that you can actually tell me." Sam and I left with the Commissioner still standing there with his hand out.