Authors: Kristopher Rufty
Andy
set the laptop on his coffee table, tossing the case aside. Leaning forward, he
raised the screen. The laptop was missing some keys from the number row, and
the paint had faded on others. Crumbs were encrusted in the tiny niches between
the keys, and fingerprints smudged the screen.
He
pushed the power button. As it booted up, he plugged in the power cable to the
side of the machine, feeding it to the power outlet in the wall. He pushed the
adapter into the plug.
He
had coffee brewing on the pot and the smell of medium roast drifted into the
living room. The aroma was pleasant, and he couldn’t wait to start drinking it.
He hadn’t slept since the night before last, when Nicole was here. Spending all
night with the police, he hadn’t gotten home until around 8:00am. He’d been
home long enough to get some coffee going and take a shower.
Wearing
shorts and a white T-shirt that was slightly damp against his skin, he walked
into the kitchen. The coffee smell was stronger in here. He took a deep whiff,
sighing as the scent licked his nose, making his skin tingle. He took down a
coffee mug and headed for the coffee pot on the counter.
He
noticed Nicole’s empty glass in the sink.
His
hand started to shake so badly he couldn’t keep a grip on the mug. It slipped
through his fingers and shattered on the floor.
“Shit!”
He
stood there a moment, hands on his hips, huffing through his nose. Eyes pinched
shut, he took long breaths to steady himself. It wasn’t working.
“Damn,”
he muttered.
Since
the cigarette he’d smoked last night, he hadn’t stopped craving another. On his
way home, he’d stopped by the store and gotten a pack. It was sitting on the
stove across from him. He needed one. Hopefully he could overpower his cravings
and go back to being a nonsmoker, but for now…he was going to give in.
He
took a step forward. His bare foot came down on a shard of broken porcelain.
The tip stabbed into the soft skin of his foot. Gasping in pain, Andy jumped
back, crashing into the dip where the counter tops met.
Then
someone knocked.
Groaning,
Andy threw his arms up, letting them drop and slap against his thighs. Of all
the times for someone to show up. He assumed it was Detective Kaufman. He’d
knocked at the front door. Anyone who knew him well enough should know to come
to the back door.
Like
Nicole did…
Shaking
his head, he jarred that thought free.
Another
knock, but this one had some force behind it.
“Damn
it to hell,” he muttered. “Hang on!” Although he knew where everything was in
his kitchen, he looked around for the paper towels as if it was his first time
being here. It was the rushed panic making him forget where everything was. He
spotted the roll where it always was: slipped over the holder’s arm beside the
sink. Grabbing a piece, he yanked in hopes of tearing off a section. Instead,
the roll spun, spewing towels.
The
third knock was very loud and hard, urgent—a steady pounding that made his walls
creak.
“I
said
hang on!
”
Andy
used both hands to tear the track of towels from the roll, then he hopped out
of the kitchen. He moved with his right foot up, like a dog with a hurt paw as
he hobbled to the front door, hoping he didn’t drip blood on the carpet.
Gripping
the door knob, he jerked the door open. His face, creased into a scowl,
displayed his annoyance, and he was opening his mouth to shout at Detective
Kaufman. “I said hang on!” But, when he saw who was actually outside, the honey
shade of hair flapping in the warm breeze, the tawny skin and full lips opening
to a gasp, his anger dissipated. The verbal lashing died in his throat.
Startled,
she stepped back. “Mr. Raab!”
Andy
felt embarrassed heat flow through him. “Miss…uh…Holbrook?
“Jeez…”
A hand against her chest, she panted. “Is this how you greet all your visitors
or am I just a lucky girl?”
“Um…sorry…”
Andy’s neck felt like it had burst into flames. Sweat immediately percolated on
his skin.
Karen
Holbrook shook her head, a small smile forming. Then she noticed him clutching
a red-stained paper towel to his foot and her smile dropped to shock. “Oh my!
What happened?”
“Oh…this?”
Andy shrugged. “I broke a coffee mug…then stepped on the damn thing.”
“Ouch.
Is the glass still in there?”
“Feels
like it.”
Karen
sighed like a mother would. “Let’s get you inside and fixed up.”
Andy
started to protest but decided against it.
****
Several
minutes later, Andy sat on the couch while Karen, crouched at his legs, pressed
the cotton ball to the cleaned and disinfected wound. Then she bonded it in
place using a Band-Aid. The constant bee sting of pain vanished. Just like
being a kid, Andy realized, a bandage really did make it better. Once the blood
had been washed away and Andy could see the half inch severity of the wound,
he’d felt like a child. It was nothing that should have caused the reaction
he’d given it. At least Karen hadn’t teased him about it.
Finished,
Karen pretended to wipe superfluous amounts of sweat from her brow. “Now that
we have that
gaping
gash all bandaged up…”
There
goes that.
“…we
can get down to business.”
“I’m
sure I already know why you’re here,” said Andy.
“I
heard about it this morning…”
“Yeah?
So, what do you think?”
Karen
frowned. “I…I’m not sure. But, I’m very sorry about Nicole. She was…a very
sweet person.”
Andy
heard Karen’s commendation but didn’t acknowledge it. Afraid his voice might go
wobbly, he swallowed the lump in his throat before talking. “You heard about
Lou?”
She
nodded. “Yeah, I did.”
“I
think he must have pulled up on whatever was happening. He’d just dropped me
off not even half an hour before.”
“The…attacks…it’s
all people are talking about. It was all over the news this morning.”
“I
bet so. The news eats up violence in the white trash district.”
“Sad
but true.” Karen sighed. “I heard Kaufman was assigned the case.”
“Yeah…”
“What’s
he saying about everything?”
“Who
knows? Probably thinks Danny killed Nicole and Rosco killed Lou and his guys so
they could run away together with Lou’s money, and have some kind of homosexual
bender across the country.”
“Does
he really think that?”
“No.
But, he’s not saying what he
is
thinking.”
Karen
pursed her lips, gazing up at Andy with concerned eyes. “You don’t express
yourself very well.”
“I
express myself all right. I’m pissed off and hurt and confused…I think I’m
acting like someone suffering all those feelings.”
“Maybe.
Why don’t you talk about it?”
“I
don’t want to get into it right now. I need to stay focused and if I stop to
mourn, I’ll be down for good.”
“Stay
focused? What do you mean by that?”
“I
told Nicole I would find Danny and I plan on it. He’s my brother. I’d washed my
hands of him a long time ago, you know, just gave up on him. But I shouldn’t
have. I’m worried about him. I do
not
think he would ever hurt Nicole.
He was a lot of things, but he loved her, although he’d ruined her life by not
caring about
himself
enough to stay clean.”
“What
do you plan to do, Andy? You’re not a cop. You can’t just investigate the
murders on your own. If Kaufman even heard you saying this shit right now, he’d
probably slap the shit out of you.”
“I
don’t care about that. Danny’s out there somewhere, mixed up in some crazy shit
that’s getting people killed…”
That
got Nicole killed…
“You
don’t know for sure if any of this is related.”
He
gave her a look that told her not to even try convincing him otherwise. “Come
on. You really just said that?”
“I
know it sounds like bullshit, but you don’t know for sure.”
Andy
felt his blood rising in temperature. He needed to hold it back, though, and
not let his temper flare. Right now, Karen was on his side, and he needed to
keep it that way. He might need her help.
His
eyes glanced at the laptop. The screen was blue, the Windows Login awaiting a
password. If he told her what he and Lou had talked about last night, would she
understand why he neglected to share this information with Kaufman? Would she
demand he tell him, hand over the laptop for evidence?
Maybe
not right away. Doesn’t matter if she was friendly with Danny or not, she would
want things handled by the law.
Andy
sighed.
Karen’s
eyes narrowed. “Something’s bothering you and it’s not just the obvious.”
“Want
some coffee?”
“Are
you serious? It’s ninety degrees outside.”
“I
need it. I haven’t slept in almost thirty-six hours.”
“Andy!
Go to bed, get some rest. I’ll hang around if you need me to.”
“I
want you to hang around.” He was about to tell her why but stopped when he
noticed the slight reddening in her cheeks.
“Oh…well…I
don’t mind.” A goofy grin flashed over her face. “There’s no one I have to meet
today. I was just going to straighten up my office some…maybe eat lunch with a
friend, but I can cancel…”
“Karen.”
Her
head whipped toward him. “Huh?”
“I
want you to stay because I need to tell you something.”
Slightly
frowning she said, “Why do I have the feeling I’m not going to like what I’ll
hear?”
“You
won’t
like it. I haven’t told you everything. And, I still don’t want
to, but I have no clue what else to do.”
Karen
took in a deep breath, frowning. “All right. Maybe I better have some coffee.”
Andy
smiled, although there were no good feelings associated with it.
Andy
was surprised by how easily he talked to Karen. She didn’t say much, which made
him talk even more. Usually, he was the quiet type, surrounded by others who
did the talking for him. But with Karen, he couldn’t shut up. As he shared the
parts about Nicole, his voice changed in pitch, his throat thickening and sounding
bubbly.
Karen
sat across from him in the chair, leaned to the side and legs crossed, listening.
The skirt had a slit midway up her thigh. Every so often Andy stole a peek of tanned
leg. He assumed she knew how much he could see, but she did nothing to prevent
it.
When
he was finally done talking, he felt a little winded and had sweat trickling
down his sides and the small of his back. “So,” he said, “what do you think?”
Karen
took a sip of coffee. “I think you need to get inside that computer.”
“Right.”
Andy
leaned forward, putting both hands on the laptop. The machine had gone into
sleep mode, so he wiggled his finger across the mouse pad. The login screen
faded through the black screen.
“Any
idea what the password might be?” she asked.
“None.”
“Well…it’s
Rosco, so start with the obvious.”
“And
that is?”
“Drugs.”
Andy
started to type. The keys felt sticky, as if coated in syrup. He tried the word
with all caps, lower case, and a combination of the two. None worked. He tried
typing in varieties of substances Rosco had been known to partake of. No luck
there, either. Growing frustrated, he knew they would never guess what it was.
“This isn’t going to work.”
“What
do you suggest then?”
“I’m
going to have to take the hard drive out and hack into it. Hopefully I can…”
“Go
for it.”
Andy
crossed the room to the doorway that opened to an even smaller room. This had
been used as the dining room when his parents lived here. Now the table his
family had eaten so many meals on together was littered with school supplies
and papers. Opening his book bag, he dug around the inside. He found the small
leather case of his PC tool kit at the bottom. He grabbed it, then sifted
through the debris for the drive-mate. It took a couple minutes, but he finally
located it. With the kit and the drive-mate in tow, he returned to the living
room.
“What’s
all that stuff?” asked Karen.
“Nerd
tech.”
Karen
laughed. “Ah. Okay.”
“It’ll
take me a few minutes…”
“It’s
fine. I’ll just sit back and watch.”
He
sat the equipment and tools on the coffee table, then returned to the dining
room for his laptop. It was at the head of the table. When he was a kid, it had
been his dad’s seat, now he’d claimed it. For some reason, Andy felt a little
closer to him whenever he sat there. Lifting the laptop off the table, he
tucked it under his arm, then yanked on the power cord. It popped out of the
socket and trailed behind him as he walked back into the living room.
Karen
sat up and slid the other computer over to make room.
“Thanks,”
he said.
“No
problem.”
He
noticed she was watching him with a hint of a smile on her face. She almost looked…amazed?
He wasn’t sure if that was an accurate depiction, but there was some kind of
admiration for sure.
“Have
you eaten?” she asked.
The
question came out of nowhere and stopped Andy in place. “What?”
“Food.
When was the last time you had something edible enter your body through your
mouth?”
Andy
tried to remember. “I…I guess yesterday morning.”
“I’m
going to Krispy Krust and grabbing us a pizza.”
“No,
please, really, I’m fine.”
“I’m
not asking for permission. I’m doing it.”
“At
least let me pay for it.”
“No,
no. You just do your thing there and I’m going to get us a pizza. Sausage and
extra cheese okay?”
“Perfect.”
Smiling,
Karen said, “How’d I know?”
“You’d
make a fine detective,” he said in his best, tough police captain’s voice.
She
laughed. “Sure. I’ll be back in a few. I’ll grab us something to drink.”
“No
alcohol.” His comment had come out a little harsh and too quick for his liking.
He offered a smile that felt awkward on his face.
If
Karen had noticed, she gave no indication. “Please. I’m on duty, so I can’t
drink. I was thinking a gallon of sweet tea or something.”
“Even
better.”
She
winked, told him to get to work, and was gone. The house suddenly seemed
extremely quiet and empty without her. He sat down on the couch and noticed the
tight cramp in his gut. Hunger pains. When she’d first suggested the pizza,
Andy wasn’t in the mood for one. Knowing that one was coming, he wished it was
already here.
“Get
to work,” he muttered, repeating Karen’s orders. Then he smiled.
****
When
Karen returned, coming in without knocking, he was just booting up his
computer. He’d already removed Rosco’s hard drive and inserted it into the
drivemate. Then, using a USB cable, he’d connected it to his own laptop. Just
as he’d figured, Rosco hadn’t set a password to protect any of his files, so he
was free to roam the hard drive without worry.
He
stood up and went to the front door to assist Karen as she struggled to balance
an extra-large pizza box in one hand and two gallons of tea in the other. He
took the jugs of tea from her left hand; somehow she’d managed to grip them
both with such a tiny hand.
“You’re
a life saver,” she said.
Though
the comment was a lighthearted expression of gratitude, Andy felt his cheeks
flushing regardless. He took the jugs to the counter, left one there, and put
the other one in the fridge. When he turned around, Karen had the pizza opened on
top of the counter and was removing a slice. Gooey strings of cheese kept a
grip on the slice. “Sorry for not waiting on you. I had to smell it the
whole
drive back. Thought I’d lose my mind if I didn’t eat it soon.”
Laughing,
Andy watched her take a gigantic bite. “Want me to get some plates?”
She
shook her head. Mouth filled, she said, “No way. Best way to eat pizza is just
like this.” She closed her eyes, moaned. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
“Good?”
“Try
for yourself.”
He
grabbed the outer rim of crust and pulled a slice away from the pie. The extra
cheese stretched half a foot before tearing. Taking a bite, his mouth was
filled with the combined tastes of sausage, cheese, bread, and marinara sauce.
It was warm and delicious.
“Approve?”
she asked.
“Better
believe it.”
They
ate in silence until both had finished their first pieces.
“How’s
it coming along?” asked Karen, thrusting her chin toward the computers. She had
a greasy streak on her chin that she wiped off with a napkin.
“Just
about to start. Got it all hooked up and ready to go.”
“I’m
not even going to pretend to know what you did there, so don’t bother
explaining.”
Andy
laughed softly. “I won’t.”
He
turned to the cabinet and opened it. Pulling down two glasses, he set them on
the counter. Karen unpeeled the red strip around the cap, opening the tea jug.
Andy held the glasses steady while she poured. They chugged until their glasses
were empty, then refilled.
Each
of them took another slice and carried them and their glasses into the living
room. They sat together on the couch. Karen took the cushion next to Andy, only
a small gap of space between them. This close, he could smell the strawberry
scent emanating from her. He liked it.
On
his laptop’s desktop screen, Andy searched for the icon for the drive-mate. He located
it amongst the others, double-clicked, and watched as it loaded a list in a
separate screen. He noticed an abundance of Quicktime movie files.
“Wow,”
he said.
“What?”
“Rosco’s
hard drive is
loaded
with porn.”
Karen
laughed. “Anything good?”
Though
he knew she was being sarcastic, Andy’s stomach fluttered. “Um…let’s see. Going
off the titles here, Rosco was big on
big
ladies.”
Karen
laughed. “Sounds like him.”
“There’s
a
lot
of video. The hard drive is nearly filled with it.”
“What
a bust.” The yomping sound of pizza being consumed followed.
“Yeah…I’ll
check his documents and photos.”
“Be
careful.”
Andy
laughed. “Right.”
The
word files were scarce. Nothing important was on any of them. The pictures
folder was large, but after clicking on a dozen or more, he realized they were
nothing more than pictures of women downloaded from the internet, and some
Rosco had obviously taken of himself with a slew of thick girls. Andy gave up
on those for now, deciding to come back to them later if he found nothing else
useful.
“He
really did like them bigger, didn’t he?” asked Karen.
“Appears
so.”
“No
wonder he never hit on me like all the others.”
“Did
Danny?”
Karen
sighed. “I’m not going to answer that. You already have enough issues with your
brother.”
That
was her politician’s way of answering the question without answering anything.
“Gotcha.”
He
explored Rosco’s hard drive through his tired burning eyes. Nothing jumped out
that Andy thought should be flagged for importance. He felt his frustration
building. Then he opened the temporary internet files. There, he found even
more pornographic pictures and website links. Deciding to narrow the search
down to the past month, he conscientiously examined each day. A half hour
passed before he found an online search that arrested his attention.
“What’s
this?”
Karen
sat up. “Find something?”
“Well…I’m
not sure. It’s only one search. I can see that others were made around it, but
there’s a gap in time.”
“What’s
that tell you?”
“It
tells me Rosco was deleting his cookies and internet history to hide what he
was looking for.”
“He
didn’t get them all?”
“Nope.
There’s one left in this missing block of time.”
“What
is it?”
“All
it says is ‘The Skin Show’.”