He said his name was Danny, but he sure didn’t look like a Danny. Trust me, I can tell when men lie. He took cash from my purse the first night I slept with him. I confronted him the next day, but he acted like I was crazy. Now that all my credit cards are missing and he hasn’t answered my calls for the last week, I know I’m not crazy. No, I didn’t tell him but I am a little forgetful and wrote my PIN down on a note in my purse. I know it was stupid. Yes, the name on the cards is H-a-l-e-y S-t-e-v-e-n-s. Sure, I have a picture of him. Sorry, I’m a little drunk in the selfie. It’s from the night before he disappeared. No, not that guy, this one, see?
• • •
Hey look, I ain’t a rat, let’s get that straight, but I don’t know the guy, so I don’t mind explaining the situation last week, catch my drift? Guy comes out of nowhere, asks me to use a card at an ATM. Not sure which one, but it was at a gas station and the machine was beat to hell. Think the card was blue or green? Nah, don’t know the bank. Didn’t know the name on it either, but it wasn’t his. Some girl’s name like Ashely or Jessie. He said I could get a cut, so I used the PIN he gave me and pulled out five hundred bucks. He only gave me ten percent. He seemed like a ten percent kind of guy. Sure, I could ID him, even without my glasses. Bring it closer? Closer? Yup that’s him, mister ten percent. Whoa, who’s the chick?
• • •
Yes sir, I’m pulling up the bank records now. All five cards were accessed. Total? Twenty thousand dollars. Huh, that’s odd. See that list? Every ATM. A lot of them. Yes, I’ll throw it on a map, but please be patient, sir. There, see? Gas stations. Casinos. Strip clubs. Convenience stores. All of them across the western side of the state. Ah, you noticed that too. It is curious, with so many ATMs in the city, why go through all that trouble to stay away?
• • •
Yeah, yeah, your photo hunch worked. Round of applause for detective of the year. Matched with his driver’s license photograph in the database. Positive ID for Danny Smith. Guess our victim isn’t as wise as she thought. Nope, no criminal history. Give me a sec, alright? Boom. Address in the city outskirts. Hold your horses, I’m getting to it. Here, trailer park, resides with his old man in a double wide. Printing the address now, you happy?
• • •
Oh wow, a detective. Sorry, we don’t get much excitement around here. Danny? My neighbor’s son? Danny stays very busy with Clarence being sick and all. Oh, I’m not sure exactly, but he had to be moved to St. Claire’s Medical. No, it’s forty miles east of here. Bit of a drive if you ask me. Now, let me think for a moment, my mind isn’t what it used to be. Yes, he pops in and out of the house from time to time, but it’s been a week or so since I’d last seen him. No, they keep to themselves mostly, and they don’t cause any trouble. Oh, I have no idea officer, but if anyone knows where Danny is, it’d be his father. Is Danny in some kind of trouble?
• • •
I’m sorry, mind coming closer while I get my things? I can’t speak so well, and my hearing is shit. Yes, I’m leaving today. Well, I’m finally going home. This damn place is so far away from the house, feels like I’m in a different country. Danny’s going to cover the at-home treatments, so I can finally leave this godforsaken hospital. Oh, Danny? He’s my only son. Good kid, that one, but it’s been hard with my treatments and his mother’s passing last year. I’m glad he’s finally got a good paying job, although he’s gotta be away a week at a time. Anyways, what can I do for you, detective?
~ fin ~
Raymond J. Brash (he/his) enjoys reading and writing science fiction, noir, and anything that crushes multiple genres into a puply, edible mash. Raised on both a farm in North Georgia and the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago, he currently resides in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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