“Did you tell her I was staying here?”
Gary shrugged and pointed his cane at the garage.
“I’m staying in your photo lab?”
“She never comes in there. I set up one of our nicest cots.”
He went into the garage and set the duck down on the floor. It would be good enough. He stared at the cameras hanging on the wall and all the brightly colored prints. At least he was safe. He explained to Gary what had happened-the man, the pursuit, how he had barely escaped capture. Gary shook his head.
“They didn’t realize you’d discovered about Charlotte’s murder?”
“No. Like an idiot, I tipped them off.”
“What do we do now?”
“We just try to get the story out as quickly as possible. Then something will change. After that, I’ll call the cops and we’ll be done.”
“You can work here as long as you want.”
He set up his laptop on a metal desk. Gary closed the door and Jake spread everything out. It was just like at home. Except for the disinfectant and development fluid.
He called Thompson. It was worth bothering him this time.
“Who is it?” Thompson growled. “I’m about to go have my steak.”
“It’s Jake.”
“Russo? Did you take my steak?”
A long laugh, as usual. Jake waited a few seconds.
“Listen. The story is bigger than I ever thought it would be.”
“She dyed her hair red?”
“What?”
“Melinda! Melinda Ginelli. Do you have a…a scoop for us?”
“I haven’t started your celebrity piece.”
“Russo! I need something soon.”
“I have something much bigger. Someone is out for my life, Thompson. I have the story on these environmentalists nailed down and ready to go. Tonight they tried to kill me, so I’m going to make sure they don’t get away with it. I’ll write it tonight. It’s huge news.”
“Russo, I want Melinda Ginelli.” He paused and laughed. “I want a story about her too!”
“I know, but this is more important.”
“No it’s not. Do you understand?”
“Thompson, listen. Will you do this?”
“You get me my story about Melinda Ginelli and I’ll be a happy man.”
“But will you print mine? About the group? The Saving Tomorrow Initiative?”
“We’ll talk about it when I see it.”
“Great.”
“And Russo, remember.”
“Remember what? To be careful? Make sure to document my sources?”
“Remember to…to ask Melinda about her favorite type of guy! You always forget the good stuff.”
“All right.”
It wasn’t perfect, but he had the go ahead. He opened his notebook and had started looking through his notes when Gary came in.
“Jacob, you can use this.”
He laid a shirt out on the desk. It was light blue and two sizes too small. Gary looked up and Jake held the shirt in front of him.
“Won’t this be a little…tight?”
“It won’t be tight. It’s fitted.”
“But you’re at least a foot shorter than I am.”
“I stoop. I have a cane.”
“Gary, come on.”
“Jacob, I’m surprised.”
“About what?”
“You have hair on your chest.”
“You didn’t think I’d have hair on my chest?”
“I don’t know, I just…”
“That’s enough. If this shirt rips, I’m not responsible.”
He grabbed the shirt and put it on. It wouldn’t rip in the back. But he had to leave the top two buttons undone. The collar flared out like he was going to a disco. If he’d worn his shirts like this before, Gary wouldn’t have been surprised that he had chest hair. Half his chest was still showing.
“Can I get you anything else?”
“Maybe tomorrow we could go back to my apartment. Would you mind coming with me? I’d just like to get some things.”
“Like what?”
“Clothes.”
“You can have as many as you want. I have many different styles.”
“Right.” The shirt sleeves pinched his arms. “Thank you.”
“Is there anything else?”
“No, I’m good. Thank you for taking me in. I know it seems sudden, but my rear view mirror was literally ripped off. I could have died.”
“Ah.” Gary sighed. “Street gangs.”
“No Gary, it wasn’t ‘street gangs.’ Remember, the Initiative chased me.”
“Oh, right.” He started to go walk the door then turned back to Jake. “I still don’t understand all of it.”
“He broke in to my place. And once they realized I’d figured out what happened to Charlotte, they wanted to kill me.”
“Right. But I don’t understand. Why didn’t they kill you before then?”
Jake laughed.
“Thanks.”
“But, Jacob, am I right in saying it does not make sense?”
“What doesn’t?”
“Why would they let you write a story that would ruin their group? A story that would ruin their reputation in the community?”
“I just think they are so delusional, they didn’t realize how bad they looked.”
Gary clicked his tongue against his teeth and shook his head again. He patted down his frizzed hair and looked like he was concentrating.
“Something doesn’t fit.”
Jake sighed.
“I know. But once we put the story out there, we’ll be fine.”
“Is that how you are supposed to do it?”
“In this case, we have to have the police do more. And with the Development Proposition vote so soon, they’ll be motivated to act quickly.”
“I just don’t know.”
“I know. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
He started typing, drafting the outline of his story. He hadn’t written anything so serious in a long time. He felt his fingers tingle as he began to type, but Gary still stood at the doorway with his arms crossed.
“Just be careful Jacob. Make sure all the pieces come together.”
“I will.”
He still didn’t leave the garage.
“What about Sheryl?”
“What about her?”
“Why did Charlotte suspect her in all of this? And why did she give money to the Initiative?”
“I hate to say it, but Charlotte was wrong. She was obsessed with her silly bridge game.”
Gary shrugged, bringing his cane up two inches off the ground along with his shoulders.
“She wasn’t wrong before.”
“Well, she lost control. She became biased. Besides, you talked to Sheryl, right?”
Gary raised his fingers to his lips.
“Not so loud Jacob! Meryl has ears like a hawk!”
“Ears like a…never mind. Where is she?”
“Asleep.”
“Well anyway, you met with Sheryl, right?”
“I did. I think she’s a good person. But there must be some sort of reason Charlotte suspected her of being involved. And a reason she donated the money.”
“I think Charlotte just didn’t know.” He didn’t want it to be true. “She got involved with a group bigger and crazier than her. Something modern. Something she couldn’t understand.”
Gary finally went up the stairs. But before he closed the door, he turned back again.
“I think you’d be surprised what we people know.”
Jake was left alone in the room. He turned on the light. The red bulbs would have to do. The collage of Polaroids on the wall seemed to glow at their white bases. He looked at his laptop screen pulsing in the darkness and started to transcribe his notes from his notebook into the computer.
It didn’t come as easily as he’d thought it would. He blamed the light, but he couldn’t just punch the story out. Something seemed wrong. Unfinished. He stared at the red glow coming from the ceiling. He’d had a long day. It was time to call it a night. He’d go to his apartment the next day and then he’d be done. Things were as clear as they could be. He switched off the red light.
As he fell asleep on the cot, he noticed the white bottoms of the Polaroid pictures in the collage, and then he looked at Charlotte’s duck, which he’d set beneath them. He could barely make out the orange bill in the light. It was silly, he knew. But as he shut his eyes, he couldn’t help but think that the duck was frowning.