It was clear to see that Rose was on top of the moon as she prepared to leave Jessica's apartment with a huge smile on her face.
"I am so excited Jess! I really needed this break and this money is going to help a lot with other things." Rose said as she twirled around with joy.She was not a lazy person and did not spend money frivolously but she had a lot of necessities to pay for. Her car was a major thing on that list; it was one problem after the other and at this point it would be cheaper to just get another one.She had nicknamed it ‘Chelly’ and would have hauled it off to the scrap yard a long time ago, but it did the job of getting her to work.There was also rent, it was a little expensive because of the area where the apartment was located. But Rose really liked it there and the only cheaper options were farther away from work. She also had to make payments on her student loan every month.By the time you added gas, groceriesRose left Jessica's apartment and made her way to the elevator. There was a slight bounce in her step and she whistled a cherry tune as the lift took her downstairs. She exited the elevator and was soon standing next to her car.It was red and an old model of the Toyota Camry. Each time she tried to start the car, it reminded her of a Russian roulette; because you were never sure what the outcome would be until you pulled the trigger. She was never sure what the outcome would be until she put the key in the ignition switch and turned.Would the car start or would it sputter and go dead on her? She wondered how many people had their mechanics on speed dial; it certainly did not seem like a common thing.As she sat in the driver's seat now, she prayed the car would just come on and not put a damper on her good mood. She took a deep breath to steel herself and then turned the ignition switch."Come on Chelly, please be a good girl for Mama now," she
The next morning, Rose was up and about long before the sun rose. She considered showing up at the private investigator's office by 7am and just waiting until they opened up by 8:30am. But that seemed like a "crazy person" move and she wanted to appear sane to the private investigator so he would at least take her seriously.She had sent in an email about her being a few minutes late to her office's official email address which she knew Jane Mayo checked almost every hour. Jane Mayo was her boss' secretary and she knew that Jane would inform him if there was any need to.This seemed like a lot of procedures to follow for just being a few minutes late for the first time in practically forever. But she knew how Jack could be, so it was best to take all necessary measures to ensure that there was no backlash.She decided to wear a dark green pantsuit with a black camisole and matching black pumps. She packed her hair up in a ponytail and completed the look wi
Rose took a deep breath as she reminded herself that this was a step in the right direction. In these circumstances, this was as good as she could get in finding out where Victor was; or what had happened to him.Jerry looked at her patiently as he waited for her to say something; he could wait all day if the other appointments did not interrupt them. He was used to this, not everyone came in here feeling all chatty. It was not so easy to find the words when you suspected your spouse was having an affair and you wanted them to be caught in the act. People would rather not come to him, but they eventually did when they had no other choice.He was getting ready to discreetly push forward the box of tissues on his desk, just in case he was in for a delivery of water works this morning."Well, I was referred to you by Detective Aaron Rich." Rose finally began in a strong voice after a short pause.Jerry knew that she had been referred by Det
As Rose answered all the questions Jerry Jones asked and listened to the replies she gave, she realized that something was wrong. Something just seemed off about the whole thing and it was sad that it took so long for her to have realized it."Yes, I was the one who paid for his phone." Rose tried with difficulty to swallow the lump which had slowly formed in her throat as the answers became harder for her to give."Why did you do that Miss Cohen? Did he not have a phone? From what you said, he had enough money to pay his bills." He was asking his questions in a soft voice now because he was seeing how close to the edge she was. The last thing he would want to do was push her off.She had realized all on her own that something seemed fishy about the habits Victor Reeds had exhibited. He simply was not acting in the normal way someone with nothing to hide acted."When we first met, he did not have a phone actually.""What was his
Rose had left Jerry Jones’ office with her purse considerably lighter than when she had walked in."Your bill is $4,500 Miss Cohen, it is non-refundable and frankly your case will not be an easy one to crack; but I will do my absolute best." He had confidently promised."That much Mr. Jones and it also has to be non-refundable?" Rose had asked a little hesitant.That was nearly half the money she had gotten from Wayne. In fact, if not for his generosity, she would have been left with only $500 after footing this bill."I am afraid so Miss Cohen. Another reason the previous private investigators were not able to get anywhere with this case, is because your payment was too small. You should have realized by now that this case might simply not be solved in Manhattan. I will have to travel to Ohio for further investigation, so my travel expenses are to be considered.There will also be the matter of hotel bills and feeding; not to m
Wayne was glad to be in the office that Monday morning. He had spent the entire weekend thinking about Rose and needed to get her out of his head.He wondered if she had seen the money and letter he had typed out for her. He had made a quick call and arranged it all when he had gone back to his closet to get her the pair of slippers. He had sent a text message just before getting in the elevator to ensure that everything was set and going according to plan.He wondered if she had appreciated the money. He had thought about giving her more but had a feeling that she would have shown up at his house trying to return the money. It was a good sign that she had not come yet. Why had he even considered giving her more? Since when did he start freely handing out dollar bills which had not been requested for, by the way?Another annoying factor was that he was financing the search for the man who could get in his way if found. But he had to get her to tr
Wayne should have trusted his gut and known that there was an ulterior motive to this call. But he had let his guard down and had been deceived by her smooth conversation and her feigned harmless curiosity.He should have found a way to end this phone call a long time ago, but he knew that if he tried to do that now; she would accuse him of running away from the discussion. She would not be too far from the truth actually; he wanted nothing more than to run away from this conversation. But if this phone call ended unsatisfactorily then Maggie Blackstone would be on her way to Manhattan within the next hour."Mom, please do not start with this again." Wayne almost groaned in agony."Start with what Wayne?" Maggie innocently asked in a sweet voice."You know what I mean Mom. This talk about getting married and giving you grandbabies." Wayne said with a sigh."Oh, so you have been listening to what I've had to say for this past few
Wayne was not proud of what he had done, but he had really hated to hear his mother cry and not be able to do anything about it. Plus he had really needed her to give him a break.That lie about him having a serious girlfriend would get her off his back and give him space for at least a little while. She would find out eventually that he had lied or maybe he would have actually gotten a serious girlfriend by then; only time would tell.But he really needed to get back to work. A knock on the door drew his attention away from all those thoughts about grandbabies."Yes? Come in."Wayne was not surprised to see Ben Johnson holding a tray when the door was eventually opened. He brought his coffee like clockwork whenever he was in the office and always made it just the way he liked it."Good morning Sir, I have got your coffee right here. It's just the way you like it, light on the cream and two cubes of sugar." He said with a flourish as he c