She flipped the card over. There was a Johnny Cash stamp and just one line. ‘Jess, It’s a good time for a vacation.’ The postmark was smeared across Johnny Cash’s face. She figured it was a warning and that Jess had stuck it back in his mailbox after he read it. She replaced the postcard, too, then relocked the mailbox.
Aisha thought about all of this while she made herself an omelette, chopping the tomato, onion and yellow peppers on her butcher’s block. She turned on the local news as she ate, wondering if she’d hear anything about Jess, but she kept thinking about the hand. Around 9pm, Aisha heard heavy footsteps in the hall. Looking out her peephole she recognised Mr. Bass and Mr. Pike. They were accompanied by another man. He was as pale and damp as his companions, but he was easily twice their size. He wore a dark green suit with sleeves that were too short and a black tie. He thumped heavily down the hall, hunching to keep his head from hitting the evenly spaced ceiling light fixtures. Mr. Pike wiped his face with a stained handkerchief as they passed. She stood by the door, as quietly as she could and listened. There was a thump and a crack down the hall as they forced Jess’ door open, then quiet as they presumably searched his room. Aisha slipped a filleting knife from the magnetic strip above the butcher’s block and moved quietly back to the door. A few minutes later, she heard murmuring in the hall, but she could not make out what the men said. Mr. Bass started knocking on apartment doors. Aisha heard Mr. Bass inquiring after her when a tenant opened the door to them. She heard the tenant say he had never seen her before. Mr. Bass wished her neighbour a good night. Mr. Pike knocked on the door next to hers. No answer. A few seconds later Mr. Bass knocked on the door across the hall. Before she moved flat against the wall, Aisha could see Mr. Bass’ smile as he turned to her door. He knocked hard three times. She felt them listening and exhorted herself, ‘Keep breathing. Keep breathing. If you stop breathing, you’re fucked.’ Then she heard police sirens. They were coming closer, headed towards the complex. Mr. Bass and his companions hurried to the stairwell. She listened as the huge man’s steps boomed down the stairs and echoed into the hall. Aisha’s hand was so tight on the handle of the knife her arm ached all the way down.
Aisha gave the police her report. She told them about feeding Jess’ fish. She told them about them about the men surprising her in Jess’ apartment. She told them that she thought the same men had broken down Jess’ door. She did not tell the police about the hand in Jess’ freezer or that she decked one Mr. Pike.
Her phone buzzed on her nightstand, waking Aisha at three a. m. ‘Unknown number,’ the screen read. Aisha waited, not even touching the phone. And she watched as a new voice message appeared. She picked up the phone and listened. ‘We must talk, Miss Murphy,’ Mr. Bass said. ‘We have urgent business concerning our mutual friend.’
‘Goddammit.’ Trying to decide what to do, Aisha fell asleep tangled in a blanket on her couch with her clothes on and the knife and the hand on the coffee table in front of her.
A hard knock on the door woke her next morning. She covered the hand with the blanket, grabbed her butcher knife and peered out the peephole. It was Jess.
‘Aisha, I know I owe you money, but you don’t need a knife.’ Jess held up his hands and tried his smile on her.
‘Get in here, you asshole.’ Aisha said. ‘Who are they? What is that hand?’
‘Who are who? What is what?’ Jess asked, standing in her kitchen while she closed and locked the door behind him. ‘Got anything to drink?’
‘Mr. Bass and Mr. Pike and their big goon. What is that fucking hand you left in the freezer?’
Jess was quiet for a moment. ‘I didn’t think they’d bother you.’
‘They bother me a lot, Jess.’
‘If you’d just stuck to feeding the fish, you’d be fine, Aisha.’ Jess went and sat on Aisha’s couch.
‘I don’t think so. Besides you left me that other note.’ Jess watched as Aisha put the knife back on the magnetic strip in her kitchen.
‘What other note?’
Aisha leaned against the kitchen counter and glared across the room at Jess. ‘The one about the brine shrimp. The brine shrimp that you had right in front of the weird, creepy hand you keep in your freezer.’
‘Oh, that note.’
‘What was I supposed to think? What were you thinking?’
‘Well, I guess I thought if worst came to worst, you’d hold my hand,’ he shot her a winning smile.
‘Fucking hell, now is not the time for charm, Jess. There are men, scary men. They kicked down your door. They got my phone number and I’m pretty sure that they want something from you.’
‘What makes you think that?’
‘Because they told me to tell you they were looking for you. Mr. Bass and Mr. Pike are looking for you. They say there is time to come to mutually beneficial agreement. I wouldn’t believe them. They have a really large friend and they kicked in your door last night.’ Aisha walked over to the table, threw the blanket off the hand and tossed the hand next to Jess. ‘I assume it has something to do with this. What is it? Wait, do I want to know what it is? Is this a kid’s hand? It better not be a kid’s hand. I don’t need to be involved in that kind of shit. I don’t need to be involved in any kind of shit. I was neighbourly, but that doesn’t mean you can involve me in your weird, kid hand cult.’
‘It’s a weird hand.’
‘Yes, it is.’
‘I think it might need to be refrigerated.’
‘Maybe you could’ve left me a note. ‘Refrigerate creepy hand.’’ Aisha folded her arms and continued to glare at Jess. ‘Maybe you could’ve taken your goddamn creepy hand with you.’
‘Look, I felt bad so I came back for it and the fish.’ Jess leaned forward looked as earnest as he could. ‘And you, if you want to come.’
‘I’m keeping the fish.’ Aisha sat down heavily in her favourite green chair. ‘Just tell me what’s going on.’
‘Five years ago, I was working in a shady pawn shop.’
‘All pawn shops are shady.’
‘It was a step up for me. I wasn’t always the paragon you know now, providing pet owners with the finest quality food and toys, cleaning tanks every night and keeping fish ick-free.’ Jess shook some food into the fish tank. ‘I had no responsibilities, no mouths to feed no matter how small and gaping.’
‘Jess...’ Aisha said.
Jess put the food shaker back down. ‘I was a thirty-six year old thief and a con man. Getting a straight job wasn’t easy. I didn’t have any references and my professional accomplishments weren’t accepted as such in polite society.’
‘So you took a job at a shadier than usual pawn shop.’ Aisha watched the ripples the fish made on the surface of the water.
‘At first, I thought it was the usual deal—some fencing, grey market items and a lot of desperate people selling their dreams and hoping to buy them back.’ He leaned back against the couch. ‘That got to me more than I would’ve thought.’
‘Congratulations, you’ve got a conscience.’
‘You are a grumpy woman, Aisha. Anyone ever tell you that?’
‘You haven’t seen grumpy, Jess,’ Aisha said, all her weariness in her voice.
Jess sighed, letting all the air out of his chest and looked sad and worn out. ‘I worked the cash. It was surrounded with bulletproof Plexiglas with a little sliding door to take people’s merch and hand them their cash. I didn’t handle anything shadier than buying some poor guy’s wedding ring. At first I was glad that it was a pretty clean job, but I started to notice the place was weird. They had all this jewellery—disturbing jewellery—locked up in the back room. And Pike, the boss, was always working on these gadgets he made from parts he pulled out of electronics people sold us. He had this cache of stuff he’d gotten from an abandoned Radio Shack. He wore the same suit every day and sweated all the time. He was constantly wiping his face and n
eck with a handkerchief. And the owner’s hand... I shook hands once. It was like touching jelly fish.’ Jess shook himself. ‘The shop had a security guard, Hugo. He was almost seven feet tall and God knows how much he weighed. All muscle. I saw big guys, biker guys, hit him smack in the skull and Hugo didn’t even wince. He didn’t even move. They might as well have smacked a garbage truck. Hugo stood for hours and never said a thing. I know this is going to sound crazy, but he never blinked either. He had these bulging eyes and he’d just stare at nothing.’
Jess stared at the fish again. The betta nipping at a guppy’s blood red tail.
‘One day, a man wearing a nice dark blue pinstripe suit, sunglasses, surgical mask and a fedora came into the shop. He had a massive plastic and leather neck brace. Old fashioned medical prosthesis that started below his shirt and came so high that it actually touched his hat at the sides. I had a really bad feeling about him. Really bad. I was about to hit the panic button, but Hugo stood aside and let the guy in. He had a green leather case with a complicated brass latch. There was writing all over the case. Not a script I’ve ever seen and in my bad old days I dealt in some antiquities. And, Aisha, it seemed to squirm. The words moved. I thought I was just tired. I’d been working twelve-hour shifts.’
Aisha nodded, so Jess continued. ‘He started to unlatch it in front of me, but Mr. Pike shoved me aside and hurried the man into the back room. I was curious. I don’t know why. It kind of ate at me, wondering what was in it that I couldn’t see. Half the reason I became a thief was plain curiosity. I wanted to know what people had, what they were doing, what their lives were like. But this was different. It felt like a compulsion. I’d close my eyes and I’d see indescribable... things.’ Jess laughed nervously. ‘I’d hear things. I think that’s why I tried burning the hand, just to make the whispering stop.’
He stood and walked to the sink to pour himself a glass of water.
‘I saw all the jewellery in the back—weird, lumpy, almost half-formed stuff. Some of it looked unfinished or like it had melted. Some of it just looked wrong. The proportions all off somehow, but not in a way I could explain. And it was all solid gold. There was a gold crown with spines on it as thick as my thumb. I’d never taken any of it. So what could be in the box that I couldn’t be trusted with? Pike and the owner, Mr. Bass, took Monday off. It was just me and the goon. So one Monday, I pretended I was putting something in the back just after lunch. Hugo had never followed me before, but there he was looming in the doorway while I tried to pick the lock on the box. ‘Mr. Bass,’ I shouted and pointed at the door, Hugo was so big he had to back out of the doorway to turn around. I slipped past him and took off out the front door. I was pulling out of the parking lot before he had even made it a few steps out of the store. I didn’t know what I had, but I knew that something bad would happen if they caught me. So I didn’t go back home, which was easy enough. Home at that time was a hotel room I rented by the week. I stayed in a motel by the highway that night. It took me a while, whenever I touched the case, it felt like something was crawling on my hands. You know, house centipedes?
‘Yeah.’
‘It felt like dozens of them on me. Once I opened it, I through the case away. I opened it at that motel, and saw the hand. At first, I thought it was a gaff, one of those props they used in carnivals? You know, like the Feejee Mermaid or a baby with two heads? But it doesn’t feel fake. I couldn’t sleep. I kept seeing that hand when I closed my eyes. When I slept, I heard the whispering. Terrible things. I stayed awake all night listening to rumble by and straining to hear if they’d found me. I emptied my bank account, found a job at Pet Town and an apartment here.’
‘Last night, the men who were looking for you had a big man with them.’
‘Hugo,’ Jess said.
‘You got rid of the case. Why’d you keep the hand?’
‘I don’t know. Curiosity? Compulsion? A desire to make sense of whatever the fuck happened in that shady ass store? I thought I could find out more about it. I’ve taken out every book I can find on aliens and the occult at the library. I’ve read every crazy conspiracy theory online. I still don’t know what it is. I tried destroying it, but when it was on fire... The flames were this nauseous purple. I saw things, disgusting things. And I heard this screaming, Aisha. So I doused it and when it was out, I was covered in vomit and blood. My own blood. My nails were broken from tearing at myself.’
Jess started tapping his fingers on the fish tank the fish fled to the other side. ‘I don’t think those gentlemen will leave us alone once they have the hand back.’
‘No, that’s not my impression either.’ Aisha stopped Jess tapping. ‘Leave them alone, Jess. Who sent you that postcard?’
‘What postcard?’
‘‘It’s time to take a vacation.’’
‘You broke into my mailbox? You read my mail?’
‘I was concerned.’
‘You care.’
‘Fuck you, Jess. You brought me and your fish a whole lot of trouble.’
‘There was another guy worked at the pawn shop besides me and the creepy guys. He was an old guy, an alcoholic struggling with the program. We weren’t friends, but we were friendly. He’s the only one I could think of who would warn me.’
‘How’d he know your address?’
‘He must’ve found out when they found out.’
‘How’d they find out?’
‘I don’t know. They have money. They have a whole room full of gold. Maybe they know people. Maybe they hired a detective. Maybe there’s something about the hand. I just wonder sometimes if they can feel it—feel through it...’
Aisha and Jess were silent a while. Then Aisha asked, ‘You didn’t call your friendly acquaintance?’
‘Just once. To make sure he was okay. I hung up when he answered.’
‘Oh, for fuck’s sake, Jess.’
‘He was a good guy. Well, not a good guy, but he was someone and they are...’
‘Frightening.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Yeah.’ Slipping the hand into her hoody pocket, Aisha stood up. ‘We need to go somewhere else. Let me get my keys and a change of clothes. You’re carrying the fish tank, I’ve schlepped it around enough.’
Ten minutes later, Aisha opened to the door to find Mr. Bass smiling at them with his right hand in his pocket again. Mr. Pike frowned beside him and the huge man loomed over both. The slight man was carrying a navy blue duffle bag, but Aisha kept her eyes on Mr. Bass’ unseen hand. Jess put the fish tank on the kitchen counter and tried to move in front of her.
‘Good morning. Mr. DiAngelo, you cannot know how gratified we are to see you. I happen to know Hugo is quite fond of you in his way.’ Mr. Bass turned slightly towards the huge man. Hugo’s round eyes bulged as he stared at Jess. Aisha started to push the door closed again, but Hugo placed one huge hand on the door and held it open with no effort. He had pale, almost green hands with remarkably long fingers. He was a study in circles, with a round head atop a round body. He hair covered his skull in a brown film. Mr. Bass entered the apartment and gestured to Hugo to close the door. Hugo loomed closer, eclipsing Mr. Pike. Aisha and Jess stepped back further into her apartment.
‘It seems only fair we should be compensated for our loss, don’t you think Mr. DiAngelo?’ Mr. Bass said genially, seating himself in Aisha’s favourite chair. ‘A hand for a hand. Not that your hand is comparable in value, but it is fair.’
‘I can get you money, if you’ll leave us alone,’ Jess said.
‘Financial remuneration is sometimes an acceptable compromise. In this instance, I am afraid it is not. But please do not concern yourself, we have no intention of bothering Ms. Murphy or you once our business has concluded. Though we would recommend you compensate Ms. Murphy for the inconvenience you have caused her,’ Mr. Bass said, his smile never wavering. ‘It is important that you understand that
we are not vengeful or unreasonable. We are interested in fairness and we only want what is ours, nothing more. You have wounded us, Mr. DiAngelo and so, though it pains us all, we must wound you.’
Mr. Pike took a plastic sheet from the duffle bag. ‘Do you mind?’ he said to Aisha. Aisha numbly carried the fish tank from the kitchen counter to her small desk near the back of the living room. She felt the hand hit her side as she walked. Mr. Pike covered the counter and floor with his tarp, Hugo lifted the butcher’s block on to the tarp near the sink. Jess backed towards her. Hugo followed, lumbering slowly across the floor. Aisha opened the plastic bag and held the hand over the fish tank. ‘We have your hand, Mr. Bass. We can return it. This doesn’t have to go any further.’
‘You certainly do, but I am sorry to say that it is too late. These things have a certain expiration date, sadly, as we all do.’ Mr. Bass allowed himself momentarily to take on a solemn expression before grinning broadly once more, ‘But every crisis is an opportunity, or so they say. And we have found our opportunity here. An invigorating infusion of fresh blood.’
Aisha tipped the bag so the hand began to slide toward the water. The fish swam towards the surface. ‘Let him go, or I swear I’ll use it to feed my fish.’
‘My fish,’ Jess said shakily.
‘Shut up, Jess.’
Hugo ignored her and reached for Jess. He easily overcame Jess’ panicked struggling. Mr. Bass said, ‘You are an admirable woman, but we must refuse your offer. We have been wronged and it must be made right.’
‘Fuck you, Mr. Bass. Fuck you all.’ Aisha let the hand slip from the bag into the fish tank.
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