by Uc Amalu, Jr
CHAPTER SEVEN
The sun shone through the cracks of the blinds in Jay’s
bedroom window, showering his face with broken rays of
blinding light. In a fruitless attempt to avoid the searing
glare, he pulled his pillow over his throbbing head and
rolled toward the opposite side of the bed. His body
brushed against a soft presence beside him. He opened
his eyes, trying hard to shift the cement that seemed to
be caked on his lids. Although his focus was blurred, he
could make out the figure of a woman lying there. Her
dusty blonde curls fell gently across her tanned skin, her
naked breast rising and falling in rhythm with her
breathing.
"Oh hell," He groaned, rubbing his hands over his face.
The woman rolled toward him and threw her arm across
his bare chest, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder.
She buried her face into his arm, nuzzling it like a kitten
nestling its mother. Jay stared down at her pretty face;
she looked so peaceful, safe in the folds of his body. He
couldn’t quite recall how she had come to be in his bed,
though he was certain she was the waitress from Bluey’s.
He ran his hand up her arm, taking in the softness of her
skin; the sweet smell of perfume radiated from her every
pore. His hand reached her slender arm and rested there
for a moment before he gripped her fingers and with one
rapid yank, threw her hand off his body.
"Wake up," He grunted, pushing her further away from
him.
The sudden jolt woke her with panic; her eyes flew open
and darted madly from one side of the room to the other,
searching for the source of her fright. Still breathing hard,
she glared over at Jay, a look of nonchalance on his face
as he watched her reaction with what appeared to be, a
certain aura of amusement.
"You asshole," She spat at him, grabbing for the sheet to
wrap around her naked frame. "I can’t believe I was stupid
enough to come home with you again!" She sat up on the
edge of the bed then reached down and retrieved her slip
and underwear from the floor beside the bed.
"Asshole eh? That’s not what you were calling me last
night!" He mocked her.
Her glare remained fixed on Jay while she pulled her
clothes on. It was clear she was inwardly chastising herself
for having been drawn into his fake charms last night.
"Go to hell," She cussed at him before grabbing her purse
from the bedside table and storming out the door.
"What… No kiss goodbye?" Jay yelled after her, laughter
in his tone. He liked her, quite a bit too. It was a rare
occurrence for him to bring the same woman home twice;
he knew he’d be seeing more of her. He heard the rattle of
the chain lock and then the cracking sound of the door
slamming shut behind her. "Have a nice day," He said,
before he stood and walked into the bathroom.
The whistle of the taps grew fainter the further Jay turned
them. Cold water gushed from the shower nozzle,
slapping him in the face and bringing his senses back to
life. The binge from the night before had left him feeling
less than prepared for the day that lay ahead. He now
wished that he hadn’t had quite so many Jimmy’s. Suds
lathered upon him, forming a stream of bubbles running
down his body and finally spilling onto the shower floor
before gurgling down the drain. Jay rinsed himself
thoroughly, snapped the taps off and stepped out of the
shower. He headed back to the bedroom, pulling a towel
from the railing and wrapping it around himself as he
went.
He reached into his robe and produced a fresh pair of
denim jeans and a plain cotton shirt, he threw them on
the bed and continued drying himself before dropping
the wet towel to the floor. Dressing quickly, he then ran
his fingers through his hair and left the bedroom. In the
kitchen, he brewed a large pot of coffee and downed three
unsweetened mugs. He then began flipping through his
notebook, looking to see if anything he had written
jumped out and grabbed his attention. There was nothing
at this stage that yelled to him, not that he thought it
would… after all, he’d had too much of a heavy night for
anything to call out to him today.
He still had the visit with the wellness clinic to look
forward to yet, boy that would be a hoot. From what Ben
had told him about the secretary and the Doctor there, he
was quite looking forward to zeroing in on them and
digging up their dirty little secrets. Today was probably
the best day for him to meet with them, being edgy and
short fused could be the clue to getting what he wanted
from them. One way or another, Jay was determined to
draw them out.
The chime of his wall clock echoed throughout his
apartment and indicated that it was eleven-thirty. He
glanced over at the bold, roman numerals on its face, they
reminded him just how much he despised that clock. It
had been a gift from his mother; she’d chosen it
especially for him and presented it to him when he
graduated from high school. Not that he didn’t appreciate
the gesture, but to Jay his mother’s taste left a lot to be
desired.
He chugged down one last mug of coffee and gathered
his notebook and case file from the kitchen bench. It was
time to make his presence known at the wellness clinic,
but first he would check in at the station and see if Jane
Doe’s autopsy report had come in. Jay snatched up his
keys and made his way out the door and into the garage.
His cruiser sprang to life with the first turn of the key, it’s
rumbling engine purring under Jay’s control. Easing out
of the garage and down the driveway, he changed gears
and sped off in the direction of the station house.
Jay found a parking space, locked the cruiser and fell
into the regular flow of pedestri-ans streaming through
the station house doors. Once inside, he approached his
desk and the mounting stack of paperwork that had been
steadily building for the past few weeks. The paperwork
and filing of it, had never been one of his strong points,
quite often his captain would chew his ear about getting
the formalities finalised. As usual, it hadn’t made a damn
bit of difference to Jay, he would get to it when he was
ready and not a minute before. 'Criminals ain’t caught
sittin’ behind a desk fillin’ out paperwork.' He had growled
back at his boss.
There on the top of his latest unfinished pile of papers,
sat a document wallet marked, 'Detective Jay Marnotti.' He
broke the plastic seal and reefed the contents out, spilling
them onto his desktop. A hand written note was attached
to the top sheet with a paperclip, it read
Jay,
Here’s Jane Doe’s report, hope you find something useful
in it. Nothing terribly groundbreak-ing in my findings,
r
emember it is just a preliminary report to get you
started. I am still awaiting the results on trace and
toxicology. Will let you know more, as I know. Hope the
photo helps with discovering her identity.
All the best,
Dr. Leon August.
He threw the note aside and turned straight to the report,
in search of the photo. Augie had given him two
Polaroid’s of Jane, one to keep for his records and one to
carry with him to show people in the hopes of someone
recog-nising her. So far nobody had a clue who she was,
something he was praying would change 102
soon. He stuffed the Polaroid into his pocket and tucked
the report under his arm; it was time to pay a visit to Dr.
Sugars.
Back in his cruiser, Jay placed the autopsy report in his
locker compartment under the front, passenger seat
before starting the engine and speeding away. Thoughts
ran through his mind, about Tessa, Jane Doe and Ben’s
portrayal of the wellness clinic. Could they be hiding
something? Was Tessa more to them than just a client?
Jay thought it odd that Dr. Sugars was reluctant to talk
with Ben about Tessa. Not too often did Ben feel that
someone was hiding something, so when he did feel that
way, Jay stood up and took notice. He may have been
right, Dr. Sugars could have simply been shocked by the
murder and needed time to digest the news, who knows?
Either way, Jay wasn’t going to go as easy on her as Ben
had, he was going to be like a pit bull with a new chew
toy. He wanted answers, he needed them… and now!
From where he was parked, Jay was surprised at the
presentation of the wellness clinic; it was not at all what
he had expected. Not that he knew what a termination
clinic looked like or was supposed to look like. Somehow,
what he saw was not what he had imagined. He took a few
moments to study Jane Doe’s photo again, her auburn
hair was shoulder length, thick and slightly wispy at the
ends. Her delicate features told Jay that she had most
likely been an attractive woman in life, however under the
current circumstances it was difficult to tell. She had
numerous holes in her ears, indicating multiple earrings
were usually worn and her teeth were white and straight.
Someone, some-where, knows this girl. All the signs
pointed to a woman who had looked after herself at some
stage, so she didn’t strike Jay as a long time, homeless
girl.
He slipped the picture back into his pocket and slid out
from behind the wheel of his car, slamming the door
closed behind him. His eyes lingered on the large brass
plaque, bolted to the marble column in front of the
building, 'Your Right Choose Wellness Clinic.' The glass
doors in front of him slid open as he walked up to them,
the pressure of their departure created a cool breeze
around his legs. Jay stepped inside and marched
straight up to the reception desk, armed with his police
I.D and a head full of questions.
"Can I help you Sir?" the woman behind the desk asked.
"More than you’ll ever know, my dear," Jay replied, just
dying for her to give him a reason to let loose.
The woman just looked at him vaguely for a second and
then said, "What in particular can I help you with?"
"Detective Marnotti."
"Excuse me?" the woman stared at him.
"What in particular can I help you with, Detective Marnotti?"
he answered, now more condescending than before.
The receptionist shot him a glare, letting him know in no
uncertain terms that he was getting on her last nerve. She
sucked in a deep breath, as if trying to remain calm and
then spoke once more. "Detective Marnotti you say?"
Jay nodded his head in agreement, the amusement
welling inside him.
"Then, how may I help you Detective Marnotti?" she drawled,
her patience now wearing very thin.
"Oh I was just in the neighbourhood, saw your light on…"
he joked.
"Look, if you have something important to say?" her eyes
bored into him with such intensity that he could almost
feel a hole burning through him.
"Otherwise, some of us have important work to do."
"Like killing babies?" the venom spewed from Jay.
"What a horrid thing to say Detective, you don’t know the
first thing about our clinic."
"You’re absolutely right… what did you say your name
was?"
"I didn’t."
"Then illuminate me would ya?" Jay drawled as
sarcastically as he could.
"Marla Andrews. Happy now?" she replied, her words
sharp.
"Now isn’t this pleasant, er… Marla?" he baited her some
more. "I always endeavour to be just that little bit more
personal with my interviewee’s."
"That’s the last thing I want to be with you, Detective!"
Jay could see that Marla was becoming annoyed, he
hoped that if he continued to harass her long enough,
that she would let him in to see Dr. Sugars more readily, if
for no other reason than to get rid of him. Apart from
enjoying being tactless on a daily basis, Jay knew it was
usually the best way to extract maximum information in
the shortest possible time. The best part was, he actually
got paid to behave that way!
Marla stood up and leaned in close to Jay, her striking
eyes glued intently on his. "Why don’t you stop beating
around the bush Detective? If there’s something you want,
spit it out" The ice of her words sent their conversation
into an entirely different direction.
"Actually Marla…" Jay began. "I wanna know why one of
your clients was murdered and why you and your boss
lady aren’t bein’ straight with me and my buddy?" he
returned her coolness, studying her reaction with great
interest.
She leaned in closer to him, glanced briefly over his
shoulder and into the waiting room, then said, "I thought
you, of all people, would know how dangerous it is to run
around accusing people of something before you have
evidence to back it up."
"Accusing?" Jay held her stare. "I ain't accusing you of
anything, but since you brought the subject up… do you
know anything about Tessa Hunt’s murder?"
She made no effort to reply; her fixed glare told him that
she had no intention of replying either.
Jay pulled out his notebook; he thumbed through the
pages casually, shifting his eyes back to Marla every so
often. "Tessa’s murder, there’s things about it… terrible
things."
She retreated back somewhat but still said nothing.
Jay continued, "The brutality, the slicin’ and dicin’ that
was done to her, not a pretty sight. The mutilation,
Marla… oh, just awful. Here," Jay gestured to his
notebook. "You wanna see for yourself?"
Marla fell backward into her chair. "Detective please, get
that away from me."
At last he
had managed to make her crumble, now he
might get some answers from her.
"Listen Marla, just tell me what you know and get the big
boss lady to talk to me, then I’ll leave ya alone." He
softened his tone but remained firm.
"Honestly Detective… I don’t know anything." She hung
her head and rested it in her hands. "Tessa was just a
client, like any other client. She came in, went through the
process and left. That’s all I know."
"The process, what’s that mean?" he pried her some more.
"They come in, meet with Dr. Sugars, she explains the
procedure…"
"The baby killin’?" Jay interrupted.
She looked up at him and rolled her eyes, his terminology
less than desirable to her. "The termination procedure,
yes."
"Then what?"
"Then I accompany them to a small office behind me," she
pointed to a door just behind her, "Then I speak to them
about alternative choices, give them some handout’s and
explain to them that we have a mandatory two week
waiting period in which time they must speak to our
affiliated counsellor."
"And who is that? Your affiliated counsellor."
Marla searched through her desk and produced a glossy
business card with bold, italic printing on the front. She
handed it to him.
Anna Jameson- Counsellor.
Jay simply stared at it, his eyes wide in surprise. "This is
your regular counsellor?" He asked.
"Yes, that’s right."
"How long has she been working with ya’s?"
"For nearly twelve months now, I guess," Marla replied.
He tucked the business card into his notebook and
continued questioning Marla about Tessa Hunt. "And
what decision did she make?"
"Detective, you know that’s all confidential," she sighed,
knowing full well he was going to keep pushing her
anyhow.
"Well how much confidence has she got now Marla? She’s
dead!"
"Look, all I can tell you is that she asked for more time to
make her decision and work through her other options."
"And what options are they?"
"Adoption, motherhood…"
"So she hadn’t made a firm choice to kill her baby yet?"
"Would you stop saying it like that? These women come
here looking for help when they are in a particularly
vulnerable state and the last thing they need is
judgement Detective." Marla’s tone became icy again.
"Unless you are ever in their position, you have no idea
what they are going through, so just back off!"
"Why Marla, is that compassion I hear in your words?" he
taunted her.
"You, like so many people, will never understand how
terrifying it can be to be pregnant and know that you will
be emotionally or financially unable to raise the child
successfully. Sometimes the alternative to raising a child
in this world is kinder."
Her words ran through Jay’s head. He couldn’t help but
disagree with the whole abortion issue on a personal
level. He could never entertain the idea of killing his own
child, he simply wouldn’t allow it. Children are a gift and
should be treated as such.
"So what did she decide Marla?"
"All I know is, she scheduled a termina-tion and then
phoned to ask for more time to consider it."
"So you think she was gonna have the kid"
"That was my impression, and as I say, my impression. I
never knew for sure and I guess now we never will."
"The father?" Jay pried on.
"Now that, I definitely can’t help you with Detective. I have
absolutely no idea. She never discussed him with me.
Perhaps the counsellor can give you the insight you
need."
"Perhaps you’re right Marla."
She looked at him, a snakey smile forming at the corners
of her mouth, "I’m sure she’d be simply delighted to meet
you."
Jay chortled at her attempted humour, he did actually
find it amusing.
"One final question for you before I see the boss lady…"
"Oh you can’t see Dr. Sugars," she cut him off. "She’s not
to be disturbed today, paperwork overload, you know how
it is."
"Now Marla, I know you wouldn’t like me to hang around
your desk all day, scaring your customers off. How would
it be for busi-ness if a cop was hangin’ around shouting
about how you’re violating the commandment Though
Shalt Not Kill?"
"Okay, okay… what’s your final question? Then I will ask if
Dr. Sugars can spare you a few minutes.‛"
"I just knew you’d come around." He produced the picture
of Jane Doe and placed it face up on the counter in front of
her. "Do you know this woman?"