by Uc Amalu, Jr
CHAPTER TWENTY
Marla’s murder was still foremost on Jay’s mind as he
twisted the taps off and stepped out of the shower. He
grabbed for a towel and dried himself off before wrapping
it tightly around his hips. Maybe it was the fact that he
knew her that allowed her death to keep intruding upon
his thoughts. She wasn’t his first homicide case and she
probably wouldn’t be his last. It felt rather odd to Jay
that he had been at the scene of a crime all afternoon and
now, here he was preparing for a date. In what warped
existence does a person live with morbidity day in and day
out and then simply switch from the macabre to the
everyday run of life?
"No, not tonight! Tonight is not about murder and death.
It’s my night," he ordered himself to let go of his job for
one night.
Jay stooped down and buried his hand deep into the
furthest recesses of his bathroom cupboard. He was sure
he had some cologne stashed in there. Leaning in further
still, his arm now almost devoured by the cabinet, he felt
the old familiar shape of his bottle of 'Drive, For Men‛ after
shave. With a vice-like grip, he grabbed the bottle and
reefed it from the shelf, then untangled himself from the
midst of other personal hygiene products he’d tossed
about during the search. His feet kicked and shoved the
discarded items out from under him and he stood
proudly in front of the mirror, the spoils of his quest in
hand.
The lid popped off the bottle with a little gentle
persuasion and Jay immersed himself with the
contents, ensuring he covered every square inch from his
cheeks and ears all the way down to his navel. He threw
the cologne onto the vanity top and ran his hands across
his face, his fingers inspecting the closeness of his shave.
Tonight was the big night and he was going impress, he
wanted Danni and he wanted her to want him just as
much. He wasn’t sure of what would happen during their
date, but the one thing he was certain of. Tonight there
would be no sex, no going home with her, he wanted this
night to be different, special, and he was deter-mined it
would be.
A pair of blue denim jeans dangled from a hanger on his
robe door, he pulled them on and tucked in his steely
blue, dress shirt. He threaded a black, woven leather belt
through the holders in his jeans and fastened it with his
favourite oversized cowboy buckle. The damn thing was
nearly three inches squared and
weighed as much as Bill Gate’s bank balance, but Jay
liked it and wore it proudly. His trusty Redwings sat on
the floor before him, he eyed them momentarily and at
the last minute opted for his black lace up shoes instead.
He pulled them on and began to tie the laces into
perfectly neat bows.
"Shit!" he cried. His concentration had been such that he
had somehow managed to overlook one very important
item of clothing… His socks! Jay reprimanded himself
for acting so foolishly; he was only going on a date for
crying out loud. It wasn’t the first date he’d ever been on,
however it was the first date in a long time that he was
excited enough about to forget to dress himself properly.
He walked slowly to the bathroom mirror and studied his
appearance carefully, confident that all was as it should
be, he brushed his hair and sprayed his mouth with
breath freshener.
The neatly handwritten printing on the coaster Danni had
given him, read 14 Cloverdale Street. Jay stared at it
briefly admiring the structure of her letters and the way
she inserted a small circle over the top of the letter I in her
name, it was sweet. A little childish perhaps, but that may
be just what he needs, a fresh burst of enthusiasm to
kick-start his often morbid existence. All of a sudden it
occurred to Jay that he knew absolutely nothing about
her, he didn’t even know how old she was. She would
have to be at least eighteen he reasoned, other-wise she
couldn’t legally be working in a bar. Tonight he would find
out all about her. Jay pulled his phone from the charger
and began to stuff it in his pocket when it started ringing.
"Yeah, Marnotti."
"Jay. It’s, Paula."
"Paula, glad to hear from ya. What did ya manage to dig
up for me?"
"A real surprise packet… lots of juicy tid bits for you to
sink your teeth into actually. I think your going to like it."
"What can I say, you’re a real dirt hound…"
"I’ll take that as a compliment shall I?" said Paula,
laughing.
"I guess you can."
"Anyway, Jayy. I dropped by the station house today,
thought I’d save you coming to me."
"You didn’t leave it in plain view did ya?" He asked, his
panic rising.
"Hell no! What do you take me for? This is on the hush
remember? I’m looking after my own ass here too you
know."
"Good girl, I knew I could count on you." Jay relaxed a
little and drew back on his cigarette. "So where can I find
this fountain of knowledge then?"
"I still have it with me. I thought we might meet tomorrow
sometime and discuss it?"
Jay thought for a moment. "Sure, why not. Where and
what time, Paula?" He asked.
"How does 11.30 at Café Cino fit for you?"
"Yeah, should be able to do that. I got an autopsy first up,
but I can meet ya right after."
"Great, you have my number?"
"I sure do, I’ll give you a call when I’m done." He hung up
the phone.
Jay smiled a knowing smile, this would bring about
Anna’s day of reckoning. Although Paula hadn’t said
much to him, he could tell that whatever she found was
definitely going to be pay dirt. He tucked the phone into
his pocket and grabbing his suede jacket from the end of
the bed, headed to his car. He would deal with Anna
tomorrow. Tonight was for him and Danni.
His cruiser came to rest noisily in front of a cream
coloured cottage. It’s green trim and guttering reminded
him of the cute little ocean-side huts he’d once stayed in
while holidaying with mates from uni. He looked at it,
wondering if she was renting it or if she owned it. Not that
he cared, but if it was hers he could already see about half
a dozen things he would have to do to the place in order
to make it 'safe‛. The camphor laurel tree that butted up
against the side window would need to be trimmed,
security screens would need to be installed and the stack
of pavers next to the steps would definitely have to go.
This house was just crying to be broken into and all the
tools to do so were easily accessible. Jay flipped down
the visor and gave himself one last look over in the mirror
before he walked to the door.
The pathway was unsteady beneath his feet and he almost
lost his footing twice, the paver
s he had seen beside the
steps were obviously waiting to replace the loose ones.
"Hi there." Danni’s voice pulled his attention away from
the paving.
Jay looked up and was greeted with the most beautiful
sight he had ever laid his eyes upon. Her blonde curls fell
casually over her naked shoulders; her full lips were
coated with pale mauve lip-gloss and those eyes… They
were the deepest brown he had ever seen.
"Hey," he managed with a pleased smile. In an attempt to
play down his awe, he quickly commented on her house.
"Nice digs… yours?"
She looked around her, nodding. "Sure is, and all eight
hundred square meters of ground it sits on!"
Jay kept staring at her, but said nothing.
"Well technically the bank owns it."
"Yeah, blood thirsty savages that they are. Mine too."
"What?" Her confusion was obvious.
"The bank… They own mine too."
"Oh, yeah." A nervous laugh escaped her.
He surveyed the yard again, clicking his tongue and
turning in half circles.
Danni followed his lead and looked around her,
bewilderment in her eyes. "Something wrong?" she asked.
"More than you realise," he replied, still turning and
scanning.
"I know the lawns and gardens are a little overgrown, but
I’m getting to it."
"You really have no idea do ya?" he blurted out.
She stared at him, stupefied.
"Danni, this yard is just full of possibilities for a would-be
intruder." He walked over to the pavers and threw one up
in the air, catching it again and holding it up to her. "See
these? They are perfect for smashing windows and locks."
Next he motioned her to the camphor laurel tree around
the side. "Please tell me this isn’t your bedroom here?" He
said, pointing to the window.
She nodded.
He made a tisk-tisk sound with his tongue and shook his
head.
"What?" she asked, still looking confused.
"This tree, it’s as good as a ladder to get in there… It’s a
bloody welcome mat for cryin’ out loud!"
"Stop it, Jay, you’re scaring me." her words trembling as
she said them.
"Scared is good, well a little bit scared anyway… It keeps
you alert and on your toes. You just can’t be too careful
Danni."
She rubbed her hands up and down her arms and
nodded. She walked behind him as he made his way back
to the pathway.
"Looks like we’ve got some work to do, doesn’t it?"
Her eyes rested on his and she tilted her head in
agreement.
"Well…" he held out his hand. "You ready then?"
"As I’ll ever be." she returned to the front door, twisted the
key and then pushed back hard against the door to
ensure it was properly locked. "Let’s go."
She walked down the front steps and took his hand.
Jay walked around to the drivers side door and got in, to
his surprise Danni simply stood on the footpath gawking
at his cruiser.
"You’ve got to be kidding?" her jaw hit the ground.
"What? Sumthin wrong with my car?" It suddenly dawned
on him that she had never seen his car before now. Both
times they had left Bluey’s together, he had been too
drunk to drive and so they had caught a taxi. Panic filled
him, maybe she wasn’t his type after all, if she didn’t like
his cruiser then she wasn’t the girl for him.
"I love these machines!" she clapped her hands on her
thighs and squealed in delight before pulling the door
open and jumping in beside him. "Wow, it’s even got a
holy shit bar."
"A what?"
"A holy shit bar," she cried as she grabbed onto the thick,
foam clad, metal bar above the dashboard. "I adore these
things. My brother and I had an old cruiser on the farm
when we were kids and we’d drive around the muddy
paddocks from daylight till dusk, just chucking do-nuts
and trying to get bogged! All the while I’d be hanging on
to this thing for dear life and screaming holy shit."
Jay roared laughing, slapping his hands against the
steering wheel he said, "Danni, you truly are a breath of
fresh air!" He fired up the engine and pulled out into the
street still chuckling to himself.
They drove for a few minutes, Jay looked at Danni and
smirked wickedly, she smiled a little apprehensively and
looked at her knees and then finally out the window.
"Everything ok?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine." Her smile wasn’t convincing.
In a desperate bid to liven the mood, he pulled his cd
wallet out from between the seats and threw it to Danni.
"See anything you like?"
She opened the dusty leather case and be-gan scanning
the array of various discs he had on offer.
"Keith Urban, Slim Dusty, Adam Brand… What are you a
country buff?" She turned to him and shot him her most
dazzling smile. "Garth Brooks… Now there’s a country
man I just go crazy over." She slid the disc out of the case
and handed it to Jay.
He pushed the CD into the player and turned the volume
up a little. It impressed him that she hadn’t given him the
big spiel about how country music is dead and only hicks
listen to that stuff. He liked her more and more with each
passing minute. She zipped the case up and placed it
back between the seats, then reached over and turned the
volume up another few notches.
"So, where are we off to this evening?"
Jay ran his eyes over her body, her breasts filled out her
off the shoulder blouse perfectly and her faded denim
jeans couldn’t have fit her shapely legs any better if he
wanted them to.
"Well the way you’re dressed, I know where I wanna take
you!"
She bowed her head and covered her eyes with her hands,
disguising her embarrassment. "Behave will you?"
"I thought we’d do something a bit different."
"Really?" she stared at him, clearly puzzled. "And what
would that be? Macca’s by moonlight?"
"What a bloody brilliant idea!" Jay swung the cruiser into
the right hand lane and spun the cruiser into a U-Turn,
heading back the way they had just come. His smile grew
broader when he flicked on his indicator and turned left
into Bank Street, then right onto Hogan Avenue and
finally turning into the McDonalds drive-thru.
Danni laughed so hard she nearly cried. "You are a bloody
classic," she choked out between her fits of hysterics.
Jay rolled his eyes at her fit of the giggles and pulled up
to the cashier at the orders window. The attendant stared
down at him and said, "Hi and welcome to McDonalds,
what would you like to order?"
"I’ll have a Big Mac, large fries, large coke, two apple pies
and…" He returned to Danni who was by now laughing so
much she couldn’t have said a word even if she wanted to.
"And she’ll have a Happy Meal!"
The cas
hier leaned in towards the cruiser and stared
blankly at the passenger inside, he blinked stupidly at her
once or twice, looked back at Jay and simply said, "That’ll
be $18.60 thanks, proceed to the next window and enjoy
your night."
Jay handed over the money and rolled down to the next
window where their order was waiting. He took the bag
from the young girl behind the counter and thanked her
before speeding off with his passenger still rolling around
beside him in fits of laughter.
Ten minutes later Jay pulled into the parking bay of the
best lookout in town. "Here we are," he said pulling the
parking break on and killing the engine. Danni glanced
out the window and fell silent.
"What do ya think?" he asked, concerned she was no
longer laughing or talking.
She gazed from left to right and back again; she pushed
open her door and jumped down from the cruiser. Jay
followed her, placing their dinner on the bonnet of the car.
"Oh Jay, it’s breath taking!"
The pitch-black sky was like an endless black hole covered
by a dazzling blanket of glittering stars. Below them lay
Showsdale, the shimmering city lights cast their glow
upwards into the air, meeting with the stars and the great
blackness of the night. The result was a cascade of
illumination the likes of which Danni had never seen
before. She stood quietly, her head tilted toward the stars.
Jay was overwhelmed with the urge to take her in his
arms, but held back. He promised himself that tonight
was going to be a strictly ‚hands off‛ affair.
"Glad you like it. It cost me a fortune paying those
astronauts to hang all them light bulbs up there for ya
like that. A man’s gotta work into retirement to pay for it
now!"
Danni giggled and threw herself into his arms. "Thank
you, this is just so beautiful." She planted a kiss gently on
his cheek.
"How about some dinner music?" he wiggled away from
her and returned to the cruiser.
"Sure, sounds great," she replied, following him and
wrapping her arms around him once more.
He patted her hands and left her embrace yet again. A
worried look crossed her face.
"Is everything ok Jay… With us, I mean?"
He looked back at her and began setting their dinner out
on the bonnet. "Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?"
"The way you pulled away from me just now, I thought…"
Jay grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to him.
"Everything is just perfect, in fact it couldn’t be better. I
just wanted tonight to be about us y’know, not about the
sex and the flings we’ve had in the past. Fresh start with a
clean slate."
Danni smiled sweetly at him.
He stepped back and grabbed her Happy Meal, handing it
to her he said, "Bon appetite giggle-pot!"
Throwing the last of the rubbish into a bag, Jay lifted
Danni onto the bonnet of his cruiser and then pulled
himself up beside her. She snuggled up beside him and
melted into him. She smelled so good that he wanted to
tear her clothes off just to get closer to her, but he had
promised himself that would not happen, not tonight.
"Are you cold?" he asked her, rubbing his hands up and
down her arms.
"A little, but I’m ok." she nuzzled deeper into him.
"I’ve got a blanket if ya want?"
"Thanks, but I’m fine really. Just stay with me… don’t
move."
He hugged her tighter and kissed her on the top of the
head. Without warning she burst into tears and began
rambling incoherently. "Oh Jay, I’m so sorry… so, so
sorry."
He sat forward and held her arms trying to look into her
eyes. "What are you talking about, Danni what’s wrong?"
"I didn’t want for this to happen… I don’t know how…"
Jay jumped from the bonnet and lifted her down and
into his arms. Cradling her he brushed the hair from her
face and spoke again. "What are you talking about? Didn’t
mean for what to happen?"
She looked at him through her tears and tried to speak,
again nothing would come out properly. "If I knew… You
don’t have to do anything… I don’t expect…"
"Danni! Calm down and talk to me."
Jay shook her gently hoping she would snap out of the
stupor she had entered into. He couldn’t understand what
was happening; he thought the date was going great and
then… this. He wondered if he had offended her more
than he meant to when he pulled away from her before.
Surely that couldn’t be it, there had to be more than that
to set her off like this. Most women would be grateful for a
man who wanted to get to know them and not just jump
into the sack with them. No something was definitely off.
Danni broke free of him and ran to a small wooden bench
seat a couple of feet away. With her back still facing Jay,
she stood there staring at the lights without saying a
word before eventually sitting down. The tears kept
flowing from her eyes; there was no stopping them. After
grabbing the blanket from the cruiser, Jay walked over
and spread it across her shoulders. She wrapped it tightly
around herself and whispered "Thank you."
"I don’t understand what’s going on here Danni," he
crouched down in front of her. "Now I know I’m not the
brightest bulb on the shelf but I don’t think I did anything
wrong, did I?"
She shook her head, then wiped away her tears. "No, it’s
not you…"
"The Macca’s… Tell me it wasn’t the Macca’s." he growled to
himself in disgust. "I promise next time we’ll…"
"It’s not you, it’s not the Macca’s, it’s not this perfect view
or this wonderful date," she stalled.
"Then please, tell me what I’m doing wrong?" His blue
eyes pleaded with her to help him understand what was
happening.
"I’m pregnant," she whispered. Sighing deeply she
lowered her eyes to the ground.
Jay’s jaw fell open and for the first time ever he was
speechless.
"Don’t worry, I don’t expect you to do anything. It’s ok."
He crawled up onto the bench and sat be-side her, the
shock still gripping him.
"Fred’s party?" he managed to ask.
"Yes, Fred’s party."
Reaching over, he put his arm around her and squeezed
her tight. In an instant all the visions of Kylie-Anne
Saunders flashed before his eyes. The ravaged breasts,
the gaping stomach, the stolen foetus. His visions gave
way to panic, what if Danni was one of his victims? What if
his baby was ripped from her womb? His embrace grew
tighter and he leaned his head against hers. Jay had
never quite known fear as he knew it now.
"How far does that mean you are then?" he choked out.
"Not too far gone, there’s still plenty of time."
"Plenty of time for what?" he turned and faced her.
She stared at hi
m expressionless.
"A termination?" he pushed her to answer.
"Yes."
Jay jumped from the bench and strode onto the grass
before turning and looking her squarely in the eye.
"Absolutely not!"
Danni was too stunned by his reaction to respond. Jay
began pacing back and forth on the grass in front of her
like a caged animal searching for a way out.
"No woman of mine is gonna terminate my baby," he
blurted out.
"Your baby Jay?" she echoed back to him.
"Our baby then. I don’t believe in it… I won’t let ya do it."
Danni couldn’t believe what she was hearing. "What about
me? What say do I get in this?"
Jay stopped and looked down at her sit-ting there, her
eyes filled with fear, her face stained with tears. "Look, I’m
sorry ok, I am… But I don’t want you to get an abortion
Danni. Surely we can do this?"
"Do what? Raise a child?"
"Well yeah, why not? How hard can it be? My parents
raised me and I turned out alright." He held his arms out
in a display of look and see.
The very sight of him standing there tell-ing her how his
parents managed to raise him without defect struck a
chord of humour in Danni, without meaning to or
wanting to, she broke out into a fit of laughter. Jay was
taken aback. He just couldn’t understand her. One minute
she’s crying the next she’s laughing, and then she’s crying
again. Man this girl mystified him. Kneeling down in front
of her, he took her hand in his and tried again.
"Danni, I know we’ve only just started to date and it’s real
quick and all, but I really think we can do this."
She just blinked at him, words evaded her.
"I’m not talking marriage or any of that horseshit yet, I’m
just saying that I think if you’re willing to give it a go…
Then so am I."
"Good God, you’re serious?"
"Damn straight I am." he thought for a moment then
continued. "I’m not sayin we have to jump straight into
any heavy stuff right away, take it slow like two people do
when they are startin out…"
"Most people don’t start off pregnant and work their way
back Jay."
"Maybe not, that’s just a technicality anyway and we’re not
most people are we?"
Danni thought about his proposal. "You really want to do
this?"
Jay walked back to the bench and lifted her up and into
his arms, he kissed her lips and said, "Bring it on!"