Tangled

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!"