The 4 of cups seems surprised to see me
Sep. 16th, 2020 06:53 pmChapter 4
First step would have to be MIchael Arlington- I knew exactly where he would be- his dad’s office.
Michael had been lucky to be a senior the year before the world went to hell.He graduated, and was able to go off to college, and really have a college experience. I remember running into him at a new year’s eve party, that year he was a college man and I was a 10th grader. Before the plague, the riots, the war, he lived in a dorm and went to class, like they did in the movies.
He managed to get his degree, even when the world did fall apart, and came back to work at his dad’s insurance office. He had probably hoped to get out of P-Town, just like Kaisa, but stability is attractive.
I rang the bell at the office, and looked around. The parking lot was empty, except for an old electric toyota.Yet there was no bike rack. Why would you have a business in this day and age, in this town, and not expect people to bring their bikes?
The bell hanging on the door handle jingled, and I am surprised to see Michael himself open the door. “Hi, can I help you?”
“Yeah. Hi, Michael, right? I don’t know if you recognize me. I’m Willow. We were in the Round Table together, but I was a Freshman and you were…”
“He blinks...then things shift into place. “Oh, yeah. Willow. Your folks do real estate?”
“Just my mom really.”
“Of course.” I can’t tell if he is shifting into sales mode, or if he really recognizes me. Whatever, it doesn’t much matter. I want to know how much he knows. “Come in, come in. What can I help you with?”
Now that I was here, facing him in his office, I wasn’t sure what to say. Biking over, I was ready to grill him about what he knew about Kaisa’s death, but he just seems so bland, so nice.
The thing about biking everywhere, is that while you’re biking you feel nice and cool, because of the wind, but then when you get off, you start to sweat. I realized I was red faced and sweaty, which is maybe not the look I should go for as I interrogate an old boyfriend. Crush? Something…
“Would you like some water?”
“Yes, please.” he went over to a water cooler, and got a copper mug from the shelf next to it. He filled it and brought it over. As I watched him, I felt my heart slow down, and noticed he had a glow. Not green like Bobby’s, but just a pale light, that was visible on bare skin, his arms up to the sleeves of his polo shirt, and his face and neck. It came out from him maybe half an inch. So it wasn’t just Bobby- but was it just young men? That was weird.
But, it wasn’t why I was here.
I decide to start delicately. “Were you aware of the body they found in the lake?”
“So terrible, I mean these people on paddleboards- they think it isn’t deep and they don’t need a life jacket, but it’s so risky.”
“Wait, what? No, the guy who found her was on a paddleboard, but...did you know it was Kaisa Tagliaferro that they found?”
“Kaisa?” he was shocked. It wasn’t fake- his face got red, and the glow, the aura changed, too, the swirls began to move faster, like I was seeing his brain move as he tried to understand it. “But she moved to California, or somewhere. And her family- why would she come here to paddleboard? Was she on vacation?”
What a dummy- somehow he had gotten fixated on the paddleboard, which was from the guy who found the body, Dan somebody… wait, how did I know the name Dan? I shook my head.
“No, Kaisa wasn’t on the board, she was just found in the water. The police think she might have been murdered.”
“Why are you asking about it? You don’t work for them?”
“No.” he was shutting down now, suspicious. I waited an instant, listening for another name, or a thought in my head that wasn’t mine. Nothing. “No, of course I don’t work for the cops. Gross. But Kaisa was my friend. I want to know what happened.” I was about ready to cry, but I didn’t want him to see that. I took a sip of water. “I don’t really trust the cops to figure it out. They’ll use the path of least resistance, declare it solved and move on to the next riot, you know?”
“Until you walked in, I didn’t know she was dead. You have to believe me.” he was sad.
“You went out with her…” I began, and he shook his head, laughed a little…”I know, a lot of people can say that. Do you know...can you think of anyone who would want to hurt her?”
“High school. I mean, there was a lot of drama, but we didn’t break up bad, we were ok with each other, I thought, and it seemed like everyone else she was with was ok- she was a free spirit. And times being what they were, everybody thought it was the end of the world anyway. We were all blackout drunk all the time, at least I was. Why hold a grudge?”
“Yeah. I guess.” I sipped my water again. I had been younger, so I was on the outside looking in, but even I had partied and slept around, waiting for the next terrible thing to happen, sneaking around, not letting my parents know where I was.
“Who else have you talked to?”
“No one, you’re the first, because I knew where to find you.”
“You think he’s the logical suspect?”
“Well, he had contact with Kaisa since she moved- he visited her in California, I can see a crime of passion, maybe? I don’t know. It’s hard to believe she’s dead.” He wrote an address on a card. “You might have to knock a long time- he sleeps most of the day.”
I thanked Michael and stood up to go.
“Hey, Willow?”
“Yeah?”
“We never... did we ever get together? You know, in the ‘times being what they were’ times?” his aura was high again, he was stressed- he really couldn’t recall.
“Nah…” That was almost true
I watched the glow on his face return to what it had been before. This was an interesting trick. Not quite a lie detector.
I finished my water, thanked him, and left the office.
I looked at the address on the card Michael had given me. Yikes. Before I made the trek out to Theo’s house, or more properly, Theo’s mom’s basement, I needed to eat something other than coffee and cookies. Not worth it to go home, although there was food there. The suggestion of tacos had sounded so good, that I decided I couldn’t wait til Friday, and biked over to Christina’s.
First step would have to be MIchael Arlington- I knew exactly where he would be- his dad’s office.
Michael had been lucky to be a senior the year before the world went to hell.He graduated, and was able to go off to college, and really have a college experience. I remember running into him at a new year’s eve party, that year he was a college man and I was a 10th grader. Before the plague, the riots, the war, he lived in a dorm and went to class, like they did in the movies.
He managed to get his degree, even when the world did fall apart, and came back to work at his dad’s insurance office. He had probably hoped to get out of P-Town, just like Kaisa, but stability is attractive.
I rang the bell at the office, and looked around. The parking lot was empty, except for an old electric toyota.Yet there was no bike rack. Why would you have a business in this day and age, in this town, and not expect people to bring their bikes?
The bell hanging on the door handle jingled, and I am surprised to see Michael himself open the door. “Hi, can I help you?”
“Yeah. Hi, Michael, right? I don’t know if you recognize me. I’m Willow. We were in the Round Table together, but I was a Freshman and you were…”
“He blinks...then things shift into place. “Oh, yeah. Willow. Your folks do real estate?”
“Just my mom really.”
“Of course.” I can’t tell if he is shifting into sales mode, or if he really recognizes me. Whatever, it doesn’t much matter. I want to know how much he knows. “Come in, come in. What can I help you with?”
Now that I was here, facing him in his office, I wasn’t sure what to say. Biking over, I was ready to grill him about what he knew about Kaisa’s death, but he just seems so bland, so nice.
The thing about biking everywhere, is that while you’re biking you feel nice and cool, because of the wind, but then when you get off, you start to sweat. I realized I was red faced and sweaty, which is maybe not the look I should go for as I interrogate an old boyfriend. Crush? Something…
“Would you like some water?”
“Yes, please.” he went over to a water cooler, and got a copper mug from the shelf next to it. He filled it and brought it over. As I watched him, I felt my heart slow down, and noticed he had a glow. Not green like Bobby’s, but just a pale light, that was visible on bare skin, his arms up to the sleeves of his polo shirt, and his face and neck. It came out from him maybe half an inch. So it wasn’t just Bobby- but was it just young men? That was weird.
But, it wasn’t why I was here.
I decide to start delicately. “Were you aware of the body they found in the lake?”
“So terrible, I mean these people on paddleboards- they think it isn’t deep and they don’t need a life jacket, but it’s so risky.”
“Wait, what? No, the guy who found her was on a paddleboard, but...did you know it was Kaisa Tagliaferro that they found?”
“Kaisa?” he was shocked. It wasn’t fake- his face got red, and the glow, the aura changed, too, the swirls began to move faster, like I was seeing his brain move as he tried to understand it. “But she moved to California, or somewhere. And her family- why would she come here to paddleboard? Was she on vacation?”
What a dummy- somehow he had gotten fixated on the paddleboard, which was from the guy who found the body, Dan somebody… wait, how did I know the name Dan? I shook my head.
“No, Kaisa wasn’t on the board, she was just found in the water. The police think she might have been murdered.”
“Why are you asking about it? You don’t work for them?”
“No.” he was shutting down now, suspicious. I waited an instant, listening for another name, or a thought in my head that wasn’t mine. Nothing. “No, of course I don’t work for the cops. Gross. But Kaisa was my friend. I want to know what happened.” I was about ready to cry, but I didn’t want him to see that. I took a sip of water. “I don’t really trust the cops to figure it out. They’ll use the path of least resistance, declare it solved and move on to the next riot, you know?”
“Until you walked in, I didn’t know she was dead. You have to believe me.” he was sad.
“You went out with her…” I began, and he shook his head, laughed a little…”I know, a lot of people can say that. Do you know...can you think of anyone who would want to hurt her?”
“High school. I mean, there was a lot of drama, but we didn’t break up bad, we were ok with each other, I thought, and it seemed like everyone else she was with was ok- she was a free spirit. And times being what they were, everybody thought it was the end of the world anyway. We were all blackout drunk all the time, at least I was. Why hold a grudge?”
“Yeah. I guess.” I sipped my water again. I had been younger, so I was on the outside looking in, but even I had partied and slept around, waiting for the next terrible thing to happen, sneaking around, not letting my parents know where I was.
“Who else have you talked to?”
“No one, you’re the first, because I knew where to find you.”
“You think he’s the logical suspect?”
“Well, he had contact with Kaisa since she moved- he visited her in California, I can see a crime of passion, maybe? I don’t know. It’s hard to believe she’s dead.” He wrote an address on a card. “You might have to knock a long time- he sleeps most of the day.”
I thanked Michael and stood up to go.
“Hey, Willow?”
“Yeah?”
“We never... did we ever get together? You know, in the ‘times being what they were’ times?” his aura was high again, he was stressed- he really couldn’t recall.
“Nah…” That was almost true
I watched the glow on his face return to what it had been before. This was an interesting trick. Not quite a lie detector.
I finished my water, thanked him, and left the office.
I looked at the address on the card Michael had given me. Yikes. Before I made the trek out to Theo’s house, or more properly, Theo’s mom’s basement, I needed to eat something other than coffee and cookies. Not worth it to go home, although there was food there. The suggestion of tacos had sounded so good, that I decided I couldn’t wait til Friday, and biked over to Christina’s.