Just Let Me Die Here (A Serialized Novel) 27

I need coffee, and not the stuff offered in the small kitchen nook by reception. I’m pretty sure the instant packets there haven’t been replenished in years and I’m certain Duke does not go out of his way to clean the pot marked ‘Hot Water’. And it’s really just lukewarm. I decide to drag myself into town to get a decent fix at the coffee shop before heading to the police department for my ritual check-in.

I step outside my room, locking the door behind me, and turn to go before nearly bumping into a woman who is leaning against the railing of the walkway. I haven’t seen or heard anyone else around, so I am quite shocked by the presence of anyone at all, let alone one so close to my door. She is dressed in a thin tank top and tattered sweatpants that hang loose around her middle. She must be freezing. Her hair is knotted up on top of her head and her exposed arms are covered in scabs. Her left hand hangs over the railing, holding a cigarette.

“Oh,” I say. “Sorry. Didn’t know anyone was out here.” The woman takes a long drag on her cigarette and looks me over before responding.

“Yeah, well, I’m here.” I give her a tight smile and turn to go. “You in that room last night?” she asks, nodding at the door I’ve just come out of.

“Um, yes.”

“Was it the cops you were talking to on the phone?”

“What?”

“Thin walls,” she says with a shrug. “I’m just in there.” She points to the door next to mine with her cigarette. “Couldn’t help but hear ya.”

“Sorry,” I say, although I’m not quite sure what I’m apologizing for. Has this woman heard me the whole time I’ve been here? I think of all the times I’ve cried myself to sleep. What else has she heard?

“So, someone’s missing, are they?” She looks ahead, out to the train tracks, and blows a puff of smoke into the air.

“Yes, well, my husband and daughter. They disappeared nearly a week ago. I don’t know where they are.” She looks me over again and then a spark of recognition flashes in her eyes.

“The ones they’ve been talking about on the TV! That’s your old man who’s run off?”

“Yes.” There is a long pause while she takes another drag of her cigarette and I start to leave again.

“They was here,” she says, stopping me in my tracks.

“What?”

“The guy with the baby. The one they’ve been showing on the TV. They was here.”

“What? When?”

“Few days ago. Left the night before you showed up. Stayed in that room over there.” She nods in the direction of a cluster of doors by the top of the stairs.

“You saw them?”

“A couple times. They stayed in the room mostly. Left in a hurry in the middle of the night.”

“How come you haven’t told anyone? Let the police know?” I say, anger building in my voice. I take a step closer to her. She just shrugs.

“Don’t really like to get involved in that kind of stuff. Police and all.” She almost looks like she’s about to smile and I want to smack her. No. I want to push her over the railing. But then she says, “But I know where they went.”

“You what? How?” In my eagerness, I take a big step forward and find myself nearly toe to toe with the woman. She shifts her body away.

“Overheard some stuff. Want to come in and talk about it?” She motions again towards her door. Without saying anything else, I follow her.

“Name’s Beth by the way,” she says, opening the door to her room and leading me inside.

“August,” I say.

Inside, the room is dark. The TV is off and the only light comes from the small bulb hanging in the corner over the sink, just like the one in my room. This room is exactly like my room, right down to the same exact pictures hanging in the same exact spots. But there is a murkiness that hangs in the air that makes it feel different. The curtains are held together with the clips of two clothes hangers. A man sits in the chair across the room next to a small table. In my room, this table is empty save for my dwindling bag of snacks from the convenience shop and my small cosmetics carrier. This table, however, is covered in piles of junk. Mostly trash, it looks like, used take-out containers and a, overflowing ashtray, but also some bottles and a few glass pipes. As my eyes adjust to the room, I notice most of the floor is also covered in different wrappers and discarded clothing.

“That’s Carl,” Beth says. The man stares blankly at the dark television screen. “Go ahead and sit,” she says, motioning to the edge of the bed. There is a large burn mark on the comforter that I try to avoid. The squeaking of the bedsprings as I sit seems to alert Carl to my presence and he looks at me.

“This here is our neighbor, Carl. She’s the one they been talking about on the news. The lady whose man ran off with her baby.” A smile creeps across Carl’s face, exposing more rotten spaces than teeth, and then it slowly fades again. His eyes turn back to the blank television screen. I swallow hard against the distrust I feel growing in my gut. I need to find Millie.

“So, you know where Tucker is?” I say, facing Beth again. “My husband?”

“Yeah, I mean, I know what I heard. But, I mean, this is valuable information to you, right?”

“Of course. Yes. Anything you can tell me would definitely be helpful.”

“So, you’d be willing to compensate me for my efforts?”

“What do you mean?”

“Money,” Carl grumbles from the corner. Beth glares at him.

“Shut up you moron,” she says before turning back to me. “I just figured like a person in your position would be willing to pay to find out where her kid was.”

“Yes. Of course. I don’t have that much though.” I imagine the kind of rewards that people often offer in these kinds of situations. Thousands. I have nothing near that on me.

“How much you got?”

“I have two hundred in cash right now. I could get more tomorrow at the bank.” Beth seems to do some sort of calculation in her head and then grins.

“Na, two hundred’s good. Real good.” She goes silent and fixes her eyes on my purse. I realize she wants the money now. I open my purse and pull out my wallet, grabbing the stack of bills from inside. I count out two hundred dollars and hand it to her. There is another $10 bill in my hand at the end and she trains her eyes on it. I hand it over as well.

“So, what did you hear?” I ask. Beth folds the cash and sticks it under the torn edge of her bra.

“He was on the phone, day he left. Arranging a meeting at the new apartment complex just up the highway. Peak Villa Apartments. I seen it when it was being built. Pretty classy place. Well, your man, he was asking if he could crash there or something. Sounded like he was talking to some bitch. All flirty and stuff. Said he would be bringing his baby and just needed a place to stay.”

“And you said they left the night before I got here.”

“Yep. Took off around one in the morning. Probably skipping out on paying Duke.”

“And you know where this apartment building is?”

“Sure. Pretty remote spot. Luxury living away from the city, they say. I can give you the address.” She gets up and goes to the table. She pushes aside piles of junk until she comes across a scrap of paper. It takes a bit more searching and she finds a pencil. “Here you go,” she says, handing me the paper after quickly writing down the address.

“Thank you.” I fold the paper carefully and slip it into my purse. “You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”

“It’s nothing,” she says walking over and opening the door. I flinch at the glaring light that comes pouring into the room. Carl grunts. I get the hint that Beth is done with me.

“Thank you again,” I say as I step outside. Without another word, Beth shuts the door. The fresh, freezing air outside shocks me out of the daze I’ve been in for the past ten minutes.

I hurry to the car, jumping into the driver’s seat and quickly turning on the heater. Beth’s handwriting is not much better than chicken scratch and the vents are blasting hot air by the time I can decipher the exact numbers and spelling of the street name. I punch the address into my phone and search for directions. I have to get there and fast. What if Tucker isn’t there anymore? What if he’s already moved on to wherever he’s going? I have to find him. No. I have to find Millie.

The phone says it should take me forty-six minutes. I make it in thirty.

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