11.08.2008

*we see a guy in a fedora and button up shirt and undone tie feeding the ducks - she walks up puts her hand on his shoulder - he turns, a look of relief on his face - she sits down*

"Any luck?"

"Well, it's funny you asked about your husband's death because there were a lot of people who didn't seem very happy about my asking. But I worked my magic and got my hands on the file, which led me to another file and another. If they knew I left the station with these, I'd probably lose my badge, but after reading them, I wouldn't be much good to you without it."

"What does that mean?"

"What it means my, Memphis Belle, is that your husband wasn't hit by a drunk driver. Have you ever seen this man before?" *pulls a 5x7 out of a manilla file*

"Should I? Wait! I think I bumped into that man a couple weeks ago. He was carrying a remote. I thought it was a little odd, and he looked at me like he knew me. But I'd never seen him before then."

"Well, it turns out this guy was suspected of housing stolen goods about 2 years ago. They never caught him, but the idiot had the warehouse they found everything in, in his name. The damn lease was in his name. Where this gets funny is that your husband was listed as a witness...."

"... He never said anything..."

"No, he wouldn't have, now that he's dead, I guess there's not much point in hiding it anymore... Your husband said he had seen him meeting with some people, had overheard they were planning something big, something they said would shake the city... a little conglomo of bad guys. Hell, we thought we ran most of that kind of thinking out in the early 60s, but I guess everything comes back around eventually."

"So... what? Like a mafia? The Memphis Mafia? You've got to be kidding...my husband hung out in his cafe and read comics all the time... what are the chances..."

"Well, sounds like he just happened to be in the right place at the right time... and then the wrong place a little later. Point is he knew something they didn't want him to know."

"All this time, I thought it was my fault. I thought because I sent him to the store... Thank you. *she gets up to go* Why do you always dress like one of the rat pack?"

"Who wouldn't want to be Dean Martin? But hey, if that guy looked at you like he knew you, maybe they think your husband said something to you..."

"...but maybe it means he'll be easier to catch. Just call me "bait.""
*she pulls a crumpled card out of her pocket - we see it's the detective's card and phone number - dials the number*

"Detective?I want to apologize, maybe something really is happening.... yeah... I know... LOOK, I called for a reason... can you please just do something for me? Can you find out what happened to my husband? I think I need a real answer. I feel like I've been losing it for the last 6 months and suddenly all this is happening... I think I just need to know what really happened. Tomorrow? Sure, what time? Okay, I'll be there"

*dials her therapist*

"Yes, I'd like to make an appointment, or rather, I'd like to know if there's any time thursday afternoon? Yeah? Good, I got a feeling I'm going to need it."

11.05.2008

*she turns to walk away*

"Just don't think I'm going to let you too far out of my sight."

"yeah, that's very comforting."

*she picks up the phone* "Hello?"
*breathing*
"Listen, if this is some telemarketer, I'm on the do not call list thing... "
"Why don't you just mind your business?"
"Wha...? Who is this? How did you get my number?"
"Listen, you stumbled on a nice little mess, why don't you just forget you saw anything and go on with your life?"
"I don't know who this is... but you should know, I have no life, my husband..."
"I know all about your husband. If that's the way it's going to be..." *click*