Lottery 1
Aston pulled into the Days Rest Inn and parked his car next to Christine’s. He waited for her to get off her first day of work, he set the bouquet of brightly colored daisies on the dashboard.
He felt his heart skip a beat as he saw her come out of the front doors from his rear view mirror. He grabbed the flowers and got out of the car to meet her.
Christine smiled so sweet and brightly at him. “Thank you.” she said as she took the flowers. “My daughter will love these too.”
“I’m glad.” Aston smiled. “I hoped I made the right decision. I wanted to take you out for dinner to celebrate your first day on the job.”
Christine looked up puzzled a little.
“I don’t know how many friends you’ve got that can relate to what you’re going through.” Aston explained as he walked her the rest of the way to her car. “I certainly do, and you can talk to me anytime. About pressures, or work, and maybe I can make it better for you. You just say the word.” He walked on the other side of her as she reached for the door handle.
Christine had not said a word to him, she unlocked her car and opened the door.
“I find you extremely attractive.” Aston nervously blurted out in a last attempt to get her attention.
It worked. No one had told Christine that in a very long time. She smiled and turned to Aston, “It’s almost four o’clock. My mother has the kids.”
“We can go there first and check in.” Aston walked towards his car. “It wont take that long. Only an hour to eat. The steak house is just down the road from your mother’s.” He pleaded with her. “I can take you home straight after.”
Christine agreed and the two ended up talking for over an hour at the restaurant. She was shocked how much they had in common.
Aston told her funny stories from his past, and watched her laugh with delight.
After the date had ended he drove Christine home. Warm fuzzy feelings crept over him as he pulled out of the driveway. He was feeling so good he decided he would take a drive over to the diner and see if the waitress was around to question.
He was stopped at the red light two blocks from where William Barrett died. His mind traveled through all the possibilities as to what he would say to the waitress. Then he glanced to his right and noticed someone familiar coming out of a storefront.
It was the reporter that broke the story.
Aston’s heart again skipped a beat, this time for a very different reason. He was on to something. He glanced up to see the building she walked out of, it was Paradise Travel Agency.
The phone rang, breaking the silence of the dark night. Shaniqua glanced at the clock which read three forty five. She picked up the phone and answered, but before she could speak the person at the other end of the line began.
“Please…” the voice was whispered, almost silent. There was a momentary sobbing and gasping for air. “Please…” Again the person on the other end of the line tried to control their emotions enough to communicate. “You have to help me.”
Shaniqua pulled the phone away and looked at the unlisted phone number on her screen. “Who are you?”
There was a loud crashing sound in the distance on the other end of the line.
Shaniqua was jerked awake now, who ever was on the other side of the line was a scoop that needed protection. It was time for action.
“It’s Janet, you gave me your card…” the voice had stopped sobbing, but was hushed more.
There was nothing more from the line.
Shaniqua got a cold chill. She wanted to call the police, but she did not know where Janet lived. She gritted her teeth until she consciously realized she was, and took a deep breath.
‘How was the loan shark getting so far ahead on this?’
She waited til nine the next morning and called Paradise Travels and bothered them until they admitted Janet had not come in.
She was arguing face to face with the receptionist at Paradise Travels by ten thirty. The manager assured her it was Janet’s day off and she wouldn’t be in, but Shaniqua would not budge.
The receptionist admitted to Janet not answering her phone after trying several times.
The manager after hearing the entire story about the loan shark and lottery ticket, decided to take Shaniqua to Janet’s apartment.
When they arrived the door was locked but no one answered. The manager had to let them with his key.
Everyone was aghast at the site that laid behind the undisturbed, locked door.
Every piece of furniture had been ripped or torn apart until it was unsalvageable. All the portraits had been placed in a metal filing cabinet drawer in the center and were burned. Nothing had been left untouched in the entire apartment, except the appliances that came with it.
Shaniqua searched feverishly through the mess for Janet until she found her in the bathtub.
The large woman was in a sheer slip. Though it was not see through you could see more of her than you needed to. And what you saw was purple and black, with marginal yellows in various places. There were dark red scabs from cuts and what seemed to be lashes on every part of her skin. The woman’s face was swollen and unrecognizable.
Shaniqua feared the worst and pulled a mirror out of her purse. She held it up to the woman’s nose and saw it fog. A breath of relief washed over her. Quickly she grabbed her phone and dialed for the ambulance.