Inversion

Chess or Tango?

Of all the emotions I felt  as  he  appeared before me ,surprise and disgust were certainly  in a tie for  first place .Although I tried to act unmoved , I could tell that my face had betrayed me  for a  split second. Whether or not he had noticed I  wouldn't  know  as I was in my own head. Honestly, I'd rather not dwell on it. 

''There's always a first...'' A quote that I , as well as others had heard countless times .Yet  I'd never given much importance to. Never had I  been approached by the subject of my investigation before. But here today is Caleb McGonahan  seated across my table , his eyes  coaxing me to speak with his  gaze unyielding. I find it ironic that his name signifies  faithfulness, love and devotion  while his actions  and existence itself scream ''cheater'' in bold . 

Being objective is  one trait of mine that I am really proud of . But , seated right here, in this very moment, I can't help but wonder his reason for making Lorraine go through all this.  Do not be mistaken, the detective in me would very much like to know however  the real curious cat  is someone else entirely.

With the little I know about the art collector he's been meeting up with, It's enough for me to  question  whether that's all that this is; a  fleeting romance of some sort.  It seems  to be driven by something  that has been clouded by romance. It just doesn't fit in some way.  It might just be the  cynic in me . Or it might not be .... One thing I know for sure is , he is no fool! 

He's absolutely right. He's the one person  I'd rather talk to but he doesn't seem  like one  to provide me the answers to my questions. His smugness shows  why he's here today . Seems like it'll be quite the day. I know for sure not to underestimate him but I'd be damned if I let him  step on me.  Stepping out of my head I asked , ''so .... why are you here?''

''Nothing nicer than a cup of coffee with some butter croissants'' Wouldn't you agree ? 

I  knew too well he wasn't going to answer the question just yet. Besides it'd be  preposterous of me to assume that this early into the conversation.

'' I  wouldn't  really know''  ''I am more of a pain  au chocolat  person .''I  smiled.

''Quite the connoisseur  you are, aren't you?''  ''Such exquisite taste surely requires  constant  cash inflow .So I  can understand how Lorraine , a distraught  woman trying to break free of  the shackles of her marriage , which she forced upon herself comes into the picture. She's probably offered to pay double your rate to have you gather evidence on her beloved husband. Which is okay by me . But do you really believe she's unaware of whatever evidence you  will present or is she  simply  unwilling to face the reality and leave?''

I am not  even the least bit surprised that this finely dressed man is blabbering utter nonsense. It is somewhat sad  to see such a man of class act the exact opposite. Such a waste of class and human space.

''You're not typically a sloppy detective so I find it hard to believe you had no idea that I knew you were tailing me''

Now, there are so many ways to deliver a punch but I'd rather stay employed . I'd hate to lose my money and job  all because I got  caught on camera  attacking this man.   He sits here with such demeanour  to enrage me. He pauses a bit  observing the effect of his words. I take the bait  because there's nothing more satisfying than  ''the silence before the storm.''

'' Why are you overworking yourself? It  might come off as  trying too hard to convince me  of your callousness. Wouldn't you agree Mr McGonahan?  Crackling my knuckles so loud , making sure  the attention is now on us both. ''Frankly, I do not care enough  about you so  don't bother''

Clearly embarrassed by the attention, he  laughs  whilst  moving his face closer . His voice now hushed yet commanding  as he spoke .'' You'd better tell her to settle  before it's too late''

I was already tired of this pretentious conversation so the chime  of my phone as Liby's message came in was a relief. I could now excuse myself of this man and get on with my day. Standing up almost immediately, with the widest smile '' This was fun but let's never do it again Caleb''. My smile disappeared so fast It almost felt Iike I was back  in customer service ,working

Turning without a second glance, I headed out to meet Liby  at the parking lot. She's not exactly a source instead  she's my  very own ''mind human unclog'' . Whenever I need a different pair of eyes on work , she's my aid. The sight of her hair makes me halt a bit. The only time  her hair is in a perfect bun is when she's angry. It's a habit she developed in high school to calm her, that's now here to stay.

I gestured for her to follow me into the Taiwanese restaurant  nearby. When she's angry food helps so we discussed as she ate .  We spoke at length about  what was bothering her  until she was less annoyed. She was able to provide me some insight on my confusion. She  cautioned me as always before we parted .

Upon arriving home around  6:30 p.m., I freshened up, which didn't take too long.  Since it wasn't exactly a  formal outing, I opted  for a causal look as opposed an evening dress. My hair styled in a Dutch braid  and some highlighter  to accentuate  my cheek bones. I still wanted to look good and smell good  irrespective of my choice of style.  Grabbing my keys from my bed, I made a mental note to not stay out too late  because I needed to finish up  my report.  Scott had sent the address  of the  restaurant a while ago so I checked  the directions and headed out after locking the door.

The address was different from the places we usually hung out at. I assumed  he chose something different since he'd be coming with a friend. I had driven for nearly ten minutes when  I figured something wasn't right with my car. Luckily the brakes were working so I stopped to take a look. Although my car was quite old the  bumper was unusually hot  considering the short distance . I lifted the bumper and was met by smoke and heat. I was no expert with cars so I called my mechanic but he was unreachable. I called Scott and informed him of my situation. He offered to come get me but I stubbornly convinced him I would get a taxi instead. The car wasn't in the best condition so it seemed highly unlikely that someone would steal it.

I was about calling a  taxi service when one came passing by. I didn't think much of it as there were other cars passing by and , I was in a hurry. The middle aged taxi driver greeted me as I got in with a smile on his face . He left the windows down allowing me enjoy the cool night breeze alongside the honking of cars  we passed on our way. I was thankful for  his silence during the ride. Just a few minutes away from the destination, we collided with a car . Just a few minutes.... That was all it took .The taxi driver did his best to avoid the  collision however we weren't lucky enough. Before I knew it the earth became the sky and the sky the earth.

I wasn't sure where I was bleeding from but  there was blood going into my eyes clouding my vision. I could hear someone running towards our car so I assumed it was the driver of the other car. Shouting as loudly as I could ''Please call for help'', ''Please don't leave us here ''. What happened next was something I wouldn't have imagined . I was grabbed by the hair whilst in pain from the impact of the accident. His words sent shivers down my spine '' You should have stayed out of this''. At this point I was terrified and panting heavily. I thought he'd either stab me or worse shoot me but he didn't . Instead, he let go and walked back to his car so I presumed it was a warning.

I took that as an opportunity to reach my purse for my phone because I wasn't sure he'd call for help. I had just dialled Scott's number when I felt the car fall off the road. It seems It was more than just a warning after all.

So many thoughts came to my mind in that moment. I wondered whom I had pissed off along the line in my job. Then again the most plausible seemed like Lorraine's husband. But why? Was it about the divorce? Was it because of our ''not so little'' chat? But most importantly would I really die like this?

My eyes welled with tears. I was frightened and angry. I couldn't believe this was it. I didn't want to die . Especially like this!  We were a second away from the water when I heard Scott's voice on the phone but it was too late. There was no point trying to escape because my legs were in so much pain yet I kept trying until I no longer could. I wished for someone, anyone , to save  us. To save me. After minutes of begging, pleading and struggling to survive I was consumed by darkness.

                                                                Or so I thought