"Honey.
Honey, wake up!"
"Mmf?"
Kirk had never been one to wake easily. He rolled over, trying to
focus. "Bright," he groaned, pulling the pillow over his
head. "Time's it?"
"It's
six o'clock. Shush, look!" She pointed to the screen, turning up
the sound.
"Police
found evidence that leads them to believe that both crimes are
related. Is someone targeting local caterers? Full story at noon. For
now, I'm Shelly Frakes on the scene. Back to you, Bill."
They
were looking once more at the anchorman with his perfect hair and
painted on tan. The fake tan made his eyes look overly white, Drea
noticed in passing. He smiled artfully at the camera just before it
cut to a commercial.
"Targeting
local caterers? What drivel," Kirk mumbled. "Jay wasn't a
caterer. He was a fishmonger. Big difference."
"I'm
going shopping," Drea said with a sigh. "I need some clean
panties."
"Where
on earth will you go at this wretched hour? Sun's barely out."
Kirk was up, pouring coffee and scratching.
"Bound
to be a twenty-four hour Wal-Mart nearby."
"Darling,
you haven't shopped in a Wal-Mart in years."
"Sorry,
dear, but I'm quite sure Saks is closed at this hour. I don't relish
the idea of putting on dirty clothing after a shower."
"You
used to not mind."
"Well,
you used to think bathing was bad for you," she said, tossing a
pillow at him.
"Do
we have any appointments today?"
"Nothing
Margo can't handle."
"I'll
call her, then I'm going back to bed. This bed is wonderful. Care to
join me?"
"Not
with that wake up breath," she fanned in front of her face.
"I'll be back."
She
grabbed her purse, keys and sunglasses. Kirk called his sous-chef,
got embroiled in a longer conversation than he wanted, and drank
another cup of coffee. That accomplished, he showered and solved the
dirty underwear problem by going back to bed naked.
Drea
took the car and searched out the nearest store. She was able to
purchase everything they needed, except for uniforms. There was a
shop downtown that would have what those, but it didn't open until
much later in the day. Laden with her purchases, she headed back to
her car, only to find it—missing? She was sure of where she had
parked. The lot wasn't that full. Looking around frantically, she
burst into tears.
Day
workers, who were heading into work, saw her. Two women stopped to
see what the trouble was. Sobbing, incoherent, she tried to explain.
They took her back inside, leading her to the store office where the
assistant manager called Kirk at their hotel.
He
opened his eyes groggily, frowning at the offending piece of
electrical equipment, reaching for it reluctantly. "Yes?"
"Mr.
Nunne?"
"Yes?"
"Maggie
Longstreet here at the Wal-Mart, sir. Hello."
"Yeah?
Sup, Maggie?"
"We
have your wife here in the office. Apparently, someone stole your car
while she was shopping."
Kirk
was immediately awake. "What? Our car? Drea? May I speak to
her?"
"She's
pretty upset. I'll try."
The
phone fumbled and scrabbled for a moment. Then he heard some fretful
sniffling.
"Drea?
Darling, what's wrong?"
"Someone
stole the car!" She wailed. "It was right there! I locked
it, I swear! I got our things and it was gone. And I'm sitting in the
office in dirty panties!" For some reason, that idea really set
her off again.
"I
need the address, honey. Did you call the police?"
"Maggie
did."
"Can
I speak to her again, sweetheart?"
He
heard the phone exchange hands again.
"Mr.
Nunne? We're trying to get her calmed down."
"I'll
come get her, but it's going to take awhile. I need a cab."
"We're
within walking distance of your hotel, Mr. Nunne." She gave him
specific directions.
"Thanks,
Maggie," he said, scribbling them on some hotel stationary.
"I'll be there shortly."
"The
police have just arrived, sir. I need to go."
"Thanks,
Maggie."
When
Kirk arrived at the store, his pal, Officer Scott, was on the scene.
"I
heard the call and thought I'd better respond. After last night,
well... Honestly, I was a little worried. This is very strange, Mr.
Nunne."
"Agreed.
Who the hell would take our car?"
"Someone
who's desperate to get something they think you have," he said
quietly. "You didn't take anything from the fish market?"
"Except
some bad memories, no. Oh, by the way, about that...." He
explained about seeing Jay's van moving as he walked by.
"And
that led you to believe someone was inside?"
©
2019 Dellani Oakes
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