94
R. Linda:
Yesterday afternoon, I had gone over to Ali's to borrow some salt since it seems there is none to be had in Flanagan's kitchen. Odd don't you think, if he was preserving O'Malley he'd use some salt? Or, maybe that's where the salt went. Oh, dread the thought!
I ended up spending the afternoon at Ali's. She was off from work this week because she wanted to spend a few days doing her fall cleaning. What a wonderful excuse to not go to work, and even better, what a great way to spend holiday! Right we are.
I helped her take curtains down, and did some odd fix it jobs. By the time we were done, she asked me to stay for dinner. I decided to send out for Chinese, me treat. I went over to Flanagan's to get the flier I had picked up for this new Chinese take-out, and ran into Tonya coming in from work. I decided since it was my treat to invite her. She accepted and came with an offering of tequila. Well, ok tequila and Chinese something new.
After our excellent take-out cuisine, we sat there chatting and of course the subject turned to Flanagan and the missing Mr. O'Malley. Ali gave us possible scenarios on what could have happened when suddenly she got a brain flash that we should investigate the freezer in the basement. Did I know it was padlocked she asked? Well, no I did not and why should I? I wasn't in the habit of exploring the furnace room.
Tonya wanted to know what we should do if Flanagan should inadvertently show up, and Alison came up with different things we could tell him if we got caught. I particularly liked the one that we were supposed to tell him her pet hamster got loose, and we thought it got into the freezer. I said, "Girl are you drunk or what? What pet hamster, where? And how would it get into a locked freezer?"
She looked at me her eyes nearly crossed from the booze and she said, "But he doesn't know that."
"Know what?"
"That I don't have a hamster, silly."
That did it. I didn't want to hear anymore. I wasn't going to argue the locked freezer being impenetrable to an imaginary hamster.
I told her I didn't want me face in the headlines, I could just see it, me a reporter making news not covering it. What a way to spend a rainy evening. It was like spooky London outside, the rain pounding the windows, the mist flying by, and here we were talking murder and mayhem. After a few more tequila shots it all seemed like a good idea to them. I knew they were serious and there was no stopping them, so to keep them from getting caught, I decided to tag along. It was suggested by Tonya we change into black clothes and we each went to our respective apartments and changed. I felt like and idiot on me way back when I had sobered slightly to realise how stupid this whole thing really was.
The two of them were dressed in black sweats, me in black jeans with a white t-shirt that they were telling me I could not wear. I had grabbed a long sleeved black shirt to put on over it because it was all I had. I put it on reluctantly and we three sat there looking like assassins drinking tequila waiting for our 2 a.m. jaunt to the cellar. We left the door half cracked in Ali's apartment to listen for Flanagan, who I was secretly hoping would come home, so we could call this exercise in futility off. I kept pouring tequila in the hopes they'd both pass out and that would end it, only they didn't.
It actually got dumber when Ali in her drunken state suggested since Tonya was half black she should stay in the hallway as a lookout because in the dark who'd see her. Tonya took exception and reached over me to slap at Ali, but I stopped any movement by quickly grabbing the flaying arms on both sides of me. Yes, I was sitting between them, lucky me got clipped in the face. I informed Ali that the hall lights were always on and it didn't matter who was lookout, you could see whoever was standing there.
It got to the appointed hour and none of us stood up to go. Ali's little clock chiming two, sent shivers down me back it did. I was hoping they'd pass out and I'd just sleep on the couch and this would all be forgot in the morning, and their hangovers would teach them a lesson in being snoops. BUT that didn't happen.
Ali stood up with torch in hand, piled the hammer and crowbar in me arms and hoisted a swaying Tonya to her feet. Off they marched with me standing there hoping they'd forget me, but they didn't. They marched back into the room and pushed me in front of them and down the hall.
I have to tell you that it was not a fun trip to the cellar. For one, we did have presence of mind to go the back way so we wouldn't have that mutt in the tutu barking at us. The stairs creaked, something none of us was aware of since we usually barrel up and down them. Going slowly, step by painful step, the old wood moaned under our weight. On opening the cellar door it creaked loudly in the silence. This started Tonya to giggling and that caught on to Ali, and I shoved them through the door to close it so we wouldn't be discovered, three of us dressed in black carrying touches and tools, for God's sake.
We crept down the cellar stairs and some of the light bulbs were out and that made the adventure really creepy. We snuck into the furnace room where the light was not on. We didn't dare turn it on because the Super lives next door. Me heart was in me throat and me mind was telling me how stupid I was, but the other two had torches aimed at the white square in the corner. It had this eerie glow to it, and I, for one, did not want to approach it. However, I got shoved out in front and we crept to it. As they aimed the lights on the lock I took to it with the crowbar. I thought to meself if I had to start hammering the whole building would hear me.
Either I don't know me own strength, or the lock wasn't locked because it flipped open. Ali was impressed with me -- "Masculine strength, always have a man do a hard job," she whispered to Tonya. I went to lift the lid but it wouldn't budge. Ali decided the tequila was going through her and she needed a potty break. Tonya whispered angrily that this was not the time, and she would just have to hold it. Oh, my god, I thought. Ali danced around and Tonya suddenly started swatting at her. I caught her and pulled her to the other side. I admonished them both to stay quiet or we'd be discovered.
I got the edge of the crowbar under the lid and it finally opened a crack. It was crusty stuck and with one good yank it flipped all the way up and opened with a bang. We stood there frozen, our eyes bigger than tea saucers, but nothing stirred from beyond the room. The smell from the freezer was gross. We all stepped back and then none of us wanted to shine a light in to look inside.
Talk about barfing in freezers, it got worse than that. Once we got the guts to look inside we discovered there was nothing there. Nota, empty, cleaned out. However, the smell from the freezer was that old food and cold stink that threw Ali into the dry heaves. I said, "You better not . . ."
She gained control and we each three held our breath and with shining torches took a better look inside. Here's the thing, as we looked inside blood drops started falling from above. Tonya shrieked and was jumping up and down pointing inside the freezer. I was frozen stock still in fright and Ali's eyes were big as I looked at her. I realised her nose was bleeding and it had bled into the freezer. I pointed at her nose and she looked at me with a what expression. I whispered harshly that her nose was bleeding and that's where the blood was coming from. She instantly pinched her nostrils shut and in an underwater whisper said to us, "That always happens when I get stressed."
Great, here we were with blood droplets at the bottom of the stinky freezer.
"We need to clean this up," I said in a slight panic.
"How? Do you see how deep that thing is?" Tonya asked me.
"Well duh, we couldn't leave the blood in there," I countered, "someone is going to have to get in there and clear it up."
"It's Ali's so she should clean it up," Tonya hissed.
"No way!" Ali hissed back.
I found a rag and handed it to Ali.
"Just how the hell am I to do this?" She asked insulted, dried blood under her nose making her look like Hitler in the dark.
"We'll hold you over the side," I suggested.
"Are you crazy, Gabe? No, the smell is awful and if I'm upside down I'll have another nose bleed. Let's just leave it."
Tonya's mouth opened in surprise and she hurriedly informed Ali that if blood was found in the freezer, someone might feel inclined to call the police and when they traced the blood back to her, she could be up on charges of murdering O'Malley.
I had to think how that would bring charges of murdering someone who's blood wasn't in the freezer, but ok, it was the tequila speaking.
Ali turned to Tonya and held out the rag to her.
"No Alison. I am not touching your blood. What if you have HIV?" Tonya whispered.
"What? I don't have HIV!"
"How do you know, you ever been tested?"
Alison threw the rag and took a shot at Tonya's face, but I intercepted her fist with the edge of me chin and told her to stop.
After a few seconds of me rubbing me chin (again) and a whispered argument between the two, I got me way and Tonya and I held Ali by her legs as she crawled over the side with the rag. She was holding her breath and so were we. Tonya harkened her to hurry because if she didn't she was going to let go and Ali would fall inside with the smell.
Ali worked quickly and came up gasping for breath. We both tried to hush her but she was in the middle of another nose bleed. To silence her I pushed her bloody face into me shirt while Tonya closed the lid of the freezer, and tried to put the lock back on. The lock wouldn't close so we left it and quietly flew back to Ali's apartment, blood soaked rag and all.
It was now near to 4 a.m. and I was exhausted from the tension and tequila. Tonya and I left Alison to clean up her face on her own. Tonya gave me the black power fist sign and went upstairs to her place. I quietly opened the door to me abode and who should be standing by the fireplace sipping a glass of water, yeh you guessed it, Peter Flanagan.
I almost jumped out of me skin, but got control as I walked in as nonchalantly as I could manage. Like being out until the wee hours was just me thing. He held the water in his mouth and looked at me saying nothing. I smiled a greeting and said, "I'll be just pushing off to bed, goodnight."
"Hey, hey, hey," he said swallowing the water and signaling me not to leave just yet.
I raised me eyebrows in question and he said, "Hey Gabe, you want to tell me what you been up to?"
Oh, my God in heaven, he knows, I thought, he fecking knows we were in the cellar, in his freezer looking for the missing Mr. O'Malley. I knew I was next. Me heart near about stopped in me chest and all I could utter was a weak, "What?"
"You either had a bad accident, or you were butchering cats," he said pointing to me bloodstained shirt, the white showing where I had unbuttoned the other, revealing Ali's blood. Begorrah me, I forgot about that and yes indeed I was like a deer caught in headlights. What was I to say?
"Oh this?" I pointed to me shirt like it was no big thing. "I had a bloody nose earlier. Goodnight," I said and hurried off to me room. I hit meself in the forehead thinking what if he goes down to that freezer and there is still blood inside since none of us could stand the smell to look and see if Ali had done a good job. I'd be caught for sure.
I didn't sleep well needless to say. Me mind raced with the thought and I wanted in the worse way to go back down to the cellar to make sure the blood was cleaned up. But I couldn't do that for fear that Flanagan would hear me.
I got up with the crack of dawn which was about an hour later, the rain still pounding outside, the apartment filled with grey shadows, as was me tequila hurting head. I'll wait for the opportunity and sneak down later to make sure all traces were gone and hope to heaven I didn't get caught.
Gabe
Copyright © 2004 All rights reserved
R. Linda:
Yesterday afternoon, I had gone over to Ali's to borrow some salt since it seems there is none to be had in Flanagan's kitchen. Odd don't you think, if he was preserving O'Malley he'd use some salt? Or, maybe that's where the salt went. Oh, dread the thought!
I ended up spending the afternoon at Ali's. She was off from work this week because she wanted to spend a few days doing her fall cleaning. What a wonderful excuse to not go to work, and even better, what a great way to spend holiday! Right we are.
I helped her take curtains down, and did some odd fix it jobs. By the time we were done, she asked me to stay for dinner. I decided to send out for Chinese, me treat. I went over to Flanagan's to get the flier I had picked up for this new Chinese take-out, and ran into Tonya coming in from work. I decided since it was my treat to invite her. She accepted and came with an offering of tequila. Well, ok tequila and Chinese something new.
After our excellent take-out cuisine, we sat there chatting and of course the subject turned to Flanagan and the missing Mr. O'Malley. Ali gave us possible scenarios on what could have happened when suddenly she got a brain flash that we should investigate the freezer in the basement. Did I know it was padlocked she asked? Well, no I did not and why should I? I wasn't in the habit of exploring the furnace room.
Tonya wanted to know what we should do if Flanagan should inadvertently show up, and Alison came up with different things we could tell him if we got caught. I particularly liked the one that we were supposed to tell him her pet hamster got loose, and we thought it got into the freezer. I said, "Girl are you drunk or what? What pet hamster, where? And how would it get into a locked freezer?"
She looked at me her eyes nearly crossed from the booze and she said, "But he doesn't know that."
"Know what?"
"That I don't have a hamster, silly."
That did it. I didn't want to hear anymore. I wasn't going to argue the locked freezer being impenetrable to an imaginary hamster.
I told her I didn't want me face in the headlines, I could just see it, me a reporter making news not covering it. What a way to spend a rainy evening. It was like spooky London outside, the rain pounding the windows, the mist flying by, and here we were talking murder and mayhem. After a few more tequila shots it all seemed like a good idea to them. I knew they were serious and there was no stopping them, so to keep them from getting caught, I decided to tag along. It was suggested by Tonya we change into black clothes and we each went to our respective apartments and changed. I felt like and idiot on me way back when I had sobered slightly to realise how stupid this whole thing really was.
The two of them were dressed in black sweats, me in black jeans with a white t-shirt that they were telling me I could not wear. I had grabbed a long sleeved black shirt to put on over it because it was all I had. I put it on reluctantly and we three sat there looking like assassins drinking tequila waiting for our 2 a.m. jaunt to the cellar. We left the door half cracked in Ali's apartment to listen for Flanagan, who I was secretly hoping would come home, so we could call this exercise in futility off. I kept pouring tequila in the hopes they'd both pass out and that would end it, only they didn't.
It actually got dumber when Ali in her drunken state suggested since Tonya was half black she should stay in the hallway as a lookout because in the dark who'd see her. Tonya took exception and reached over me to slap at Ali, but I stopped any movement by quickly grabbing the flaying arms on both sides of me. Yes, I was sitting between them, lucky me got clipped in the face. I informed Ali that the hall lights were always on and it didn't matter who was lookout, you could see whoever was standing there.
It got to the appointed hour and none of us stood up to go. Ali's little clock chiming two, sent shivers down me back it did. I was hoping they'd pass out and I'd just sleep on the couch and this would all be forgot in the morning, and their hangovers would teach them a lesson in being snoops. BUT that didn't happen.
Ali stood up with torch in hand, piled the hammer and crowbar in me arms and hoisted a swaying Tonya to her feet. Off they marched with me standing there hoping they'd forget me, but they didn't. They marched back into the room and pushed me in front of them and down the hall.
I have to tell you that it was not a fun trip to the cellar. For one, we did have presence of mind to go the back way so we wouldn't have that mutt in the tutu barking at us. The stairs creaked, something none of us was aware of since we usually barrel up and down them. Going slowly, step by painful step, the old wood moaned under our weight. On opening the cellar door it creaked loudly in the silence. This started Tonya to giggling and that caught on to Ali, and I shoved them through the door to close it so we wouldn't be discovered, three of us dressed in black carrying touches and tools, for God's sake.
We crept down the cellar stairs and some of the light bulbs were out and that made the adventure really creepy. We snuck into the furnace room where the light was not on. We didn't dare turn it on because the Super lives next door. Me heart was in me throat and me mind was telling me how stupid I was, but the other two had torches aimed at the white square in the corner. It had this eerie glow to it, and I, for one, did not want to approach it. However, I got shoved out in front and we crept to it. As they aimed the lights on the lock I took to it with the crowbar. I thought to meself if I had to start hammering the whole building would hear me.
Either I don't know me own strength, or the lock wasn't locked because it flipped open. Ali was impressed with me -- "Masculine strength, always have a man do a hard job," she whispered to Tonya. I went to lift the lid but it wouldn't budge. Ali decided the tequila was going through her and she needed a potty break. Tonya whispered angrily that this was not the time, and she would just have to hold it. Oh, my god, I thought. Ali danced around and Tonya suddenly started swatting at her. I caught her and pulled her to the other side. I admonished them both to stay quiet or we'd be discovered.
I got the edge of the crowbar under the lid and it finally opened a crack. It was crusty stuck and with one good yank it flipped all the way up and opened with a bang. We stood there frozen, our eyes bigger than tea saucers, but nothing stirred from beyond the room. The smell from the freezer was gross. We all stepped back and then none of us wanted to shine a light in to look inside.
Talk about barfing in freezers, it got worse than that. Once we got the guts to look inside we discovered there was nothing there. Nota, empty, cleaned out. However, the smell from the freezer was that old food and cold stink that threw Ali into the dry heaves. I said, "You better not . . ."
She gained control and we each three held our breath and with shining torches took a better look inside. Here's the thing, as we looked inside blood drops started falling from above. Tonya shrieked and was jumping up and down pointing inside the freezer. I was frozen stock still in fright and Ali's eyes were big as I looked at her. I realised her nose was bleeding and it had bled into the freezer. I pointed at her nose and she looked at me with a what expression. I whispered harshly that her nose was bleeding and that's where the blood was coming from. She instantly pinched her nostrils shut and in an underwater whisper said to us, "That always happens when I get stressed."
Great, here we were with blood droplets at the bottom of the stinky freezer.
"We need to clean this up," I said in a slight panic.
"How? Do you see how deep that thing is?" Tonya asked me.
"Well duh, we couldn't leave the blood in there," I countered, "someone is going to have to get in there and clear it up."
"It's Ali's so she should clean it up," Tonya hissed.
"No way!" Ali hissed back.
I found a rag and handed it to Ali.
"Just how the hell am I to do this?" She asked insulted, dried blood under her nose making her look like Hitler in the dark.
"We'll hold you over the side," I suggested.
"Are you crazy, Gabe? No, the smell is awful and if I'm upside down I'll have another nose bleed. Let's just leave it."
Tonya's mouth opened in surprise and she hurriedly informed Ali that if blood was found in the freezer, someone might feel inclined to call the police and when they traced the blood back to her, she could be up on charges of murdering O'Malley.
I had to think how that would bring charges of murdering someone who's blood wasn't in the freezer, but ok, it was the tequila speaking.
Ali turned to Tonya and held out the rag to her.
"No Alison. I am not touching your blood. What if you have HIV?" Tonya whispered.
"What? I don't have HIV!"
"How do you know, you ever been tested?"
Alison threw the rag and took a shot at Tonya's face, but I intercepted her fist with the edge of me chin and told her to stop.
After a few seconds of me rubbing me chin (again) and a whispered argument between the two, I got me way and Tonya and I held Ali by her legs as she crawled over the side with the rag. She was holding her breath and so were we. Tonya harkened her to hurry because if she didn't she was going to let go and Ali would fall inside with the smell.
Ali worked quickly and came up gasping for breath. We both tried to hush her but she was in the middle of another nose bleed. To silence her I pushed her bloody face into me shirt while Tonya closed the lid of the freezer, and tried to put the lock back on. The lock wouldn't close so we left it and quietly flew back to Ali's apartment, blood soaked rag and all.
It was now near to 4 a.m. and I was exhausted from the tension and tequila. Tonya and I left Alison to clean up her face on her own. Tonya gave me the black power fist sign and went upstairs to her place. I quietly opened the door to me abode and who should be standing by the fireplace sipping a glass of water, yeh you guessed it, Peter Flanagan.
I almost jumped out of me skin, but got control as I walked in as nonchalantly as I could manage. Like being out until the wee hours was just me thing. He held the water in his mouth and looked at me saying nothing. I smiled a greeting and said, "I'll be just pushing off to bed, goodnight."
"Hey, hey, hey," he said swallowing the water and signaling me not to leave just yet.
I raised me eyebrows in question and he said, "Hey Gabe, you want to tell me what you been up to?"
Oh, my God in heaven, he knows, I thought, he fecking knows we were in the cellar, in his freezer looking for the missing Mr. O'Malley. I knew I was next. Me heart near about stopped in me chest and all I could utter was a weak, "What?"
"You either had a bad accident, or you were butchering cats," he said pointing to me bloodstained shirt, the white showing where I had unbuttoned the other, revealing Ali's blood. Begorrah me, I forgot about that and yes indeed I was like a deer caught in headlights. What was I to say?
"Oh this?" I pointed to me shirt like it was no big thing. "I had a bloody nose earlier. Goodnight," I said and hurried off to me room. I hit meself in the forehead thinking what if he goes down to that freezer and there is still blood inside since none of us could stand the smell to look and see if Ali had done a good job. I'd be caught for sure.
I didn't sleep well needless to say. Me mind raced with the thought and I wanted in the worse way to go back down to the cellar to make sure the blood was cleaned up. But I couldn't do that for fear that Flanagan would hear me.
I got up with the crack of dawn which was about an hour later, the rain still pounding outside, the apartment filled with grey shadows, as was me tequila hurting head. I'll wait for the opportunity and sneak down later to make sure all traces were gone and hope to heaven I didn't get caught.
Gabe
Copyright © 2004 All rights reserved
