By the time Bill shows up with the police, you've got Sissy untied and wrapped up in your coat. Exhaustion is setting in. She's done crying. Now shes just in shock. The rain has stopped.
You fill Bill in on the whole grisly affair, including all the supernatural parts. He doesn't believe most of it. But that’s his problem. You walk Sissy down to Hank's cab, one arm around her for support. The two of you climb in the backseat, and Hank pulls away from the curb.
Three days later you are leaning back in your office chair with your feet on the desk and a novel open in one hand. You've been trying to read the same page for ten minutes and still don’t know what it says.
Like a dog going back to its own vomit, your mind keeps going back to Lora. You keep wondering what might have been.
There is a knock and Sissy enters. You drop your feet, stand, and shake her hand. You offer a chair, but she doesn't sit. She's got a suitcase in hand. She puts it down and strips off her gloves. "I just wanted to say thank you. And goodbye."
"You're leaving?"
She nods. "This town is no good for me."
"This town is no good for a lot of people," you tell her.
"Think I'll go someplace warm,"’ she says. "Maybe take night classes."
"That's a good idea."
You both stand there in awkward silence for a minute.
"Well, there’s a cab waiting." She flashes a nervous smile, pumps your hand again and then picks up her suitcase and walks to the door. She pauses there with her hand on the knob. "I’m sorry, Jack."
"For what?"
She shrugs. "For getting you involved in all this. For nearly getting you killed."
"That's my job," you tell her.
"Not a very good job," she says. "Is it?"
You laugh. "Maybe I'll take up dancing."
One side of her mouth twitches up in a smile. It fades away just as fast. "I guess you kind of liked her, huh?"
You find something on the floor to stare at. "Maybe. But that’s the story of my life, doll. Just when I start thinking I can trust someone..."
You don't bother to finish that thought. What good would it do?
Sissy nods in understanding and glances at her suitcase. "Sorry about that, too."
"Yeah. Me, too."
"Goodbye, Jack."
"So long, dollface."
She turns and leaves, closing the door behind her.
You go to the window and watch Sissy climb in a cab. You stand there a long time after the car pulls away, looking at the empty street, wondering what might have been.
Did Lora ever feel anything for you, or was it all just a part of the act? What was she trying to say with her dying words? You'll never know. And that’s the hard part.
YOU ARE READING
Jack Jericho: Volume 1
Mystery / Thriller|| Completed || ✔️ Your name is Jack Jericho. You're a detective. But you don't investigate cheating wives or crooked business partners. You investigate things that go bump in the night. Paranormal beings that roam the streets at night.
