Her Eyes

Chapter 31: TROUBLE

Alex had made the appointment with Bob for eleven o'clock. He was already dreading going—mainly because it meant he was overlooking the things Bob did over the past few weeks. But he told himself that this was for Norma. He needed to see her happy again. He took the morning off so he could do this for her. The sun glared through his windshield as he drove to the motel. He told her he'd pick her up since they were going together, and he wasn't one to let other people drive.

            When he got to the motel, she was in the office waiting for him. She walked out as he put the car in park, unlocking the door for her. He waited as she climbed in, fastening her seatbelt. She looked up to meet his gaze, smiling. A pain formed—he didn't want her to be this excited about Bob Paris. He put the car in drive and drove off. They sat in silence for a while before he finally spoke up. "I don't want you to get your hopes up."

            She let out a deep sigh of annoyance. "Why are you always like this?"

            He took his eyes off the road to look at her. "Like what?"

            "You're always so serious. You can never be happy, can you?" she mocked, looking out the window to avoid him.

            "Oh well we'll see who's happy when you're lying dead in the marsh," he shot back. He turned his gaze to the road ahead. He felt her eyes on him; her jaw had dropped. "Just don't say too much," he stated calmly.

            "All right," she huffed. He could feel her eyes roll.

            When they pulled up to the building, he led her inside. "We have an appointment with Bob," Alex told the secretary.

            She stood up from the desk. "Just a moment. You can have a seat, if you'd like." She motioned over to the couch near the wall before exiting the room. Alex glanced over at Norma, who was taking off her coat. The two sat down on the couch together. Soon several minutes had passed and they sat there in silence until Norma began kicking her leg. Alex felt his patience run short with each kick; the sound of the leather couch squeaking drove him insane. He wanted to rip her leg off, but instead he slowly reached down and grasped her ankle, halting it to a stop. He let go as the secretary walked back in. "Mr. Paris can see you now."

            They stood up simultaneously. Norma was the first inside the office. "Bob, this is Norma Bates," the sheriff stated as he entered. He watched as the two shook hands before walking over and taking the seat adjacent to Norma.

            Bob sat at his desk, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair. "Thank you for coming."

            "Sure," Norma smiled softly. There was an awkward silence among them. She looked over to Alex for reassurance before turning back to Bob. "So I'm here because I think I may have something you want back." Alex kept his eyes on Bob—he'd kill him if he did anything to her. She paused; she was waiting for something. "A flash drive?" The way she asked was so unsure and innocent. Alex watched Bob smiled haughtily—he knew he had power over her. She was too naïve to notice. "So here's what I was thinking, and you tell me what you think about it." Alex could have strangled her himself. "This bypass—it's gonna destroy my business. I've tried so hard to fight it. There was nothing I could do. I have no power here. I—"

            "Norma, maybe just cut to the point," Alex mumbled. He shot her a stern look.

            She gave him an innocent look in return. "That's kind of all the point," she whispered to him. She rolled her eyes as he glared at her. "Anyway, this business of mine is all that I have to support me and my son who has some...medical issues." Now she was making shit up...a shot in the leg would be less painful than this. "I'm kind of in a desperate position here. So I was thinking since I have this thing that you want back...that maybe I could ask you for something in return." The surprised look on Bob's face caused her to look over at Alex. He was her source of protection—her gravity. "I want you to create an exit off the bypass; one that would lead to a two lane highway that would connect to a main street near my motel. And I would like a large billboard just before that exit on the north and south side." Alex held back a groan. It was like she was ordering food and didn't know exactly what she wanted—even Bob couldn't believe this woman. "And I want a pool." Alex shot her a look. A pool? This woman never ceased to amaze him. "It doesn't have to be anything fancy, say twenty by forty feet with a jacuzzi—and of course a fence so that it's safe." She turned to find Alex glaring at her.

            Bob looked at both of them in disbelief. "So how do I know that you actually have the flash drive? That you opened it?"

            "There are a lot of important people in this town who've invested in the drug trade...I've seen the names." Alex admired her confidence, though he knew it wouldn't do her any good.

            Bob smiled as she smiled. "I see. And when do I get it back?"

            "Well maybe not ever actually," she admitted honestly. This woman was a walking target. "And it won't do you any good to threaten me or hurt me." Alex swallowed hard—he was afraid for her to continue; yet she did. "Not that I'm saying that you would do something like that. But let's just say I go missing or my breaks suddenly go out—I will make sure there is one person, someone you do not know, who knows where that flash drive is, and I will make sure that as soon as anything happens to me...it gets turned over to the FBI." Alex glanced at her. Who was this other person? Was there somebody else he didn't know about? He felt her eyes on him as she looked over at him.

            Bob narrowed his eyes at her. "So I give you all of these things and you give me nothing? And because you still have the flash drive—you could come back later and ask for more stuff?" He had a point.

            "No, I'm telling you that I won't," she replied plainly. "I'm making a deal with you...and I'll honor it if you do." Alex feared the worst. He knew Bob.

            The man thought for a moment. "I have to hand it to you Norma Bates...you got me." Alex cringed inside. He felt Norma glance over at him. No one could ever believe Bob. He was always after something. "Well done, Norma. We have a deal."

            Alex waited as they shook hands and walked her out, back to his car. She smiled like a giddy schoolgirl; he hated that she was so naïve. "A pool?" he questioned once they were on the road.

            She looked over at him—the smile still on her face. "Yeah." He rolled his eyes at her, but she didn't mind. "I really appreciate you doing this for me."

            "Well someone's gotta keep an eye on you," he mumbled. He would have lectured her, but he didn't want to ruin her good mood. He pulled up to the motel and watched as she got out.

            "Bye, Alex," she smiled. He watched her walk up the steps to the house before driving off. He knew she wasn't safe, but he wasn't her own personal guard dog. He drove home and got ready for work.

He left work around six and headed over to the grocery store. He strolled down his usual aisle—the frozen dinners. He felt an eerie feeling as he opened up the door to the lean cuisines. Someone was following him. He shook it off...it was probably nothing. He glanced down at the box before carelessly throwing it into the basket—meatloaf with mash potatoes it was. He had a basket full of them; he wasn't big on cooking. The beeping drowned his thoughts as he entered the check out lane, quickly paying for his items and exiting the store. On this way back to the SUV, he felt a car slowly cruising behind him. He glanced back, walking to get out of their way. As he opened the back door of his car, shots rang out. He quickly grabbed his gun and ran after the car, but it had already sped away. As it disappeared, a sharp pain formed his in chest. He glanced down, lifting up the side of his jacket to see what it was. He could feel himself losing consciousness—losing control as he spotted the blood soaking his uniform. He fell against the car before he hit the ground, lying face up...hoping somebody would care enough to help him.