Zwicki thumbed through a chest high file cabinet in the main office, while the office manager and student volunteers busied themselves with the tasks at hand.
There were students at the counter asking questions and phones ringing. His office manager, Pauline, noticed him.
"Can I help you find something, John?" she asked him. Zwicki did not turn around. He had found what he was looking for, a file labeled "Netherby, Sarah J. (#71-674) and he pulled it from the drawer.
"Nah, I can find it," he replied. "Give me a little credit, Pauline," he chuckled charmingly. Zwicki also pulled a couple more folders randomly from the front so as not to draw attention to just the one he sought. He stuck them under his arm and made his way to the coffee machine in the corner. He took a clean glass mug from the shelf, filled it with coffee and headed for his office. He closed the door behind him.
Once at his desk, he made himself comfortable and opened the only file he was interested in at the moment. He scanned the orange personal information card in the front of the folder to find an address. Zwicki wrote the address on a notepad, tore it off and stuck it in his pocket.
He turned to face his computer and went straight to Google maps where he typed in the address "421 Lilac Street, Arden, MO" and up popped the familiar drop pin denoting the Netherby home one of the older, original Arden neighborhoods of Arden.
Something about it upset Zwicki. His eyes began to dart about his mind looking for answers.
"What the fuck?" is all he managed to whisper to himself as he examined the screen. He zoomed out from the map on the computer to again find Sarah's house in relation to the rest of the town. He zoomed back in and pulls the little Google man from his safe place in the corner of the screen and placed him in front of 421 Lilac Street.
Zwicki saw the house in full color, full screen. He stared at the monitor. His chest rose and fell with each deep and heavy breath. He leanedback in his chair for a moment, then sat straight up and closed out of the screen,
"You, little girl, are fucking with the wrong guy." He closed the Sarah Netherby folder.
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YOU ARE READING
#Wattys2015 The Ghost of James Fitzpatrick
RomanceSarah Netherby is enjoying her unremarkable life as a junior at Arden High School, when her world is turned upside down by the arrival of an uninvited guest in her bedroom who turns to Sarah for help. He brings with him the secrets of his past, incl...
