Dark Direction

Chapter 19: The Inquiry

Simon pulled up to the curb of Amy’s flat, where she was patiently waiting. The wind had started up, indicating there was a possible storm developing. Just as Amy got in the car and buckled her seatbelt, raindrops appeared on the windshield.

 “Phew, just made it.” Amy said as Simon put the car in drive.

“Yeah, the sky was looking a bit menacing.” Simon commented as he pulled out of Amy’s complex.

“So how far is the petrol station from here?” Amy asked Simon as she looked out the window. 

“Actually, it’s really not that far.” Simon said as he approached a red light.

“Really? ” Amy said, looking kind of confused. “I thought it was over by the Chinese Restaurant “.  Amy turned her head to look at Simon.

“No.” Simon said casually.

 As Simon made a turn onto the intersection, it started raining harder. Simon increased the speed of the windshield wipers. A bright white bolt of lightning flashed in the distance, making Amy jump in her seat. A few seconds later a loud clap of thunder followed. Simon glanced over at Amy as she gripped tightly onto her purse. Simon chuckled to himself, “so storms make Amy uncomfortable, note to self” he thought.

Simon looked at Amy. “Hey, you may want to grab the photo out of the glove compartment and put it in your purse so it doesn’t get wet.”  Simon says as Amy releases her grasp from her purse.

“That would be best, wouldn’t it?” Amy said as she smiled, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Just as she closed the compartment, Simon pulled into a parking space of the petrol station. The sky lit up as another flash of lightning went off. Simon shook the raindrops off the surface of his jacket before entering the station.

“It’s pretty insane out there tonight.” They heard the clerk behind the register comment.

“Good evening, mate” Simon greeted the clerk.

The clerk nodded his head. “Ma’am” he said as they approached the counter.

“How can I help you, mate?” the clerk politely asked Simon.

Simon smiled. “I was in here last week” he said as he tilted his head. “There was another gentleman working. . .” Simon put his fingers on his forehead, as in deep thought.” In his mid-forties, I need to speak to him about the conflict that took place.” Simon said as he rested his hands on the counter.

“I’m sorry, mate, I don’t know much about the other employees here.” The clerk apologizes “but I could phone my manager.” The clerk motioned to the phone. “All complaints are referred to him.”  The clerk said as he grabbed it and began press buttons.

“That won’t be necessary.” Simon spoke up, stopping the clerk from completing the call. “There’s no complaint to be filed.” Simon said smiling. He turned toward Amy and whispered in her ear. She nodded and handed him the photo from her purse. He turned and faced the clerk, held the photo up in eye level.

“I wonder if you could tell me if you’ve seen this lad in here recently.” Simon asked while making eye contact with the clerk. “He looks a bit different from this photo.” Simon continued. “He’s a little older now, with spiky hair, a goatee and dark clothes.”

The clerk examined the photo closely, nodding his head side to side.

“He was trying to buy smokes without I.D.” Simon blurted out remembering that detail.

“I would definitely remember that, it’s against store policy.” The clerk replied pointing to the ‘NO I.D. NO SALE’ sign posted in front of the cigarettes.

 Simon let out a big sigh and handed the photo back to Amy. Simon nodded with a forced smile as the clerk shrugged his shoulders.

“Sorry I couldn’t be more help, mate.” He sincerely apologized to Simon.

“No need to apologize.” Simon said as he held up his palm. "Thank you for your time.” Simon turned and put his hand on Amy’s shoulder, guiding her toward the door.

The rain returned with increasing wind, and they both made a mad dash to the car, unable to avoid puddles. They were both wet and cold as they sat in the car.

“Well that was a waste of time.” Simon remarked as he started up the car and turned the heat on.

“This isn’t going exactly as I had hoped.” Amy commented while she turned to look at Simon.

Simon noticed a drop of water on the tip of her nose as he looked at her. “We could drive around for a bit and keep a look out for him.” Simon said hesitantly.

Amy wiped the water droplet off her nose with her shirt sleeve. “That’s not going to do us any good tonight.” Amy retorted. “Besides, this rain is making it difficult to see.” She said looking through the windshield at the poor visibility.

“So what do you want to do?” Simon asks completely baffled.

Amy let out a big sigh; she turned to Simon avoiding eye contact. “We’ve hit every dead end we could possibly run into.” She said, looking down at her feet, noticing her shoes were wet through to her socks.

“We should probably just call it a night and head back.” Amy says in defeat. Just then, her phone rings. . .