Jersey City

2

2:45 P:M

  It took Gerard less than twenty  minutes to walk back to the two-lane road  near the edge of town, backpack slung over one shoulder, zipped closed. He wanted to ride his motorcycle , but that plan failed as he would've been riding a mangled mess. After leaving the car, Gerard half pushed , half dragged his black bike as far into the trees in the other side of the road from the wrecked car as he could. He left it in a deep hole, along with his helmet , covered them bother with leaves and fallen branches, and scuffed away the drag marks as best he could. Poor bike he thought , it'd been with him for two years. But now he can buy himself a hell of a new one now.
    He crossed the road and headed into Ninety-Nine's Diner. Even though the diner was just a short walk from a local bar, where he'd wasted countless nights and a lot of money—most wasn't his own—he'd never been inside of the diner. When he  came here to the outskirts of Jersey it was to drink, not eat.
      A bell jingled softly as the door knocked it swinging. Stokes kept his head down and moved toward a booth in the back. As he passed through , he heard conversations, smelled coffee and sweet apple pie, and most of all, meatloaf, which must have been Ninety-Nine's special if the day. He squeezed into a booth in the rear of the place, A moment later, a thin waitress with ruby lips, pale skin and pigtails appeared and slid a menu under his nose while he was daydreaming, looking at the table. He snapped out of it and thanked the attractive woman with a pleated mini skirt. When the young woman was gone , Gerard took the back back from his shoulder and placed it beside him on the cracked  blue "leather" seats.
      Watching her walk towards me, hearing the slight click of her boots on the hardwood floor as she comes up to him and asks "Coffee to start, sir?" with an empty coffee cup and steaming pot already in her hands.
      " Sweetie, call me Gerard.. Coffee only please" He said . He though he saw a slight rosiness in her cheeks
"Also if you can go on break , I'd like to have you" Gerard winked and the woman happily raised a finger and walked away , and came back with another mug sitting down and proceeding to pour coffee into both their cups.
      " What's your name?" He asks taking his cup and pouring some creamer and then sugar
       She raised her finger to her chest and pointed to her name tag         
  "My name's Lindsey!" She said  then winked " I'm sorry but I wasn't given much time to be on break , I had a lot of fun talking to you Gerard.. Goodbye I have to get back to work" She said as she got up and took the cups and gingerly looking down as she walked away.
     She came back in a couple of minutes and gave him the check." You've been a doll" he said as he placed a thirty dollar bill on the table and gave her peck on the cheek
      She walked away as he heard a loud ringing. At first, he thought it might have been a pay phone around the corner, near the restrooms. It rang a second time. Gerard frowned. The phone wasn't around the corner . It was in the backpack next to him. It rang again. Must have belonged to the dead driver. The guy sure kept the ringer loud as hell. The phone rang a fourth time, and Gerard began to feel uncomfortable. Hang up already. It rang yet again and Gerard wondered when voicemail would pick up. Silverware no longer clinked against plates. Gerard knew that if he glanced over his shoulder he would see all eyes staring back at him, staring at the shady guy in the corner letting his phone ring twenty times without answering it, not even answering it to say " Sorry i'm busy, I'll call you back later" being stared at definitely wasn't what he wanted just then. While his back still against the room , he raised one hand in apology, and mumbled "Sorry, folks" and reached for his backpack quickly, felt a bulge in one pocket, and fumbled with the zipper until he got it open. As he pulled a phone out from the pocket he snapped it open , killing it midring. Just about to close it again when he heard a small voice in the other end of the line. The voice was a small one . . . Slowly, he raised the phone toward his ear, the words becoming clearer the closer it got.
    "Daddy," the little voice said,        "Daddy are you there? Can you hear me? They told me you're coming to get me soon. That if you give them the money, they'll let you take me home."
    Gerard rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm.
     The little girl's voice spoke again. "Daddy?"