Halfway to Hell

HALFWAY TO HELL

She was the kind of blonde who made strong men weak and weak men strong. Her voice was like warm honey on cinnamon toast and when she said: ‘I need your help,’ I knew I was going to regret ever having laid eyes on her.

            I motioned for her to sit in the client’s chair. She crossed her legs with that soft, swishing sound you only get with really expensive stockings end even more expensive legs. She fixed me with those cobalt blue eyes of hers and leaned forward slightly as she told me her story.

            I nodded like I was really paying attention and asked a few questions along the way. When she was finished I told her my fee. She didn’t even blink. She gave me her number and as I watched her leave, I knew I was halfway to hell and I didn’t give a damn.

My first stop was Eddie Richmond. Eddie runs a pawn shop on Columbus and 3rd.he’s a sawn-off runt of a guy with a bad back, bad knees and bad breath. He’s one of maybe half a dozen people in this world I call friend.

            ‘Hey, Mac, good to see ya,’ he said as I made my way up to the counter.

            ‘Eddie,’ I said in return. He was busy serving a kid in a brown leather jacket who didn’t look old enough to shave. The kid shot me a nervous look.

            ‘It’s okay, kid,’ I told him. ‘I’m not a cop.’ I used to be and maybe the smell still lingers because the kid didn’t look reassured. His eyes kept flicking between me and Eddie and back again.

            ‘Go on about your business,’ I said. ‘I’ll wait.’

            The kid licked his lips. ‘Maybe I should just…ah…’he said.

            ‘Maybe you should come back late,’ Eddie told him.

            ‘Yea, sure, I’ll do that.’ He practically ran from the store.

            Eddie looked at me through the inch thick lenses of his bottle top glasses that magnified his eyeballs to the size of footballs.

            ‘Kids these days,’ he said, as though the word had a nasty taste.

            ‘He ain’t comin’ back,’ I told him.

            Eddie shrugged. ‘So maybe you saved him from a life of crime. Call it your good deed for the day.’

            I didn’t ask what the kid was after. That wasn’t how my relationship with Eddie worked.

            ‘What can I do for you, Mac?’ he asked.

            ‘What, I can’t just stop by for a chat with an old pal?’

            He snorted. ‘In a monkey’s tush you just want a chat. You got your game face on. What’s the deal?’

            I told him about my blonde temptress. He listened carefully and then gave a long, low whistle.

            ‘So what do you want from me?’ he said. I told him and he thought it over for a few seconds. Then he nodded and shuffled off into the back room. I heard a lot of banging and scraping and a few cuss words and when he came back he was carrying a small cardboard box. He slid it across the counter but kept his hand on the lid.

            ‘You sure about this?’ he asked.

            ‘No,’ I admitted. ‘But I’m gonna do it anyway.’

            ‘Fair enough,’ he said. He took back his hand and I pulled the box towards me. I lifted the lid, inspected the contents and replaced the lid carefully. I pulled out my wallet but Eddie waved his hand in front of my face.

            ‘Just bring it back when you’re done,’ he said. ‘If you’re still alive.’

            I told myself he was joking, but the look on his face didn’t make me want to laugh.

            ‘Take care of yourself, Mac,’ he said as I headed for the door.

            ‘I always do,’ I said.

            ‘Yea, right,’ he aid but something in his tone said he didn’t believe me.

            I pulled the door closed behind me and got back into my car, the cardboard box on the seat beside me. The kid in the leather jacket was hanging around on the corner, waiting for me to leave maybe, trying to get up the nerve to go back in. I shrugged. None of my business whether he does or not. Either way, it’s his funeral.

            I pulled out into traffic. The solid rain that had been pouring down for the last three days had finally eased off. A watery sun was poking through the clouds and there was a fresh, clean smell in the air. It was a nice day, I told myself.

            A nice day for a murder.