| please scroll down for ensuing pages |
| Unforgiven Sins 31 'Jake, wait!' I rushed up to him. 'I'm sorry. Really.' I took his hand. 'I would really love to have dinner with you. It's been too long.' I was still convinced that he knew something and the only way I would find out was to keep him close. As my dad always said: 'Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.' I didn't consider Jake an enemy....not yet. �I�ll call you.� He pulled his hand out of mine. �Promise?� �I said I would, didn�t I? �I�ll hear from you then?� �Yeah. You will.� He walked down to his car, got in and drove away. It suddenly occurred to me that if Jake didn�t know anything about my parent�s death, he could be the only ally I had in Miami. I realized that I might have to reconsider my strategy where he was concerned. * * * * |
| M. A. Anderson 32 Tim Donahue arrived in Miami at 7.53 p.m. He drove to the end of the main street, pulled into the driveway of one of the many motels and stopped outside the office. He turned off the ignition, got out of the car and walked to the door. Before pushing it open, he peered through the glass panel. A man in his late fifties, early sixties was sitting behind the counter watching the news on a portable television sitting on top of the single, metal filing cabinet in the corner. From what Donahue could see, the place seemed clean enough. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. The guy stood up and watched him move across the tiny space. �What can I do for ya?� he asked. �I�d like a single room please,� Donahue replied. �How long you plannin� on staying?� The guy was rummaging under the counter and had not even looked the detective in the face. Donahue was feeling a bit disgruntled. Whatever happened to customer courtesy? he wondered. �A few days�at this stage. When I know for sure, I�ll let you know.� The guy threw a key onto the counter along with a small container of milk, and some choc chip cookies that looked homemade in a small zip lock bag. He swung the motel registry around. �Can you fill out your details? Oh, and do you have a current credit card?� Donahue decided to show his credentials, it would save a lot of time. He pulled his badge out of his shirt pocket. �I�m down here on official police business. This should be all the details you need.� |
| ______________________________________________________________________________________ |
| Unforgiven Sins 33 The guy peered at the badge for a moment, then looked into Donahue�s face. �Okay. Sure.� He seemed a little nervous all of a sudden. Donahue signed the registry, picked up his stockpile and moved across to the door. He could feel the guy�s eyes on his back. He turned around. �I�d appreciate it if you�d keep my presence here confidential.� The guy nodded without answering. Donahue swung the door open and stepped outside smiling to himself. He got into his car and cruised along the courtyard until he came to room 26. He parked in front of the room, popped the automatic trunk lock and got out of the car. He pulled his bag out of the trunk, closed the lid and moved across to the room�s brightly coloured door. He pushed the key into the lock and swung the door back. Flicking on the light, he gazed around the room. It was alright for what it was. He closed the door and threw his bag onto the bed. He needed a good night�s sleep before beginning his investigation in the morning I couldn�t sleep, no matter how hard I tried. It seemed as though I had been tossing and turning for hours, although the clock on my nightstand read 8.30 p.m. Gazing up at the ceiling, all I could see was the look on Jake�s face when I had asked him to drive me home. I sat up and turned on the lamp. What was I going to do about |
| M. A. Anderson 34 about him? I had so much to deal with right now; I didn�t need any other distractions. When I had decided to move to Chicago and leave Jake behind, I thought that that was the end of it. Now, I wasn�t so sure. Seeing him again brought those old feelings flooding back, feelings I realized I hadn�t dealt with all those years ago. Maybe I was feeling close to him because I was vulnerable and needed someone on my side. I had no family now. Then again, maybe it was just what it felt like. Whatever it was, it would have to wait, I was here for a reason and that came before anything else. TO BE CONTINUED.... |
| ______________________________________________________________________________________ |