Jason Pinter - The Darkness

“Henry…it’s me. I know I just called, but I just wanted to say I love you and please be safe.”

Amanda hung up the phone and put on her pajamas.

Then she tucked herself under the warm covers and turned off the light. Not for sleep. That wouldn’t come.

Not until the phone rang. Not until she knew for sure

Henry was on his way home.

When I got home it was close to midnight. I sloughed off all the detritus from the day: wallet, keys, loose change, cell phone. The phone was off. I’d forgotten to turn it back on after Jack and I had left the crime scene. I turned it back on, saw there were two messages waiting for me.

My heart sank when I heard Amanda’s voice on both of them. In the first she seemed relaxed. The time stamp meant she’d likely sent it just after getting home from work. The second was sent less than half an hour later, but she sounded worried, hesitant. I had no idea what could have happened in that short time frame, but the moment I erased the messages I was calling her back.

She picked up before the first ring was finished.

“Henry?” her sweet voice said.

“Hey, baby, it’s me.”

“Are you home?”

“Sure am. Pretty exhausted, but it’s been a hell of a day. I’ll fill you in tomorrow.”

“Are you home for good?”

“You mean tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes…just getting ready for bed.”

“Do me a favor. Make sure your door is locked.”

“Is everything okay?” I didn’t know where all of this was coming from. “Do you want me to come over?”

“No. Just promise me you’ll stay safe.”

“I promise,” I said.

“Good. Thanks, Henry. Now get a good night’s sleep.

I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

She hung up, but something gnawed at my gut. Like

Amanda knew something I didn’t.

Tuesday

I was on the corner of Fifty-seventh and Sixth. It was seven-thirty in the morning. Jack had told me to meet him at eight-thirty. So unless he showed up an hour early just to prove a point, I’d be the first one there. Of course you could make the argument that I showed up an hour early just to make my own point, but that was semantics. I wanted and needed Jack to respect my work ethic. If my professional accomplishments hadn’t yet convinced him, he’d just have to witness it firsthand.

I was still a little on edge from my conversation with

Amanda. We’d spoken briefly this morning before she left for work, and something was definitely wrong. Again she’d told me to promise that I’d stay safe. She’d never done anything like that, at least not without cause or some psycho killer breathing down our backs. I’d see her tonight.

We’d talk, and hopefully everything would be all right.

They needed to be. I needed that much stability in my life right now, and I needed her to know that I was reliable.

At eight-fifteen the familiar tweed jacket rounded the corner. Jack was clutching a large coffee and munching on a bagel. Cream cheese was stuck in his beard. He nodded as he drew close, said, “Henry. Way to be on time.”

“I could say the same thing to you. Hey, got a little cream cheese there.” I motioned to his beard. He ran his hand through it, but all that did was spread it around. I laughed, which Jack didn’t take kindly to. He took a napkin and wiped himself down thoroughly, finally getting it out.

“Better, Dad?” Jack said.

“Better, sport.”

“Good. Now that the silliness is over, let’s go talk to some of these 718 guys.”

“I don’t know all of them,” I said, “but the ones I did meet got pretty vicious. Two of them, Scott Callahan and

Kyle Evans, are dead. Two others I didn’t know, Guardado and Tsang, are dead, too.”

“They must have a hell of a life insurance policy,”

Jack said.

“I don’t get it,” I said. “Stephen Gaines worked for these people. He ends up dead. Tsang has his bones ground to powder, and there are still people dealing for these clowns. I mean, if your colleagues are dropping like flies, why do you stay on? Why not go to the cops, spill on whoever’s paying you? Seems like you have a better chance of staying alive at least.”

“That’s a good question, Henry, and it’s one that we’re going to have to answer because obviously these people disagree with your assessment.”

“Survival,” I said.

“Come again?” replied Jack.

“Human instinct. The number-one priority is survival. If someone isn’t opening up, it’s because they want to survive.

Ken Tsang, that wasn’t just a murder. It was a message.”

“I think I’ve seen that kind of message before.”

“Yeah? Where?”

“Wrote a story once where I had to interview the foreman after an accident at a quarry. The foreman told me the victim’s body looked like the bad guy after Indiana Jones smushed him in that rock crusher. Said he looked like something that was squeezed out of a tube of toothpaste.”

“You know, sometimes I feel I’d be better off not knowing about all your previous stories.”

“Thought it might be pertinent,” Jack sniffed.

“Come on, the building where 718 operates out of is over there.”

We entered the building, and I wasn’t shocked to find a different security guard on duty than I remember. He was an older man, mid-sixties, with a tuft of gray hair parked on the top of his head like a wind ornament. He had on thick reading glasses and was reading a newspaper. We approached, and I said, “We’re here for 718 Enterprises.”

The man looked up. I could see a crossword puzzle on the table in front of him. Only three of the words had been filled in. And let’s just say he wasn’t aware the word nuclear had an a.

“Sorry, come again?”

“718 Enterprises,” Jack said. “Can you ring them up?”

“Just a second.” He pushed the newspaper away and brought out a large binder. Opening it, he began to flip through pages, studying the telephone numbers with his index finger. I watched as he scanned, unable to see the numbers for myself.

“I’m sorry, there’s no company here by that name.

718 Enterprises, you said?”

“That’s right. They definitely work here,” I added.

“I’ve been here before,” I lied.

The guard curled his lip up, flipped through the binder again. He looked confused, frustrated. “Sorry, nothing here by that name.”

“Hold on a second,” I said. I took the logbook from the counter, began to look at all the people who’d signed in. Last time I was here, Scott Callahan and Kyle Evans had signed in when they visited 718 Enterprises. But to my surprise, nobody was here to visit the company. Not a single name I recognized.

“Sir, please give that back,” he said, his voice growing impatient. “If you don’t I’ll have security down here right quick.” Figured they’d have security. Old Man River here didn’t look like he was hired to do much strong-arming.

“What’s your name, friend?” Jack said.

“Edgar,” the guard replied.

“Edgar, I’m Jack. My friend Henry here is a little impatient, for that I apologize. We were under the impression this company was located at this address… How long have you been working here?”

“It’s my fourth day,” Edgar replied.

“Really,” Jack said. His voice was modulated to feign interest, but I could tell that bothered him. “Who else works this shift?”

“Nobody anymore. Building manager called the agency that was looking to place me, said they needed a new morning man five days a week, Monday through Friday.

They didn’t tell me about the last guy, but this is a full-time job. Thank God, because in this economy heaven knows my savings and 401k aren’t worth squat anymore.”