Mary McDonald - No good deed

“That’s it?”

“Yep.” Pausing in taking a note about one of her files, she added, “His mom didn’t think he had much money; everything was frozen by the government, and there was no telling how long that red tape would take to clear. He refused to take any cash from her.”

They fell silent as they each concentrated on cross-checking files for a case, but Jessie found it difficult. Where was Mark? Why hadn’t he called her? She thought they’d begun something special. Was he okay?

“What are you going to do?”

Jessie glanced at Dan. “Pardon?”

“About Taylor. Are you going to find him?” For once, the man didn’t have a teasing glint in his eye.

Trying to act unconcerned, she shrugged. “I shouldn’t, but I promised his mother I’d find out what I could.” She waited for him to get in a smart remark, but he didn’t; he only nodded.

Thirty minutes later, Dan spoke again. “You know, he might not want to see you.”

Jessie stacked her completed files, stood and crossed to the file cabinet, tossing over her shoulder, “Why wouldn’t he?” Setting the stack on top of the cabinet, she turned towards Dan.

Dan wore a somber expression. “I had an older brother who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam.” He held up his hand when Jessie began to tell him she was sorry about that. “Let me finish. When he came back, he didn’t want to see any of his old friends, especially the female ones.”

Jessie crossed her arms and shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense. I’d think he’d want to re-connect.”

He sighed and stacked his files. “You’d think, but he said once that he couldn’t stand the pity in their eyes. I think there was more to it, but he never said much.” Dan held out the stack and she stepped forward and took them, adding them to her own on top of the cabinet. “Eventually, he did marry and have a family, but it was rough at first.”

She leaned against the cabinet, digesting his words. “Yeah, but Mark wasn’t a prisoner of the North Vietnamese. I mean, he was held by his own country. It couldn’t have been that bad…right?”

Dan turned his head and shrugged, his expression grim. “You saw the pictures.”

Jessie debated for a week what to do, but finally decided to find Mark to give his mother some peace of mind. There were a couple of dozen camera shops in Chicago, but she only had to call four before she found him. Or rather, she spoke to the manager who confirmed that Mark worked there, but he was on his break. She thanked him and said she’d try again later. After hanging up, she noticed the address of the shop and felt the hairs on her arms rise. It was the same shop that she had used to develop the pictures from Mark’s camera last summer.

An hour later, she stood in front of the shop, working up the nerve to enter. Should she force her presence on him? What if he’d changed? What if he was like Dan’s brother? There was only one way to find out. She removed her sunglasses in the dim interior of the shop. Mark had his back to her, his attention focused on a customer examining a camera. He looked leaner than she recalled. His hair was longer too, but it looked good.

“Can I help you?”

To her right, she found the young man who had helped her the last time she had been in, when Jim had been with her. His eyes widened in recognition.

“Hey, I remember you.” He stepped closer, his head bent as he said in a low voice, “I never told anyone about those photos, but if you have more like them, I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse to develop them. I don’t want to get mixed up in anything like that.”

Jessie held up her hand in a stop gesture. “No, I didn’t come for that reason. I’m actually here to see if I could get a moment to speak to Mark Taylor.” She glanced at Mark, who held the camera in his hand and was pointing to something on it, angling it for the customer to see. He’d turned a fraction and she had a glimpse of his face. It was the same, but different. His skin was pale, and she recognized the prison pallor. The young man spoke and drew her attention back. She peeked at his name-tag. Gary.

“Sure. You know Mark?”

She hesitated a beat. “Yes. It’s been awhile though.” Mark was still unaware of her presence, and looked like he was wrapping up a sale. He set the camera on a counter and put it back in the box, showing the customer some manuals before placing them in the box as well.

“Oh, shit.”

Startled, Jessie turned towards the manager. “Excuse me?”

The guy blushed, but he also had the oddest expression on his face. “Now I know where I’d seen Mark before. It was him in those pictures.”

She raised her chin, giving him a hard look. “I think you’re mistaken…Gary.”

He shot a wide-eyed look at Mark then back to her. “But-”

Jessie narrowed her eyes and Gary broke off and gulped.

Mark’s voice rose as the customer crossed the shop to the front door. “You have any problems or questions, don’t hesitate to come back in. Have a nice day.”

Gary backed away, then turned towards Mark. “Hey, Mark. Someone wants to see you.”

Jessie watched as Mark wrote something down on a pad of paper, then glanced up. His initial expression of curiosity turned to frozen shock.

She approached him. “Hi.”

He didn’t speak until she had come to a halt, the glass counter separating them. “Jessie.” He nodded.

“How are you doing, Mark?”

“I’m okay. You?”

She’d received warmer greetings from the people at the DMV. Jessie searched his face until he averted it; his fingers drumming a rhythm on the counter top. “I’m good, but I’d like to talk to you.” She gestured to the store. “It might be better to go somewhere a little more private.”

“I can’t. I’m working now and I already had my break.” He reacted as if she had asked him to rip his fingernails off one by one.

Jessie nodded. “Right. What about later? Tonight?”

He braced his hands on the edge of the counter, his head down. For a long moment, he remained in that position, then looked at her, his face calm. “Sure. I’ll meet you at O’Leary’s Pub. You know where that is?”

“Yeah. What time is good?” She wished he’d show some emotion, but his face, after the initial shock, was blank. Impassive.

“I’m off at six. I can be there by seven-thirty.”

“Sounds perfect. I’ll get there a little early to get a table.” She began backing towards the door then stopped. “Mark. I missed you.” Without waiting for his reaction, she turned and hurried out the door.

The rest of the workday passed in a blur, except for an odd conversation with Gary. The guy had been giving him strange looks ever since Jessie had left. After the third time he’d caught Gary staring at him, Mark threw his pen down on the counter. “What? Do I have something hanging out of my nose?”

“No, I’m sorry. It’s just that…well, now I remember where I’ve seen you before.” He turned away and began sorting through customer film envelopes.

Mark waited to see if Gary would clue him in. A minute later, he stalked over to his manager and tapped his shoulder. “And? Ya got me curious.”

Gary straightened and his face was a deep red. It could have been from leaning over, but his expression hinted at more than that. “I shouldn’t have said anything. What I see in photos developed here is private stuff.” He stopped and scratched the back of his head. “I’ve seen plenty, but I don’t talk about it. I mean, it’s like a lawyer/client relationship, right? It should never go beyond these walls.”

Puzzled and irritated at the long-winded reply, Mark leaned back against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. “What the hell are you yapping about?” It was probably the wrong tone of voice to aim at his boss, but the guy was rambling.