33

 

 

When I came to, I was still in the alley, sitting with my knees drawn up. I glanced around the immediate area, but my attacker was gone. Slowly, I turned to my right, using my good leg to force myself to my feet. As my senses came back into full focus, I felt a warmth at my crotch. My first thought was blood, but when I glanced down, I saw that I’d wet myself.

Jesus, I thought. He choked the piss out of me.

It was like a bad joke.

I made my way back to my car, ignoring everyone I passed, not making eye contact. Once I made it to the car, I headed for home. As I drove, I thought about the face of the man who’d attacked me. I knew now where I’d seen it before.

He bumped into me just outside of Henry Brassart’s office building. And looking back now, I was sure that was no coincidence. He’d been following me.

But why?

My first guess would have been that he was a cop, but no cop would pull a stunt like he did. It was too dangerous, too likely to backfire. So he was working for someone else.

Who?

I tossed that idea around for a little while. Did he work for the cops? Marie Brassart? Thad Richards? Or someone else entirely?

Every option seemed foolish.

The cops wouldn’t authorize someone to attack me. It could be too easily traced back to them, for one thing. Plus, if they wanted me off the case, arresting me for obstruction was a more effective way to accomplish it. And besides, they may not be certain yet that I wasn’t involved somehow.

As for Marie, why would she want me followed? And how could she have arranged for it that quickly? I supposed she could have made a phone call from jail after we met, but again – to what end?

Thad Richards had no reason that I could see, either. And I had just finished speaking to him minutes before the guy ran into me outside the building. I guess Richards could have called the guy to come to the office before he met with me, and called him again immediately after I left his office, but I came back to the same question: why? How did he benefit?

So who else could it be? Who didn’t I know that was somehow involved in this situation? Who was lurking the shadows?

My drive home was a short one, but it could have been all four and half hours to Seattle, and I don’t think I’d have come up with an answer.

At my apartment, I stripped off my soiled clothes and started the shower. Right before I stepped in, my phone rang.

It was Anna.

“Hello,” I answered.

“I thought about what you said.” Her voice didn’t sound quite as flat as it had before. “And if you’re interested, I’d like to have coffee again.”

“Sure,” I said, without hesitation.

“I have to work tonight, but what about before?”

“That sounds great.”

We set a time and she hung up. I glanced at the digital readout of my phone. I had about three hours before I was supposed to meet her. I felt like I could spend an hour of that under the hot water of the shower.

Before I got in, though, I washed down some ibuprofen and inspected my shoulder in the mirror. The back was no longer red, but I could see where it would bruise. Even more prominent was the bruising around my throat. My head ached and there was a small lump on the back of my skull where it had collided with the brick wall.

My mind flashed to the image of the acne-scarred face of my attacker. I remembered the thickness of his speech after I punched him and made him bite his tongue. I found myself wishing he bit off a chunk. About the size of a steak.

Asshole.

I soaked under the shower until the hot water ebbed, then I dried off carefully. The ibuprofen began to kick in but I could tell it was only going to touch the pain, not eradicate it. I couldn’t decide if that was good or bad, but in the end, it didn’t really matter because I’d be dealing with it either way.

I sat at the kitchen table and re-read my notes, scratching out a few more, but nothing revelatory. Time passed slowly, and I thought about watching TV. I went so far as to get up and walk to the set, but then changed my mind. Instead, I flopped onto the couch, where I surprised myself by falling into a light doze.

Before I knew it, the time had come to meet Anna. I splashed some cold water on my face and headed out.