Troy's Dawn, Hello Again

“Hello again, Troy. I trust you rested well. End of the week again – yay, Friday, right?” Amelia was chatty in the morning, being a morning person. Troy grumbled, waved his hand in a Miss America-style wave, and slipped past her on his way in. “Geesh, a bit grumpy, are we?” she called out to him.

Amelia strode onto the avenue, wending between commuters and street vendors. Selecting a handful of flowers, she dropped a five-dollar bill into the jar and continued, passing a homeless woman who slept on the bus stop bench, wrapped in a multi-color Afghan. Amelia dropped a dollar in the woman’s shoe, used like a church collection plate.

***

Troy waited impatiently for the elevator doors to open on the fifth floor. He was especially tired after his shift and wanted to get to bed. His work week began Sunday, and Friday was his day off. Amelia’s sudden interest and constant cheer caused chaos with his circadian rhythm like blue light, so he tried to avoid her. It never worked. He had tried sneaking out of work a bit early, eating breakfast at the café before coming home, and using the back entrance to the building where they lived. None of his efforts paid off; he supposed she telepathically communed with his brain, such that she would be there, no matter his efforts to avoid her. He wasn’t in a chatty mood today, so he got away from her quickly.

Doesn’t she have to be at work on time? I can’t change my hours in order to run into someone I want to talk to. We had an agreement!

Troy was fuming still as he unlocked the door and headed to the toilet. His room was situated in the angled portion of the apartment in a triangular building. A window over the toilet revealed his nemesis, dropping money in the homeless lady’s shoe. Oh, for crying out loud! He almost missed the bowl but caught himself in time. Why does she give money to that hag?

Washing his hands, he gazed at the fake-sleeping woman, watching as she pulled the shoe closer and removed the bills in it. She sat up, counted the money, and walked to the café, a wide grin plastered on her face. Well, good for Amelia; the woman will get some grub in her belly.

***

Amelia perused the legal documents piled neatly on her desk, in order, top to bottom. She had repeatedly reprimanded her secretary for re-sorting the documents when someone asked to be pushed ahead. Amelia didn’t allow that; it was not an emergency for her just because a client felt it was. She always worked them in the order in which they came in and was efficient! Everyone knew that - except perhaps Mandy, the assistant.

She reviewed the briefs after completing her morning meeting and gave Mandy and Charlie their assignments. Charlie was her paralegal, and he was the cream of the crop, always quick and ninety-nine percent accurate in assessments. Charlie worked closely with some private detectives and a college student who was a wiz at finding out things from the internet. Amelia trusted him enough to handle the office when she took annual leave for two weeks every Thanksgiving.

“Charlie, did you find out anything about the tenant I asked you to investigate?” She spoke in code to Charlie so that eavesdropping Mandy wouldn’t have gossip to spread amongst her nosy cocktail hour friends. Amelia’s request pertained to Troy and was very specific. She knew that Charlie knew she and Troy were roommates -he wasn’t a tenant. She read an ad that touched her and decided to rent her extra room. Amelia didn’t need the income; she was drawn in by the words in the ad.

My family has disappeared from my life, and I need a room for a short time while I sort things out. I work nights, have a good income, and am conscientious about cleaning up (my area and after cooking, but myself as well). Ideally, the room would be close to the expressway. - -Troy

Charlie was reviewing the list as Amelia asked about it.

1.     Is he married, or has he ever been? (he says so, but…)

2.    Relationship partner backgrounds

3.    Where was he born, and what is his birthday?

4.    Place of residence prior to this for how long

5.    Education background, detailed

6.    Detailed work history and salary

7.    Siblings and parents

8.    Bank accounts

9.    Investments

10. Church or faith affiliation

11. Hobbies

12. Drinking habits or drug use

13. Legal issues, including driving tickets

14. The last five vacation spots

15. Last ten airline trips

Charlie sat under the window facing Amelia’s desk in the overstuffed fabric chair. He crossed his right ankle over his knee and opened his Troy Folder using his leg as a substitute desk. “Let’s see. Here it is,” he said while she watched him flip through papers. “I have found out some things. He is not, nor never has been married. He grew up in Philadelphia, the south side. He has one older sister and brother and one younger sister. They all work for the Philadelphia County government. None are married, and the two sisters live together.”

“Okay, Charlie, that is a bit feeble start.” She leaned forward, elbows on her desk, glaring at him. “I handed this off to you three weeks ago. What is the holdup, exactly? This isn’t like you, Charlie, not having the answers quickly.”

“Amelia, this Troy guy is cagey and doesn’t have a large fingerprint. He either has a very uneventful life or is an expert at covering it. I have Jesse and Pammy working on this also.”

She sat back in her executive chair. “All right! That is news I like to hear. Pammy will get to the bottom of any intrigue. That’s all, Charlie, you can go.”

***

Troy tossed and turned in the double bed that his sister had given him. He didn’t need a bed any larger since he always slept alone. His subconscious was busy trying to solve the puzzle of Amelia’s popping up in his face at dawn. 

When he finally fell asleep, he dreamed he was in a tunnel with yellow lights in the curved cement ceiling. It appeared to be an expressway tunnel, but there was no traffic. His dream switched to a brilliant sunrise from his favorite park overlooking the sea. As he watched the sun slowly make its ascent, Amelia appeared beside him and took his hand. He turned to her, pulling his hand away sharply, and said, “What the hell do you want? Get away from me. Stop following me!” He woke up drenched in sweat.

***

“Troy, how can I help you?” The man’s voice on the other end of the phone was calm and level.

“She is destroying my nerves. She is in my dreams, making them nightmares. My fitness tracker says I only got five hours of good sleep. What does she want? She greeted me again this morning as I came home at dawn, ever so cheery. Our rental agreement required my working nights and included having little contact; she didn’t want to be disturbed by my presence. Our interaction was minimal for months, but suddenly, she is in my face no matter how I try to avoid her. Switching the times of my coming home hasn’t helped. Dawn and dusk, she manages to be in my path with her cheery greetings. It is as if she is watching me.

“I think we had best have an in-person appointment, Troy. How is next Monday at four o’clock?”

“No, no, I can’t do that day, I’m working.”

“Don’t you have some leave you could use?”

“I don’t want to use leave to visit a head shrink. Sorry, that slipped out, sorry. I don’t want to take leave. I’m off on Fridays.”

“Now Troy, you know that I don’t keep office hours on Fridays.”

“Well, I’m not taking leave, so I guess we won’t have an in-person appointment, Dr. May!” He ended the call, knowing the doctor would not call him back. He had to think, for chrissakes.

Troy decided his best plan would be to hide for a while, and perhaps Amelia would lose interest. He could stay at his sister’s for a week or so. She had offered, after all. It would give him a break from Amelia’s cheery good mornings and motherly check-ins at sunset. He would stay with his sister and then see how it went.

“Terri, it’s me. I was wondering if I could stay with you for a few days. Yeah? A week, maybe two. All right then, I’ll be over early morning if that’s all right.”

Troy packed up some work and leisure clothes, toiletries, his headphones, and a book he was reading. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was one hour before sunset. Time to go.

He stepped into the hallway and waited for the elevator in the bright orange sunset rays shining in from a floor-to-ceiling window. Ding. The elevator doors opened.

“Troy! How nice to see you! Are you going somewhere? I thought you’d still be sleeping after your long week.” Amelia smiled broadly at Troy, waiting for his response.

Troy was dumbfounded and frozen in his tracks. Unbelievable. The nerve of this woman. I think she has bugged the apartment, my room, or my phone…something gives her a heads-up about my whereabouts. Troy just stood in place, stupidly staring at Amelia with a blank face.

“Troy? Are you all right?” She put her hand on his forearm, and he jerked it away. Like in my dream, only it’s my arm she is grabbing onto.

Troy saw her tap her earphones, listen, and then nod.

“Troy, please step aside so I can enter.” He gave her a ferocious look and pushed past her to the elevator, which had come back to their floor. He quickly hit the close door button, holding his breath until the door shut, and he was alone, speeding toward floor 1. He ran out as soon as the doors opened, taking the stairs to the underground parking. He felt safe once in his car and on the expressway.

“Safe,” he thought. Then he looked up and saw the curved cement ceiling with the lights from his dream. The hairs on his neck raised in alarm; he glanced at the passenger seat, which caused more alarm. There was a photo of his son Jimmy, an envelope addressed

TO: Troy 

FROM: Amelia

***

“Hey Charlie, it’s me. He is driving now, follow him. I don’t know to where, you idiot, that is your job! He left the parking garage one minute ago and headed out to the expressway tunnel.”

Charlie hopped in his Jeep Wrangler and squealed out, trying to enter the freeway approximately two miles north of where Troy got on. Once on the freeway, he pulled to the slow lane and trekked along at the speed limit, cars zipping by him. Watching in the rearview mirror, he saw Troy’s vehicle approaching. Flipping on his turn signal, he changed lanes and followed Troy from several car lengths, being sure to change lanes so as not to create suspicion.

“Amelia, he is heading to his sister’s. Yep. Okay, talk later.”

***

“Amelia, it’s Pammy. As you asked, I put the envelope into his car, with the photo on the seat. I’m on my way now to his sister’s. What? Pick you up? Sure, I will be there in three minutes.”

Amelia had a change of clothes in her laptop backpack. “All planned perfectly. We will converge at his sister’s house by sunrise.

Charlie still had Troy in front of him and checked WAZE on his phone to see if the destination was still the same. Troy didn’t seem to be deviating from the direct route to his sister’s.

Pammy picked up Amelia and drove in her usual manner, ten over the speed limit, using WAZE for speed traps rather than for directions. “Hey, I see Troy.” She pointed, and Amelia smiled.

“Stay back. I absolutely don’t want Troy to see me.”

“We have to pick up the package, though. Will we have time?” Pammy looked over at Amelia, who nodded affirmatively.

Pammy left the expressway at exit 198 and pulled into the truck stop gas station. Waiting near the convenience store was a red XKE Jaguar with the plates LOSTFND. Pammy whipped into the space next to it and hopped out with Amelia. 

***

“Hi, Basil. We need to make this quick. I wired the money when I saw your car; check it now!”

A tall blond man in cowboy boots swiped across his phone and typed in credentials. Amelia’s index finger tapped her thigh impatiently, awaiting Basil’s response.

“Yep, I see it. Ninety grand.” He opened the back door, and Amelia stuck her head in.

“Hi there. Come on, let’s switch cars and go for a ride. You’ll like the ending.”

Pammy revved up her engine and squealed tires back onto the expressway. Amelia swore like a sailor under her breath, not wanting to alarm their passenger.

***

The sun began to crawl up into the morning, sending swirls of pink clouds across the pale blue sky as Troy drove up his sister’s half-mile driveway. Several parked vehicles were in front of her house; the garage door was closed.

He parked his car off to one side of the wide drive, ensuring he wouldn’t block any vehicles. As he opened his car door, Amelia got out of Pammy’s vehicle.

“What the hell, Amelia! Why are you here? How do you know where my sister lives?” He backed up to his car. Dawn was creeping up, the pink clouds turning white now in the morning light.

The back door on the driver’s side of Pammy’s car opened, and before he knew it, Jimmy was running toward him.

Troy met his son, grabbed him in a bear hug, and looked over his head at Amelia.

“Daddy, Daddy, I was scared, but this big man with cowboy boots found me and took me in his fancy car. Then those women got me and brought me here.”

Amelia approached Troy. “Your son is back with you now, Troy.”

“How did you find him? Why? I don’t even know you.”

Amelia glanced at the sky. “We can talk about that another day.”

The lamps along the driveway blinked out one by one as the daylight brightened.