crack - 5. buried

by nick nelson

part 5 of ?

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nightfall. the crossroads of route 1a, running south to north from baton rouge to bismarck, and route 33b, running east to west from fayettevlle to fresno. where you headed? east. i am going east. get in. thanks, mister. * want to make some money? that depends, depends? on what? why are you out here on the highway bumming rides if you got so much money. it depends? ha ha. i don’t have any money. then why does it depend? there’s just some things i wouldn’t want to do. like what? i don’t know - like killing somebody. nobody is asking you to kill anybody. all right. then what do you want? i got some money buried in a spot outside paducah. but i hurt my back, so i need somebody to help me dig it up/. you think you are strong enough to do that? i could give it a try. good. how much money are you talking about, that you got buried? what do you care? i am just paying you to dig it up. just curious. about a million dollars. that sounds like a nice round sum. how much are you going to give me? five dollars. maybe ten if you do a good job. and if you do a really good job, i might buy you a cup of coffee when we get to paducah. it all sounds good. and don’t get any ideas when we get there. i may have a bad back and not be as young as i used to be, but i can still handle a punk like you if he starts something. no need to get personal. i am a man of peace, and i hate violence. i figured. that is why i picked you up. * here we are. so where is this money? right over by that crooked tree. hold on, i will get you a shovel out of the trunk. to be continued

crack - 4. found

by nick nelson

part 4 of ?

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why don’t you just read the note? wilson asked again. all right. but i will still have more questions later. friday opened the envelope and took out a single folded sheet of lined paper. it looked like it had been torn out of a school notebook. on it was written in pen, in capital letters: i know where you are now. that’s it? isn’t it enough? it does not actually make a threat. it scared me. you don’t know who sent it? no. do you have any guesses? no. do you have any enemies? no enemies and no friends. this bill is not your friend? no, he is just a guy. you are not giving me a lot to work with here. i am sorry. if we find anything we will contact you. do you have a phone? no. no phone? no landline, no cell phone? no. does this bill have a phone? probably. you never call him? no. i just see him when i see him. nobody calls you on his phone? no. i think if we want to contact you, we ill write to you. mr william wilson at 101 south main st. how does that sound? good. friday looked down at the few notes she had made. two words were underlined and circled. “money” and “found”. before you go, i have a couple of more questions. about what? about the money you say you found, and that you say you live on. next

crack - 3. the letter

by nick nelson

part 3 of ?

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thank you. sergeant friday took the wrinkled plain white envelope from mr wilson. she turned it over in her hand. there was nothing written or typed on either the front or back and no sign of postage. did this come in the mail? in another envelope.? no. then how did you get it? it was slipped under my door. under the door of a house or an apartment? under the door of the room i rent in a house. just like this? not in anther envelope. just like that. why don’t you read it? i will. first i want to get straight how you got it. you list your address as 101 south main st, northville. no apartment number. is 101 soutj main st an apartment building? it is just a house. how big? one story, two stories? does it have any security? it has two floors. i assume it has entrances and exits in accordance with fire regulations. i guess. i never asked. so it has a back door? yes. are the front and back doors locked? i use a key to get in the front door. i don’t use the back door much. bill takes the trash out. who is bill? bill smith. is he the landlord? he owns the house. does he live there? yes. does he live with you? is he your friend? i just rent the room from him. how many people live in the house? just me and him. do you see him much? no. because he is not around or because you just don’t hang uot? he is not around much. where does he go? i don’t know. i mind my own business. so what it comes down to, is you are alone in the house most of the time? when i am there. how often are you there? not all the time. what exactly is not all the time? i go out a lot. in the daytime, or at night? mostly in the daytime. but not so much at night? no. sergeat friday sighed. this is thirsty work. next

crack - 2. friday

by nick nelson

part 2 of ?

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have a seat. mr wilson, is it? yes, it is. thank you, ma’am. my name is sergeant friday. i see you have left quite a bit off of the form you filled out. i did the best i could. you left out your social security number. is that because you do not know it? no, because i don’t have one. really? do you have a job? no. have you ever had one? no. what is your source of income? money. it is with most people. where do you get your money? did you inherit it? are you supported by your family? no. then where do you get your money? i found it. you found it. right. sergeant friday stared into space. do you have health insurance? no. do you have a drivers license? no. no drivers license. do have a passport or any kind of i d at all? no. all right, we might come back to all this later. why all these questions? don’t you want to know why i came here? we like a little background. it will help us with our problem - your problem. can i ask you a question? i am the one asking the questions, but go for it. are you sergeant joe friday? yes, i am a matter of fact. do you spell it j-o-e or j-o? actually i spell it g-i-a-o. now let’s move on. all right. you say you received a threatening letter. did you bring it with you? yes, i have it right here. can i see it? next

crack - 1. the threat

by nick nelson

part 1 of ?

dusk - of the shortest day of the year. in a moderate to medium sized american city. a man walked into a police station. can i help you? the desk sergeant asked. yes. how can i help you? i want to report a —— a what? a threat. fill out this form. the desk sergeant slipped a two page form into a clipboard and handed it to the man. a pen was attached to the clipboard by a short chain. the man took the form on the clipboard over to a long bench against the wall. three other people were seated on the bench, all seated at a safe distance from each other - a woman also filling out a form, and two men staring into space. a young woman in uniform came out from behind a door, and called - mr henderson? one of the two men ho had been staring into space got up and followed her back behind the door. the man who had just come in from the street sat down a few feet from the vacated space - so that the three persons now on the bench were still a distance from each other -and began filling out his form. he filled it out quickly and gave it back to the desk sergeant, who did not glance at it. have a seat. some one will call you. the man did not ask how long that might be. next

the light

by nick nelson

night was falling. a man walked along a road. a pickup truck pulled up beside him. want a lift? the walking man did not answer. long way to go to he next town. and it’s mostly deserted. probably nothing open. the man half turned to face the driver. i don’t want a lift. he had his hand in the pocket of his jacket, pushed forward. as if he had, or was pretending to have, a gun in it. ok , my friend. just trying to be neighborly. are you my neighbor? the truck sped off. the man resumed walking. total darkness fell. there were no signs of houses or buildings along the side of the road, but there might have been some hidden by trees or with their lights off. the man kept walking. it got colder, and he took his hands out of his pockets and rubbed them together. he came to a stretch of the road bordered by thick forest. after about a mile of the forest, he thought he saw a light in the trees. he hesitated, then got off the road and went into the forest. carefully picking his way through the undergrowth and the trees, he approached the light. it came from a single window in a small house hidden in the trees. he stood and watched the house. for an hour, two hours. he saw no movement in the house, but the light remained steady. the re must be someone in there, he thought, if there is a light.

dead or alive

by nick nelson

it was dark. snow was falling on the frozen snow covered ground, the clouds from which the snow was falling covered the moon and the stars. there were no visible paths through the trees. a man walked through the snow. he was lost. he kept putting one foot in front of another. he was cold and hungry and almost dead. he heard a sound off to his left. not that close, but not that far off. a bear? yes, he thought, it sounded like a bear. at this time of year, the bear would be hungry. i hope i die before the bear eats me, the man thought. i would rather be eaten dead than alive.