Fiction Friday ~ on Thursday just because

Mystery Girl ~ Part 1

Richard watched the door. Standing in the shadows of two trees, he had been watching it for almost an hour. His source was positive that she would be at the door across the street at 8:00 p.m. It was already 8:15. Manny had never been wrong about a tip before. Richard looked at his watch yet again and decided to wait until nine.

Half an hour later there was still no sign of her. Richard shifted his feet and ran a hand through his hair. Waiting was always the hard part. He had been looking for this girl for over a month. To be this close and still not find her was maddening.

At 9:30 he gave up and walked back to his car, two blocks over and three blocks up. He had been so careful to park far away and get there early. She had been so elusive before, nobody ever seemed to remember her. His first big lead on her and she was a no-show. Manny had been so adamant that she was there every Wednesday night. The back door of the same Italian restaurant. Her order was prepared in advance and she always took it to go.

Richard unlocked his car and fell into the driver's seat. He started the engine and put the old Volkswagen in gear. As he pulled out into the road he felt something cold against his neck.

"Just keep driving like nothing is wrong and you'll be fine. You've been followed by people who want to find me. Once they think you haven't, you 'll be safe."

Richard drove five blocks with a knife digging into the side of his neck before she finally took it away. "They stopped following you. They seem to think you couldn't find me."

"And who exactly are you?" Richard asked brunette climbing into his front seat.

"I'm the woman nobody ever remembers. You've been looking for me."

"How do you know?" he tried to get a look at her while driving, but traffic was too busy.

"I know a lot of things. I know you have been looking for me for a month and a half. Ever since the first fire. What I don't know is why you thought to look for me in the first place."

"You were seen at three fires last month and two this month. That's a little suspicious don't you think?"

"How can you possibly know that?" She sounded so surprised he risked a glance at her. It seemed genuine. Her face was so open, almost innocent. Her eyes seemed to look inside him but he couldn't tell if they were blue or green.

"Your picture was taken at the first fire. I showed it to all the witnesses of the other fires. Only three people thought they recognized you and they weren't sure, but I was. You didn't set them did you?"

"No, but I know who did and I'm trying to stop him. No one would have remembered me if you hadn't had that picture. I was careless."

"Will I remember you tomorrow?"

"Maybe, I haven't decided yet. You can let me out here." He pulled over to the curb and she hopped out and walked back the direction they had come.

He jumped out of the car and called to her, "Wait, you didn't tell me your name."

She stopped and looked at him for a moment before replying. "It's Delia and my eyes are blue, not green."