When Jasper called him, Daniel had already covered quite a distance from the motel and had even stopped to grab a bite at a roadside diner, where he first carefully scanned everyone inside. There were two men wolfing down their food, glancing around. Their hands looked normal. A child and its mother were also eating. The kid was chattering about something, swinging its legs in rhythm. Suddenly, the child pointed at Daniel. The mother turned and started saying something to the kid. It turned out there was some children’s poster behind Daniel, and that’s what they’d been looking at. There was no waitress, but the woman behind what passed for a bar handled everything—from cleaning to serving. She wore a white apron with little flowers on it. She wasn’t wearing gloves either. Even when she handed Daniel his coffee with her bare hands, he carefully felt the cup for any trace of coldness.
There wasn’t any.
Daniel had already left the diner and was sitting in his car. He was wondering how to start the conversation with Jasper when his phone rang:
“Brother, it’s over,” Jasper said.
“What? What’s going on, Jas?”
His friend sounded awful.
“I killed him.”
“What? Who did you kill?” Daniel’s heart leapt.
“That guy from the viewing.” Jasper was stammering, struggling to catch his breath. “I told you I had viewings, didn’t I?”
“Jas, calm down.” Daniel had already started the car, turned it around, and was pressing the gas pedal, heading back. “I’m coming to you. Tell me from the beginning.”
He heard a deep breath from Jasper’s end. Daniel was worried about him. Anything could’ve happened. A killer? He didn’t believe it. But the last time he’d seen Jasper, he’d been on edge.
“Listen, brother,” Jasper began. “I told you I had this guy coming for a viewing, right?”
“Yeah, and?”
“Well, I was running a bit late. I’m never late, but this time it happened. He was waiting for me out front of the building. Tall, dark-haired, wearing a shirt and trousers. You could tell he had money. Stood there all proud, spoke smartly, that sort of thing. I’ve got experience—I can usually tell right away if someone’s going to buy the apartment. And with this guy, I was sure.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Jas?” Daniel interrupted. “Where are you?”
“In the car, brother. The guy’s up in the apartment. I don’t know what to do.”
Daniel floored it.
“But what? How did you kill him? Are you sure?”
“Well, listen. First off, he wasn’t wearing gloves. I decided not to shake his hand. I’m scared that paranoia might come back if his hand’s even a little colder than mine. So I just patted him on the shoulder. He didn’t seem to like it, but we were there to do business, right?”
Jasper was breathing heavily again. Daniel had just passed the gas station where he’d filled up the day before, still listening.
“I’d picked out an apartment for him on the second-to-last floor. Nice view, three rooms, bathroom, toilet—the works. And we’re talking. The usual questions. First some personal stuff to get a feel for the guy, then about the apartment. What he’s looking for, what he can afford, that kind of thing. He was cool. He laughed at my jokes, and so on. And at the end, I always ask if they’ve got any questions for me—about the apartment or the payment. So I asked him too, naturally.”
“And?” Daniel chimed in, just to show he was still there.
“Guess what his question was, brother?”
“You’re starting to freak me out, Jas. What did he ask that made you kill him?” Even as he asked, it sounded absurd.
“As much as we killed Fat Bill, that’s how much I killed this guy. That’s all I’ll say.”
Bill? Was Jasper talking about Fat Bill from the park?
“What happened, Jas? Please, take a breath and tell me. I’m on my way to you.”
“Mr. Barnes sends his regards.”
“What?”
“That’s what he said. And he grinned with the widest smile. He was looking somewhere behind me. He wasn’t even looking at me anymore.”
“You’re kidding. Mr. Barnes?”
“Dead serious. Are you on your way already?”
“Yeah. I’ll be there in an hour.”
“The workers hadn’t cleared out all their tools from the apartment yet, brother. I grabbed one of the big wrenches and smashed it into his head.”
“Jasper? Are you sure?” Daniel lost track of how many times he’d asked that.
“Just parts, brother. Bits and metal flew everywhere. The guy started short-circuiting. He was cursing, making weird noises. I went and locked the door, then came back to finish him off.”
“Where is he now?”
“I couldn’t finish him. I walked out, locked it from the outside, and got in the car. Then I called you.”
“Stay there, Jas.”