Color Photographs, Chapter Fourteen

Sadie was pacing like a caged animal. Karson’s anxiety continued to build as he watched her. Sadie had sworn years before that she’d never become a housewife, and made sure to keep herself busy with volunteer work, even though Meyer convinced her not to hold a job. Now that the initial shock had worn off, she was getting more and more restless with each day that passed.

“I don’t want to stay here.” Sadie stopped pacing long enough to peer out a window, at the empty street below. Karson didn’t answer. Sadie strode across the room and threw herself down on the couch, dramatically draping her arm over her face and sighing. “It’s such a beautiful day.”

Karson glanced at the door as he heard a key in the lock, but Sadie didn’t seem to notice. “Don’t you think you’re being slightly melodramatic?”

“I’m so booooored,” Sadie whined, drawing out her words.

Meyer swung the door open and walked in. “Well that sounds tragic.”

Sadie uncovered her face, but didn’t sit up. It was always a relief when Meyer came home in one piece. But his presence didn’t make her last statement any less true. “It is.” She hesitated a moment, then bounced upright. “You have pizza?”

“Yep,” Meyer smirked, setting the boxes down on the coffee table as he walked in. “Boring old pizza.”

“Better than boring old bologna,” Sadie said. She moved to the kitchen to grab some plates and drinks. Her side and face had been healing quickly, so now she could move mostly normally. The dark bags under her eyes betrayed that she hadn’t been sleeping well.

“True enough.” Meyer sat down on the couch, throwing his arm across the back of it in case Sadie decided she wanted to cuddle. Sadie sat down next to him and pretended she didn’t hesitate as she leaned in to give him a hug. Meyer pretended he didn’t see the hesitation.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said quietly. He pulled her slightly tighter towards his chest. She offered a small smile, then sat up again. “Okay, let’s get started on that pizza.”

“Sounds good,” Meyer said. They opened the box, and Sadie saw he’d gotten her favorite—bacon and mushrooms. She smiled and took a large slice.

Once they all had their pizza and were settling in to eat it, Karson started questioning Meyer. “So what’s the plan?”

“Well…” Meyer started slowly, looking between them. “Resnick went out of town an hour or two ago… he packed a bag and told me not to bother coming to work for the next few days.”

“You think he’s going to a meeting with the underwear guy?” Sadie asked.

“Yeah…” Meyer nodded. “I mean, he was careful to keep me in the dark as much as he could… but I think paying the kid a visit tonight would be a good next move.”

“Are we going right after dinner?” Sadie asked.

“Well… I am. I was thinking it would be safer if you and Karson headed up to the shack in the mountains.”

Sadie nodded, furrowing her brow at the top of the pizza box. She wanted to argue—to tell Meyer she’d go with him wherever he went, and help him hunt down the little punk and scare information out of him. But she figured Meyer knew best. If he was leaving her behind, she was sure he had a good reason for it. “I suppose you’re planning on going after Resnick tonight, then?”

“Well, it all depends on how it goes with the kid,” Meyer said carefully. He glanced up from his pizza and met Sadie’s worried gaze—she didn’t believe him. He shrugged. “Probably, though.”

She nodded and was silent for a long moment. As the pain in her side slowly subsided, she found herself more and more able to think of something other than the night with Resnick. And the more she thought, the more uneasy she was about Meyer working with Reneve. She couldn’t help but feel like none of them – Karl, Nate, or Ronny – could be taken at their word.

“I think I should go with you.”

“I think you shouldn’t.”

“What if Reneve pulls a gun on you again?” Sadie spoke her fear. “Didn’t he say he planned on it?”

“After Resnick was dead,” Meyer answered with a shrug. He pretended that Sadie’s fears were unwarranted, even though he’d been thinking the very same thing. He wasn’t so sure it was any safer to be on Reneve’s side than it would be to go up against Resnick alone. “It’ll be okay. I can handle Reneve.”

“Babe,” Sadie said, frowning at him. “I don’t like it. Let me go with you.”

“So he can pull a gun on you?” Meyer asked, shaking his head. “No.”

“I want to go with—” Sadie trailed off as a knock came at the door. She towards the door fearfully, instinctively reaching for the gun she’d carried ever since the incident. Meyer stood up and moved towards the door, pulling his pistol, but not looking particularly worried.

He cracked the door open, being sure his body was hidden, and peered out into the hall. A moment later he pulled the door all the way open. “Ah, right on time.”

“What’s this supposed to be?” An old man gestured at Meyer’s gun unhappily. “First you invite me up, then you start making threats on my life.”

“Mr. Joe!” Sadie sprang to her feet and practically ran to the door. The old man stepped inside with a broad smile, supporting his thin, feeble body with a wooden cane that looked as old as Sadie was herself. He had thick rimmed glasses with even thicker glass, which made his eyes look large and owlish. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“Well…” Mr. Joe hugged her back. “When my buddy didn’t come to see me, I figured I should go check on her.”

“Oh, yeah… sorry about that… I was…” Sadie hesitated, seeming to consider explaining what had happened. She regularly went to the library to help Mr. Joe with the shelving, and to talk literature with him. Meyer loved Sadie, but he wasn’t much of a reader.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mr. Joe said with a wink. “I’m here now. Did you bring up that book I told you to, Mr. Lovett?”

“I did,” Meyer said. He’d locked the door back and now moved across the room where he’d tossed his jacket down on the recliner. He picked up the edge and pulled a book out from under. “Here it is.”

“Please, have a seat,” Sadie offered, gesturing towards the couch. She wrapped her arm around the old man’s waist and carefully helped him to the couch, and made sure he was comfortable. As soon as he was seated so plopped down on the couch next to him. “What book did you bring?”

“It’s a new release. I got it on Monday… had it read by Tuesday night,” he answered with a smile. He was very old—probably well into his seventies—and barely had any hair left on his head. He had a few wispy strands of gray hair still clinging to the edges of his head, and a thin goatee on his face. “I’ve been going crazy all week, waiting to tell you about it.”

“Sounds good,” Sadie said with a smile.

Meyer watched his wife, relieved to finally see her smiling – actually smiling—once again. He figured if anyone could distract Sadie, it would be Mr. Joe. He’d been a librarian for longer than most of the people in this room had been alive. As a kid Sadie often went to visit Mr. Joe and listen to his stories. She’d escape to the library, just to get away from her house.

Meyer caught Karson’s eye, and silently called him over. The men walked into the bedroom, stealing one final glance at Sadie to be sure she was okay. She didn’t seem to really notice their absence, as she hung off of every word Mr. Joe read from his book.

“So you’re going after the kid?” Karson asked in a hushed voice. Meyer nodded. “I’m guessing I’m not helping?”

“Well I’m not leaving her with the old man for protection.”

“But the old man’s staying?”

Meyer nodded again. Turned and looked at his bedroom, trying to think if he would need anything for what was bound to be a long night away from home. He glanced back at Karson. “I’m planning on going straight after Resnick, once we know where he’s going… I’m not planning on bringing Sadie into the line of fire… and she’ll be much more willing to stay behind if she’s with Joe.”

“Makes sense,” Karson said, craning his neck so he could see into the living room. Sadie was still fixated on Mr. Joe’s every word, staring at his face in a mesmerized trance. He couldn’t help but wonder if this is what she’d looked like for the past twenty years – sitting with Mr. Joe, sometimes in clothes that fit, something wearing clothes much too small, sometimes bruised, sometimes not – listening while he made real life go away for a little while. “So we going to the hide out again?”

“Yep.” Meyer grabbed an extra box of ammo from his top drawer and headed back towards the living room. “And I’d like to get moving before dark.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Mr. Resnick drummed his fingers on his leg nervously, looking out the windows on either side of the car. The road was flat and dull, with a few passing vehicles on the left, and a view of long, empty fields to the right. He couldn’t help but feel that leaving Meyer behind was a bad idea.

As he set this meeting up with a potential buyer – a Cuban that was scouting out new territory for his family’s empire to expand – he knew for certain he didn’t want any Lovett to get in his way. He’d figured the easiest way to ensure Meyer wouldn’t mess anything up would be to leave him hours away, at home, with his wife.

But the look on his face when Resnick informed him that he wasn’t coming on this business trip wasn’t a friendly one. Resnick couldn’t help but feel like Meyer couldn’t just enjoy on a vacation with his wife—not now. If Meyer didn’t do something stupid before the night was through, Resnick would be quite surprised.

As if confirming his doubts, Resnick now looked down to see his phone vibrating with a call from one of the men he’d left to keep an eye on Meyer. He took a deep breath and answered the call, hoping that this call wouldn’t bring the news he thought it would. “What?”

“Hey boss. Karson, the girl, and some old man just got in Meyer’s car with him. They had a pizza, so I’m guessing they’re not just going out for a dinner.”

“Alright… keep an eye on them.” Resnick still was hoping against the odds. He’d do whatever he needed to, to keep himself and his business in good health. “If they go up that hill towards Meyer’s ‘secret’ hideout, call me back.”

“Yes, sir, Boss.”

Resnick hung the phone up and rubbed his face, staring out the window. “Don’t make me kill you, Meyer.”