The sign was plain white paper and black Sharpie medium point marker. "Missing Child: 16 years old - 777-8762". copyright protection51PENANASyrPowg6tR
copyright protection51PENANA1pXwzuMdMM
And that was all. No description, no details, not even a picture. A disgrace to milk cartons everywhere. Ed saw it plastered to the men’s room door at his favorite bar. In fact, he saw it so many times; he finally scrawled the number on his forearm so he could call it when he got home. copyright protection51PENANASV6t4UYJVK
copyright protection51PENANAvyRgCTRSY4
The woman who answered the phone whispered so lightly he couldn't make out a word she said. She cried, whimpered, sobbed, and wretched in tiny squeaks but made no attempt at clarity, despite Ed’s insistence. Finally, he grew angry and shouted into the phone. Silence followed, the receiver going cold on his ear. Finally, the woman spoke in her tiny, worried voice. copyright protection51PENANAJyOoeRVL8w
copyright protection51PENANA1BNmfO0BmH
“My daughter is gone... and I know you have her... please, I won't tell anyone... just tell me where she is... please..." copyright protection51PENANAChPVbJwjuv
copyright protection51PENANAquEJqgAD97
Ed slammed the phone down and backed away from it. What the hell was that all about? Some freakshow, no doubt, a lonely old lady with nobody to gum at night leaves up a sign to entice just anybody to call. copyright protection51PENANA9IcZab1o0k
copyright protection51PENANAAxIBCmOBLc
Ed was a telemarketer. He knew all about the old farts who took up his time on the phone talking about their children who live far away and never call instead of talking about how they could take advantage of 2.8 % financing for the next eight months. His job was hard enough without lonely people talking his ear off and not refinancing their house. copyright protection51PENANAZ5nkFfepU3
copyright protection51PENANA9FLWIgPSqz
But the woman on the phone was different. Maybe she was crazy enough to not even have any kids outside of her imagination. Maybe she got the idea from an episode of Magnum PI. At least the old boogers not buying his telemarketer schmeal had families to talk about, this woman was severely compensating. copyright protection51PENANAH07wwHEQbQ
copyright protection51PENANADOZtFuihVg
He blew it off. copyright protection51PENANAQ0blqPTQeQ
copyright protection51PENANAdlUsu4Ouep
*****copyright protection51PENANAbESAkge6Dx
copyright protection51PENANAdPk4wmZOjn
It took a few days of convincing himself, but halfway through a desolate workout at the sweaty gym, he decided to try again. The same woman, still very distressed, answered. copyright protection51PENANAJ1tvnMl0fW
copyright protection51PENANABBLnNnl1qV
“Please… don’t hurt her; she’s all I’ve got…” copyright protection51PENANAYgfOhhW6Xg
copyright protection51PENANAjHccH81NVy
“Listen to me, OK? What’s your name?” copyright protection51PENANACnfpYxKbKd
copyright protection51PENANAo0cUPgDXc1
“She didn’t tell you?” copyright protection51PENANAIRat6HnYnR
copyright protection51PENANAgSPklP2uAJ
“Who?” copyright protection51PENANA8ze9Op9xqw
copyright protection51PENANAvQnxBL0SNk
“Clarissa… my little girl.” copyright protection51PENANAP3UlIH4cTn
copyright protection51PENANATjV1OBpgVU
“Look… I just want to know your name.” copyright protection51PENANApMU4WVKme9
copyright protection51PENANAPmeEosjRpg
“Grenda….” copyright protection51PENANA02Vce8o1am
copyright protection51PENANAUHUB6B1AF3
“Ok… Grenda, I want you to listen to me. I do not have your daughter. The sign…”copyright protection51PENANAw7Yob4bbRk
copyright protection51PENANAhY4B5XtxTy
“Damn the sign! I just want her back …” copyright protection51PENANAdeQKYpBcvc
copyright protection51PENANA7BMf75j9X4
He moved the phone nervously to his other ear and spoke more swiftly, trying to get a few important words in to gain some kind of foothold in the conversation. copyright protection51PENANA9pA7b5NquR
copyright protection51PENANAcMZ3VhS1OL
“I understand that, but I need some more information….”copyright protection51PENANA7HdMPlQyG1
copyright protection51PENANA2CSsemvBO8
“Are you the police?” copyright protection51PENANAAvxJnOQppH
copyright protection51PENANAM1uLJ8pjCH
“What? No…”copyright protection51PENANAuG2UWMokLu
copyright protection51PENANA84MREPubIA
“Oh thank God, I’m sure you’d kill her if I‘d talked to the police.” copyright protection51PENANA6VZQaT4XwG
copyright protection51PENANAlwZZFdBuKO
“What are you talking about?” copyright protection51PENANAGu85QyfDgj
copyright protection51PENANAFnIdrj1rDh
“Please don’t kill her; I swear I didn’t talk to the police…”copyright protection51PENANArjqWGnc6a5
copyright protection51PENANADXSs2dgn4U
“I don’t want to kill her…”copyright protection51PENANAN5RLGMft51
copyright protection51PENANArmCLfxdR8o
“Have you raped her?”copyright protection51PENANAh1LDyJ7NV1
copyright protection51PENANAzYxhNxJxoZ
“Oh god, lady… NO! I don’t even know her, I don’t have her, I’m just trying…”copyright protection51PENANAkx2ntXzXM1
copyright protection51PENANAHv9OqONtWq
“You… don’t have my daughter?” copyright protection51PENANAGBiuTLduez
copyright protection51PENANAlnTmDIUZdI
“No.”copyright protection51PENANAcifKa41ghY
copyright protection51PENANAvslF3b0fNo
And the phone went dead. He looked up to see a line of gym-goers staring at him, waiting to use the phone. A man twice his size and shape loomed over him, even the man’s “mom” tattoo looked like it could kick Ed’s ass. copyright protection51PENANAZnIz4pzrfG
copyright protection51PENANA1UEIVrGFNG
“There’s a two minute limit on that phone, pal.” The big man said. copyright protection51PENANAewPKPWW3Fe
copyright protection51PENANAXvcbJG1jwk
Ed handed it over and walked away. He went about his workout, only attending the gym once a week because he had to pay for it for another two years, three months, two weeks and four days. As he pressed the unforgiving bar over his throat the same hysterical mom voice counted the reps out in his mind. copyright protection51PENANADVqZDvFp1N
copyright protection51PENANApqbxRfeGqP
After the workout he sat in the car and smoked a cigarette. The phone number was still on his forearm. He couldn’t get away from it throughout the workout; every upper body exercise he wasted time on gave him a view of the number. He had it memorized. copyright protection51PENANAOftx8oOWGq
copyright protection51PENANAq5HmaAX6Sn
What really got to him was that she had the nerve to hang up on him. Here he was, trying to help, and she cuts him off. Anybody else would have just hung up on her crazy ass after the first phone call. Maybe even call the cuckoo squad with the big nets and jackets with heavy strings. copyright protection51PENANACujGDLpu62
copyright protection51PENANAK2GUPTIyWU
He drove to his bar and went directly to the payphone in the back by the men’s room door. The sign was still there, looking out of place amidst the half-peeled pin-ups and dried beer labels. As he dialed the number a warm smell of rot wafted in and out of the men’s room. copyright protection51PENANARABrexNm8U
copyright protection51PENANApUHPUbamFY
“Please…”copyright protection51PENANAgWrPewpucX
copyright protection51PENANAdrpSttOK0q
“Shut up and listen lady, I got your daughter.” copyright protection51PENANAhrzHMUi3Br
copyright protection51PENANATjfcnZvTHu
She was silent, except for the buzz of the telephone line, somehow louder than before. copyright protection51PENANAZRX2TZIxSH
copyright protection51PENANAIV9R841S96
“You there? Cuz if you ain’t there, I’m hanging up forever.”copyright protection51PENANAEUMioTdB8b
copyright protection51PENANAbd78klhOVM
“I’m here.” copyright protection51PENANArCBBvYFM3Z
copyright protection51PENANA5qkZBpGk1a
“Good. Listen up; I want the following items in one big bag. You bring two bags I never call again. Got it?” copyright protection51PENANAkmZ9wLkW0S
copyright protection51PENANAnbkIUMFtK7
“Yes. Is she OK?” copyright protection51PENANA45eNTeLXRr
copyright protection51PENANA1TVZj1gWNY
“Wha- yeah, she’s fine. This is what I want, write it down.” He holds the phone away from his ear and stifles a huge laugh. He pounds a quick shot and goes back to the phone. copyright protection51PENANAK06KbUvI4W
copyright protection51PENANAfip8ounJDj
“I want a large sausage and eyeball pizza from Aldos on the corner of 5th and Walnut, a pair of men’s Goldtoe socks, a bag of cat hair, and a small chalkboard with your address on it. Got it?” copyright protection51PENANAJDa8rAtmpK
copyright protection51PENANAtIWh5IyPQR
She repeated everything back the very second he finished speaking. Her voice was brighter, almost shrill with either excitement or fear, Ed couldn’t tell which. copyright protection51PENANAmGeRpXfKN3
copyright protection51PENANAY1LWpITInw
“Let me speak to her please… just for a secondcopyright protection51PENANAK8NE0lk04s
copyright protection51PENANAmB6sEtBgL7
“Not today, you make the drop first and then you talk to her.”copyright protection51PENANAf9fbM2RDtT
copyright protection51PENANACBPhbm54FH
“I just need to know if she’s OK, please!” copyright protection51PENANATgSsO6gozP
copyright protection51PENANAJs6ygz8XjY
“No... I said…” copyright protection51PENANANKSqJ8dslm
copyright protection51PENANAPYoOJg0aAS
“I’m BEGGING YOU sir, for the sake of my sanity…” copyright protection51PENANAOTgeAfhRdI
copyright protection51PENANAsQrBAGsf3C
“Sanity, woman you are out of your…” copyright protection51PENANAqAmjSmZ6w4
copyright protection51PENANAZ6906Ec3RR
“DAMMIT I WANT TO SPEAK TO MY DAUGHTER NOW!!!” She shrieked at him in a voice that sounded like a mountain lion with a fishhook in its balls. copyright protection51PENANAse9SkHfN3f
copyright protection51PENANAldlBKV1aur
He hissed into the phone, careful so no one would hear. “Don’t you fucking curse at me Bitch, I’ve got your damn daughter and if you wanna see her…” copyright protection51PENANALhfhEHSmDQ
copyright protection51PENANADk91gehlRB
“NO. You let me speak to her now or so help me I will rip out your heart and consume it in front of you!!!” copyright protection51PENANAA7AznPyc9x
copyright protection51PENANAiPdH6t5FJs
“You don’t know…”copyright protection51PENANALsadPECE4b
copyright protection51PENANAVbDFatfsNf
“No, you don’t know… I’ve killed thousands like you, better than you. I’ve scooped brains out of their heads, violated them with thick branches, I’ve eaten men’s genitalia in front of their emasculated, enslaved yet still living bodies, and I’ve broken legions… legions of men better than you.” copyright protection51PENANABcaQPuHlBt
copyright protection51PENANAVf8puCff0W
His ear was red from pressing it too tight to his face. His hands went a pale white as the blood rushed out of them. Ed hung up the phone.copyright protection51PENANA2gSnB8p416
copyright protection51PENANAId0xnNOMKf
And immediately it rang again. copyright protection51PENANAb0q6ueCLSg
copyright protection51PENANAK1Po8JNBQf
He backed away from it. He looked to the sign, hanging there innocently. The door opened and a massive man in a painter’s uniform came out of the bathroom, adjusting his sloppy white overalls. He answered the phone. Ed lifted a hand to stop him, but he answered anyway. He listened for a moment, looked at Ed, and then listened for another moment. copyright protection51PENANA3dx2xRkIdi
copyright protection51PENANA9jqdE2wbmA
When he hung up the phone, the painter walked right up to Ed, smelling of turpentine, canvas, and cigars. His breath made Ed gag. copyright protection51PENANAonfTiVkEe0
copyright protection51PENANALvltI5i0oZ
“Why don’t we have a drink or five? I’m buying.” He had a deep, rusty voice like an old cowboy. copyright protection51PENANAT3SbdtIl7m
copyright protection51PENANAoAVBW65aZD
“I don’t think so…” Ed said. copyright protection51PENANAxw9AzdSSGW
copyright protection51PENANA2L1imjEAUX
“I don’t care if you don’t think so, I ain’t asking. Sit down.” Ed sat down. copyright protection51PENANAjIW3dNxxig
copyright protection51PENANAPv7ETBdbKU
“Whadd’ya drinking Ed? You a whiskey man? A beer fella? What is it?” copyright protection51PENANA87vLJgksuz
copyright protection51PENANAfWIhIIRHSp
“Well, if you’re buying… I like Scotch. Black label.” copyright protection51PENANAsSzr9hiHNx
copyright protection51PENANA93m5vQWF3R
“Black label it is.” The painter dropped a hundred on the bar. “As much as that will get us, ma’am.” copyright protection51PENANAIbAaRd60Tr
copyright protection51PENANAMxgCyaRwt3
“Who are you?” Ed asked. copyright protection51PENANAYX1JpT3EOE
copyright protection51PENANAVc4q6TJA4a
“I don’t know. I never met me before tonight.” He chuckled at that. “Not important who I am. I wanna talk about you. What do you do?” copyright protection51PENANA2vqbcfnxhv
copyright protection51PENANAlL74frJs7F
“I’m a telemarketer.” copyright protection51PENANAzo7GCI5UbL
copyright protection51PENANAGMVwVKvsPH
“Well, ain’t that something. That what you set out to do there, partner?” The bartender opened a bottle and left two glasses. The painter poured two glasses to the rim and handed one to Ed. copyright protection51PENANACezEtynr8M
copyright protection51PENANAwASm3Vq70o
“No. I went to school. I wanted my own business.” copyright protection51PENANAvYXuXd1YyJ
copyright protection51PENANAKGqnPIUHiS
“And what would that be?” copyright protection51PENANAiikLGo0ROx
copyright protection51PENANASdAbwaHF0E
“Toy store, you know… custom made toys. High dollar stuff, like the crap I never got as a kid. You need money to do that kind of thing, though.” copyright protection51PENANAKHclE0tyzr
copyright protection51PENANAFM6xCTSD0G
“I’m sorry to hear that, I really am. Do you have parents Ed?” copyright protection51PENANAux8gdQBCnp
copyright protection51PENANAgBDU5JzBX4
Ed gulped his drink. copyright protection51PENANAdFCilxg3wG
copyright protection51PENANAKvfJsEHytC
“Why are you asking me this? Who the hell are you? What did she tell you on the phone?” copyright protection51PENANA8wqnAcIV1d
copyright protection51PENANAQn5GapICzi
The painter smiled, his stubbly face stretched and worn. “She…. she wants to know about your parents. About your mother.” copyright protection51PENANATWUQ2lvzTE
copyright protection51PENANAefzivKVVln
“My father lives in Cleveland with another family. He’s sixty years old and has twelve grandkids. My mother’s been living in the dirt for thirty some years now.” copyright protection51PENANAhut4R0Ydvh
copyright protection51PENANA87J17Kb1aW
The painter winced and ran his paint speckled fingers across his wrinkled eyes. copyright protection51PENANA9zOCBaQ20H
copyright protection51PENANAlybnVXn0Nl
“Well damn, Ed… I didn’t know.” copyright protection51PENANAo4ze7HS29P
copyright protection51PENANAy7h1iILEFf
“Car accident. I survived because I was in a car seat. My mom went through the windshield. My dad… later on, told me she left a bloody streak on the pavement a hundred feet in front of the car. That was my 18th birthday. He left the next day.”copyright protection51PENANA18lEOlz45X
copyright protection51PENANAupMKyFItqu
The painter capped the scotch bottle and rolled it to Ed. He got up off the barstool and put a hand on Ed’s shoulder. copyright protection51PENANAbH4Ams7bio
copyright protection51PENANAixjsptYwIV
“I am sorry. Nobody should be without a mother.” copyright protection51PENANAFRULZ0qIVQ
copyright protection51PENANARgStzLwvPW
And with that the painter walked away. copyright protection51PENANAtYnQs5honX
copyright protection51PENANAwKk1KEmkYh
After finishing much of the Scotch, Ed decided to walk home and try to forget about everything. He knew it was futile if a bottle of black label couldn’t cover his memories, but he decided a walk wouldn’t kill him. copyright protection51PENANAccj8NziCXJ
copyright protection51PENANAIci4w9ACpX
When he arrived home his front door was kicked in, the stainless steel deadbolt so much scrap metal on the floor and the heavy door split in several places. When he pushed the door open it fell to the ground in three separate chunks. copyright protection51PENANA8iYRGXXOdL
copyright protection51PENANA7AJVBKQKoU
Whatever had burst through the front door had cut a swath through his living room and into the dining room. It was dark except for a light in the kitchen on the far end of the apartment. The sofa looked like it had been through a trash compactor. The air was thick with gypsum dust and debris. copyright protection51PENANAj6d69fTWaR
copyright protection51PENANAqN3OCI3wjf
There was a large black bag on his kitchen table. The scotch abandoned him, filtering itself through his liver to avoid being a part of this discovery. He approached it slowly. copyright protection51PENANA66ieHe4wGa
copyright protection51PENANAYio7ocABSy
The pizza box was the first item he asked for and the first item he pulled out of the bag. Sure enough, the sausage pizza was peppered with eyeballs. He tossed it off the table, afraid to look at it. copyright protection51PENANA7pGXvsi182
copyright protection51PENANAVU4Ht7dgM5
He found the men’s socks, with feet still in them. The bag of cat hair was full of cats. He shoved everything back into the bag and tied it shut. He hefted it over his shoulder and headed out the door. copyright protection51PENANAh2O5GblGpw
copyright protection51PENANAUMWe6IaK2G
His body heaving in pain from the hangover and shock at the gory findings he couldn’t go far. He stuffed the bag into the complex’s dumpster and went back home. copyright protection51PENANAmJXnP1vYJp
copyright protection51PENANA0WqRAxTX9p
His phone was ringing. copyright protection51PENANACDr4vBGpou
copyright protection51PENANAYYgcsWMRhN
He stood outside the house, listening to the phone sound like some distant cricket playing a death song on its hind legs for him. Somehow, he had messed up like he had never messed up before. And now he was going to pay for it. copyright protection51PENANAxMgS9egfG1
copyright protection51PENANArz0tiRmDWM
It continued to ring. Compelled, he went inside and moved through the darkness toward his phone. His muscles twitched under his cold skin, his breath gasping from him. He was crying. Snot ran down his nose. It rang again. copyright protection51PENANAcoA1mXyBdV
copyright protection51PENANAuiRgk3OuGl
And again. And again. copyright protection51PENANAZofR0eqHYQ
copyright protection51PENANAthmpaieSar
He picked up the phone and it almost slipped in his clammy hand. He couldn’t bring himself to say hello. copyright protection51PENANAWvxTBolb4G
copyright protection51PENANA2kec12Zlnt
“You don’t have my daughter do you?” The woman’s voice was heavy, but calm. copyright protection51PENANAAHCxET1LUV
copyright protection51PENANAvRIH6aNGWW
He couldn’t answer, he was too afraid. copyright protection51PENANAyNR9m74fTQ
copyright protection51PENANAzzqNe0PvNg
“Please, just be honest with me. Do you know where my daughter is? Do I have a daughter?” copyright protection51PENANAvYSMSii7wi
copyright protection51PENANApw8PlaQFEt
“I… I don’t know.” copyright protection51PENANAsJaj6H9BvL
copyright protection51PENANAJSvfgtm2g1
“I didn’t think so. You know, I try so hard, I miss her so much. You made me terribly angry. I haven’t been that angry in centuries. Not since… well, when I get angry I see things how they really are.” copyright protection51PENANAa7cK4wRntZ
copyright protection51PENANACX3qOYQx13
She paused and Ed gulped air and swallowed. copyright protection51PENANAT92tot9uxy
copyright protection51PENANAzhFrVMj9h7
“I don’t have a daughter. I never did. But I’m so old, so old, I spent so many years alone thinking about a little girl of my own to love and cherish and nurture and teach and hold….” copyright protection51PENANAML9TW8pmIa
copyright protection51PENANA1tiTYbJYRI
“But I am the only one of my kind, and when I’m gone… you will be the only one who will know I ever existed. Well, there’s a painter who may have some dreams about me…” copyright protection51PENANAoUiIVQhOoi
copyright protection51PENANA0ajZfRv7tw
“I wish you could have known me a long time ago, before I got so old. I could do such wonderful things. I could have been a good mother to you as well. I still could be… but I’m afraid I’ve ruined that with my temper, haven’t I? I’m so sorry. Please, find some way to forgive me.” copyright protection51PENANAQvIFQvJ5Nx
copyright protection51PENANAD5EnBJNGgB
“I’ll leave you now. Please, take down the sign you found. It’s the only one left. I wish to cause no further harm…. Good luck to you.”_copyright protection51PENANAdyggBp5Qmw
copyright protection51PENANAwprYeaie5o
Ed listened into the phone until he passed out with it pressed against his ear. He slept deeply, full of dreams he wouldn’t remember. copyright protection51PENANADa3Vprs9Wc
copyright protection51PENANAXITcCj41VY
The next day he took a cab to his favorite bar and peeled the sign off the men’s room door. He tore it up and burned the little pieces in an ash tray. He ordered a club soda and a cheeseburger. copyright protection51PENANAYttBLQhkd7
copyright protection51PENANAVVaJgah5J4
When he finished he walked over to the phone, and dialed a familiar number. copyright protection51PENANAZjrxLNzpqg
copyright protection51PENANA4peQVcyQD8
copyright protection51PENANAYkMGHHdqNo
End. copyright protection51PENANA0Iv7gSyLeQ
copyright protection51PENANAcoSQZtk242
ns3.238.70.175da2