was enough to mislead him. My new acquaintances in Kiev would certainly not be deceived by it if they checked who had called indeed. But why should they do that anyway? Because a hooker had a fight with a john in San Francisco? They probably had better things to do.
How right I was in picking a different place for my phone call than this shopping center I noticed when I returned to my car at around five o’clock in the afternoon. Daniel, Ingvar and some other people were parking their cars not too far away from my car and got out. They probably planned to go to a sports bar after the baseball game was over. I hid behind a van and ran to my Chevy when they had disappeared.
“Why are you so nervous?” I asked myself in the car. “You went shopping, you want to make a phone call in peace and quiet; all that is none of the men’s business.” But I stuck with it. Rather be overly cautious then facing disaster again.
Back at the mall in Santa Clara I first walked around for a while. At least a Mexican snack bar was open and so I finally had my totally overlooked lunch. Then I stood beside the pay phone already five minutes before six o’clock. Other than in movies where ‘normally’ some old man would now appear occupying the phone forever because he wanted to tell his Italian mama the latest gossip – this phone remained untouched. Exactly at 18:00 hours the phone rang and Ron was on the other end. He had waited to call me without taking a shower just to make sure to reach me on time.
“Hi sweetheart”, he yelled enthusiastically into the phone. “I am really glad to hear your voice. When may I hold you in my arms again?”
“Ron, Please, I need your help”, I whined into the phone. “Robert is dead. The cops were also here and asked about him. It is all so awful.”
“OK, sweetie, what can I do for you?”
“Can you give me Judy’s phone number, it is urgent. Otherwise I might get deported because Robert had kept all my papers and contracts. But those are not at his apartment.”
Without hesitating he gave me Judy’s phone number however, he really wanted to see me again. He knew that I was calling him from a public phone. When he absolutely insisted to get my phone number I told him to call Robert’s apartment if he needed me.
“What is Robert’s phone number?” he kept on asking. He could really be pushy. I didn’t even know where Robert had lived.
“Well, I will move out from there in the next few days, right now I don’t remember the number. When I have a new apartment I’ll tell you my new phone number.” That would not happen under any circumstances. I also noted down his cell phone number and promised that I would call him back.
At least Judy answered the phone immediately and she was happy to hear my voice. She cried a little bit. Robert’s death and the terrible sight of the partially decomposed body had really traumatized her.
“Judy, I have huge problems. Not only that I lost my friend and protector.” I also cried a bit.
“I must also find a new apartment because police have sealed off Robert’s. Robert had also kept all my papers and contracts. But those are not in the apartment. Police and I have searched for it all over. If I can’t show them by tomorrow they will deport me from this country because I don’t have a social security number and they accuse me of having worked here illegally. Robert had applied for all of that a long time ago. Please help me. I think he kept those documents in the storage hall. Did he have his own office there?”
“No, he didn’t have his own office there.” My pulse accelerated. Where were his files? The ghosts of a murder charge reappeared before my inner eyes; I believed I had already driven them away.
“But he had a filing cabinet. That could hold something. I can have a look in there tomorrow morning.”
“Would it be possible today? Immigration closes at noon and until then I must present the documents otherwise I’ll be
How right I was in picking a different place for my phone call than this shopping center I noticed when I returned to my car at around five o’clock in the afternoon. Daniel, Ingvar and some other people were parking their cars not too far away from my car and got out. They probably planned to go to a sports bar after the baseball game was over. I hid behind a van and ran to my Chevy when they had disappeared.
“Why are you so nervous?” I asked myself in the car. “You went shopping, you want to make a phone call in peace and quiet; all that is none of the men’s business.” But I stuck with it. Rather be overly cautious then facing disaster again.
Back at the mall in Santa Clara I first walked around for a while. At least a Mexican snack bar was open and so I finally had my totally overlooked lunch. Then I stood beside the pay phone already five minutes before six o’clock. Other than in movies where ‘normally’ some old man would now appear occupying the phone forever because he wanted to tell his Italian mama the latest gossip – this phone remained untouched. Exactly at 18:00 hours the phone rang and Ron was on the other end. He had waited to call me without taking a shower just to make sure to reach me on time.
“Hi sweetheart”, he yelled enthusiastically into the phone. “I am really glad to hear your voice. When may I hold you in my arms again?”
“Ron, Please, I need your help”, I whined into the phone. “Robert is dead. The cops were also here and asked about him. It is all so awful.”
“OK, sweetie, what can I do for you?”
“Can you give me Judy’s phone number, it is urgent. Otherwise I might get deported because Robert had kept all my papers and contracts. But those are not at his apartment.”
Without hesitating he gave me Judy’s phone number however, he really wanted to see me again. He knew that I was calling him from a public phone. When he absolutely insisted to get my phone number I told him to call Robert’s apartment if he needed me.
“What is Robert’s phone number?” he kept on asking. He could really be pushy. I didn’t even know where Robert had lived.
“Well, I will move out from there in the next few days, right now I don’t remember the number. When I have a new apartment I’ll tell you my new phone number.” That would not happen under any circumstances. I also noted down his cell phone number and promised that I would call him back.
At least Judy answered the phone immediately and she was happy to hear my voice. She cried a little bit. Robert’s death and the terrible sight of the partially decomposed body had really traumatized her.
“Judy, I have huge problems. Not only that I lost my friend and protector.” I also cried a bit.
“I must also find a new apartment because police have sealed off Robert’s. Robert had also kept all my papers and contracts. But those are not in the apartment. Police and I have searched for it all over. If I can’t show them by tomorrow they will deport me from this country because I don’t have a social security number and they accuse me of having worked here illegally. Robert had applied for all of that a long time ago. Please help me. I think he kept those documents in the storage hall. Did he have his own office there?”
“No, he didn’t have his own office there.” My pulse accelerated. Where were his files? The ghosts of a murder charge reappeared before my inner eyes; I believed I had already driven them away.
“But he had a filing cabinet. That could hold something. I can have a look in there tomorrow morning.”
“Would it be possible today? Immigration closes at noon and until then I must present the documents otherwise I’ll be
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