EIGHT

I needed a drink in the worst way. The encounter with 'Madelyn' left me reeling, blood pumping hard in my temples and my skin was flushed. I could never tell when a beautiful woman was lying, and I wasn't sure if she was being completely on the level with me, but she had a look of conviction in her eyes that made me want to believe her, as hard as that may be to admit, since I loved a woman who looked exactly identical to her. Back in Madripoor she and I would walk arm in arm down the bustling streets, oblivious to the throng of harassed people clamoring this way and that. I knew the scent of her perfume, and every time I closed my eyes I could see the image of her face seared onto my eyelids. Life wasn't just good back then, it was sweet. The woman I met at the train station, the one who I saw singing onstage at Volcano night club a few months back, is her exact mirror image. Jean never told me she had a twin.

I shouldered my way into a bar and the fug of smoke and sweat hit me like a punch in the face. I found a seat by the bar and caught the attention of a passing barmaid. I ordered a beer and slumped myself over the bar until it arrived. She smiled at me as she laid the beer down in front of me. The way she smiled made me think of the secret smiles Jean used to have. I stifled my thoughts and smiled back, although it might have looked like a grimace to her, then took a sip of my beer.

I listened to the drunken arguments that my fellow boozers were involved in, and lost interest quickly. The noise around me was just what I needed to blot out the brutal onslaught of questions I was throwing at myself. It seemed right for me to be punishing myself this way; I was foolish enough to mistake a complete stranger for the woman who once loved me. I drank the beer in deep gulps, not stopping till I could see the world through the bottom of the glass. I slammed the empty down on the bar, motioning for the barmaid to bring another. It was one thing to want to drink to forget, but I didn't need it for that. I needed to put everything on hold.

Questions were forming in my mind unbidden. Why was Xavier's father's work from years ago important, and who was it important to? Why did Wraith show me that grave? If the red haired woman at the club wasn't Jean, why did Warren Worthington want to keep me away so badly? I hated the way that secrets seemed to have a way of enveloping everything around them, and it seemed like everyone had secrets around me. Possibly I was keeping secrets from myself, As Wraith intimated at the cemetery. He spoke like it was a good thing I couldn't remember.

I looked down at my empty glass, and motioned to the barmaid, who took my empty and started pulling another. She eyed me for a few moments, the smile never leaving her face. "Looks like you're looking to get obliterated," She said over the music.

I smiled weakly and nodded. "You could say that."

"Rough day?"

"You have no idea."

She nodded. "Trouble at home? The missus giving you grief? You got laid off?"

I shrugged. "You see a lot of this, huh."

"Sure do." She leaned against the bar and slung her towel over her shoulders. "All of these yahoos here have a story. I've heard all of 'em."

"Must be difficult."

She shook her head. "Honey, it takes all types to make the world spin. I love listening to this stuff. Better that reading a trashy romance novel." I laughed as she slid my third beer for the night towards me. I lifted the glass to my lips and saw she was looking at me in a way a woman hadn't done in years. "This one's on me, honey." She said with a wink.

"Thanks"

She hesitated, looked right and left, and then leaned across the bar. "I get off at ten."

My mind told me it didn't feel right, but my body told me it was about time as I climbed the stairs to the girl's apartment. Her name was Heather, she told me in the cab. She worked at the Cavern three nights a week and waited tables with what was left of her spare time. She displayed keen interest when I told her what I did, a cheeky smile spreading over her face, revealing impossibly straight, white teeth. She had honey colored hair and perfect white skin, and I tried not to notice the curves she cut in her short, tight skirt and almost see through white top. I found my hands on her thighs, on her stomach, and my mouth come down over hers as the taxi sped thought he streets. I caught the driver looking in his rear view mirror but I didn't care. When we arrived outside her apartment block, I paid the cabbie and took the steps two at a time to keep up with her. We reached her floor and she fumbled in her handbag for a set of keys. I wondered how many other yahoos had made the journey up the stairs to her apartment, and I found I did not want to know.

She finally opened the door and she stood on the threshold, beckoning to me. I made the few steps towards her and pushed her up against the doorjamb, kissing her with an urgency I didn't realize I had in me. She responded with the same forcefulness and pushed her body against mine. I breathed the perfume of her hair, kissed her neck, and lifted her off her feet as I kicked the door shut behind me.

The next morning we hurriedly said our goodbyes out front of her apartment building, and I watched her hail a cab and speed away, off to bus tables. She didn't give me her number and I didn't ask for it. She probably suspected I was just some married john drowning my problems, and I probably should have made it clearer that I wasn't. I took a deep breath, feeling the air invigorating my body in a way it hadn't in too long, and decided to walk back home since the rain had subsided. I'd been walking for a few minutes when a car drew up next to me and slowed to a crawl.

"Logan, care for a ride?" Came a familiar voice. The window rolled down and I squinted at the driver.

"Thanks, but I'd rather walk."

The car stopped and Detective David North got out, using his full height to great effect, stopping me in my tracks. "I think we had better talk, Logan."

"What about?"

He sighed deeply, then looked at me unhappily. "I need to question you at the station, Logan. Seems your name has come up in an investigation."

"North, I have no time for your cop jokes. I keep my nose clean, you don't stick yours in my business. That's how it's supposed to go."

"Look, it shouldn't take long to clear this up. I need to get a statement from you."

When it became clear he wasn't joking, I nodded. "OK. Let's get this over with."