MAP OF THE PROBLEMATIQUE

Chapter 6: One Thing

OCTOBER

I took Friday off to make it a three day weekend, and after spending a good three-fourths of the day making calls and checking in with Detective Bellamy, I went out for a bit of "me" time.......

"Hey Jane, how's the game?"

Jane smiled. "Hi, Wendy. You lookin' for Joe?"

"Yep. He around?"

"Nah, he's out looking for work. He'll be back in tonight. You wanna schedule an appointment?"

"Yeah, I might. Have him call me, 'kay?"

"You got it, mama."

That's when my phone rang, and Jane grinned. "Hey, I might be Mecha, but I'm not that quick at delivering messages." We both laughed as I waved and walked out of the Shangri-La.

"Hello?"

"What're you doin'?"

"Hi, Sal. Nothin'. Leaving the Shangri-La."
"Ooh! And how did it go?"

"Oh, don't get your knickers in a bunch, he wasn't in. Jane'll have him call when he's back," I laughed.

Sal sighed contentedly. "Man, you two have really hit it off, as well as a human and Mecca can, huh? I'm glad I introduced the two of you."
"Yeah, well.... what can I say? I haven't found any human worth dating, and speaking of which, you get too tied down. I'm havin' more fun this way. And you were right.... it can help take off the edge."

"How often you two been getting together, anyway?"

"Oh, I'd say maybe three times a week, at least. I'm a preferred customer!" I grinned. It had only been an month, but I had become a preferred customer of Joe's. My days were filled with work and "the search," as I called it, and half my nights were spent with Joe. It was good to have someone help keep my mind off things, bits at a time.

"Ha. Slut," Sallie laughed, and I couldn't even defend myself; I was laughing, too, as I climed into my car, tossing my purse into my passenger seat and straight into Joe's lap.

"AAAHH!"

"What?! Wendy, what the hell?"

"Sorry, Sallie, it-- dammit, Joe, you scared the hell out of me." I could hear Sallie laughing on the other end.

Joe was chuckling at me. "Sorry, love."

"Listen, girl, I'll call you back, 'kay?"

"You bet. Have fun!"

"Sure, sis, sure." I hung up and turned to Joe. "Jane told me you were out looking for work. Didn't you find any?"

"I have now," he smiled.

"Wha..... well, I...... just...." I stuttered, trying to compose my thoughts. Even after four weeks of being a preferred customer, I still was occasionally rendered speechless by him. Finally pulling myself together, I asked, "And what if I'd been busy?"

"Well then I would have waited."
I snorted. "Sure. You need the work just as much as I do."

Joe grinned, and without warning he leaned in to kiss me.

Having to compose myself yet once again, I started the car. "C'mon, let's go home."

We were partway there when Joe asked how the search was coming along.

"Well," I sighed. "Detective Bellamy is a good man, but there haven't been many leads at all. Actually, all of them have gone stale. Sometimes, I...... I just want to disappear and look and look until my feet wear off."

"And what exactly stops you?"

I was caught off guard for a moment, but then he spoke up again.
"What I mean to say is, why can't you?"

I looked at him, truly thinking on his question, unable to come up with a reasonable answer.

I had part of that night to myself, as Joe had another client to attend to at about eight. After sleeping for about two or three hours-- I was completely worn out from the whirlwind the day had ended up being-- I went into the kitchen for some dinner. A rainstorm was beginning to clear up outside. Joe's question, for some reason, had really struck me, and it was then that I'd realized I hadn't truly thought on it before. What was stopping me from just taking a week off from work and going out there myself? One of my greatest fears was that she would end up the victim of a Flesh Faire; there'd been a report the year before of a human-- a Mecha sympathizer-- who'd nearly gotten themselves into a Flesh Faire show and killed. Caused quite the scandal for the show, but they weren't shut down. Lydia had become so fascinated by Mechas, I wouldn't have been suprised to have found her amongst the outcasts without licenses.

I picked up the phone at about nine. I knew Joe was probably working but I didn't care, I would leave him a message. "Hey, Joe, it's Wendy," I sighed. "Listen, I've been thinking alot about what you said in the car earlier, and I think you may be right. I'm beginning to feel a bit restless, and I need to get out of here. You know, to do a bit of my own investigating. Give me a call when you get this, we'll talk. Okay. Bye."

There was pounding on the front door at about eleven. I was caught off-guard because I had no idea who it could have been at that hour. Joe would have called, I thought to msyelf as I peered through the viewfinder to find the man himself on the other end, looking about as nervous as possible for a Mecha. He had a hand in his shirt and he was clutching his chest.

"Joe? Oh, my God, what happened?" I opened the door and ushered him into the house.

"Wendy, I apologize for the unannounced visit, but...."

"Oh, no, please, you are always welcome here, you know that."

"Yes, and that is part of the reason why I have come to you now." I looked into his eyes and was amazed to find worry there.

"What happened to you? You look hurt."

Joe removed his hand; he was "bleeding."

"God, you cut out your license!" I cried, putting a hand to my heart. "Joe, what the hell were you thinking?" I went into the kitchen and pulled out a chair. "Sit, sit..... Tell me what I can do for you. How do we fix this?"

"Here," he pulled out a small kit from his pocket. It was a Mecha First Aid Kit. "I will need you to do it but I can guide you through the process."

"Wow. Okay. Here goes nothing...." I crouched down in front of him and, with Joe's guidance, bandaged him up.

"Alright. You're fixed. Now, are you going to tell me what the hell you're doing running around town without a license? Hmm?" I felt like a parent chiding their kid.

"I seem to have.... run into a bit of trouble." His voice was quieter, and he looked a bit guilty. His emerald green eyes met mine and he smiled sheepishly.

"Continue."

Dropping his eyes to his lap, he didn't say anything for a moment, and I sighed.

"Look, Joe, how am I supposed to help you if I don't know the issue?"

He looked at me again. "One of my clients was murdered tonight. Samantha Bevins. I had no idea she was married. Her husband did it and framed me for the murder."

"Shit, Joe!" I stood up, my hands shaking. Mecha or no, Joe had become my friend now, and by God, I wasn't going to watch my friend set up like this. I began to pace. "What are we gonna do, huh?"

"You do believe me, Wendy, do you not?"

"Of course I believe you! I'm just trying to figure out what to do!"

"Well....." Joe stood up slowly, pocketing the little first aid kit and folding his arms across his chest. "I think this is the perfect time for that self-conducted search you were telling me about."

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Music: Chapter named after the song "One Thing" by Finger Eleven.