Oberman grinned, his first genuine smile of the day. “Looks like we’re doin’ some overtime.”

* * * *

“Hello, I’m Detective Oberman and this is Detective Konowicz. We’re with the 124th precinct, New York P.D. We’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind. May we come in?”

Kyle instantly went on guard. These two characters looked like they had real badges, but he smelled something malicious and sinister––apart from their body odor. He didn’t trust them enough to allow entry.

“Well, I’m not sure what this is all about. Is there a problem?” He didn’t like the idea of these two inside the door. They were pushy. Oberman actually slid his foot in the door as they stood there staring down Kyle with their you-don’t-want-to-mess-with-us looks. He stared right back and let them continue speaking from the hallway.

“We’re here to see Aaron Pilan. Is he here now? We need to talk with him.”

That struck him weird. Aaron was about as harmless and law-abiding as they came. He couldn’t imagine what these two might possibly want with Aaron. He paused for a moment, and then decided to play along.

“No, actually he’s not. Um … I haven’t seen him in days. If he’s in trouble I’d like to know about it, and how I can help. He’s a good friend.” His instinctive reaction was to make sure they didn’t catch Aaron by surprise.

“You know anything about his involvement with this woman?” Oberman showed Kyle the artist’s rendering of Michelle and pushed his bulk into the door a couple more inches. Kyle held his ground, letting the door push up against his body as he tried to look casually at what was a pretty damn accurate drawing of Michelle. He pretended not to notice how they watched him, or how they tried to force their way into his door. They pretended to care about his rights and privacy. None of them were very good actors.

“No, I’ve never seen her before. Can you tell me what this is all about?” He knew if he gave up Michelle he’d be giving up Aaron, so he continued to stonewall.

“Look, we know he was with her a week ago. We know he lives at this address. We can’t go into details because of the on-going investigation. If you know somethin’ and you’re not telling us, it’s only gonna hurt Aaron in the end. If you wanna help your friend, you need to help us find him.” Oberman played the standard authoritarian manipulation game.

Kyle knew there was very little these two creeps could do to help Aaron. Cops like this rarely ever helped anyone but themselves.

“I’ve already told you I don’t know anything. I haven’t seen him or heard from him in days. His cell phone is disconnected. I don’t know what else I can do to help you.” He put more pressure on the door, forcing Oberman to back up a couple inches.

Konowicz stepped toward Kyle menacingly, as if he would shove past Oberman and force his way through the door. “Listen here. We’re gonna find out everything eventually. We’ll find out all about you, your friends, and all the comings and goings here at your little bachelor pad. I’m pretty sure we’re gonna find somethin’ you won’t like. Maybe one of your buddies smokes weed, snorts a little blow, maybe someone’s poppin’ somebody else’s prescription pills. It’s a given. You would do a lot more for yourself and your friends if you cooperate with us.”

“I don’t do drugs, and I don’t hang out with losers that do,” he informed them calmly. He waved his hand in dismissal of their bullshit. “You can threaten all you want, I don’t know where Aaron is and there’s nothing illegal happening at my apartment.”

Konowicz snapped back, losing his cool, “If I learn you’ve been lying to us, I’ll book your ass for obstruction of justice so fast it’ll make your head spin! You’ll sit in lock-up just long enough to lose your job and this shit-hole apartment you squat in! Don’t fuck with me punk!”

“I’ve said all I have to say. I’m done with you. Good day, Officers.” He shoved the door in the detective’s faces. He heard cursing and some back and forth whispering, and then they slipped a note under the door with an N.Y.P.D. business card.

Call me with any new information you get about Aaron Pilan and the woman.

Scott Konowicz

Kyle stood there for a moment, debating what to do about the situation. Should he tell them about Michelle? Should he call and leave an anonymous tip? Should he just warn Aaron and stay out of it? The detective’s threats seemed to be mostly intimidation tactics. They didn’t have anything on him, and he didn’t know anything. What you don’t know can’t hurt you … right?

Delia overheard parts of the conversation from where she was standing a few feet inside the door. “What was that all about?”

“I’m not sure, but I think Aaron’s in trouble and it’s got something to do with Michelle.”

* * * *

“You have a voicemail from your friend Kyle. He wants you to call as soon as possible. Is very important.” Michelle handed Aaron her iPhone after dialing Kyle’s number.

“Hey, Kyle, it’s Aaron. Got your message. What’s goin’ on?”

Kyle explained what happened with the two detectives, and then told Aaron how he felt about them and their threats. “Dude, I’m freakin’ out! They weren’t messin’ around! It seems pretty serious. They were talking about abstraction of justice! Like they were gonna arrest me! I didn’t know anything, so I couldn’t tell them anything. Is there something I should know? What’s goin’ on?”

“I have no idea. Seriously.” Shit, shit, shit!

“Really? So … how’s it goin’ with Michelle?”

Kyle had a suspicious tone to his voice. Aaron wondered what he was thinking. What kind of assumptions he must be making by now.

“Ahhmm … She’s great, we’re good. I’m telling you the truth, Kyle. I have no idea what those guys want. Honestly, this is a total surprise. But hey, thanks for blocking for me, I appreciate it. I really owe you one. Maybe I should get an attorney to call and find out what’s up.” Shit! What the fuck do I do now? What if they find us?

Aaron’s mind raced through possibilities. He didn’t know what to say. He felt like a fugitive in hiding every second that he lied to Kyle. He didn’t have a clue what to do if the detectives ever tracked him or Michelle down.

Kyle replied, “Okay, man, cool. Just be careful. I’m telling you those guys are creepy as hell. I had to take a couple shots of Patron to calm down after they left. Oh … yeah … um … Delia’s here. She wants to talk to you for a minute.”

“Kyle, wait. I gotta go. I don’t have time for her right now.”

“Hi, Aaron, are you okay? Those officers sounded serious.”

He wasn’t prepared to deal with Delia. He’d written her off as a thing of the past.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine. We’re fine.” He wanted off the phone so he could talk to Michelle. He had a whopping crisis to avert, namely being hunted down by NYPD for assaulting an officer. He hoped that by referring to both him and Michelle as being fine together, Delia might catch the subtle hint and leave him alone.

“Hey, Aaron, um … I was hoping we could meet and talk. I want to talk about … things between us. Everything has happened so quickly. I’ve been thinking about you. About us.”

“There’s not much to say. You broke up with me. You wanted to see other people. It wasn’t what I wanted, but now everything’s changed. I’ve changed. I thought you wanted your freedom?”

She laughed nervously and stammered, “Well, yeah, but … I understand that you’re angry. I would be too. I want you to know I think I was wrong. I want to see you again. It’s hard to talk over the phone … she’s probably there with you right now … listening. Can we talk in private? Can you come see me tonight? I’m here at the apartment.” She sounded like she was starting to beg. It was kinda creepy. She had never been like this before.

Aaron cut her off. “Delia, I’m not mad at you. I was, but it’s over now.”

“I’m not asking you out on a date, okay. I think we need a chance to talk. It’s only been two weeks since we split up. Please Aaron. I really need to see you. I want to make it up to you. It’s all my fault. I’ll do anything you want …”

“Listen, this is a really bad time right now. I’ve gotta get off the phone. There’s nothing to talk about. Michelle is really good to me. I’ve moved on. I’m sorry but I gotta go. I’ll call back, maybe, in a couple days or somethin’. Take care. Bye.” He hung up on her.

* * * *

Kyle could see the wheels turning in Delia’s head. It wasn’t difficult to figure out what had happened. If Kyle had a sexy thing like Michelle in his life, he’d drop Delia like a bad habit.

Kyle imagined that devious little mind of hers cooking up a scheme to get her hands on Aaron again. He’d told Aaron more than once she was a selfish brat. It took Michelle’s influence to finally pull him from Delia’s manipulations and mind games. What was she up to now? Was she bold enough to do something stupid with those nasty detectives?

“Hey, Delia, I know how you feel about this. Everything happened so suddenly with Aaron moving out, and you were real close for so long. I hope you’re not thinking of doing something with those cops. Don’t mess with them, Delia. You call those detectives and you’re playing with fire. Besides you could get Aaron in trouble too. Not just Michelle. Let him live his life. If he’s making mistakes, let him deal with it. He’s not yours to play with anymore. You let him go and now he’s gone. You hear what I’m saying? Don’t get involved!”

“Alright already! I heard you. You don’t have to go into a fit about it. I never said I was gonna do anything! And I can talk to him if I want to. She doesn’t own him!”