Dinner on 27th street

TW: language and murder

Dinner On 27th Street

Late again. I should’ve figured she would be. Evelyn’s been late more and more recently. Its our 10th anniversary and it seems like everyone in town is at this restaurant tonight except for my wife. I’ve called and texted but no reply. Fuck it, I need a drink. The waiter passes by and I order a bottle of wine. Soon after, the waiter notices how fast I’m blowing through the bottle and offers me the menu. To no surprise I order the duck. And another bottle. Not like Evelyn is here to bitch at me about it. I look around the restaurant as I polish off the first bottle of wine and I see a woman in a red dress approaching my table.

The walking mystery sits across from me. Confused, I ask “ Umm, do I know you?” She shakes her head no. “You don’t. But I know you Scott.” A comment like that would’ve startled me if I hadn’t built most of the homes in my community. I’m pretty well known after all. But I couldn’t shake the weird feeling that this woman knows me some other way. I begin to ask her for her name and she interrupts me. “My name has nothing to do with the conversation I want to have with you.” she said. I stare at her, more confused than before. “Where is your wife tonight, Scott?” What an odd fucking question. Although I’d like to know the answer for myself. “Well obviously if I knew that I wouldn’t be drinking alone.” As she leans closer to me, she has an eerie smirk on her face. The waiter brings my food and the other bottle of wine. I fill my glass. “I have a proposition for you. Perhaps you and I can have an arrangement of some sort.” she says. Staring at her, I respond “Such as?” She sits back in the chair, picks up my glass of wine, and takes a sip. “So Scott…” she begins. “ Would you rather leave and go home now, or attempt to save everyone in this restaurant tonight?” What. The. Fuck. Maybe Evelyn set this up. One of the reasons I fell for her was because she always keeps me on my toes. But deep down, I knew this wasn’t her. I’m starting to get freaked out. Who is this woman and where the hell is my wife? “What kind of a fucking question is that?” I ask. “The kind of question you don’t have long to answer.” the woman said. Who could answer that? Who could possibly live with themselves if they left. Could I live with myself?

I stand up from my seat. “Get the fuck away from me!” I yell. She glared at me for my loud outburst. “Is that the decision you really wanna go with Scott?” I need to get ahold of Evelyn. As I reach for my phone, the woman grabs my arm. “What? Are you not enjoying my company?” she asked with an eerie grin. “What do you expect from me? Do you know my wife or something? I mean seriously, what the hell do you want from me?” The woman in red stares at me. “There’s a lot I want from you… but what are you willing to give?” she asks while looking me up and down. “Now sit down!” the woman said gritting her teeth. I reluctantly take my seat. “Please. I just want to know where my wife is. I have to go and find her.” “Aww don’t worry. Evelyn is perfectly fine.” She says with that same grin on her face.

My stomach dropped. All this time, I thought she had forgotten or that she was blowing me off for work again. She’s been taken. I pick up my knife and point it at the woman across from me. “Where is she?! Where the hell is my wife?!” The woman leans in while letting out a small chuckle, the knife pressing into her arm. “For the last time, would you like to hear my proposition?” she asked. At this point, I’d do anything for the chance to see Evelyn again. I put the knife down, look to the woman, and nod.

“Now that we’re all playing nice, you can call me Diana.” she says leaning back in the chair, still sipping from my glass of wine. “We have been watching you and your wife for some time now Scott. You really don’t like to stray away from your routine, do you?” She paused. “Neither does Evelyn from what I could tell. Running down the same alleyway, always the same grocery store too. Same day every week- and lets not forget the dry cleaners. She even goes downtown every Thursday after lunch to meet her lover.” she added.

All of the noise in the restaurant halts. Tears begin to well up in my eyes. The pit in my stomach grows with every breath. “Lover?” I ask hesitantly. Diana nods. “I’m sure you’ve had your suspicions.” Diana says as I stare at the table in disbelief. How could she do this to me? I’ve given her everything she’s ever wanted. “How long has that been going on?” I mutter to Diana. She shakes her head. “Lets get back to my proposition.” she said insistently. I hold my head in my hands. I’m a complete wreck… but I nod in agreement.

“So, lets say everyone in this restaurant tonight is in danger. Would you do everything in your power to save them? Or could you leave here guilt free to go back to your cheating wife? I’m sure you know some people in here considering you built their homes, right? You could just walk away and let them die after making a profit off of them? That’s low Scott… even for me. And I kidnapped your wife.” she says while tracing the now empty wine glass with her fingertips. I’m shaking as I ask “What the fuck is wrong with you? What kind of danger? What are you getting from all of this? Please just stop and we can all go home.” I beg. Diana reaches for the bottle and pours herself another glass of wine. “I’m just doing my job Scott. You should be grateful I’m here and not someone else. Are you so sure your fellow neighbor would save you and not just themselves?” she asks. “Now, do you have an answer for me?”.Diana begins tapping her finger on the table. I can tell she’s getting inpatient with me. As I scramble for an answer in my mind, the waiter approaches the table. “Looks like your wife finally showed up.” I look up at him, tears still in my eyes. “I’ll let you two get back to it.” he said as he walked away. I return my eyes back to Diana. Where do I go from here? “Do you not believe me Scott? Are you not taking this serious enough? Let me show you how serious I am.” she says as she picks up her phone. I look around the room, trying to figure out what she’s up to. Diana puts her phone back on the table and then reaches under the chair she’s sitting in and pulls out a small box. “She wanted you to have this.” she says sliding it over to me. I open the box and… oh my god. It’s a ring, but, it’s not Evelyn’s. I bring my attention back to the room as Diana snaps her fingers. She tilts her head towards the other side of the restaurant- toward a young couple mid conversation. She snaps her fingers again and the woman stiffens. Clutching her throat, the woman gasps and falls away from the table. Several people rush over and try to help the couple. Diana speaks calmly to me and says “I told you. This table is about choices. Let’s not make another mistake.”

I feel sick. What the hell did I just witness. “What did you just do?” I push out my chair and begin to stand. She holds up a single finger. “When will you learn to listen and just sit down.” Her voice is filled with promise. “You still think this is about her. It’s not. It’s about you.” I sit. “I want to see what kind of man you are when no ones watching.” I slide the box off of the table and put the lid back on. “Fine, what do you need from me?” I ask. Diana smiles. “Good boy. I was worried you’d do something stupid like try to be the hero. Now, back to the task at hand.” She leans forward and whispers “I know what you hid in your houses Scott. I know that was such a good cover for getting rid of your past victims.” I look at her, my eyes now filled with rage. No. NO! This cant be happening. I have been so careful not to let this side of me get caught. I’ve covered every track and I never made even the slightest mistake. How could she know this? What could I have forgotten?

I lean back in my chair. “What you’re going to do is stand up and confess to all of these people that you’ve been filling the foundation of their houses with bodies. If you don’t, Evelyn dies. And let’s be honest, she’s kind of all you have left.” I chuckle as I lean forward and take the wine glass from her and begin filling it with wine. “Why would I lose everything just to save my cheating wife?” She’s the only person who knows that side of me. If she dies- would that really be the worst thing? “Well Scott, maybe because she just found out that she’s pregnant.” she says. I clench my fists. All I’ve ever wanted was to have a family and protect them. “You just told me that my wife has been cheating on me- for god knows how long- and now you’re gonna use the baby card? How do I even know its mine?” “Because, although Evelyn wasn’t always faithful, she was mindful. If she wanted kids, she wanted them with you.” Diana says as I begin to tear up. “Evelyn was on the way here with an anniversary gift for you. Ahh, it was the cutest little blue outfit.”

I slam my fists on the table and catch the attention of the table across from us. It’s the Callegati’s. They bought one of the first houses I built in this town. I probably put 4 bodies under their house. How can I just stand up and admit that to them? And everyone else here. “The thing is, you killed my sister. And I have been trying to find her killer for years. Low and behold, I came to the town that she’d come to when she needed a break. That’s when I saw you. You had this demeanor about you that was so chilling, but the way you’d talk with people, made them absolutely oblivious to it. I began following you, studying you. Every move you made, I was there. That’s when I saw it. You unloading your truck bed just after sunset at one of the houses you were building. You were careful but I was hiding in plain sight and you didn’t see me. I watched you take them out of your truck and submerge them in the concrete that was just poured. You got back in your truck and drove home like it was nothing. Like you didn’t just fucking bury people.”

At this point, I’ve killed so many people that I couldn’t even recall who her sister could possibly be. “I’m sorry, Diana. I can’t help it. I have this thing inside of me. This being that tells me who should live their lives until god takes them or until I do. I’ve killed more people than I can count. But believe me, there was nothing about your sister that made me choose her over anyone else. She just happened to be there when I got that feeling. As a matter of fact, I’m getting that feeling right now.” I take the knife and point it at Diana again. “Let’s get out of here, yeah?”. Diana smiles at me. “You’re not going to kill me Scott.” I laugh. “You wanna bet?” “Because you didn’t kill my sister.” I freeze. “I never had a sister. I made her up. I made everything up. Evelyn is at home passed out and the lady across the restaurant will be fine. I wanted to see if you’d admit what you’ve done. And you did. The only person that’s going to suffer tonight is you.” She picks up her phone and shows its been recording the whole evening. My confession. My motive. Knife in my fucking hand. Diana presses play on the recording. The restaurant goes silent and everyone can hear my voice being played back. “I have this thing inside me…”. I get up from the table and start looking for an exit- blocked. Diana stands and walks closer to me. “You built this town Scott. Now watch it bury you.” She walks away as the sound of sirens approach. Everyone is staring at me. Its funny though… none of them ever heard the screams.