The Immortal Coil Read Free

walked up. He appeared to be in his early fifties and, judging by his stomach overhang, food should have been the least of his worries. The “rookie” he was speaking to was an athletic young man with blond hair. I almost felt sorry for him having to take orders from someone who probably broke out into a sweat writing a ticket.
    “Can I help you?” the third officer of the group asked. He was somewhere in the middle of the other two both in age and body type. Looking at the three of them together was like observing the sad timeline of a police officer’s figure.
    “Hi, I was just wondering if you know when we’ll be able to go in?”
    “Not anytime soon,” the same officer said, and pointed behind me at the building. It was being blocked off with yellow police tape.
    “What happened?”
    “We can’t discuss police business. Do you live here?” By his tone and body language, I could tell that my questions seemed to be bothering the older cop. They had probably been asked the same question at least ten times, so I couldn’t totally blame him.
    “Yes, on the fifth floor. I don’t really have anywhere else to go,” I said, trying to sound as polite as possible so maybe I would get more information.
    “You don’t have friends?” Now he was being rude. At least I didn’t have to feel bad about judging him for his weight now.
    “I just moved to the city a month ago.” I hoped that made him feel stupid.
    “And what’s your name, son?”
    “Dorian.”
    “Do you have a last name?” he said, and motioned sarcastically with his hand for me to continue.
    “Benoit.”
    “Well, Dorian Benoit, we will try and hurry our investigation along so you won’t be inconvenienced any further. In the meantime, why don’t you make friends with some of your neighbors here so they’ll stop asking us questions.” He seemed pleased with himself for being an ass. He chuckled and looked at the other two to see if he had gotten a rise out of them.
    Neither seemed too amused, which made me feel a bit better as I walked away. “There’s a hotel a few blocks away on 77th Street. You can probably get reimbursed for it by the city,” the rookie offered.
    “Thanks,” I said. “I know I can’t ask what happened, but any idea when you guys will be done?”
    “Check back in the morning. That’s all I can tell you. We don’t know much more.”
    Shannon was suddenly beside me with two of her girlfriends, rattling off questions to the rookie now that he was away from his colleagues. “Is it true you guys found the woman dead in her apartment?”
    “I’m sorry, ma’am. We’re not allowed to discuss it.”
    I backed out of the conversation as he patiently answered all of the same questions over again. The thought crossed my mind to call my parents, but it would only freak them out. Knowing them, they would be on the road down here before I hung up the phone. I’d just rent a room for the night and hope they didn’t see the charge on my credit card before I got the chance to explain in the morning.
    I stopped off to get coffee at a corner cafe before going to the hotel. I never even drank coffee before I moved here, but it seemed like everyone in Manhattan was always walking around with some form of caffeine.
    It was just after 10 PM when I walked in. The cafe was completely empty except for a man behind the counter reading the newspaper. They had a bunch of flavors I had never heard of, but not my favorite caramel latte, so I had to settle for regular coffee. I continued on to find the hotel with my disappointing drink in hand.
     
    It cost me four hundred dollars, but I was able to get one of the last available rooms. According to the concierge, there were already quite a few people from my building staying there. Shannon and her friends were walking up to the front desk as I entered the elevator.
    I could hear most of their conversation while they checked in until one of the girls erupted into a coughing fit. She was so