Chapter 20

I stopped by the house which project humanity was building. I did it after everything calmed down around my house. After a week with them, I knew enough to know I could be of some help, even if I only had a few hours to give them.

I spent the last couple of hours before noon lugging and toting sheet rock into the house. Once I got it all inside and stored, I helped install it. I spent the afternoon learning to tape it for finishing. I admit I wasn’t very good at it, but I was told that it was an acquired skill, not one mastered the first day.

I had white joint compound all over my jeans when I arrived home. I left them in the shop to brush with a broom before wearing to the job site the next day. I also hooked up the trailer and rode to a home and garden store to buy a galvanized wash tub. I planned to use that tub to soak my work clothes before I tried to wash them. I chose galvanized steel because it’s what my mom used when I was a kid. It somehow seemed to be the right thing for me to use.

I would have gone out to dinner, but I promised Alison that I would come eat dinner with the ACDC. Since the restaurant would accept cash from a resident for payment, I could pay for my own dinner by slipping it to Alison. The management felt that it was a good way for members of the family and friends to have dinner with a resident, who no longer drove. In my case to have dinner with someone who was having a premier party in the yoga studio after dinner.

The Judge and Louise were waiting for me in the lobby of The Haven. We spent several minutes asking each other ‘how are you.’ kinds of questions. During the questioning I found that The Judge hadn’t been doing much of anything, at least nothing he wanted to brag about. Louise had met, then had an affair with, and dumped a new man during the last month. She informed me that no, one month was not a record. Every woman knew that a quickie in the lady’s room of a bar was probably a record, or at least a personal best.

The four of us had a very comfortable dinner before we went into the yoga studio where The Judge earlier had an orderly move his larger screen TV in and set up for the premier. I brought an ice chest filled with diet coke. I felt like we were being monitored, since every fifteen minutes an orderly or nurse came in to check on us. I guess to be sure we didn’t get too rowdy.

The first night’s episode was two hours, which meant about a ninety minute show and thirty minutes of commercials. The show ran on a non mainstream network. Still it had some decent actors, so it wasn’t too bad at all.

After the show ended we sat around talking. We discussed what they got right and wrong. Other residents of The Haven really seemed to enjoy the conversations. It honestly seemed to be fun for everyone. I was ready to head off home on my ten long block ride home. Since it was so far and in the dark I had brought the trike. The ride home was a good trip as well because nothing happened. I was home and ready for bed by 11PM.

I knew that Alison was going to be home writing. I also knew I needed to ride down to Chapel Hill to do some more asking around. Odds were very good that the story was going to have to be a work of complete fiction. Still I wanted it to be fiction with the characters based as much as possible in fact. In which case I needed to go to Chapel Hill and talk to people who knew things. The way to do that was to find people who knew something about the investigation. In other words cops and court employees.

Since it never went to trial, there were no notes from the DA’s office. I had no choice but to go down and just talk to cops and Caroline’s business neighbors. I could probably take their stories and use them by plugging people I knew into them. Handing those to Alison should allow her to fill the necessary pages with words.

I left early for the ride down. When I arrived I began by speaking to her business neighbors. Then I moved on to some of her residential neighbors. They were recommended by the people who work with Caroline. I stayed away from her grieving husband. I honestly didn’t like him, and I didn’t want it to taint the story, which I was trying to influence Alison into writing.

I met a middle aged woman in one of the jazz bars where Raven said Caroline had hung out. The woman I met there was named Snookie. According to Snookie, Caroline had borrowed her house to have sex with her black boyfriend, the Vampire. Also according to Snookie, Caroline and Vampire were involved in the sale of drugs. It was well after dark when I got tired of talking to the people in the club. I had been tired of the music after ten minutes, but I managed to stay for the people. I decided to hang out since there were several people there that night who knew Caroline.

I did leave before the club closed. I walked by a couple of Chapel hill police officers as I headed to the parking lot where I left my scooter chained to a street light. “You the guy asking about Caroline Moore?” one of the cops asked me.

“I guess I am,” I said.

“Why?” he asked.

“Why what,” I asked.

“Why are you interested in a two year old murder. You know we are still working it?” the officer suggested.

“Oh, I would have thought that the detectives were working it,” I admitted.

“It’s a community effort,” the sergeant replied.

“Good, so who do you think did it?” I asked.

“Who are you to be asking,” his partner said.

“Let me get a card for you,” I said reaching into my back pocket. I found one and handed it to the sergeant.

“What the fuck is Rogers Research,” he asked.

“That’s who I am. I am researching a TV show,” I said.

“Then, I guess we should back off,” the sergeant suggested.

“You do what you need to do. I plan to check into a motel tonight and tomorrow take off for home,” I said.