“Okay Andy,” said John, “I will drop you off at this cafe and will be back to pick you up after I finish some business. Whatever you do, be careful, the police are looking for us after that job we did, so stay out of sight. There is also a team of PI’s looking for us, they want to kill us, so stay away from them. The leader of that team is a woman named Kat, she hates us, so be careful. And she has a bodyguard who is a giant of a guy. He would break you in two, so run from them if you see them. You remember what they look like?” “Yeah,” I said, “though it all seems hazy right now.

I’m scared, you will be back soon, right?” “Yeah, for sure,” said John, “just keep yourself hidden. Here is some money, get some lunch.” I got out of the car and he left in a hurry. I just cannot remember things, who I am, where I live, nothing. I just know I’m scared, very scared. Can I trust anyone besides John? My name is…oh no, I cannot remember that even. John said my name, but it is gone from me. I go over to the cafe and get some lunch, I am hungry. After that I walk around a bit, I do not want to go far, I have to wait for John to return. I guess I am a criminal of some kind, that is why the police are after us. What if they catch John?

Then he will not be back for me. I walk up and down the street, keeping the cafe in sight, waiting for John. The afternoon passes. Now it is getting to be late evening. Oh no, police are coming! I run down an alley and hide behind a dumpster. The police car drives slowly past with the officers looking out the windows. Obviously they are looking for me. Now what? I have no money, no ID, where will I spend the night. Hmm, there is a park down the street, maybe I can hide there for the night. I’m glad it is warm anyway.

Meanwhile… “I have notified the police and given them Steve’s photo,” said Baldwin, “so they are already looking for him.” “Good,” said Kat, “that helps a bit. We have to find Steve quickly, before it is too late.” “Hey, we will find him Kat,” said Jennifer, then she sat down and started crying, “and it is all my fault too.” “No Jenny,” said Annelie, “it is not your fault, stop thinking that way. That will not help us find Steve, we have to concentrate our efforts on locating him, not anything else.” “Yes,” said Jennifer, “I know you are right, I’m okay now. But Paris is so big, where do we even start looking?” “I was thinking about that too,” said Rock.

“I know Paris forwards and backwards,” said Melanie, “my family lived here for 10 years. We would drive all over the city and I would memorize everything, streets, buildings, shops. There is a couple areas of the city that would be most likely places for John to drop him off, where Steve would not stand out so easily.” “Her ability to memorize is a great asset,” said Baldwin, “that could be a real help right now.” “Yes, I agree,” said Kat, “we are going to need your help a lot Melanie.” “Hey, you got it,” she said, “I really do want to help you get Steve back.”

Back to me… It is getting dark and there is still a lot of people around, some sleeping on benches, some on the ground. The police do not seem to be bothering them so once it is dark I will go over and hide behind that bush over there and sleep for tonight. The night went by too quickly, but I did sleep well. The day seemed to crawl along so slowly. At one point in the afternoon I saw a huge guy walk through the park with two cats, one was gray and one was black and white. There was something about those cats, I seem to remember…but no, it can’t be.

I must listen to what John told me and stay away from any big guys since he wants to kill me, and I would like to stay alive. But I am getting hungry. That night I slept in the same spot, until I heard some noise and saw police walking along checking people. I ran off to an alley and hid behind some boxes. I waited, but heard nothing and I soon fell asleep again. The next morning the sun was shining again and I walked around. It was hot. There was a place I could drink water in the park, but I was hungry.

It has been two days. I walked down the street. It was afternoon. I stopped at a bakery, oh my, everything looked so good and I was so hungry. A young woman who worked there must have seen me and came out with a muffin. She said something in French.

To Be Continued.

©2022 Steve McLeod.