Free Small Crimes by Small Crimes

clear her throat to get my attention.
    I
looked up at her and forced a smile.
    'Mr.
Vassey's company has left,' she told me.
    "Thank
you. I appreciate your helping me like this.'
    'I...
I should be getting back to work.' She stood awkwardly for a moment and looked
like what she really wanted was for me to invite her to sit down. I wasn't
feeling up to visiting Manny yet so I asked if I could buy her a cup of coffee.
    'I
really should be getting back.' She could barely meet my eyes, but she didn't
seem overly anxious to walk away.
    I
stood up and pulled a chair out for her. 'Come on,' I said, forcing a bigger
smile. 'Why don't you take a five-minute break and join me?'
    She
hesitated for a moment but she sat down. I guess I can take a short break,' she
admitted, showing a tiny smile.
    I
asked her how she took her coffee and whether she wanted anything else, maybe a
Danish or doughnut, but all she wanted was the coffee. I got up and bought her
a cup and also ended up buying her a piece of chocolate cake that looked
edible.
    I
brought the coffee and cake back to the table and sat across from her. She
murmured out a 'thank you', and glanced up at me while she sipped her drink. I
noticed she was looking uneasily at my scratches.
    'I
walked into a tree branch last night and got a little scratched up,' I said.
    I
could tell from the change in her expression that she believed me. The
scratches obviously weren't made by a tree branch, but if you want to believe
something, you'll believe it. She mentioned how I needed to be more careful and
I agreed with her.
    'By
the way,' I said as I held out my hand, 'my name's Joe Denton. I'm happy to
meet you.'
    She
hesitated before taking my hand. Her own hand was small and disappeared in
mine. Even though she looked a bit mousy and her hair was too thin, she had
some nice features. Especially her eyes when they weren't nervous. They were a
soft hazel color and were nice to look at.
    'I'm
Charlotte Boyd,' she said in a muted voice.
    We
had shaken hands longer than we should have. I made the first move to let go.
    'I've
lived in Bradley my whole life and never knew any Boyds,' I said, still forcing
my smile. 'Are you from around here?'
    'I
moved here from Montreal three years ago,' she said. She no longer had any
problem meeting my eyes.
    'I've
never been to Montreal. I'll have to go someday. Let me guess, you're French?'
    'No,'
she said, 'and it's not very nice up there if you're not. I moved to Montreal
after college. I grew up in Toronto.'
    'Toronto
and Montreal, huh? And now you're in the middle of nowhere. Well, anyway, how
do you like Bradley?'
    'I
like it.' She looked away from me, her tiny smile gone. 'It's fine.'
    She
had no engagement or wedding ring on. My guess was she was unattached and
probably as lonely as I was. I know, Bradley's a small town. It probably takes
getting used to after cities like Montreal and Toronto,' I said. 'So you're
Manny's nurse?'
    She
nodded. 'He's one of my patients.' She lowered her voice. 'Mr. Vassey is not
doing well. His cancer is at an advanced stage.'
    'I
know. Oh well, what can you do?' I shook my head sadly and then hesitated for a
moment. 'Was that Phil Coakley I saw in there with Manny?'
    'I
believe so, yes. Mr. Coakley visits every day. He seems like a nice man. It's a
shame what happened to his face.'
    I
could tell from her expression that she didn't mean anything by her comment.
She had no idea that I was the cause of that shame. I guess she hadn't read the
papers the other day.
    I
muttered something under my breath about agreeing with her how much of a shame
it was. I glanced at my watch and saw it was almost four.
    'I
better get up there and see Manny while I got the chance,' I said.
    She
lowered her glance from me. 'It was nice meeting you, Joe.' She spoke so
quietly I could barely hear her.
    'Same
here, Charlotte. I hope it didn't sound like I was giving you the third degree
before with all my questions. I used to be a police officer and some