tendon giving him a sexual thrill unequalled by
anything he'd ever experienced.
Jeff’s little
secret.
**
Jeff pondered
the source of the painted images over breakfast the next morning.
In life other people must have known her and it made perfect sense
that someone may have seen the beauty she held and decided to use
it in their art. It was no different to how Jeff had used her,
albeit in a different medium.
But it was only
one of many options. Another of which brought a knot of fear into
Jeff’s stomach. What if the paintings were being done for his
benefit? What if someone knew about the special time he'd spent
with her? What if they planned on making Jeff’s secret public,
pressuring him into making a slip.
That wouldn’t
do… not at all.
He had to know
for sure.
**
Jeff drove
faster than he usually did, impatient whenever he hit traffic and
glancing at his watch every other minute. If the wrecking crew were
as punctual as usual then he didn’t have much time if he was to see
what he needed to see. Once done, they could level the old
warehouse and destroy the pictorial evidence it held.
Jeff fumbled
around on the passenger seat and found the mobile phone, depressing
the speed dial and lifting the phone to his ear whilst steering the
car with his free hand. He listened to the electronic ring sound
over and over.
Answer the
fucking phone, Mark.
Without hanging
up Jeff threw the phone into the rear foot well and returned all
his frustration onto reaching his destination.
Upon arrival at
the site Jeff drove passed the billboard announcing the urban
renewal without feeling the usual pride in his latest project. He
had other, more important things on his mind. With the engine still
running he could already hear the sound of heavy machinery on the
far side of the warehouse and his heart sank into his gut.
Too late…
Can’t be.
Jeff jumped out
of the car, leaving the engine running and the door wide open and
took off on foot around the edge of the warehouse.
Mark saw Jeff
first and ran to meet him, a huge smile on his face. “You come to
see the start of something great,” he said, the smile slipping as
Jeff’s expression became clear.
“ Do you
ever answer your fucking calls?” Jeff yelled in Mark’s
face.
“ Only
when it rings,” Mark answered aggressively, shrugging away from
Jeff. “What’s your fucking problem?”
Jeff ignored
the question and stormed away from Mark, heading straight for the
front of the warehouse and sighed with relief.
Still
there…
Jeff looked up
once again at the painted face and frowned.
Its
changed…
It was still
her face, but she'd changed overnight. The smile was gone, replaced
with a mouth shaped to form a silent scream. The front top teeth
were missing and a trickle of red paint ran over her bottom lip.
The eyes no longer held the same innocent beauty Jeff remembered so
well. The left one was hidden behind a swollen eye lid, the flesh
tone recreated with purples and blacks. The right eye stared out
over the world blindly, the upper half flooded by ruptured blood
vessels.
This can’t be
happening…
Jeff could have
been looking at a photograph, each and every wound clearer than
memory could have ever served. This was the way she'd looked as
Jeff had shovelled soil over her face, filling in the unmarked
grave that no relative would ever visit.
Someone
knows…
All Jeff needed
was a name and he searched the area of wall around the face,
knowing it would be there. It had to be. They always tagged their
work, but Jeff couldn’t find it.
If not around
the picture then within it.
Jeff let his
gaze move slowly over her face, tracing every spray painted line,
looking deeply into every area of shaded colour. It was a puzzle
meant for Jeff only and he would solve it. He worked his way down,
from the top of her head to her chin and then began the journey
back yet still he found no name… no tag… nothing to go on.
Jeff finally
turned away from the
Allana Kephart, Melissa Simmons