Free Blackbird by Jessica MacIntyre

quite believing what he was doing. “It’s 87 Oceanview Drive.”
                  “Not exactly a happening neighbourhood. What would you want with an address there?”
                  Robert deflected as best he could. “You bring the wife down here tonight and have whatever you want. Dinner, drinks, it’s all on the house.”
                  “Wow, sweet. If I can actually find a parking spot in downtown Halifax I’ll take you up on that. You and Billie should really consider moving to Dartmouth.”
                  “So get a cab. Drink all you want and have someone else drive you home, you cheap bastard. I don’t think Billie would go for that. She calls it, ‘the dark side’.”
                  “Pfft. Whatever. You must really want to know who lives there. Ok, I don’t judge. Call you back.”
                  Robert heard the click in his ear and put the phone down. He played with his pen, clicking it over and over, and when he’d had enough of that he stood and began to pace. Fifteen minutes passed, then twenty. Finally after half an hour his phone went off.
                  “What took so long?”
                  “Geeze. That’s gratitude for ya. You know my going rate is three hundred dollars an hour. Should I bill you?”
                  “Sorry, sorry.”
                  Rich couldn’t contain his laughter. “Relax would you? I’m kidding. Ok, so here’s what I found out. 87 Oceanview Drive is registered to Mr Ye-Jin Gwok and Mrs. Hyori Gwok.”
                  “Come again?”
                  “That’s the name on the house. I googled it. It’s Korean. Googled that too. Robert, are you in some type of trouble with the Korean government? Cause I’m always here if you need a lawyer.”
                  “In trouble? Not yet, but I’ll keep you on speed dial,” he said, writing down the names. “Thanks Rich. Just give your name to the wait staff when you get here. I’ll make sure they know. Whatever you want.”
                  Robert hung up without saying good-bye and immediately brought up a search engine. Typing in the man’s name he got nothing, but Mrs. Gwok was a different story altogether. Hyori Gwok was a social media butterfly, and all profiles were wide open. There were several pictures of the Korean couple, who looked to be in their early sixties, standing outside the little home he’d seen Chelle enter, along with pictures of their grown children and two large dogs.
                  After retiring early they spent their winters in Florida. Robert knew this because there were just as many pictures of the couple sunning themselves on a little patio. He sighed. Unless Chelle had been adopted by Koreans there was no way this was her house. After looking through hundreds of photos he deduced that she wasn’t likely even a friend of the Gwok’s, and no house sitter would be using a key kept above the door. She’d have a key of her own.
                  He kept on clicking through pictures, hoping against hope to see some sign that she was known to them. “Fuck, Chelle, what are you doing?” he whispered to himself.
                  Billie burst through the door just as he was powering the computer down. Her face was flush with anger, her hands spread wide. “Are we getting out of here or what?”
                  “Sorry, sorry. I just had a few things I had to finish up first.”
                  “Honestly, Robert, it’s like sometimes you forget about me. Work always comes first. Shouldn’t I come first?”
                  No, he caught himself thinking. Although at that moment he didn’t have the heart, or maybe the balls, to tell her the cold hard truth. When you ran a business, and indeed several business, they always came first.