Page 6 of Hemmed

Slowly, she walked toward the dais, looking down at the tiled top. The red dot was coming from within the tile. It was a camera. A camera was beneath the tile. Kneeling down, she pressed her face against the tile, then stood quickly, tearing the zipper at the back of the skirt. Just as she stood, he reentered the room.

“Oh, no. Now look what you’ve done.”

“I’m sorry. I dropped my earring,” she said, panicked. Meredeth stared at the woman, seeing the fear on her face.

“It’s fine, darling,” said the man. “I believe we’re done here. Go ahead and take everything off. It will be ready by Friday.”

The woman changed in record time, giving Meredeth a strange look that made her feel wary. When the man came back to check on her, she was off the dais and waiting for him.

“Are we done? I’m sorry, I have another appointment,” she lied. “I need the suit by next Friday.”

“Of course, honey,” he smiled. She went inside the dressing room, turning her back to the mirror, unsure of why. “If you need help, love, I can help.”

“I’m good,” called Meredeth. She pulled on her linen shorts and the t-shirt and stepped out of the room, handing him the garments. “I’ll see you Friday.”

“Sure thing, love!”

She left the shop on Burgundy and walked as quickly as she could toward Cosimo’s Bar, a local favorite. She took a seat at the bar and jumped a mile when someone spoke to her.

“That was weird, wasn’t it?”

“Jesus!” she gasped.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. But it was weird, wasn’t it? I mean, the way he touched us, and I’m positive there was a camera in the floor of the dais, beneath the tile.”

“Dear lord,” muttered Meredeth. “I’ve never had a suit made before, so I was hoping I was just being paranoid.”

“Should we call the police?” asked the other woman. Meredeth looked at her, then extended her hand.

“I’m Meredeth.”

“Jade. So, the police?”

“I think I know someone better than the police.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“Gentlemen, this is Mark Teller, better known as Sor,” smirked Abe. “We go way back, and he’s a fucking stand-up operator. I should know because he saved my ass once upon a time.”

“What branch did you serve, Sor?” asked Luke.

“Air Force. Pararescue.”

“A PJ,” smirked Eric. “First one we’ve ever interviewed.”

“Sor wasn’t your average every day, PJ. He was special,” smiled Abe. Sor just shook his head. “Combat medic extraordinaire, master diver, top-notch parachutist, expert rock climber, and known adventurer, and one of the best men I’ve ever seen in arctic conditions. He’s participated in dozens of national explorer expeditions as the lead climber and guide.”

“You’re big as shit for a jumper,” said Luke. “You’ve got to be as big as me.”

“I am,” he nodded. “Biggest on my team, for sure. But it didn’t prevent me from doing my job.”

“Says here you have an IQ of 141. You passed your medical training in half the time of others, scored higher on all your tests than anyone else, and once used Charge of the Light Brigade by Lord Tennyson as an example of what needed to happen to win a battle,” said Cam.

“Well, with Tennyson, I like literature. The other stuff is because my parents were both doctors,” he said, looking at the men. “They worked for a non-profit, traveling the world, and I was lucky enough to follow them and learn multiple languages, learn about cultures, and they fostered my love of learning and reading. They were killed in the earthquake in Syria a few years back.”

“We’re sorry, brother,” said Nine, seated in the front row. “Why do you want to join us?”

“I’ve only recently turned in my retirement papers, coming home to find out that my wife had already made her choice. And it wasn’t me.”

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