Page 6 of Two Marlboros

Important: to whom was he referring to?

Note: Two other employees work in the office: Michael COSSNER and Samantha MILLER. COSSNER has been sick for two weeks (he’s been working there since 01/10/2001) and didn’t answer to the texts from colleagues. MILLER alternates shifts with JONES and MCCAIN.”

I took another sip of Coke. That “Where is it?” repeated by the thief had piqued my curiosity more than once over the course of that day. I had a feeling that this heist was studied, that the thieves were looking for something in particular, but there were still not enough clues to tell what it was. What could they have stolen from a post office besides money?

A series of cackles came from the hallway, and I spotted the voices of Ashton and of another colleague whose name I could not remember. I looked up at the clock: it was already eight fifty. I sighed dryly and the next moment my partner opened the door, greeted his colleague with a nod, then closed the door behind him. He walked quietly to his desk and put down his briefcase.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said - then he slipped off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack, “there was unbelievable traffic.” He nodded with his chin to the open file in front of me. “Have you already started?”

I scrolled through a few more pages of the file. “Yes, I was browsing.”

He pulled up the sleeves of his shirt just below the elbow, came to my side of the desk and peeked.

“Ah, theirritating little boy, as you call him.”

I lowered my eyes and realized the file was open on the very testimony of Nathan Hayworth. I was tempted to overlook his statements, but my sense of justice would never allow me to do so.

“It’s not what I call him, it’s just who he is.”

Ashton chuckled. “Just because he looked a little annoyed?”

He moved away from my desk and back in front of his to move the briefcase to the floor, his back to me.

“Well, at least he’s cute, isn’t he?” he added, and I snorted. “Although you certainly know more about it than I do.”

He pulled out a bundle of papers from a filing cabinet and placed them on the desk with a thud, which covered the dry sound of my sigh.

“Please don’t start this again.”

I heard him chuckle and thought he was going to put the papers in the copier at that point, but instead he pulled his wallet out of his back pants pocket, gave it a check, and put it back.

“I’m going to get something to drink. I’ll be right back, okay?”

I gave him a sign of assent, but he was not really seeking my approval. He walked briskly to the door and closed it behind him without delay; the next moment I heard voices again in the hallway, which gradually receded until silence fell again. I lowered my eyes back to the testimony and sighed again, but this time there was nothing to cover my disappointment. I felt overwhelmed by nausea, perhaps because of what Ashton had said or perhaps because of the unpleasant memory that page of the file stirred in me, but I began to reread the statement anyway.

“Nathan Hayworth.

Born 03/15/1980 (age 21) in Manhattan.

Hair: blond, short.

Eyes: green.

Stature: 5’8’’.

Employee of ‘Best Deals’ mini market on E49th since 01/05/1999.

Architecture student at NYU, enrolled in third year.

He stated the following: ‘I had just finished my shift at Best Deals, and it was five past two (accurate information: he was impatiently waiting for his shift to end). I was supposed to go to the post office to pickup something for my boss, but just before I got there, I heard a bang and thought it was a firecracker, although now I’m pretty sure it was an actual gunshot. When I tried to enter the building, I collided with a man (one of the two robbers). The robbers then got out and got on a scooter. It was black and big, made a lot of noise as it drove away (rigged engine? Large displacement?). I realized that a robbery was in progress, so I called the police.’ (scared, but firm voice).”

In general, the only interesting elements concerned the descriptions of the two men and the note on McCain’s statement, elements that I hoped to be able to verify with the aid of some cameras - a task I would gladly entrust to Ashton. All in all, Hayworth’s statement had also proved interesting for that detail about the time, which Jones had not been able to confirm with certainty. I finished scrolling through the remaining testimony without finding any other items of note, so I closed the file and took my last sips of Coke.

After a while Ashton re-entered the office, and walked straight to his desk, ignoring me. A rather unusual, satisfied smile had appeared on his face for a Tuesday morning, so much so that I wondered if he had uncovered important clues.

“Tell you what,” I quickly pressed him, to remove any doubt, “did you find anything in the surveillance camera images?”

“No,” he replied, then picked up the ream he had pulled out just before, “I haven’t finished looking at them yet. I think I’ll need a little more time.”

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