The Cinema Files s1 p11

The Cinema Files
page 11, chapter 11

Drive-In Drama

"Alrighty. I've got no damned idea what I'm doing." I said slapping my hands to my thighs. Blake, Vincent and myself, had just failed at trying to get information from the city's mortician. Seems she didn't care for fruit. Or us for that matter. Detective Whitechapel had already been in to visit her and informed her in no uncertain terms, if I showed up to call him and bar me from the floor.

"Desdemona calm down now." Blake said as he thumped his butt into the wall teetering under the weight of the overly large fruit basket. The thing was nearly two feet tall and must have weighed a good ten pounds. I told him not to add the pineapple but he didn't listen.

"I don't want to calm down. I want to get some results." I think I whined. Turning towards Vincent, I got an idea. He'd worn a button up shirt; which I started to unbutton the top part of, making the collar a little more peaked. "You need to seduce her. Like not doing it on the autopsy table or anything, but you know."   Vincent looked at me with a slight worry before turning back towards the morgue.

"Really Mons? Pimping out your best friend." Blake made a tisking noise before whistling. Less than two minutes caught Vincent walking back through the doors, handing me a small piece of note paper.

"See. I knew you were the secret weapon." I was nodding my head grinning widely as I took the paper. Unfolding it, I let out a deep breath discovering it was not the information we were looking for.

"Her exact words were call the top number first and then the second after 9pm." Vincent remarked buttoning back up his shirt smoothing down his collar once again.

"That's Whitechapel's number." my shoulders slumped as I felt Blake's breath at my neck as he leaned over my shoulder. The fruit basket digging into my elbow as he did.

"Who's number is under the cops?" Blake asked.

"The mortician's. Seems, I'm not her type." Vincent couldn't hold back the smile any longer. I felt Blake nudge me with his shoulder as he joined.

"I hate you both right now." 

"Well...anyone feel like fruit salad for lunch?" Blake nodded balancing the basket then on his knee.


I decided to go into the shop after the lack of leads we followed. Feeling let down and deflated, all I wanted was the familiarness of my store. To stand in the middle of the building, breathing in the scent of cardboard and plastic, the posters staring down at me from the walls. I suddenly felt a heavy longing for a vhs tape. Grabbing a well used and slightly faded dvd off the nearest shelf, I held it in my hands like a doll. It comforted me as if an old friend or pet would. The door opened causing me to blush before putting the movie back on the shelf.

"Good, you are open." It was Ryan. "Did you have fun on your little field trip to the morgue?" he looked around his right hand suddenly at his tie as he loosened it. Detective Whitechapel seemed so out of his element, which of course was all part of his tack. I'd seen him do this before more than once, assessing the situation as if he were less than sure of things, all the while letting his witness or suspect feel like they had the upper hand. Which of course, they never really did. 

"Detective." I moved around the room wanting to get a closer look at the expression on his face. I couldn't tell if I was about to get yelled at or not? "You looking for something in particular?" I saw his gaze travel over the current releases before stopping on a blu-ray for a movie about giant mutant snakes. He shook his head turning up his lips into a duck bill.

"No no." he flicked his left thumb over the very edge of his bottom lip. "What are you doing for dinner?" he smiled that devilish smirk of his, his eyes gleaming like jewels under the lights. They were looking particularly emerald like as he licked his lips tilting his head just slightly to the right, his eyes still encased in small laugh lines. "Been asked to help out on a case for the next town over. They need someone to pose as a couple for a few hours as a decoy. You game?"

"What time?" I had butterflies at the idea.

"I'll swing by your place about 4pm. Wear something elegant but comfortable. It's an outdoors party."


Tune in again for another installment of the Cinema Files starring your heroine...me(straight up story. I wish I was this popular.)