I was sitting at a bar in Des Moines sipping my beer. There was a cute blonde next to me fidgeting over her Mai Tai. She kept checking the time on her phone and looking around as if expecting someone. She put her phone in her purse and took a brief trip to the ladies room.
Upon returning she nervously pulled her phone back out of her purse, checked the time again and without looking set her phone down on the bar next to her purse. A few minutes later she closed her purse up and briskly walked out the door. I didn’t think much of it.
Whatever was bothering her was none of my business. But I happened to glance over at where she’d been sitting and noticed her phone was still resting on the bar. I looked around and towards the door to see if she was still in the building but I didn’t see her. My eyes were already facing the window when I saw her driving off in her black lexus, window rolled down and sunglasses on.
I slid the phone closer to me so no one would steal it and thought I’d give it some time in case she came back for it. Who knows, it could be a good conversation starter and perhaps we’d make a love connection. And if not, at least her phone would be safe. If she didn’t come back for it by the time I was ready to leave I’d just give it to the bartender who would keep it behind the bar in case she came back for it.
It was about an hour later when I was ready to leave. I’d had my fill of swill and peanuts for the day and the game I’d been watching on the TV behind the bar was over. I was just about to call the bartender over and give him the phone when it rang. She must have realized it was missing and was calling it from a friend’s phone, I thought. Perhaps she stopped off at the bank or the store and thought she might have left it there. If I answer it, it’ll be her and she’d be thankful that someone found it. She’ll ask me to wait with it and she’d be along in a short while to retrieve it. I could do that. So I picked up the phone and swiped the green button on the screen upwards to answer the call.
“Hello?” I said.
Instead of the woman’s voice coming over the speaker as I expected, there was a brief pause before a deep gruff voice began. “Meet me at the corner of 3rd street and Primrose in a half hour.” Then the call ended. This must be a boyfriend or something, I thought. But then he didn’t seem fazed that a man was answering the phone. I figured I’d just stop off there on my way home and give the guy the phone, explain the situation to him, and he could give the phone back to her.
I got to the corner and parked my car. I didn’t see anyone around. It was dark by then but there was a street light on the corner lighting the concrete up like something you’d see in an old movie. The storefronts there were all old and either boarded up or had metal grating over them. There was spray painted graffiti on some of it.
I nervously got out of the car and walked into the light. I’d wait there so he could see me when he arrived and so I could be seen by any potential witnesses in case this meeting went sideways. My heart skipped a beat when I heard a voice from coming from the darkness around the corner. It was him.
“Hey buddy?” he said. I turned and saw a dark blotchy figure outlined by a blue aura cast from a street light behind him.
“Oh yeah,” I replied, “you the guy on the phone?” My voice cracked as I spoke from insecurity and obvious vulnerability. “Look, I don’t even know her. She left the phone on the bar next to where I was sitting.” I held the phone out towards him for him to take. “Just give it back to her next time you see her.”
“Sure,” he said. “But before I take it, let me tell you a little story Bud.” I slowly lowered my outstretched arm and listened. “See I told her to leave the phone there next to you. She did it for me because she wanted to make sure her dog would be okay. You know the thing about cops is, once they got a suspect, they stop looking at anybody else.” My hands started to tremble as I took in and processed what the man was saying. He continued. “Your prints are on the phone, and everyone saw you sitting next to her. The security footage will show you using her phone and taking it with you.”
The man snatched the phone out of my hand with his gloved left hand and then stepped forward enough so I could see his trench coat but not his face. By this time I was too afraid to move, yet I was planning to run if he came any closer. He let out a deep rumbly chuckle and finished his story.
“I’ll put this phone right next to her. You have my word. I always keep my word. For example, I gave her that dog of hers back just like she wanted. Right before I did this!”
He opened up his trench coat revealing various body parts dangling from twine and fish hooks that were attached to the inside of his coat. There were individual fingers, toes, and what was left of both hands. There was even a foot there near the bottom. And on his right side was the grand finale of grim. Her head. It seemed to be staring at me with slightly whitened eyes while her mouth hung open, out from which her tongue protruded and slumped over the side of her lips.
My head got cold instantly and my vision faded into an abyss of black as I crumpled to the ground. When I came to the man was gone but he had smeared her blood on my hands and clothes.
I thought about going to the police, but it just sounded too bizarre and with her blood on me I’d still get arrested. Whenever they find the body they’ll get my prints off the phone and I’d be seeing them soon enough because they have them already from a drinking and driving arrest I had when I was younger.
Right now it’s five days later and I’m writing this on my phone while sitting at a bar. At the end of the bar I can see two men staring at me. They don’t fit in here with this crowd. I know the type from the looks on their faces. They’re cops in plainclothes and I’m about to go down for murder. I hope you never have to face anything like this, but if you do I have some advice. If you find an unattended phone on the bar, just give it to the bartender. X