Running with Secrets

Untitled Part 35

"Sally, Sally, Sally. To what do I owe you the honor?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. "Tell me what your line of work is again, Jerry?" She opened her eyes to her next door neighbor, who was eating nachos and trying to keep his own eyes from popping out of his eye sockets that she was there. It was something he'd imagined more than he could count.

"Why?" He asked. "What's wrong?" he hadn't yet picked up on the urgency in her voice or the situation.

"Didn't you say once that you're in securities or something like that?"

"Yeah, But you're police. Why do you need me for that?" He put his plate of nachos on his coffee table and invited her into his living room. He didn't miss the way she looked around behind her before she entered.

"I need extra help, that's all."

He ushered her, with a slight stumble, inside his sparsely, masculinely decorated apartment to the sofa, that she noticed was in the same position hers was in. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"I need and extra system." Sally exhaled a long breath. "Can you help me or not?" She dropped her hands into her lap.

Jerry narrowed his eyes a little, "what's going on, Sally? Are you in trouble?" He kept his eyes narrow. "Has something happened? Is Kristin okay?"

"That's a lot of questions all at once, Jerry." Sally looked him in the eyes. Hopefully, she could get him to help her. "I just need an extra security system. In addition to the one I already have."

That surprised him. As much as he'd been attracted to his next door neighbor and watched over her, so to say, he'd never noticed anyone installing a security system before. It must have been while he was out for the business. It did, occasionally, get him out of his apartment, whether he liked it or not. "Sure, I can help." He answered back. "I don't work tomorrow and can help you with some things if you want.

Distracted, she placed a hand on Jerry's knee. "Thank you, Jerry. I do have to go to the precinct for a little while, but I'll be back at dinner time."

"If you can trust me, Sally, I can be in and out on the inside of an hour if you'll let me in before you go." He had already formulated the things he needed to do. "You'd just have to knock on my door before you try to get inside your place."

"That means I have to clean up earlier than I'd want," she tried laughing, "but it's only a one bedroom unit, so it doesn't really take that long. You promise not to spy on me? Right?" She asked. "And how do I know you don't already work for the guys I'm paranoid over?"

Jerry stood up, looking down at Sally. She looked scared. A look she'd never before shown him. He knew he annoyed her, but that was beside the point. He was always obnoxious. Even his own mother would tell him to watch himself. That's probably the reason he was in his mid thirties and still single. "I'm an independent contractor. I run the business out of my home, if you want to check me out, google the business. It's legit, I promise." He reached into his back pocket for his wallet and retrieved a business card and handed it to her.

"NextVector Securities." She read aloud. Sally's eyes nearly popped out of her head and Jerry noticed. It made him smile that she recognized his company name. "You're Jerry Griffon?" She turned away from him. "No one knows what you look like, since your online profile is picture-less, and your interviews all have no photographs. No wonder you know everything about everyone. It's your job to know."

Jerry's smile got bigger. She knew who he was.  "Indeed, I am. I promise I won't rifle through your top drawer and you'll get the best system I can give you for your budget."