The Dead and the Dreamer

After the state police jotted notes on their clipboards and filled out report after report, John and Tammy were finally given permission to carry on with the rest of their evening. A technician took photographs of the damaged Jeep as it sat on the shoulder of the interstate. John spent the time between answering questions figuring out what it would cost to fix his busted window.

John never brought up the shots fired at him two nights ago. There was no need to muddy the water. Although, his gut told him the shootings were somehow related. All he had to do now was figure out the how and the why.

"Is it worth going on to Williamsburg and getting something to eat?" John asked Tammy. It was noisy with the window missing. The sixty-mile an hour night air was blowing in and making a mess of their hair and idle conversation was nearly impossible.

"What time does Andy's Seafood Buffet close?"

"Bet they stay open late. They have a bar and all that. Don't you think?"

"We can try it if you're not in a hurry to fix that window?" She was nearly screaming.

John did not see how they were going to have a nice quiet dinner and talk over the case after all that had happened. But, God she was beautiful. This was business and he would just have to suck it up.

***

After a forty-five minute wait at Andy's, they were finally seated in a corner booth. John was happy for the tucked away privacy. They took the smoking area, which bothered him, but they were getting tired of waiting and took whatever was available.

"So all in all you felt like Michael was going to split with his wife and marry you?" John began his line of probing questions.

Tammy looked up from her menu and paused. "Well, maybe not marry."

"Against marriage are we?"

She tucked hair behind her ears with a delicate hand. "Not entirely. Michael and me were just seeing each other. The thought of a life long commitment was not yet a hot topic of discussion."

A quick stepping waiter came and took down their orders. He admitted that it might take a few minutes longer because of the large crowd. He offered them a complimentary basket of potato wedges for their inconvenience and was on his way to another table.

Tammy showed little emotion when talking about her former boy friend. She seemed to look on it as just another relationship along the usual road to true love. Not that she showed signs of having countless relationships, but Michael was nothing special to her. Or so it seemed.