Jennie (Simmons) Howard

Peter Anderson (Alias Devon Howard)

The second part of this book picks up where the second volume leaves off, and that is with Peter riding on a bus with a lovely young lady. As the bus wended its way through the misty streets of the city, they became more familiar with each other. The conversation flowed without effort and any ulterior motive on either one’s part. They eventually exchanged names as the conversation continued. After some time, they discussed their careers and some of their interests. Peter was a little cagey about the details of his career and simply stated that he was a retired police officer and was currently working as a private detective specializing in missing persons. Jennie, as she will now be known as, was a legal assistant pursuing a law degree.

As they got closer to her destination, he asked her if she would like to meet later in the week for a nice cup of coffee at a local cafe shop. It was a simple meet-up. A time and place was scheduled, and if they both showed up great, if not, that was Ok as well. No phone numbers were exchanged because even though they hit it off, there was still some reticence on both their parts. On Peter’s part, he was not sure if he wanted to get involved in a relationship so soon after completing his mission. On Jennie’s part, she did not want to be seen as being too easy or desperate to go on a date with this gorgeous man, who was so easy to talk to. She knew she was going to show up. What Peter would do was a whole other matter. One thing the reader will find out is that Jennie was totally unaware of her beauty and allure. She knew that she was attractive, but not that she was a true head turner. Jennie was without guile and conceit. She was actually one of those sickeningly nice people that many people hate, especially other women of her age. Instinctively and without any thought, she dressed down somewhat to cover up her looks. Jennie wanted people to like her for her mind and not just for her feminine wiles.

The informal meeting date was set on Thursday, which was three days in the future. Jennie wanted it to be earlier, however, Peter was recalcitrant and said he needed some time to take care of business, when in reality he just needed to think about where the path of his life was headed, so Jennie agreed to the date. She, after all, didn’t want to turn him off by appearing desperate or too pushy.

When Jennie arrived at her stop she stood up to leave and Peter still cognitively aware of his place also stood up and escorted her to the bus exit helped her out the door like the gentleman he knew how to be, and hopefully still existed. After she exited and thanked him with a slight and very appealing blush and glow, he watched her fade away in the side window. He then sat back down and began to browbeat himself on his actions and his weakness. How dare he get involved in a relationship so soon after he had dipped his fingers in blood. He had no idea if he could even get away with what he did. How could he not have to pay for his actions. Did he even want to go on with his life? Well, at least subconsciously anyway, his actions in regards to Jennie showed that he still had some interest in living. Now, he had to decide how he was going to straighten out his life so that he could move on. As the bus continued on its route, he asked himself a simple question, did he feel guilty for what he had done, and if he didn’t feel any remorse, what kind of person did this make him? After several moments of deep reflection, he came to the realization that he felt nothing at all about the people he had killed. After these mental gymnastics, he found that he felt no guilt, regret, or shame. These people were evil, and the world was a better place without them walking its surface.

Now, how the problem was how could Peter reconcile this with himself. Did this make him dead inside? Could he still love someone, or was he just kidding himself? Was he just a creature who just lived life to satisfy his base instincts and desires. Because if this was the case, he was no better than any primitive predator living in the wild. He knew this couldn’t be the case because no primitive animal or even a sociopath would have these thoughts. Now that he felt that maybe he still had some redeeming qualities, he had to figure out how to stay out of prison or off death row. He knew that capital punishment had been abolished since 1981 in Washington DC, so at least he wouldn’t shit on the cahir or get a jab, but he could still spend the rest of his life in prison. This was a fate he did not relish mainly because he was a cop, and cops did not do well in prison. He felt confident that he had left no evidence behind, so there was nothing to time him directly to the murders. The problem lay with the fact that several of his friends knew that he had been hunting Yua’s kidnappers, and it did’t take a rocket scientist to start putting two and two together. He, after all, left a trail of bodies across two continents. At the very least, he was going to have to leave the US and change his identity. He also had to secure his funds so that they would be accessible to him when he was living in another country with a different name.

Finally, Peter had this likely young lady that he had agreed to have coffee with in just three days. What the hell was he thinking of? Luckily, thanks to his years as a cop he had come across some individuals that to put it politely skirted the edges of the legal system. In this community of sorts, the all mighty dollar was king, and luckily for him, he had plenty of money. The first person he needed to contact was Peter Franco, a lawyer who would do pretty much anything for the right price. The only problem with him was that he was weak willed, and there was always the fear that if he was ever arrested, he would sqeal like a stuck pig. So you definitely had to be careful. He was good only as a go-between. You never wanted him to have access to the final product. As long as you knew where you sat with him, he could be a valuable resource.

As Peter inferred previously, his house was not deemed as safe. So as the bus continued its circuit around the city, he finally came across a likely extended stay hotel that had small kitchens and rented rooms by the week and the month. After a preliminary inspection, the rooms appeared clean enough, so he rented the room for a month. he paid in advance with cash. he was somewhat surprised that this transaction did not cause even a raised eyebrow or any questions. Apparently, he had chosen the right place. His anonymity, at least for the short term, was assured.

It was only when he sat down on the edge of the bed that he realized how tired he was. All the stress that he had experienced and the adrenalin that had been coursing through my body over the last year just seeped out of my body. Because no sooner than his head hit my pillow, he was out like a light. he finally woke up 24 hours later. He was still quite groggy about the details as he only vaguely remembered stumbling to the bathroom to empty his bladder at some undetermined time.

As Peter lay in bed struggling to clear the cobwebs, he became distinctly aware of how hungry and thirsty he was. Since this was an extended stay facility, there was no room service, so he was forced to go out and scrounge up some food. Since he didn’t want to rely on a lot of restaurant meals, he decided to go to a local market he saw from the bus the day before. As he recollected, it was only a couple of blocks away.

When Peter planned out his last hit, he anticipated not returning back home, so he had withdrawn a couple of thousand dollars in the twenty’s. These bills were all stuff in a non descript moneybelt. So money was not a problem, at least for the short term anyway. Besides getting food, he needed some clothes and personal items. The clothes may have to wait as his empty stomach would not give him a moments peace.

The corner grocery store proved to be more than satisfactory as Peter was able to get a couple of bags of groceries, including cold cuts and other sandwich making supplies. He also picked up some Marie Callender chicken parmesan pot pies and other frozen dinners and breakfast sandwiches. The store had a small general merchandise section, so he was able to take care of his personal care item needs as well. When he got back to my room, he quickly unpacked my groceries. After everything was organized and put away, his OCD, he quickly made a Dagwood Bumstead sandwich.

Before Peter could recite the Hail Mary, the sandwich was gone. He also chugged down a half gallon of water for good measure. He evidently became quite dehydrated after my 24-hour sleep marathon. He spent the next few minutes in his best Al Bundy pose with a deeply satisfied look on his face.

Now that Peter was well rested and fed, it was time to take care of a few more needs. He needed a couple of burner phones and some clothes. He was a little thin in the protection department since he had previously disposed of the guns he had used to take care of business, and he only had an unmarked 22 caliber semi-automatic Walther Magnum Pistol with two 15 round clips.

Meeting the rest of Peter’s needs would require a bit more travel. The closest department store was a Target located five miles distance from his motel room, definitely too far for a walk. So he used a pay phone to call an Uber. Before he left, he used the stationary provided by the motel and made a list of things he needed. The list of his was quite extensive and required over an hour of shopping to complete it.

(Note: I will discuss Peter’s plan for his future more extensively in Chapter Twelve. I know my readers want to hear more about Jennie, so I will fast-forward a little so I can accommodate you.)

The third day finally came, and frankly, Peter was looking forward to his little outing at the coffee shop with Jennie. On the bus ride, they settled on DUA DC Coffee house as they both felt that Starbucks was overpriced and overrated.

Peter and Jennie had agreed to an 11:00 AM meeting time at the coffee house because she had a 1:00 class at George Washington University (GWU). Peter wasn’t sure if she had a class at that time, but it gave a perfect excuse to cut it short if their “date” fell flat. Thanks to his buying two burner phones and one regular cellphone, he at least had a phone number he could give her if things went well. Thanks to his cell phone purchase and paying his rent for the month, he had used up most of his funds. Now he had to get some more money. He still figured it was safe to access his account, so he took out $5,000 this time. Now that most of his big purchases were taken care of, the money should last the rest of the month. By that time, he figured he better have a new identity, and all of his money moved to numbered accounts.

Peter had chosen the best clothes he had, all of them were new from Target. He finished doing a last-minute check in the full-length mirror in his room before he walked out the door. He had to admit that he didn’t look half bad. Hopefully, Jennie agreed. He wasn’t sure why, but he thought she was special and could be someone he could have a relationship with. He knew that was crazy, considering what was ahead of him

Peter checked the time on his Pro Trek Tough Solar watch. He was right on schedule for his Uber. He had allotted 30 minutes for the ride to the coffee shop. He had given a little time because he expected the driver to take a longer route to pad his fee. Usually, this would irritate him, but he didn’t care. He only had one thing on his mind, and that was not to screw this date up. He was 36 years old, and he could count on one hand the dates he had been on in the last five years. When you stop and think of it, he had only been even remotely serious about a girl a couple of times in his life. He wasn’t conceited, but he knew women found him attractive. The problem wasn’t finding someone to date the problem was finding someone that he actually wanted to date. Of course, he wasn’t a virgin. It just was that he wasn’t exactly a player either. Finding the people responsible for the kidnapping and ultimately the death of his younger sister Yua had consumed his every waking hour.

When Peter worked undercover, he had ample opportunities to put notches on headboard, but that is not he rolled. He was looking for quality, not quantity. He would have been happy if he had only been with one woman, if that meant he could raise a family and grow old with her. Peter knew that it sounded old-fashioned. He also knew that he certainly did not get this proclivity from his parents. He could have only gotten it from his grandparents. Grandpa Gordon and Grandma Clara were madly in love right up to the day they died. That is what he wanted from life now.

Peter’s revelry was broken when his Uber driver finally pulled up to the coffee house with five minutes to spare. He quickly paid the driver with a fairly modest tip and walked up the front door. He quickly checked his reflection in the door. Everything appeared to be in order. There was no spinach in his teeth, LOL. As he entered the cafe, he scanned the room to see if Jennie was there yet. She was not there, so he seated himself with his bath to the wall. Out of habit, he had checked to see if there were any other public entrances, and there wasn’t. The waitress quickly greeted him as he sat down at his table. He informed her that he was waiting for a young lady, so she handed him two menus and set up the table for two.

As the clock struck 11:00, Jennie opened up the glass door and walked in. When she saw Peter sitting at one the boths she broke out into a big smile. The site of it made his heart pound in his chest. Her whole face glowed when she smiled. Right from the get-go, he knew he was in trouble. He quickly stood up to greet her as she eagerly strode towards his booth. They quickly engaged in a chaste and platonic embrace. He then allowed her to sit first after he followed suit.

Jennie and Peter both ordered coffee, and he ordered a Danish as well, while she opted out. As they waited for their coffees, they started chatting. The time just flew by as they became more and more engaged in their conversation. As a passing comment, Peter mentioned that it was time for Jennie to leave for her class, a suggestion that Jennie simply ignored as she merrily continued on with her story. Eventually, their revery was broken up by an impatient mattress who was holding the bill for them to pay up after they were tying up valuable real estate. Peter quickly paid the bill, and while the table was being used, they exchanged phone numbers. As they walked out together, plans were made to meet up for an evening date in two days. As they parted ways, Peter gave Jennie a kiss on the cheek, which prompted a blush on her part.

Peter’s head was so far in the clouds that it was only after he had walked for a few blocks that he came to the realization that he was nowhere near his hotel. So he shook his head to clear out the cobwebs and called up an Uber driver. By the time he arrived at his lodging, he decided that the wardrobe he currently had at his disposal was wholly insufficient for dating such a lovely lady like Jennie.