Letty Rose and the Mistaken Identity

The Client

Scotty stayed asleep the entire way home. She didn't feel like the driver looked cute enough to chat up. So, Letty's mind wandered back to everything that happened the night before. The stakeout, the reveal of her target, and she needed more money to buy a toy so her son wouldn't be an outcast. She needed to figure out what her next move would be. Once she had a shower, she would contact the woman and see if she could figure out what was going on. She also thought about texting Mikhi to ensure that he hadn't changed numbers yet.

The car pulled up to her apartment complex. It looked as dark and depressing as always. Letty lifted Scotty out. The movement woke him up. He blinked his eyes and then looked around. Once he realized where he was, he wiggled out of her grasp. He ran up the stairs as soon as his feet hit the ground.

She smiled. She hated it when he wriggled out of her grasp. Soon, he wouldn't want her to carry at all. That would break her heart.

He already didn't need her.

By the time she reached their apartment, he had already poured both of them a bowl of cereal. He could already take care of himself better than she could at his age. If she blinked too long, he would be going to college next.

For now, he sat at the base of the couch and gazed the remaining three feet to the old television. When he watched cartoons, he sat so focused that he wouldn't even notice a bomb could go off next to him.

"You're going to rot your brain," she said to headed to their shared bedroom.

"Am not!" He fired back. She smiled, proud that he could defend himself.

The night started to catch up to her, and she would fade soon. She couldn't go three days without sleep as she could in her early years before kids.

"Hey bud, I'm going to shower." She said. She knew she didn't have to worry about Scotty. He wouldn't budge an inch with the cartoons on.

The steam from the water relaxed her. The tension in her shoulders relaxed. She could stay in the shower for an hour, but her eyes grew heavy. She told herself she would take a quick nap after her shower, and then she would get back to work on her case.

The cartoons blared from the other room as she finished her shower and her moment of pampering herself. She heard Scotty's footsteps in the other room. He was probably going after another bowl of cereal. 

Finally, she threw on a pair of sweatpants and a black T-shirt. She moved into the living room to check on Scotty before passing out.

Scotty sat in the same place, still watching cartoons. Behind him, Mary, the woman that hired Letty to find Mikhi, sat on their couch. The tiredness kept Letty from understanding what was happening. The blond woman immediately shifted her focus to the detective, though.

"Miss Rose," she said as she rose from the couch.

"What are you doing here?" Letty asked.

"I wanted an update," Mary said. "Have you found him?"

"I told you that I would call you when I had news," Letty said. Clients always wanted results, but they didn't usually intrude on her mornings.

Letty forced a smile. She didn't need to have this conversation right now. She wanted to get Scotty out of here. Unlike the first time they met, Letty didn't know what the woman could be capable of. She didn't want Scotty to become a pawn. "Scotty, why don't you watch cartoons in the other room?"

"The bedroom?" He asked. "You never let me do that!"

"One-time treat, buddy." He got to his feet faster than she thought possible. 

As he passed her, she shut the bedroom door and spun around to face her client.

Mary stood taller than Letty's Five-foot ten-inch frame. This woman had a good two inches on her. She had pulled her long blonde hair back in a ponytail so tight that it looked like she was pulling back all the skin on her face. The woman looked near flawless last time. This time, her foundation cracked as if the pressure had been applied to the entire situation.

"So you haven't found him?" Mary spat.

Letty shrugged. "I would have called if I had any information."

Letty motioned to the other end of the small room to her desk. The detective turned and moved towards it, checking to make sure that the door to the bedroom was shut. She needed this conversation to move to a spot in the room where she could have more control. She didn't like being towered over, and maneuvering the woman to the sit down would give Letty a better control

Letty took the old tattered chair behind the desk. She flipped the old laptop open and moved her camera away from the top of the desk as if she were setting up for work. Letty didn't like getting played. She needed to find out why she was hired. She wouldn't have a better chance to get answers than right now.

"I think I'm getting close. Maybe another night," Letty lied.

"Close? How close?" Mary asked.

"I've been tracking and tagging most of the local hotels. When guys go 'missing,' they usually end up there. I'll find him.." 

"So you have nothing?" A hint of a middle eastern European accent tinted her words.

"I'm closer than you think. It might be easier if I had all the information though." She pressed.

"I've given you everything."

"Not everything," Letty said. "Why do you really want the dirtbag found? He left you once. According to you, he has no money. What's in it for you if he comes back?"

"Why?" Mary almost whispered. The question hung in the air. Letty watched as Mary tried to formulate a lie good enough to answer her question.

"He needs to take care of his daughter." She finally spit out.

Letty kicked herself for taking this job. Of course, if Mary had been this emotionless when she hired her, Letty wouldn't have taken it. The breakdown of her acting meant Mary felt pressure from somewhere. Mary didn't just want answers. She needed them.

"Look, I see this stuff all the time; it's my job," Letty started. "If you take it from me, you're better off without him. If he would abandon his family, why would you want him back? Even if it is for your daughter, do you want someone like him in her life?"

Mary didn't like Letty forcing it back on her.

"I'm not paying you for advice. I'm paying you to find my husband."

"You haven't paid me at all yet."

Mary's lips sealed tight. Rage bubbled up behind her eyes.

"I regret that I will no longer need your services, Miss Rose," Mary rose to her feet. 

"That's fine. Can I get an address to send my final bill to, or do you want to pay before leaving?" Letty asked.

"Pay you?" she scoffed and moved towards the door. She stopped by the bedroom door. The sound of cartoons came muffled through the door. "Say goodbye to your son for me."

Like that, she was gone.

Her last words hung in the air like a threat. Letty didn't fear for herself. She could handle anything that woman threw at her, but to threaten her son was one step too far.

Letty waited for a ten count before she stood. In another ten, she was next to the bedroom door and put her ear to it. The sound of cartoons made her heart hurt. She knew what she was about to do went against all the parenting books, but she wasn't a good mother. Letty grabbed her phone and left after her client, ensuring the door was locked behind her.

As she strode down the hall, she texted her sister. Need help, Scotty, alone.

She hoped that the cartoons kept his attention long enough not to notice that she was gone.