Mr. Jay Garcia

Friday, December 13, 2019

All I know is what she looked like. I don't know her name, or where she currently lives. I met her on the 13th of December. It was a cold and rainy Friday in San Andreas. I was workig my shift at a homeless shelter when I met her. She looked distressed, so I went to go see if she was alright. I don't know who she could've been talking about, but what I heard was very vague. I was left bewildered. This is what happened that night:

"Are you alright ma'am?"

"Sometimes I feel as if he isn't content with me. I know he tells me he loves me, but I don't know who to believe anymore. I know I should believe him, but I've had such a difficult time trusting anyone since the incident."

"Excuse me, but what is your name?"

"Who I am isn't important. All you need to know is who he is. His name is Jay. Jay Garcia. He doesn't seem like such a horrible person online, but in person, he is horrifying. Please take this."
The woman hands me a picture of a middle-aged man with a message written on the back that reads, 'I love you' with a name crossed out. The more I looked at it, the more it seemed to read the name Vanessa.

"Is this Jay?"

"You're a smart one, aren't you?"

"Why are you giving me this?"

"Please stop him. Look for him on facebook. Do whatever you have to do. Just stop him. He needs psychiatric help."

"What do you mean by psychiatric help? What did he do?"

"I'm afraid I can't disclose that information in a public place"

"Alright Vanessa. Have it your way."

"How did you-?"

"The picture has your name on it."

"Oh dear you almost gave me a heart attack."

"Alright ma'am have a nice day."

Vanessa hands me a piece of paper with what I assumed to be her phone number on it. After a few more minutes of trying to get her to tell me more about Jay, my shift ended. As I walked out to my car, I noticed my coworker, Jordan, staring at me. Jordan is tall, blonde, and alarmingly skinny for only being 17. He always seems ot have a look of terror on his face, as if he just watched his dog get hit by a car, the car backing up over it, the driver getting out, stabbing the dog to death, then giving him a death stare. Okay that got dark quick. He's a strange dude, but this was very unlike him, so I avoided eye contact the best I could and continued on to my car. 

"Hey Alex!"

Ah shit. Now I have to talk to him.

"Hey Jordan, how are you?"

"I'm alright. Who were you talking to in there?"

"Oh it was just Vanessa, one of the residents, why?"

"Vanessa? I don't believe there's a Vanessa here. Are you sure that's her name?"

"No, but she responded to it like it was."

"Interesting. Okay have a nice day."

As I walked away from him, he quietly said, "I love you"

See what I mean? He's really weird.

That night, I woke up in a panic because I felt like someone was watching me. Turns out it was only my cat, Darwin. He's a cute little guy. He's only a few weeks old so he's a fluffy little ball of love and affection. I love the little guy. Always doing the weirdest (and possibly the stupidest) things all while looking so proud. He's your general tabby cat, but there's just something special about him. He has this way of being a goofy little kitten, but also a therapy cat. I know it sounds stupid, but I love the little guy. He always brightens up my day, no matter how bad it was. I really needed him after work, but he wasn't acting like normal. He would avoid me, then look at me as if I was an intruder. The poor little guy was scared to death of me and I had no idea why. I tried playing with him and he would just look at me as if he didn't know what to do. I wonder if he knows about my investigation about a man I don't know. He always seems to know when things aren't right. I lost my keys a few weeks ago and was forced to take the bus to work. Once I walked through my door, I saw Darwin with my keys in his mouth waiting for me to reward him for finding them. Maybe this is a similar situation. Maybe he knows everything that has gone on in the past day and this is his way of telling me that this is a very stupid idea.

"I know what I'm doing is stupid Dar, but I can't just let a crazy man run around like a chicken with its head cut off. He needs to be stopped either by me, or the proper authorities."

Darwin just looked at me with this sad, heartbroken look. He knows I'm putting myself in danger for someone I don't know even exists. Maybe I shouldn't try to find Jay. Maybe this is all a stupid idea. Maybe I should listen to what my cat is trying to tell me. On the other hand, if no one finds Jay, we could all be in danger. You know what? I'm going to find him even if it kills me.

"I'm sorry Dar, but I need to stop this guy. I promise I'll try to be safe. Love you bud. Goodnight."

As I fell asleep, I felt him trembling. The poor guy was scared of losing me. I feel like such a jerk for leaving him, but I know nobody will dare to stop Jay. Unless...No. That's dumb. No. I am going to need help and the only person that might help is Jordan. He might believe me. I hope he does. I'm too tired to think about this right now. I'll worry about it in the morning. I will see him at work after all.