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Fink stepped off the stoop of his apartment building and looked up and down the street
for traffic, before crossing to his car. He stopped at the driver's side door to dig out
and light a cigarette. As the lighter sparked into fire and illuminated the surrounding darkness,
he noticed a smudge of red on the top of his trunk and tongueing his thumb, wiped it away.
He slid his key into the lock, opened the door, and startled as his forgotten alarm made
it's presence known. "Christ, what an amateur." He grumbled as he clicked off his alarm.
Fink glanced around nervously before sliding into the driver's seat and starting the engine.
It idled for a moment and then revved to life. He threw the car into drive, or so he thought,
until he heard the of crunch of his car's tail lights hitting the car behind him. "Aww, shit."
He growled, shifting to drive and then pulled out into the street. He ignored the red light and sped past it.
The houses lined up on his block whizzed past his window as he headed for the city limits.
He didn't notice the squad car parked on the side of the road until it's lights blazed on and
it pulled out after him. He glanced twice in the rear view mirror and cursed, guiding his car
to the side. The squad car pulled in behind him. Fink drummed his fingers nervously on
the steering wheel and rolled down his window. He heard the cop's door slam shut and the
crunch of her regulation boots as she approached his car. She leaned down to his level.
"I'm sorry I ran the red light, Officer. I didn't see it until it was too late." Fink blurted out.
"Well, I was just going to write you up for the busted tail-light and lack of seatbelt,
but thanks for the tip. Can I see your license and registration, please?" Fink hesitated.
"Sir, your license and registration." She repeated herself. He hesitated himself a few more
seconds. "Sir." She repeated, her voice hinting at impatience. "Yeah, sure." He said slowly,
reaching for the glove box. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her hand come to rest on her
gun holster and flick open the clasp at the same time he grasped the passenger side door's
handle and pushed. The officer made a run for the side of the car as Fink threw himself out
of it. Pushing his palms into the sidewalk to lift his body up, he heard the officer calling
for him to freeze and cursed again. He stumbled to his feet at the same time the officer reached
him and tackled him to the ground. The air in his lungs escaped in a rush as he was pinned
to the ground. "Ah, fuck." He groaned as the officer yanked his arms behind his back, cuffed
him, hauled him to his feet and slammed his body up against his car. "You guys never make it
easy!" She exclaimed in disgust. Fink dropped his head to his chest and sighed in defeat
as she started to pat him down. "So, what you're saying is, you have no idea what I'm talking about." Fink took a slow, deliberate drag on his cigarette. "No - Fucking - Idea." He said, enunciating each word. Officer McDugall glanced at his partner. "Let's get this absolutely straight. What you're saying is, you stole the car last night, you don't remember where from and you ran because you didn't want to get caught for stealing." Fink nodded and crushed his cigarette butt in the ashtray. "I find that hard to believe." McDugall's partner, Murphy, joined the conversation. Fink shrugged and surveyed the interrogation room coolly as the detectives whispered to each other. "Don't I get my one phone call?" Fink inquired. The two cops glared at him and then standing up, McDugall knocked twice on the room's door. A uniformed officer opened it. "Give Mr. Fink here his phone call and escort him to his cell." Fink got up and raised an eyebrow at McDugall as he passed him and out the door. "You think he's telling the truth?" Detective Murphy asked McDugall after Fink left. McDugall stroked his thick mustache. "He better be, for his sake." Murphy started gathering his papers up and tapped McDugall on the arm with his folder as he passed him. "Cover for me, I'm going to the breakroom to catch 'Who wants to be a millionaire'." "You've got a visitor." Fink sat up in his bunk as the cell door clanked open. He ran a hand through his hair to smooth it out and stood up. He thought briefly on whom his visitor might be, But he didn't have to wonder for long. The guard led him past all the occupied booths. Fink noticed there were a lot, Almost no booths were empty. 'It must be family night.' He thought to himself, and it amused him. He was brought to the third to last booth and the guard left him. On the other side of the glass, chewing busily on gum, his girlfriend, Mandy, removed her sunglasses and picked up the phone. He picked up his end. "Why'd you do it? Why'd you steal a car, Fink?" She sobbed immediately. "I mean, baby, You just got that great job and-" Fink interrupted her, his voice lost to everyone but her, mixing in with the other conversations. "I didn't steal any cars." Mandy paused and looked at his face, into his eyes and then spoke a bit hesitantly. "You didn't?" He shook his head and explained, "I bought it two days ago from a friend of a friend." Mandy's jaw dropped slightly and her mouth open and shut a few times before she spoke. "Baby! Then it's all just a misunderstanding." She exclaimed. "Just explain that to the cops!" Fink leaned forward and arched his eyebrows slightly as a sign. She furrowed her brow and after a moment, understood what he meant and leaning forward, too, listened intently on the line. "I can't explain it to the police." He said, quietly. "Why not, baby?" She asked, her upper lip curling up slightly and her brow still knotted in an expression of confusion. "Because then I'd have to explain the body in the trunk." |