Melody Jade Allen - Dead Breath

“Well, if that’s the strange case…” Dennis took a deep breath. “I will try, but I’m sorry, I do not give any guarantees.”

Mireya nodded. “But thank you for agreeing.”

“So, are you going to tell your friend the cop?” Dennis smiled maliciously.

“I must. But she doesn’t have power in Las Vegas, don’t worry – she will not arrest you.” Mireya winked and got up. “What about Tom Walt? Is he working here?”

“No.” Dennis answered. “Tom is her ex-boyfriend.”

***

“So he lied.” Adrianna said, moving the red car along Las Vegas streets.

“Well, at least one of them did.” Mireya looked through the window at the copy of the Eiffel Tower.

“But Mireya, I don’t like it.”

“What?” Mireya looked at Adrianna.

“Well, what are you doing? You’re talking to those who might have been involved in her death. This is my job.”

“Sorry. I didn’t want to act behind you, but it happened. By the way, Dennis will call me. You will have the opportunity to talk to him.”

“I will. But here is what about Tom… I got in touch with the local department. People named Tom Walt are only a 56-year-old man, 11th school student from England and the other one is African American. So he’s the one who lied to you.”

“Damn…” Mireya rubbed her eyes, thinking what a mistake she had made. Although she didn’t understand the sequence of her actions – she had never been able to trust strangers, but with Tom and Dennis she was as open as possible. She didn’t want to think she was becoming vulnerable in some way because it was already such once… only once.

It was almost three years ago, when she and Leandra were at college parties after the last exams. There was one guy named Aron, with whom they played that popular student game among their students “Drink or True” – two players drink spirits or speak the innermost truth of life, although some have come up with this “truth” on the go even not always successfully. It was just a game… But the rules were not a game. Aron handed Mireya a strong whiskey and sitting in front of an artificial fireplace, they started,

“So… what’s your most stupid thing?” Aron asked with a sneer.

Mireya whistled. “Where do I begin?” She laughed. “Although, perhaps it is worth highlighting one – I had a bet with Leandra and losing to her, I was forced to steal a police car.”

“No!” Aron laughed, clapping his hands. “And you could?”

Mireya nodded. “Damn yes! The stupidest thing is the criminal was in that car. Well, he was a thief who pawned stuff from the shopping centre, where Leandra and I used to go. I was given 60 days of public works for all of this and… Now, I am under strict control in that shopping centre. Even when I go to the dressing room, someone has to watch me.”

“God…” Aron laughed again and took a few sips of his mojito.

“Now it’s your turn!” Mireya snapped her fingers and slapped her leg. “What is your… the most frightening secret, Aron?”

Aron paused for a few seconds. “I heard the words of a dead man.”

“What?” Mireya raised her eyebrows. “Explain?”

“It was during the winter holidays.” Aron looked at the fire. “My brother and I travelled to neighbouring states and eventually ended up in Colorado, there is an abandoned radio station. And we, of course, went there and to our surprise, the equipment was still working. So we went in there and started some radio wave… and then I heard it. It was Josh, my friend who died in a car accident.”

“Did you hear him?”

“I did. It was like in White Noise movie, but not so literally. I heard a whisper between pauses between this noise and silence.”

“And what did he tell you?”

Aron glared at the fire. “He said, “Stay away from Lene-Genie-Len”.” He drank his drink.

Mireya was waiting for another explanation.

Aron noticed her inquiring look. “Lene-Genie-Len was a girl I liked, she was from another college, and Josh introduced me to her. Her nickname was coined by the two of us and we swore to each other that it would only be between us. I did not tell anyone and I’m sure that he didn’t, too. Her name was Helene, Genie is from her image – she was like that Eastern girl from the cartoon and tried to please everyone like Genie from lamp, and her last name was Lenners. She seemed good, she was the best at school and in college after, but then, after Josh… It turned out that this girl was working with the drug dealers and their killer.” Aron shrugged his shoulders. “That’s the whole story.”

Mireya was silent, looking at the fire being impressed. “Do you really believe that these were words from another world?”

“I do believe. I have no doubt that they can contact us from there. And you must believe it, Mireya.”

***

“Mireya, it’s none of your business!” Leandra screamed at her friend, chaotically collecting her clothes in a sky-blue suitcase.

“And what the hell are you going to do? You don’t even know what you’re going for, damn, stop at least once!”

Leandra stopped. “Everything I’m trying to do is not just for myself.”

“Oh, it’s really not?”

“But why, do you think I called you?”

“That’s maybe because I’ve always been a girl for errands for you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You do know…”

… Mireya opened her eyes. She fell asleep in the car, Adrianna left. She looked out the window – it was the Sunset. She was on a busy street, closer to the copy of the Eiffel Tower, past the tourists, one of them winked at her. Mireya rubbed her eyes.

“What was it?” She asked herself. “Just a dream or… a forgotten memory?” It involuntarily reminded her of that forgotten night, of that night of Leandra’s murder, which she had completely forgotten.

“You are awake?” The door opened, Adrianna got in.

“Yes… sorry, I should not have fallen asleep.” Mireya looked at Adrianna, who was holding some papers in her hands. “What is it?”

“I was in the computer club to print out new information from the Los Angeles police, they sent me an e-mail.”

“What is there?”

“Well, they still didn’t track her phone. But yours was tracked, Mireya.”

“And…?”

“You said that you don’t remember anything… They don’t believe you anymore.”

“Why not?” Mireya almost screamed.

“Your phone was in the hotel at the moment when Leandra was killed. They asked for information from your mobile operator, there was your correspondence with her… conflicting correspondence. Our Captain is sure it could be in a moment of passion.”

“What?” Mireya squeaked. “Adrianna, I have not written to her for a few months! It’s all trumped up! You do not…”

Adrianna raised her hand, silencing her. “I have to get you back to LA, where you will be arrested.”

Adrianna and Mireya returned to the hotel to spend the last night before flying to Los Angeles – luckily to Mireya during the tourist activity, all tickets for the next coming flights were sold out. Standing in an empty room alone, Mireya tried to correctly draw up a plan for her further actions, the decision had already been taken. She needed a non-standard way out…

There were video surveillance cameras in the hotel, but it did not matter – they would still know that she had left, but Adrianna wouldn’t worry about her until 6:30am, when she would enter her room to handcuff and take her to the airport. There were several hours left, which gave an advantage.

Mireya took a taxi and drove to the game club Hot Moon; she entered without problems, greeted Brandon, who was still at his workplace like Dennis was. She knocked on his closed room; distracted from the monitors, he got up and opened the door to her.

She said, “I need help.”

***

“Your phone is vulnerable, but I still have several mobile numbers that will not be found by the police or even the FBI.” Dennis, after viewing Mireya’s cell he returned it to her, changing the SIM card.

They were setting in the seats in front of the monitors; Mireya glanced at one of them, sometimes frightened to see a girl who looked like Adrianna, but she was wrong. She was still safe.

“If you’re worried about the police…” Dennis said. “It is not necessary – the police can’t enter here without having a warrant. Did you say that your female friend does not have power here?”

“That’s right.” Mireya looked at her updated phone, it had everything she needed.

“So they are guided only by your fake correspondence?” Dennis asked with his arms crossed.

“Well, I was at the hotel, when she was killed, in part they were enough of this, now in addition, they have what makes me look almost like a devil in the flesh. I’m a killer for them because my alibi is the crime scene. So it’s ironic…”

“Yes. Or it’s cynical… on the part of the murderer. As if he was ready.”

“Did you say “he”?”

“Well yes.” Dennis ran his hand around his neck. “Somebody strangled her, right? I think not every girl is capable of this because it’s pretty cold-bloodedly.”

“You’re right, but who knows what a girl can do being in a moment of passion…” Mireya snorted.

“So? Are you really going to run away all your life? Until they catch the real criminal?”

“Come on, they will not look for someone else. Instead, they will strain all their gyrus to find me. I already feel they will describe me as a particularly dangerous criminal, and my portraits will be on all TV shows in the country. And by the way, my face certainly will be on all the pillars of this city too. Very cute.” Mireya leaned back.

“And how are you going to justify yourself?”

“Dennis, who is Tom?”

“Sorry?”

“Well, Tom? Tom Walt? Adrianna said the local police could not find him in the database. As if he does not exist at all. Then who is he?”

Dennis exhaled. “In fact, he said he is illegally here and his name is a fake. We did not demand anything from him because he was working with something that was not quite legal.”

“Hey, buddy, slow down… You know what that means we don’t know who Tom Walt is? And is this not really his real name? Who is he, Dennis?”

***

After visiting the Hot Moon, Mireya asked herself a question about the car and the new documents, but given her location, it was easy to her to hide in the city among millions of other people and an endless number of tourists. She knew there are quite a few people in Las Vegas, who are here illegally and are engaged in “grey” activities. Maybe she could find some of them to get a new name, new personality and with their help a new life. But she was not a killer and she was going to prove it to everyone. Someone wanted her to disappear… “It will not work, Stranger”.

For several hours, Mireya wandered along the city and at last she found herself on that lonely road that led to the suburbs. There it was always safe – a lot of people, a lot of newbies, and no one would pay attention to her. But something made her nervous… like someone was watching her.

Another phone call… “Well, no.” Mireya thought. No one could know this number, except for Dennis. She looked at the display. It was not Dennis’s number… It was Leandra’s one. She answered.

“… Come on, Mireya. He’s so… carefree. I would not trust him. Never!” Leandra spoke. “Stay away from him!”

Mireya remembered that day.