Page 20 of Shadowing My Dreams
“You haven’t. It’s been gym shorts the entire time.”
“You noticed,” he answered playfully. “I figured you needed something pretty to look at.”
“I… Will you please stay focused? I’m gonna call this last known number.”
I punched in the number and waited as I put the phone on speaker so Jack could also hear.
“Hello,” an older male voice answered.
“Hi. This is… Jack,” I Lied. “and I am calling with a very weird question. You see, I bought 11254 West Knoll a few years ago and…”
“My mother used to own that.”
“Yes, I’m aware that Miss Myers owned it. I was wondering if she may be able to help me out with some history from when she was the owner.”
“I’m… sorry. Mom passed away about six years ago.”
“Oh, I’m… I'm the one who’s sorry. I didn’t know.” Fuck. I hated making someone feel bad and someone’s mother dying was…
“I was fairly young when she first bought it, but I might be able to help answer your question. Thank you, by the way. She had been sick for quite some time. It was a blessing in the end.”
“Did she live here when she owned it?”
“Oh, no. We lived up in the hills. Mom rented the place out. It was her income property. She also owned a coupleof others in West Hollywood, too. Those rents helped pay for my college, she said. She sold the one you live infirst. Said that it was time to let it go.”
“We’re actually looking for the name of someone who used to live here. We’ve been doing a little reno and came acrosssome stuff – some photos and would like to return them to their original owner. It’s hard to tell if it’s the seventies, eighties, or nineties, to be honest. You know how the film was back then?”
“I still have most of her files. I could see if she has that list of names. I used to visit with her every now and then, but I can’t remember much. She had quite a few tenants through there over the years.”
“Makes sense. It would… I would really appreciate any help that you could give. A list of names would be perfect.”
“She kept almost everything, and I’ve yet to… go through any of her file cabinets. But I have them in my garage. I’ll look and see what I can find.”
“Thank you. Do you have my number?”
“Uh… 3407?”
“That’s it. Thank you, and we reallyappreciate you looking for us.”
“I’ll see what I can find tonight when the kids go to bed. Happy to help.”
I ended the call, and Jack smirked at me.
“What?” I sighed.
“You are a very good liar.”
“Am I gonna get grounded?” I couldn’t stop myself from playing along. He was wearing me down with his fucking charm.
“Nope. I think you deserve a prize.” He nodded. “Thank you. I don’t remember why I ever doubted you.”
“Let’s see if you feel that way later.”
“We’ll see.”
9
Jack
