Infinite Loop - Chapter 12

A Long Night

Amber looked down at her hands. For the life of her, she could not figure out if the man was just slightly crazy or a full-blown psychopath. Neither thought made her feel any better.

“Well, you know the truth. Now, do you want something even crazier?” He asked.

“I don’t know what more could be.” There was a careful resignation in Amber’s voice.

Warren held out his hand to her, giving her the white item. “Tell me what you think this is?”

Doubtfully, she took the object. At first glance, it looked like stone, but it had a design to it. As she turned it over, the woman realized it was a broken-off piece of a statue, beige in color with a slightly glossy sheen. Shrugging her shoulders, she gave it back.

“Looks like a finger from a statue,” Amber told him. “What does it mean?”

“I’m not sure, but that’s what I stepped on when I saw you standing over Krupin,” he said. “Now tell me why it was there?”

“I don’t know. Probably just something left there from a box that broke or something. It doesn’t matter right now.” She told him, handing him the object.

“No, it has to be something to do with this whole mess,” he stated forcefully. “Nothing else was out-of-place down there. Think back to what we saw. Remember, the sailors lashed down every crate and covered other stuff over. Yet someone pulled away that single trunk from the rest and opened it. That tells me someone pulled it for a reason.”

“Yes—I guess so,” Amber said with a slight shiver.

“I can’t really remember now. It’s—I just remember his eyes and that blood.”

“I know what you mean. Looking at death is something you never forget,” Warren agreed.

He leaned back against the headboard as the day’s events swept past him. Then he remembered he needed to know about her.

“Ok, you’ve heard my story,” he said. “Now, let’s hear yours?”

There was a long pause, and Warren caught Amber eyeing the door.

“It’s late, and I want to sleep,” she told him.

Warren smiled at her. “Do we have to parry back and forth all night? Who knows, maybe your story is crazier than mine?”

~~~