Chapter Two

            That night I tossed and turned. My mind would not calm down long enough to get some real sleep. A loud alarm suddenly filled my peaceful silence telling me it was time to prepare myself for a long day.

My first day of work.

My boss had transferred a letter of recommendation to the station down here. I got into the field of law enforcement after I had grown tired of looking for others. Desk work just didn’t suit me so my boss set me up as a private investigator and I was good at it. One of the best in the field, and my boss assured me that I would pick up where I left off when I move though he was very upset to see me go.

            I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. When I looked into the mirror, my eyes showed my lack of sleep. As I dressed myself, I mentally prepared for the points and stares of people. The drive down to the station was short. Before I knew it, I was standing on the threshold of my new work place. With a deep breath, I walked in.

            A flurry of activity greeted me. No one even noticed me at first. Maybe if I was lucky I would make it the door that read Chief of Police on it before anyone would notice me. I knocked on the door and a “come in,” signaled for me to enter.

            The Chief was a rather plump man, but not fat. Though he sat behind a large desk, I could tell he was stout. His hair was thinning and gray styled in a bad comb over.

“Awww, the new PI has decided to show up today. Don’t I feel special?” he said gruffly “Where were you yesterday? I was told you were going to be here.”

“There must have been a mix up, because I was moving yesterday.” I replied

“Well, in my station I don’t like tardiness so make sure it doesn’t happen again,” before I could answer he carried on “I may already have a job for you but seeing that you are of ahem color I don’t know if that is going to work.”

“With all due respect, sir I can do any job that any of you normal colored people can do, so please do not limit me because of my color. I am one of the best and…”

Chief cut me off. “Look, I’m not the one trying to hold you back. It’s just that people in this town aren’t too welcoming to Berries” 

“Well, give me the job, I can handle myself. If you haven’t notice, I have kind of been this way all me life.” I said sarcastically.

“Here’s the file, Sabrina” He called out. A short blonde came to the door. “Please show our new PI to her office. Katie follow Sabrina.”

The blonde made a come motion with her hand and turned the corner. I quickly caught up to her. For a person with such small legs, she moved fast. She stopped suddenly at a door and pointed for me to enter. Then she left without a single word uttered. I guess she wasn’t going to like me much. Fine by me. I’m not here to make friends.

 Once the blonde was gone I opened the file. I read it at least three times before I left to visit my newest client.

            A Tamara Johnson was looking for information on her birth mother. The last time she saw here mother was when she was three and now she was 30.  This type of case was not uncommon. I looked out the window while the taxi drove me to her house. We were passing a park when I spotted her. I told the taxi drive to stop here and paid my fee.

“Mrs. Johnson,” I said as I approached her.

“Yes, may I help you,” she replied, her voice very soft

“Hi, I’m Katie McLevin. I’m the private investigator assign to your case. I’m here to help you find your birth mother.”

“Oh,yes,”

“Mrs. Johnson, is there anywhere we can talk so I can get more information to begin with.”

“Here would be just fine,” Mrs. Johnson replied “I carry the only links I have to her with me; afraid I might lose it and never will be able to find her.”

We walked to an available picnic table and sat down. She handed me two folded pieces of paper. I took them and gentle opened them careful not to rip them. One was a small black and white picture of four young women and the other was a birth certificate.

I asked if she knew which her mother was, but she didn’t know. She only knew that one of them was her mother. Tamara told me that she has had the picture all her life. I studied it carefully, looking to see if any of them had features that resembled that of Tamara’s, but the photo was too worn down for me to tell. I flipped it over and discovered that there was once writing, but that too was to worn down for me to read.

Next, I looked at the birth certificate. My eyes scanned the document in search of a name. I found one quickly. Anna Sanders. Well, I have had to start from less. Mrs. Johnson and I said our goodbyes and I left for the station.

When I arrived, I made a bee line for my office passing the blonde from this morning who stared me down as I passed. Another good thing about being a PI, I always got my own office. My shoulders hunched when the door of my office closed. My body felt physically and mentally exhausted though not because the day was hard, but because even though I pretend to be ignorant to my surroundings I knew that all day people had looked, stared, and judged me. I had not been through that in nearly five years. I suddenly wondered what my new client thought of my colorful skin. She seemed to not have any qualms about it but then again, who knew?

I considered the option of just going home and going to bed, but I decide against it. Though I wanted to, I knew that I couldn’t. I had to push on. I continue to work until six, when I was officially off. I put all my files into the drawers and locked up my office before leaving for the night. I was glad when I opened the door to my house.

I went straight to my kitchen and made myself a cup of tea. I wrapped my hands around the warm cup and slipped the amber liquid. It warmed my stomach and made my muscles relaxed as I sat on the sofa. Soon the cup was empty and I dragged myself to bed. I slept until the sound of the alarm filled the air once more, telling me I had to do it all over again.