The Search

He stood at the corner of the sidewalk and tried to appear inconspicuous. The stench of rotting food and urine in the gutter rose up like a phantom gripping his nostrils in its pervasive grasp; he tried not to breathe too deeply and felt himself gagging as the foul air hit the back of this throat. Glancing back in the direction from which he’d just come he barely noticed the gaudy neon sign of the Pearl Ace hotel. Some of the sign’s letters were missing and when it flashed into life it read ‘Pe…Ace’ but the improvised message seemed out of place in these surroundings. He heard the muted bangs of gunshots in the distance and the high pitched squeal of tyres against asphalt signalling a rapid getaway. He watched a burger box tumbling along the uneven pavement as the wind freshened carrying away some of the gutter stench on its gusty wings and he vaguely noticed a couple of threadbare street children harass a passerby for change. He didn’t think she would be in that kind of hotel but he’d checked anyway – just in case. He never thought she would leave him, but she had. He had checked the alley that ran alongside the hotel and all he’d found were a couple of smelly drunks and a flea-bitten stray dog with half an ear missing.

Startled by a tap on his shoulder he whipped round and came face to face with a woman dressed in red satin and fishnet stockings. Looking into her face more closely he realised that this was no woman, she was hardly more than fifteen or sixteen. The garish makeup and outrageous hair piece added years to her unlined face and yet as he stared into her jet black eyes they were old – older it seemed than time itself. The girl leaned closer and whispered an illegal proposition, the odour of her cheap cologne and unwashed body rushed over him in a sickening tidal wave of stink. He fumbled in his silk lined pocket for his white linen handkerchief and dabbed discreetly at his mouth to force back the bout of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. Retrieving the small snapshot from his jacket he handed it to the girl and asked hopefully, “Have you seen her? Please. Tell me if you’ve seen her.” The girl stared at the worn photograph then her eyes searched his face and it seemed she did not like what she saw there because she shook her head vigorously and left him standing alone.

He stepped off the kerb and crossed over the road to search yet another block in this forbidding neighbourhood. A group of multi-racial youths came shuffling up towards him passing what looked like a joint between them. One of the boys, a tall skinny youth with orange dreadlocks held a large boom-box on his shoulder and seemed to be the ring leader. David glanced furtively at the group as they drew nearer and wondered if he dared approach them with his question. As his desperation battled with his cowardice the opportunity was lost and the dancing youths passed him by without a backward glance. Cursing silently he continued down the pavement almost tripping several times on its uneven surface, scrutinising each passing face hoping that it would be hers.

Coming upon another alley he cautiously stepping into its inky darkness to renew his search once more. An un-curtained window in one of the apartments of the building next door threw a tiny sliver of yellow light into the corner of the alley. He blindly made his way towards this glimmer feeling as though the blackness was suffocating him and swore loudly as he kicked a metal dustbin in his haste. A scrawny black and white cat spat and gave a frightened miaow as he neared its hiding place behind an untidy heap of buckled metal bins. The noise apparently woke the occupants of a ground floor apartment and as a light was turned on David instinctively ducked behind the rubble. Waiting a few moments he cautiously raised his head and found that the alley had once again become quiet and undisturbed. Impatiently dusting his trousers David made his way out of the narrow corridor which was laden with filth and rotting refuse, before entering the street he bent over towards the wall and retched miserably. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he stumbled out into the street which seemed unusually bright after the thick blackness of the alley. Three young men happened to be passing by at that particular moment and he blundered into the one nearest the alleyway. Mumbling and stuttering he tried to get out of their way but they had surrounded him and his heart began to beat so hard he was sure it would explode with the effort.

“Whatcha’ tink ya’ doin’. mister. Bumpin’ inta us like dat, hmm?”

“Let’s teach ‘im alessun huh, Fred” added one of the boys eagerly fingering a long, narrow bladed knife and grinning wildly.

David’s racing heart seemed to stop suddenly and he felt the bile rise up in his throat as he stared in panic at the grinning youths. Somewhere he heard a siren and he began to pray silently that it would scare off his attackers, his prayer seemed to have been answered because the boys looked at each other in silent communication then the first boy said something inaudible to the other two and they both laughed.

“C’mon. Fred, let’s do ‘im” the boy with the knife whined.

Fred circled round David smiling maliciously and lifted his fist as though he were about to smash it into David’s head, then instead he smashed the fist into his other hand and said, “Nah, t’ain’t worth it. We got better tings t’do wid our time. Let’s go fellas.”

The boy with the knife held the blade threateningly against David’s cheek and curled his lip into a smile that was more of a sneer, the steel felt cold and sharp then with a quick flick of his wrist the boy withdrew the blade and trotted to catch up with his friends. David felt a barbed sting which made his eyes water and suddenly the youths were gone. Lifting a trembling hand he touched his cheek and felt the warm stickiness of blood. David hadn’t realised that he had been holding his breath and now the trapped air came rushing out, almost choking him in its haste. He stumbled forward kicking an empty can out of his path and briefly considered giving up his search. Just then a familiar and pleasant smell found its way into his flaring nostrils, tickling them playfully. The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted over him and soothed his jangled nerves, it renewed his earlier vigour, gave him the will to go on and he stepped thankfully into the brightly lit sidewalk café…