Stakeford Auto Repair (01/19, 2:16 pm)

[Hollis Brown]

Stakeford Auto Repair sits on the edge of town. It is a crisp winter day, but the sun is out and there are hints that it might warm up a bit soon. A lanky man in a gray jumpsuit is leaning against the wall, smoking an e-cigarette. He has scraggly pre-beard fuzz and wind-tossed black hair.

Inside the shop, auto mechanics are busy working on a few vehicles. They are proceeding at a steady pace and mostly keep quiet while they work.

Nora Green is talking with a woman at the counter inside. Nora is wearing a bright blue polo and blue jeans. It is difficult to discern from a distance what the mood of the conversation is.

[Cameron Johnson]

Cameron waltzes up to the auto repair shop. Since it is the winter months, work at Frank's has been ridiculously slow. He had come to Stakeford Auto Repair in hopes of finding a second job to help him pay the bills. Cameron approaches the man smoking the e-cigarette and begins his sales pitch like approach. "Hello there, what flavor of e-cig do you have there? The fellas at the construction company really seem to favor blueberry pie. Anyway, what I'm really here to ask is, do you have any positions that need to be filled? As you might have gleaned from my previous comment, I work at Frank's Construction and seeing as it's the winter, the work there has been few and far between so I could use an extra job to help with the bills, you know what I'm sayin'?"

[Hollis Brown]

The man smoking the e-cigarette hardly pauses before answering. “We’re not interested,” he says. He looks hard at Cameron, and then takes another smoke. “Hazelnut coffee,” he explains. He smiles out of the corner of his mouth. “Kills three birds with one stone: my nicotine fix, my coffee fix, and my sweet tooth. Blueberry pie? Are those guys like nine years old?” He shakes his head slowly. “Anyway, no jobs here. You can go now.”

[Cliff Alset]

Having phoned in earlier to make an appointment for his beloved Volkswagen Beetle, Cliff steers abruptly around the corner and pulls into a parking spot at the far left in front of Stakeford Auto Repair. The engine coughs a bit. Cliff shuts it off and steps out quickly. He stands next to his Bug and gives it a pat on the roof. He then walks over to the door and enters. He sees Nora Green at the counter talking with the clerk at the counter. With his car keys still in his right hand, he approaches the counter and smiles.

[Cameron Johnson]

"Alright man. Thanks anyways." Under his breath Cameron says, "What a douche, I don't want to work with that guy anyway." Noticing Cliff had just pulled in to the auto shop Cameron walks into the shop behind him. "Hey Cliff, how's it goin? Having some car troubles I see. Thats always a pain in the ass."

[Cliff Alset]

Cliff turns around and looks at Cameron. He tilts his shaggy head and returns with, "Oh I scheduled a tune-up for her. Engine shuts off at intersections. Should have done this before Winter set in." Cliff lowers his head and continues, "Guess I've had my mind on other things."

[Jackson_Lee]

Jackson had taken ambulance unit 2 out of service for the day so unit 2 could have its regular scheduled servicing. This was an older unit, and telltale signs of wear and tear were easily visible. But it was a hardy vehicle and was always reliable. He pulled the ambulance up next to the VW Beetle and parked there, the engine idling noisily as most diesel engines did. Shutting the engine off and locking the ambulance up, he pocketed the keys and jogged over to the shop. He stepped inside to find Cameron and Cliff standing there. "Hey boys," came his tired but charming greeting.

[Cliff Alset]

Cliff has just been handed a service form to fill out. He asks the lady at the counter for a pen. He looks up at Jackson and says,
"Oh hello Mr. Lee. You look happy on this cold day." Cliff blinks his eyes and continues to write. As if talking to the paper in front of him he whispers, "Nineteen sixty nine....standard manual. Cream color. TUNE-up time." He looks up again and blinks at everyone. "Busy day here. How's
the old 'amblance' doing?", he says as he looks out the front window.

[Jackson_Lee]

Jackson was gazing out the front window to the busy street outside. When he heard Cliff's question aimed at him, Jackson turned and gave a soft nod of his head, "She's a hardy beast, that one. Out of date by most standards, but she still does the trick. Too bad it'll be relegated to parade duty instead of regular service this summer." He spoke of that ambulance like it was an elderly dog that he loved like family. Slumping into a chair, he looked up at Cliff. "How's the lil Beetle holding up? I'm surprised you get around as well as you do in that beauty, especially in winter." Jackson smiled warmly.

[Cliff Alset]

Handing the keys to the clerk, and thanking her, Cliff tries to return a smile and answer Jackson. "Well." He pauses for long moment. "Well she... has been dying in... I mean the engine cuts out at times and....I should pay more attention." Another pause. "I mean I should have brought her in months ago. I'm sure it's nothing serious that... a TUNE-up wont help."

[Jackson_Lee]

Jackson chuckled softly. "They certainly don't make cars like they used to," Jackson quipped, standing up and moving to the desk to fill out the paperwork for Unit 2. Placing the keys on the counter for the clerk to grab, he smiled to her, then sat back down in his chair. He looked over at Cliff and said. "Seems like in an old classic like that, ya just change out fluids and filters regularly, and she'll run like a top."

[Cameron Johnson]

"I certainly agree with you Jackson. My dad had this 1975 AMC Pacer for years and the only real problems with it were that the tail lights kept burning out. Really wish he wouldn't have sold that sucker. Cars nowadays are too complicated and have too many things to break on them. I'm half surprised you're not here to fix a pixel on your in dash GPS Jackson!" Cameron chuckled knowing that Jackson had a newer car and that he would appreciate the slight ribbing. "Say, do either of you fellas know where to get a car? I have an apartment but no car. It seems like my drifting days are over. The bus isn't my ideal form of transportation anymore and this place has rubbed off on me quite nicely. I think I'm going to stick around a while."

[Cliff Alset]

"Stick around here for the next murder?" Cliff caught himself immediately and looked at Cameron. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean...
that is... I just can't get it all out of mind."

[Jackson_Lee]

Jackson chuckled at Cameron's playful ribbing, shaking his head with a smile as he looked to Cameron. "I baby the heck out of my GMC Canyon. So yeah, I'll bring it in for a busted pixel AND a speck of dust on the instrument cluster." Jackson chuckled loudly, before breathing a sigh that ended his laughter. Before Jackson could answer Cameron's query, he heard Cliff speak suddenly. Jackson raised a brow at both Cliff's words, and his sudden backtrack. "I hear you mate... these murders. They are unholy."

[Cliff Alset]

Turning back to the front counter, Cliff tells the woman that he will return at six. She nods. Then he returns his attention to Jackson Lee. "I'm going to take a long walk. Get some coffee and a bite to eat." There's a long and silent pause as Cliff looks at Cameron and Jackson. "Gonna get a bite to eat."

[Cameron Johnson]

"See ya around Cliff!" Cameron says loud enough for Cliff to hear. He then turns to Jackson and asks, "So Jackson, what's your opinion on all these murders? "Who dunnit there Jackson?"

[Jackson_Lee]

Jackson kept his gaze lingered on Cliff for a few seconds, reading his face and body language for cues or anything at all to explain Cliff's apparent unease. "Enjoy your meal and coffee, mate." Jackson said to Cliff, before grabbing a car magazine and leans back in his chair. At Cameron's question, he looked to him and cocked a brow, as he mulled the question over and developing an answer. "So far, all female victims. Heads separated from the bodies. Dead ends and cryptic messages are our only clues so far, practically. And now Hollis Brown is here," Jackson sighed, tossing the unread magazine aside. "When this murderer is found, I'm placing a neat .40 caliber FMJ hollow point round in this motherfucker's head," Jackson said with an almost disturbing cool, as if this was something he would do regularly like brushing his teeth.

[Cameron Johnson]

"Wouldn't you just want to use a bayonet instead? I hear that hurts a bit more." Cameron smiles wryly at Jackson before continuing, "Four heads are better than one though so maybe we should go over and visit with Cliff while he's eating to see what he thinks? I know there's not a whole lot of evidence to go a round but maybe one of us will see something the others missed. It's worth a shot, you know?"

[Jackson_Lee]

"That's not a bad idea. It'll be a bit before unit 2 is done," Jackson said as he stood up. "Why don't you run on ahead, Cameron. I gotta talk to Dr. Green quick." Jackson stated, his gaze drifting to the doctor, standing near the opposite counter, talking to the woman at the counter.

[Hollis Brown]

"--I gotta talk to Dr. Green."

Nora overhears the end of Jackson's conversation with Cameron. She turns her head toward Cameron while he walks toward her. She makes a brief wave before turning back toward the woman at the counter. "So, it's nothing?" Nora asks.

"Nothing we can find, at least," the woman responds.

"So... I'm just supposed to wait until it does it again?"

"Hopefully it doesn't happen again, but if it does..."

"I'll lose my head, that's what!" Nora is rubbing her brow. "Well. Thanks. I'll be back the second I run into more trouble. I swear, I'm not crazy."

"Dr. Green, we're not--"

"No, I know, I know... I'm just saying, it did happen. Again, thank you. Have a good day."

Dr. Green turns toward Jackson. "Small world, huh?" She crosses her arms and sighs through a thin smile. "You're friends with Cameron now? I'm surprised... No offense..."

[Jackson_Lee]

"He's a decent bloke, if not extremely forward," Jackson said with a soft chuckle, approaching her as she ended the conversation with the girl at the counter. "So what happened to your expensive hybrid whizbang go-kart you call a car?" Jackson asked, serious with the underlying question, but he never missed a chance to tease the good doctor about her car.

[Cameron Johnson]

Cameron takes Jackson's advice and leaves the auto shop in search of Cliff. "Where could that crazy man be?" Cameron said softly to himself

[Cliff Alset]

Cliff is about a mile out on the road leaving Stakeford's Auto Repair. Along the road, just to his right, in the midst of pine trees, a large black dog is sitting and staring at Cliff. Slowing his pace considerably, Cliff can't avoid meeting the animal's gaze. Continuing to walk slowly and carefully, the black dog---or wait...it's a wolf...Cliff stops in his tracks. "Nice dog. Nice wolf."

[Hollis Brown]

Nora shrugs. "We don't know," she says tiredly. She clears her throat and looks at Jackson. "Just another thing going wrong. Just... Another thing. Look, Jackson... I should probably get going." Nora briskly walks past Jackson. She is on her way out when she stops and turns back to look at him. She has no words to say.

[Jackson_Lee]

It was obvious to Jackson that something was bothering Nora. He followed her with his eyes as she moved to the door. His eyes conveyed concern. Jackson admired Nora for the good and caring doctor she is, so it bothered him to see her upset. "Listen... Nora. Forgive me for sounding forward, but... come the eve of February 1st, come and stay the night at my place. I've got a spare room you can stay in. I just want to see you safe is all. This killer has been targeting women. I'm not sure how I'd handle it if you were uh... yeah," Jackson turned slightly, lifting his right arm to rub the back of his neck with his right hand. He turned back to her and said, "And with your car... if you need a ride, you have my number. Just call."

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