The Cabbie and the Cop - 3

For the rest of the ride they were quiet, both of them lost in their own thoughts even as they watched for any tails.

When the got to Frankie’s, Vergil asked Simeon to drive slowly past the place. Apparently satisfied, Vergil said it was safe and Simeon turned down the alley, stopping by the back door to the bar.

Vergil got out, handing Simeon twice the amount of the fare on the meter. With a sharp grin he said, “You earned it, vampire.”

Simeon froze in shock, watching as Vergil disappeared into the bar. That I did, that I did. But how did you know? He was sorely tempted to go inside to ask. No, he wouldn’t tell me and I have a sneaking suspicion I wouldn’t like the answer if he did.

With that thought in mind, Simeon drove away, puzzled but no terribly worried. It wasn’t as if the man was any real danger to him. If he’d wanted him dead he’d have tried before he left the cab.

It wasn’t until he’d picked up his next fare and the passenger handed him the black bag, that Simeon found out Vergil had left it behind. He put it down on the floor under the glove compartment and forgot about it until he arrived home after his shift was over. He parked the cab in the two-car garage next to his silver Ferrari F430. The Ferrari was a bit of self-indulgence but he figured he deserved a real car to make up for all the hours he spent in the cab.

Letting himself into his house through the door from the garage, the bag in hand, he tossed it on the table in the barely-used kitchen. Then he crossed to the refrigerator and took out two blood bags, emptying both before tossing them in the bio-hazard container masquerading as a common, flip-top trashcan. It wasn’t that he ever had houseguests but just in case, he preferred things to look as normal as possible.

Finished with supper, he sat down at the table and opened the bag. He knew it held Vergil’s clothes. He hoped to find some address so he could send it back to him. Otherwise he’d have to leave it at the cab company’s lost-and-found and that made it iffy at best for its chances of being returned with all its contents.

The clothes were all it held. When he searched their pockets he found them empty of anything, including lint. Unsurprising he supposed since Vergil would have transferred his phone, and his ID, presuming he carried any, to the pockets of his jeans.

Simeon put everything back in the bag and was about to close it when his ultra-sensitive fingers felt something under the lining near the clasp. Being the nosy sort, something that had stood him in good stead in the past, he went to get a knife from the butcher-block holder on the counter. Carefully he cut the stitching until he could pull out what turned out to be a carefully folded piece of paper. Opening it, he read what it contained, a small smile tilting his lips up. Well, well now, things are definitely not what they seem with you either, Vergil.

With that thought in mind he put the paper back where he’d found it, closed the bag and took it with him as he headed upstairs to get ready for bed.