The Seventh Day – Day One: Part II

If you haven’t yet read the first installment of this series you can find it here. 

A couple of hours later while in the middle of an odd dream where Kris came back and accepted my apology, and for some reason also brought me a pet squirrel, I woke to the sound of the side door closing. I bolted from the couch, hoping it was Kris. But no, it was just Tyler, looking kind of pale. When I saw him, I sat back down and checked my phone for a message from Kris but found nothing.

“Did you sleep all day?” he asked.

“Basically. What’s wrong with you?” He wasn’t just pale but also jittery and had a band aid on his thumb.

“Nothing I’m fine.”

“You get a new backpack?”

Tyler ground his back teeth while looked down to the orange backpack in his hand. “No, it’s my buddy’s from work.”

“What’s in the bag,” I asked suspiciously. “If it’s a squirrel, I’m out.”

“Huh?”

“Just a weird dream, that’s all. Now, what’s in the backpack?”

Tyler sighed heavily and set the bag on the coffee table. “How much money do I owe you?”

“Like from rent the last few months?”

“No, like since we met. Rent, loans, drinks, movie tickets, everything.”

I whistled as I shook my head. “Hard to say. Honestly …” I paused to think. Tyler being broke was just part of who he was. “Probably somewhere north of $5,000.”

Tyler shrugged and unzipped the bag. “Sounds about right. Well my friend, I’ve got your five grand, plus let’s say another two in interest right here.”

“Bull!” Tyler picked something out of the bag that was black, about the size of a softball and clearly had some heft. He turned it in his hand then shoveled it to me, hard. “Damn it!” I caught the hunk of rock but as it slid into my hands a sharp edge caught my in the base of my left thumb. The cut wasn’t particularly deep but it hit a vein right under the skin and blood poured from the wound, ran down my wrist and dripped onto the rock now sitting in my lap.

“You ok?”

I snapped my gaze from my bleeding palm to Tyler who just stood there staring before a shiver ran through his body. “Get some towels dumbass!” A few seconds later the shivering stop and he silently nodded and ran to the kitchen and there was the sound of cabinets opening and closing. “What in the hell are you doing?” I yelled.

“Looking for towels.”

“The roll’s on the table! Do I have to get it myself? Tyler eventually returned with the roll of paper towels and handed me a large wad which I pressed on the cut. The flow of blood started to slow but Tyler made no effort to provide any additional help. “Do something!”

“Like what?”

“Get the first aid kit and get this damn thing off of me!”

Tyler initially started towards the hall but turned back. “Oh yeah. Sorry.” He approached slowly with his eyes locked on the rock. He carefully rotated it then with a hand on each side gingerly lifted it from my lap and held it out at arm’s length.

“What is that thing?”

“$100,000.” The look on his face a combination of fear and elation.

“What?” Tyler carefully turned it towards me and I recoiled at what I saw. The black rock was creepy to say the least. A fat, round crouching demon was the best way to describe it. Scales covered its body including the protruding belly and appendages and two bat-like wings were folded flat against its back and in one clawed hand it held a sword with the tip sticking out of the top by a couple of inches. “This thing is worth 100 grand?”

Tyler gently set it on the table and stepped back beaming. “Oh yeah. Maybe more, but we’ve got a deal in place and we’re not gonna ask for more. I don’t know how it is, but Lawrence said the buyer is so dangerous that it would be bad for our health to ask for more.”

I stood up from the couch shook my head in disgust. “So many questions right now,” I said as I headed to the bathroom to try and cleanout the gash and figure out if I needed stitches or not.

Ty followed me to the bathroom but made no effort to help, but instead stood just outside the door. “Like?”

I fought with the bottle of peroxide to wrench it open. “Let’s see. Who’s Lawrence? Why is this thing worth $100,000? Are you friggin insane? Just to name a few!”

“Lawrence, works at the museum. He’s an art history expert and a damn good sculptor.”

“Okay.” Ty still wasn’t answering my questions and I was starting to get pissed, especially after pouring the peroxide into the now searing cut.

“He knows some guys, who know some other guys, who know … I don’t know you get the idea. Anyway, this thing was part of a special exhibit that just ended and this piece is owned by a private collector who loaned it to the museum. A few months ago, Lawrence was offered $100,000 for this statue if he could get it out. So, Lawrence got a hunk of obsidian, or whatever from the right part of the world and carved an exact copy. Took him months apparently and a couple of tries but he got it.”

“But why do you have it?”

“I’m getting there, dude. He needed a way to get it out and the trash is the easiest way to do it. I guess he’s done it before with some other stuff too, but the guy he usually worked with just got fired for sleeping on the job. You know the guy I told you about that fell through the ceiling?”

“The one who made the bed above the bathroom to take a nap?”

“Yeah, him. But since he’s gone Lawrence needed a new guy to pick up the fake one at the dumpster, transport it to his office hidden in the cleaning cart, then sneak the real one back one with the trash in this here bag. While I’m emptying the trash, he comes out for a smoke break with a matching bag and the switch is made behind the dumpster where the cameras can’t see then the bag goes into his car.”

“You’re an idiot.”

Tyler scoffed. “No man, look Lawrence is smart. He’s kind of a genius. He found all of the blind spots for the cameras where there’s just enough room to make the switches inside too. It’s foolproof.”

“So he just randomly pulled you aside and said, ‘Hey, wanna help me steal some stuff?’”

“I don’t know. Kind of, I guess,” he replied with a shrug.

I finished bandaging my hand and with Tyler in tow, went back to the living room while grumbling out loud. “A museum heist from a guy you don’t know? Friggin moron!”

“No, it’s like that, man. I know him and sometimes we hang out after work and get high. We’re kind of friends so he figured he could trust me. Plus, he needed someone right way since he had only one day to make the switch before it had to be shipped out.”

“You still never answered my question, what is it?”

Ty shrugged. “I don’t know what it’s called but it’s some kind of idol from, hell I don’t remember. I guess it was somebody’s god at some point and some people collect this stuff now.”

“It’s creepy.”

Tyler carefully picked up and looked at its face before turning it towards me. “I don’t know, he’s kind of cute.”

I recoiled slightly at the black rock inches from my face. Black dead eyes, a pig like nose and an open mouth with a long-forked tongue hanging down to its stomach. Two large sets of teeth, almost large enough to be tusks, protruded from the open mouth that was frozen in an eternal sneer. Normally creepy things don’t bother me. I love horror movies and books, but this was different, giving off and almost evil vibe. “Get it away.”

Ty shrugged and carefully put it in the backpack. “It’s a statue, it can’t hurt you.”

With a glare I held up my bandaged hand. “Really?”

“No like it can’t kill you.” Tyler peeled off the band aid from his finger tip and fought back a nervous smile.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he said as he wadded up the bandage. “Finger’s just better.” Ty grabbed the bag and went back to his room then returned a few minutes later with his duffel bag.

“Where are you going? After you maimed me the least you can do is make dinner.”

“Sorry, man. Gotta date and I think I’ll probably be staying over.” Ty tipped his eyebrows and grinned. “I bet she’s got a friend but let me guess, you’re not interested.”

“I’ve made it twenty-three years without an STD and prefer to keep it that way. Plus, Kristina, remember?’

“How can I forget?”

When he turned towards the door I yelled for him to stop. “Hey! You’re not leaving that thing here.”

“It’s in my room. What’s the big deal?”

I stared at him incredulously. “I don’t want to be caught alone here with stolen property.”

“Who’s gonna catch you? No one even knows its been switched out and the fake one is perfect. I’ll tell you what, I’ll get it tomorrow and take it to Lawrence. He didn’t want it in the house in case his girlfriend asked about it but I just tell him tough, ok?”

“No. I don’t want it here.”Tyler looked at this watch.“Sorry, but I’ve gotta go. It’s just for tonight then I’ll take care of it, I promise.”

The whole time he spoke, he continued to move towards the exit.I tried to protest but he bolted out the door. He got in the car and waved as he pullout of the driveway. In response I gave him the finger.

It was now getting late and I was hungry so I ordered a pizza. I wanted to call Kris, but her mom’s party was just starting and I knew if she answered it probably wouldn’t be pretty. Instead, I sat on the couch and watched TV while mourning my increasingly sore hand. I briefly considered a beer but figured I should give my liver a rest after last night and if Kris called, I wanted to both be sober and be able to honestly tell her I hadn’t been drinking.

As the evening wore on, I was absolutely exhausted from the hangover and fight with Kris. Not confident I was going to hear from her, I opted to turn in at about 9:30. Halfway down the hall I yelled when I ran my foot into something hard and heavy. When I flipped on the light, there was the damn statue sitting in the middle of the hall. Not sure how I missed it in the hall before, I cursed Tyler and had half a mind to throw the damn thing away or take a hammer to it. I decided that jackass or not, I’d rather my friend not end up in some hitman’s truck because he failed to deliver the statue.

After getting ready, I crawled into bed and wondered what was wrong with me. Normally, I’d be aghast that Ty was stealing museum pieces and selling them on the black market but tonight, I was just annoyed. Yet also a little hopeful that I might actually get my money. The fact that the idea didn’t bother me more made me sick. “Maybe he really is a bad influence,” I said to myself. Before I turned off the light I checked for a message from Kristi one final time, but finding nothing turned out the light.

I – II –III– IV– V–VI–VII–VIII– IX

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