Schlomo Developing
Schlomo Developing
(Early Monday Morning November 2, 1981)
It had been a long night, and he was exhausted but, something was demanding him, insisting on him, he had to know what he caught on film outside the disco. What crowds of people. And a few of these people, well, they were no friends of the jews.
He couldn’t believe it. He quickly grabbed for the tongs, plunging them into the fixer bath to remove the photo for a closer look. A magnifying glass lay on the counter near a few old phone books and used tissue paper. He grabbed for it without breaking his glance on the first revelation of the photo.
Missing? He held up the magnifying glass. There were men, in black frocks with violet hem. Where had they gone? The photo showed only an empty street. He contented himself to wait for the next photo . . . again! Nothing!? One more . . . the same . . .
He also remembered the men with the shaven heads and leather jackets . . . gone also!? What!?
The box truck, the one with the young lady’s remains (at least it seemed, according to what the boy Mr. Oculus said) . . . yes, that was still in the pictures but, unlike what he’d seen, there were no crowds of these men around it on the night street. But he saw the truck leave . . . if there were no men around . . . Schlomo’s eyes lock into the photographic image of the truck’s driver’s seat . . . empty. How could it be?
He didn’t know. But surely this was connected somehow to everything else that happened the last two nights which were also related to finding his client (Ms. Lily’s) Sarah and, that the man, Dr. Madison, he’d met Friday night seemed to know quite a bit about the types of things he’d seen outside the disco including, yammering on with that young man Mr. Oculus about magenta lights and, there were certainly bizarre magenta lights flashing inside the disco Saturday night (at least from what he could see from outside while in the car).
Moreover, he still needed to find this Sarah to redeem his commission with Ms. Lily and was short on leads. This Dr. Madison had also been at 169 Clinton Street - - somewhat inexplicably now that he thought about it. It was decided, he had to get back to the Upper West side, 408 E 79th Street, the Arcadia building, apartment 76 where that Dr. Madison lived, surely he knew more - - if not about where he could find Sarah directly, perhaps indirectly through more information about all this.
Violating The Shabbat
(Reporting Back to Ms. Lily - - Late Friday Night October 30, 1981)
“Mr. Rosenbaum, what news?”
“I don’t mean to disturb you this late but, I haven’t gotten any of the photos developed but, your husband wasn’t ah . . . did you know your husband had a second apartment?”
“Well, I suspected he was up to something, that is why I hired you.”
“It seems as though he was sharing an apartment with a woman, there was a lot of woman’s clothing, two toothbrushes, ah, I have photos of . . .”
“Mr. Rosenbaum! You appear to be telling me what I already know but, do you have pictures of them together so I can finish this business or not!? Well!? Do you!? So that I can finally move forward with the legal process and put closure to this!?”
“Ah . . . she wasn’t there but, I do have the lease documents . . .”
“So, you don’t have the pictures!? What am I supposed to do with a lease!?”
“I, eh, I’m not going to be able to get pictures of the two of them together. The best I’ll be able to do is confront this woman, Sarah, whom he seemed to be sharing an apartment with, I’m trying to find her to get affirmation that she was involved with your husband.”
“Mr. Rosenbaum! I hired you for pictures, not to further exacerbate my emotional state!”
“Well, I have her address, another address where she was staying when she was not with your husband.”
“Mr. Rosenbaum, if you do not get me pictures of this woman, you’re not getting a dime of your commission!”
Ms. Lily Greets Schlomo Outside Apartment 66 Friday Night October 30, 1981
