Murder with a side of bacon
Who: Henry and Anya
When: Early morning
Where: Nighthawk's
Henry really hadn't planned on ending his night like this. It had been a simple job- shoot a bar mitzvah and make some easy money. Really easy stuff. Afterwards, he wasn't tired yet, so he'd decided to walk home instead of calling a taxi. Inevitably, he'd ended up running into one of the city's seedier ladies... and that's the last thing he remembered, until he was looking down at the dead woman. Cursing himself, he knew he had to act fast to get rid of the body. He'd taken her down to the docks, which hadn't been very far thankfully, and dumped her in the river. While she wasn't mutilated in the same way some of the other bodies had supposedly been found, he hoped that either her death would be connected to the others, or at the least it would confuse them. At any rate, he couldn't think of anything that would connect him with the woman.
He'd gone home to clean up and change clothes, but even after all that, he couldn't get to sleep. He needed to calm down. And he needed food. Making sure he looked completely normal, he'd headed down to Nighthawk's and took a seat at the bar. Food. Yeah. That'd help. No coffee, though. Water would do just fine. Or maybe milk. Calm down, Henry. No one knows what you did. How could they? He leaned back against the bar as he waited for his breakfast. It was funny, no matter what time of day it was, the place was always crowded. Somehow he'd still managed to find a place at the counter with no one around him, but he wondered how long that would last.
Anya was in nighthawks
Anya was in nighthawks because she wanted to get the morning off to a good start. She had actually eaten breakfast for the last two days in a row, and she was felling pretty good at the moment. She was relaxing and trying to think of all the things she needed to do before she went to her first day of work. Anya was sitting at the bar, not really doing anything in particular, and she decided to people watch a bit.
There were actually a lot of people in the restaurant that morning. Some were early risers like her, others were the last of the late night party-goers, there were even a few elderly people that morning. She was about to turn back in her seat, when she saw a man that caught her eye. He looked a little nervous, not enough to be out of place, but it was still there.
"Hey, Are you okay there sweetheart?" she said, because concern was just in her nature.
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It took Henry a moment to realize that he was the one being addressed. He looked up from the counter and towards the source of the voice. And what a source it was, too! He kind of gave her a tired smile and a wave to acknowledge her. "Um, uh, yeah, sure," he said, distracted by the woman's beauty. "Just, ah, just a long night is all." His smile widened a little as he motioned to one of the stools beside him. "Wanna join me?"
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"Yeah, sure." Anya said and she hopped over a few seats, and ordered her breakfast. "I can understand the bad night, I have had quite a few myself." she said breezily, her good mood from yesterday still hanging around. "Oh, how rude am I? my name is Anya." she said, holding her hand out in greeting.
..
This was not the time for him to be sitting next to another beautiful woman. While he felt more in control now, he was still in a pretty fragile place emotionally. But he couldn't just jump up and run for the door, could he? That would make people a bit suspicious. Forcing a snaggletoothed grin, he took her hand and shook it gently. "Henry. Henry Morrison." Shit, why did you give your last name so easily? Stupid! Stupid! But her skin was so soft and smooth and he didn't want to let go immediately but knew he had better or she'd think he was creepy or something. "Um, nice to meet you. You, uh, you here alone?"
"Yeah, I was just grabbing
"Yeah, I was just grabbing some breakfast and doing some things before I have to go in to work. Rock bottom is opening up today and I am going to be waitressing there, have you heard of it?" she asked, mentally thinking about the stuff she still had to do before she went to work. She really did enjoy talking to people, she loved to meet people and know that she wasn't the only one who felt alone. It made her feel better about herself somehow. She smiled brightly as a waitress came bearing a huge plate of food and sett it down before her.
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"Yeah, um, I think so." He watched as her food came, reminding him that he still had breakfast as well. "I mean, I think I saw something about it, saw some people working there a couple days ago. Finally, uh, finally gonna make something outta that place huh?" he said with a chuckle as he nibbled his bacon. He felt like he was staring at the girl, and shouldn't be, but he didn't care. "A waitress, huh? Pretty girl like you, figured you were a model or something," he said with a grin, hoping eggs weren't caught in his teeth or something equally embarrassing.
Anya laughed so hard she
Anya laughed so hard she almost had orange juice coming out of her nose when he said she looked like a model. when she calmed down enough she looked back at him."That's sweet, but no, I am definitely not a model. Hell, waitressing is a serious promotion for me right now." she said, grateful that her sleeves were long enough to hide her stitches."How about you, what do you do?" she asked, flashing him a small grin.
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Henry hadn't expected a laugh like that. While most women blushed a little and maybe giggled when he said that, most of them didn't do that. He played with his eggs a little as he answered. "I'm, uh, I'm a photographer, actually. Did the Goldman bar mitzvah last night, then, uh, was up a little late developing the pics, so I figured I'd hop in for a bite before I, uh, went to bed." He gave he a slightly snaggle-toothed grin. "So, uh, which end you on? Getting off or getting on?" He winced inwardly, knowing that wasn't quite how he'd meant to say it, but it was close enough.
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.
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She chuckled a little at his statement, laughing a little at the double meaning. A few days ago she would have grimaced at the person saying something like that, but now she was more free with herself. "Getting on actually, had to get a good start on my morning." she said pointing to her plate. "I usually don't eat breakfast, or lunch and dinner for that matter, but I'm tryin to change my habits slowly." She said, grimacing inside, because she realized she probably looked like a mix between a drowned cat and a kid from some third world country still; she had only gained a few pounds lately, she still probably only weighed 115 or 120.
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Henry really hadn't intended any double entendre, but it got her chuckling a little, so that was promising. "Well, good for you. Always good to start your day off right." He was starting to relax a little, at least. The "whatever" that had come over him earlier in the night had subsided finally. "So, Rock Bottom, huh? That's that, uh, mick place that's opening up isn't it? Irish, I mean." Old habits died hard. He'd learned since the O'Malley's really came to power that there were certain terms you probably shouldn't use.
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"Yeah, it is, run by the O'malleys. I know it's not exactly the cleanest place to work, but I can live with the dirty side of thing, just so long as I don't have to be a part of it. I can serve murderers with a smile if i have too, anything is better then my old gig. Decent work is hard to come by in this town, plus I may actually get to sing a few times, that's a bonus in my book." she said. It truly didn't bother her that she was working in a place where there would probably be a shady area, where business could take place. She meant what she said when she said it was a step up, plus it paid and that is what mattered to her.
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Henry's ears perked up a little when she said the word "murderer", but he didn't show it on his face. Instead he just smiled and nodded as she talked, finishing off the last of his bacon. "Yeah, I hear you about taking what you can get. I mean, I'm doing pretty good now, but it wasn't too long ago I couldn't be too picky." And in somexways, he still wasn't terribly picky, really. "So, a singer, huh? I hadn't planned on heading over there tonight, but if they've got a songbird like you, I might just have to make the trip." Which actually wasn't a bad idea, the more he thought about it. If nothing else, he might be able to sell some shots to the paper.
"Really? I didn't think that
"Really? I didn't think that singing actually brought people into bars, but I guess that may be why I was hired." she said smiling a little. "I am not sure if I will actually get to sing tonight, but if I do I'll promise to make sure you have a seat." she said, before drinking the last of her orange juice.
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"Well, everyone's got their thing. Some people go for drinks, some go for the company," he smiled, finishing off the last of his toast and digging for his wallet. "Tell ya what, in, uh, recognition of your new job, this one's on me, okay?"
"Oh, Thank You." she said
"Oh, Thank You." she said blinking in surprise, she thought that it was really sweet of him to buy her breakfast, especially when times weren't so good. "Are you sure, though?" she asked looking at him curiously.
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"I insist," Henry said with a smile. Times were tough, sure, but he was doing well enough. He could afford to splurge. Besides, you never knew when a random act like this might come back to you. He waved down the matronly woman behind the counter. "Hey, Irene, I got this one." He motioned to Anya's plate.
"Thank you, Henry. It was
"Thank you, Henry. It was nice meeting you" She said, getting up and smiling. "Think about showing up tonight okay?" She finished hugging him quickly. It wasn't really a thank you hug, it was just how she was. She was sort of a touchy person. She waved goodbye and left, focusing on her to-do list as she walked down the street.
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Henry's eyes bugged out even more than usual, if that was possible. It wasn't often he got hugs, especially from near-total strangers. "Um, uh, yeah, um, sure," he said, positively flustered. But he wouldn't forget her, that was for sure. She was a bit skinnier than he usually went for, but if he wasn't mistaken, there was something there that he thought might be worth pursuing. Paying the bills, he headed out the door and back towards his place. He needed to get some rest before tonight. And to get some more film.