Tapworthy

Bennie walked his Wheaton terrier, Charlie, down Alvira. He'd been walking him a lot lately ever since he'd gotten his new glasses. They were grey, horned-rim. He didn't actually need these non-prescription glasses except for picking up the ladies. They weren't exactly beautiful but they did the trick.

A few blocks away, a woman approached. Charlie was sniffing the grass and not exactly moving quickly, but that was okay. He was cute with lots of dirty blonde fur and he only helped Bennie's mission.

As she got closer, Bennie could see her natural beauty, her lovely curves. He could tell she was tapworthy.

As they passed each other, he tapped his glasses and said, "Evening."

She smiled and said, "Oh, what a cute dog."

Bennie nodded. "He is, isn't he?" He continued walking and after she passed, he pulled out his phone. Her picture, name and address, and other info was the first message on his phone. She lived a few blocks away. A picture of her apartment building appeared on the screen.

He turned, said, "Excuse me, do you live on Maxwell? I feel like I've seen you before." Bennie's favorite opening line. Usually worked.

She looked confused. This was typical. After all, he didn't live on Maxwell. He'd never seen her before. He only knew because of the information on his phone.

"Ummm... yes?"

"Yeah, I live at the end of the block and I gotta walk my dog a couple times a day, so I think I've seen you." Bennie pulled Charlie with a tug.

"Fascinating. Well, I gotta get back home. I'm sure I'll see you soon, considering we live on the same street." She seemed suspicious. She looked at him and cocked her head.

It didn't really matter to Bennie. He wasn't planning on asking her out. He just liked to talk to her, wanted her to wonder when they'd meet again. He was okay with her being afraid.

She turned and walked in the other direction. They were two blocks from Maxwell. Bennie stood and watched her walk away.

Nice ass.

She turned briefly and Bennie stood over Charlie acting as if he hadn't noticed.

Charlie had already pooped twice. Bennie waited till she was out sight and then headed to his apartment just around the corner, blocks from Maxwell. He dropped the poop bags on the porch and entered his apartment, Charlie in tow.

With a raised voice, he said, ”I’m finished. Come and get him."

"Oh thank you, Bennie. You're such a dear." The voice came from the living room.

Bennie had been walking his ninety year old landlady's dog for a while now. Never hurt to be nice to old people, especially when this old person was your landlady. His rent hadn't been raised in four years now. Always a good thing.

###

It was ten PM and quite dark, not a cloud in the sky. Bennie turned on Maxwell. He was holding his phone, looking for the message containing Betty Carson's info. She was the woman he passed on the street according to his new glasses. He walked up to her front door and knocked. She answered with the chain on the door and spoke through the crack. "Can I help you?"

Bennie grabbed the chain with a very sturdy pair of foot-long wire cutters that he pulled from a large pocket in his jacket, and quickly snipped the chain. Betty Carson screamed while backing away. Bennie didn't think much of her scream, probably nobody heard it, but he wouldn't be there long enough to find out.

"Remember me?" Bennie said as he barreled through the door. Before she could say anything, he covered her mouth with his left hand and shoved her on the sofa. He shut the door with his other hand. Her fear was palpable. Bennie pressed his full weight on her. He removed a switchblade from his pocket and let it snap open while she watched, the fear in her eyes was apparent as her breathing increased. He ripped off her shirt and stabbed her between her breasts. He twisted the knife and she was bleeding profusely. Within a few seconds, the light went out of her eyes and he stood up, staring down at the now dead Betty Carson. His breathing slowed and he smiled.

Sorry Betty, nothing personal.

Bennie was wearing gloves the whole time. He wasn't an idiot. His prints were on file. Bennie didn't like prison and didn't intend on going back.

A few minutes later, Bennie was back at his apartment. He took off the glasses and placed them on the charger, which was hooked up to his computer. The download window appeared and all the people he'd tapped started downloading on his desktop computer. He didn't know why he kept most of them. Maybe he'd think of something. Figured it couldn't hurt to keep them, for now.

Bennie couldn't stop thinking about his encounter with Betty Carson. He did try. He had other things to do. He was supposed to go to lunch with James, his friend from back when he worked at Book EmDanno.

###

After a quick breakfast of toast and fried eggs, Bennie took a shower and continued to think about Betty. He had blood on his black shirt that he couldn't see. He would have been surprised if he didn't. After washing the shirt in the sink, he hung it on the clothes rack he had permanently standing in the bathtub.

Bennie and his friend, James, were supposed to go to Rikki's on Wilshire. Rikki's was a pizza place that'd been there a long time, but had been through some name changes over the years. Other than the name, it hadn't changed much. They'd walk there from his apartment on Alvarado. He needed the exercise.

"Did you see the Dodgers?" James pushed the button on the crosswalk.

"You know I don't watch baseball."

"Not even the playoffs?"

"Why would that make a difference?"

"Well, for one, we'd have something to talk about."

It was already dark. The grade school’s chain-link fence was on their left, the playground equipment behind it in shadows.

"Have you heard about this new tech, called Shades?" Bennie looked for break in the traffic. They needed to be on the other side to cross San Vincente.

"Tech?"

"Yeah, it's camera technology built into glasses that allows you to take pictures just by touching your glasses." Bennie said as they waited for a break in the traffic.

"You're wearing those glasses? I thought they were new." James stared at Bennie's glasses. "Well, I guess that's a good thing."

"But, that's not the cool thing." Bennie smiled.

"Okay, don't keep me in suspense. What's so cool?"

"If you take someone's picture, it'll..." Bennie turned and faced James. He tapped his glasses. Holding his phone, he turned it to on and held it up so James could see.

"Shit, that's my name and address, my Instagram handle. What the fuck?" James shook his head.

Bennie had the biggest smile. "Cool, huh?"

"Actually, no. I don't think it's cool at all." James was not happy. "Would you like someone to randomly know all your information? What if they were up to no good. - My wife. - I’d hate for her to bump into some creep with these glasses.”

Bennie could see how this might be a problem. He probably shouldn't have shown James these. "Well, I admit I'm using them to pick up women."

"Yeah, no shit." James and Bennie had known each other a long time. "Had any luck?"

"I just got 'em, I'll let you know." Bennie thought maybe changing the subject might be wise.

They'd crossed Wilshire and were about to enter the outside garden portion of Rikki's. No one was inside. The game was on the screen hanging off the front window. The Dodgers were down 5-1 to the Padres.

"Looks like your boys are not doing so well." Bennie nodded at the screen.

James shook his head. "Can I see those?" He pointed at Bennie's glasses.

"There's nothing to see."

"I don't have time to explain."

Bennie quickly pulled off the glasses and handed them to James, who just as quickly slipped them on, just in time for an attractive waitress to walk up to their table to take their order.

James tapped the glasses as he put them on. The waitress handed James and Bennie menus. "I'll be back in a minute." She smiled and turned.

"Thanks," James said, as she walked away. He leaned over and said quietly to Bennie, "Check your phone."

"Damn. She lives kinda far from here." Staring at his phone, Bennie noted the details. "Beth Shapiro. Says she goes to SM community college in Santa Monica. Doesn't say where she lives."

"So, you're stalker software isn't perfect, it seems." James chuckled.

She wasn't Bennie's choice anyway. She probably lived with a family member. An automatic no, as far as Bennie was concerned. "Why did you want to know, James? I thought you were horrified."

"I just wanted to see how good it was. It's new, so it's probably not that great. I tried using a chatbot on some site the other day, and it sucked. Misinterpreted everything I said, almost like it was programmed by a computer programmer who had very little contact with actual humans. If your programmer can't communicate with humans, how's it gonna teach AI software to communicate with humans?"

"But ultimately, it worked?"

"Actually, no. I quit asking serious questions and began making jokes. My joke questions didn't even get funny answers. It was sad."

The waitress came up to their table. "You guys ready?"

James answered. "We are. We'd like a large pepperoni pizza and I'll take a coke."

"A diet coke for me." Bennie stared at James and said loud enough for the waitress to hear, "So, James, how long have you been teaching history anyway?" The information supplied mentioned her major at the college. James was not a history teacher. He ran his own company, Mountain View Software.

James bowed his head, his brow creased. He said, "Been like twenty years. Just can't get enough of medieval history."

The waitress straightened up, took notice. "You know, J.R.R. Tolkien was writing his thesis on medieval England when he wrote Lord of the Rings," she said.

"I did know that. Very good." James glanced at Bennie and smiled.

"It's just you said, medieval history." She paused for a second, then said, "I'll be back with your food." She turned and left.

"Damn. The evil a man could do with that thing."

Bennie nodded. He couldn't help but agree.

###

The game was almost over. Looked like the Dodgers would be losing. It was still 5-1.

After a few minutes of silently watching the ninth inning, the waitress walked back with our meal. "Sorry about before. It's just my major. Of course you'd know about Tolkien."

James smiled. "True, but you're not the first student to tell me. Lord of the Rings is very popular. Where do you go to school?"

"Santa Monica. I only have one semester left."

"Good for you. Not everybody finishes." James took a bite of the slice of pizza sitting on his plate.

Bennie had already taken a few bites. James seemed really into his role. Miss Shapiro was quite attractive. Blonde, about five foot six. Shapely

She nodded. "Well, enjoy your meal." Beth turned and went back inside.

"Problem is, you shouldn't ask her out. I know you want to, but eventually she'll discover you're not a history professor. Then, it's over." Bennie used his napkin to wipe up the crumbs.

"You're the one who decided to lie for me. Jerk."

"Yeah, I try not to lie. Lying in the best of circumstances is a problem. I didn't realize you were thinking about this girl. She seems a little young."

"She is a little young, but at this point, I don't care." James bit the last piece of pizza on his plate.

"Sorry to hear it. Been a while since Shelly, I guess?"

James shook his head. "Um, yeah, I would say so."

The waitress walked back in the room and set down the bill along with a card that had her phone number. She'd written 'call me' next to the number.

James smiled and shrugged. "I need to tell you something. I'm not a history professor."

"I know, Bennie, You own GrassSnake, whatever that is. I take it, you didn't know that when you use those glasses that I also get a copy of what you get that includes your information as well, did you?" She laughed. "Yeah, it's so they would be allowed to sell them. They had to agree."

Bennie turned away from the waitress. He grew pale. Why didn't he know this?

"It's a compliment, when you think about it. It's like getting hit on." She wiped her hands on a plaid hand towel.

"By the way, I'm James.” He waved a small wave “Bennie is my friend, the guy with his back to us. I borrowed his glasses. You don't actually know me, but I'll be glad to tell you. I own Mountain View Software. My name is James Bellar. Feel free to check me out." James sighed. "But what if creepy guys hit on you?"

"That already happens. At least this way, we're on equal footing. You're not creepy are you?"

"Depends, what do you think of computer geeks?"

Bennie wasn't listening. Bennie’s company specialized in lawn maintenance. He managed crews. His last piece of pizza sat untouched. How come the cops haven't shown up? He was staring at Rikki's dark entryway. He began eating his last slice. He needed to stop James, so they could leave.

"Don't know, guess I'll find out." James kept talking. "And I'm old. I'm forty."

"That's okay, my Dad's forty." She smiled. "I'm kidding, relax."

"Sorry to interupt, but I gotta get home."

James said, "I'll call ya."

"You better." She smiled and went back to the main restaurant.

"See, honesty is the best policy."

"Gotta go, I have a Zoom call in about 45 minutes I can't miss." Hopefully the police won’t be waiting. He couldn't count on the cops being slow forever. Could be Betty's body remained undiscovered. After all, it was less than 24 hours since he'd been at her apartment.

###

The trip back they didn’t talk much. Bennie was too freaked out.

“What’s the Zoom call about?

Oh yeah… “Umm… it’s a landscaping job… It’s a large property, a lot to talk about.”

“So, on Zoom, they walk around and show you stuff?” James wouldn’t stop talking.

“Yep, that’s the way it happens in the business I’m in. I hit record in case I need to reference. Sometimes at the end, to make sure I did it all.”

“Makes sense. So, what’s up?”

Bennie’s anxiety must have been showing. “Nothing. I’m fine.” He smiled the smile of a condemned man. He turned, trying to avoid any further eye contact. He needed to think. First thing, he’d go see what Betty’s apartment was up to. Hopefully, that’d calm his nerves. He’d do a drive-by first. If they’d found Betty, they’d still be there.

“Okay, Bennie, hope your Zoom call goes well. Tell me, you always get this uptight?” James had noticed his distress, like Bennie thought.

“It’ll be fine. It’s just a big job. I don’t wanna miss out. I have competition.”

“Well, I wish you luck.” James seemed doubtful.

Bennie turned and headed for the garage, where he parked his grey convertible Mustang. The only nice thing he owned was in the corner garage off the alley. After backing out, he turned right on Whitworth and drove the two blocks to Maxell. It was, at the most, a five minute trip. He drove slowly up Betty’s street, no cops in sight. It was quiet. Bennie slowed to a stop and let out a deep sigh. If they’d found a body, there’d be signs. Bennie fully believed Betty’s apartment would be chock filled with police and crime scene investigators. He’d watched from afar a few crime scenes in the past. They sometimes took days.

That meant she was still under the sofa. At the time, Bennie wasn’t sure if anyone’d heard her scream, so he didn’t spend a lot of time hiding Betty.

He steered his car around the block and found a spot and then walked over and pointed a home camera device across the street from Betty’s front door. He needed some time to think. Do a little research. Maybe there was some information on Betty’s apartment online. On classic old neighborhoods like this one, he’d found floor plans before. Then, he could move Betty quickly.

Still didn’t solve her phone having his information. Bennie couldn’t remember seeing her phone, now that he thought about it. But, he wasn’t looking.

All this because he didn’t know. All because he took a job from a guy who shoulda told him. Why didn’t he tell him?

Bennie didn’t have time to worry about that now. He’d save that for later.

He entered his apartment, taking the note to walk Charlie off his door. Right after logging on to Betty’s camera.

After a few clicks on the keyboard, the camera turned on. He couldn’t see anything except he could tell it was Betty’s front door. Otherwise, it was dark, which was good news as far as Bennie was concerned. He kicked back in his chair, which swiveled and rocked.

He started searching for anything he could find on her address. The neighborhood, Mayfair, had its own page. On the page was a map. Maxell went down the center. Bennie glanced at the camera shot in the corner of the computer screen. Still quiet.