Let Me Come In – A Writing Prompt Story

The alleyway was growing colder by the minute. Mick lifted up the collar on his coat to bear against the cold. The chill found it’s way down his back and he shivered. He wouldn’t wait much longer. Soon he’d have to leave, go home, and get away from this mess.

“Never should’ve agreed to this,” he said to himself.

“Then why did you?”

Mick jumped. When he turned, there she was. Wearing the same red coat as earlier, the woman who just wanted to be called “Miss” sauntered over to him. Her heels echoed against the damp brick walls. Someone sleeping near the dumpster stirred and lifted his head to look at the woman walking past. She shouldn’t have been so comfortable and relaxed. Mick took note of this.

“Tell me why we’re here, Miss.”

“You mean you wouldn’t rather be at home in your armchair as the sports game on television washes over you?”

“That’s exactly what I’d rather be doing. So let’s get one with this so I can get back to it.” He squinted into the shadows, her red coat barely visible under the street lamps and her face shrouded in darkness. “Get out of the shadows.”

She chuckled. Far too comfortable, Mick noted again. “I think I’d rather stay right here. You come closer.” From her coat, she pulled an envelope out.

Mick hesitated, but refused to show fear. He walked forward and grabbed for the envelope. As he pulled it back, she held tight. “They said you’re the best in the business. I never thought I’d trust a wolf.”

At this, he grinned, letting his sharp teeth glint under the moonlight. “Than why did you?”

Letting go of the envelope, she started slowly stepping back away from him. “Because I’m determined. Inside the envelope is your first payment. Find my friend.”

He waited for the sounds of her heels to be distant for him to leave the alleyway. Even though he was certain she was gone, he couldn’t let go of the feeling of being watched. When you’re out of the fairytale game like he was, you needed to be careful. In a city like this, where story creatures have left their stories to seek their fortune, it can be a dangerous place. Especially for a detective like him.

Mick walked back to the main street and over to a small coffee shop with a lit up open sign. One of the few that stayed open overnight. He knew the owner and the waitress who let this him use this as his office for nervous clients. It helped Mick tipped well.

The bell jingled as Mick pushed open the door. Tammy waived from the coffee pot where she stood and put her book on the counter. “Coffee, Mick?”

Mick nodded and sat up at the counter. When she poured a cup for him, he waited until she was back reading her book. Then he opened the envelope. Inside was the cash deposit for his initial services and a folder. He knew when he opened this up, he’d be opening up a gateway he could never return. It was like a light switch that could never be turned off.

He flipped open the folder and took a sip of coffee. That’s when he saw the photograph. His throat closed up and he couldn’t swallow that one sip. He spit the coffee back into the cup. His past stared back at him. One of the three little pigs that wouldn’t let him come in. And now his girlfriend was looking for one of them. But this one was the one with the brick house. The smart one. The one who didn’t have the same tragic fate as his brothers.

Mick shuddered, feeling watched again. His safe coffee shop no longer felt safe.