The Landlord

The woman started walking his way.

The two boys with the kite laughed and struggled with the spool of string.

As the woman approached, John realized who she was.

He stepped back into his office and took out two cold sodas from the still cold refrigerator. He turned toward the door with one in each hand as Tammy appeared.

"Got anything stronger?"

John smiled.

"You got a lot on your mind," she said as she took one of the cans.

"How can you tell?"

"Your emotions are always written across your face, John. Don't worry. I like that. Means you'll never be able to lie to me."

"Just can't shake what happened to Frank."

"You're right about this office location," she said motioning toward the beach, "the view is outstanding."

"Can't quite figure out why he did the things he did," the private eye went on.

Tammy nodded.

"Just can't see the end justifying the means."

"I agree," she said after sipping her drink.

"Thing is, he told me about the brake line. He admitted he made a mistake and wanted to start fresh."

She put her hand on John's back. "He turned into something different."

"I think back to how long I've know him. He practically trained me. We were close, but now I wonder how many other cases he's tweaked."