His Little Black Book

His Little Black Book

I stare at the pages beneath my fingers and still can’t believe it. Is any of this real? I have to make it to the next stop, my stop, then I can figure this all out. Finally reaching the dark, deserted hole of a bus stop I get off and immediately feel eyes on me. Who is it? Do they know what I have?

The sidewalk is still slick from earlier, so coupled with my inherent dislike for running or any form of physical exercise, I know running is out of the question. I only have 2 blocks before I reach my apartment complex and definitely don’t want to lead this stranger there. What do I do? I reach in my bag and pray I didn’t stupidly leave my phone somewhere like I always do, and in less than 30 seconds I’m soothed by the ring of calling my sister. Takes 2 rings before she answers, typical of her punctual nature, she starts to say “Hey-“ before I blurt out “What’s for dinner tonight?”. She knows something’s up as she responds,

“Are you in danger?”

“I’m not sure, but can we follow it up with some Braum’s?”

“Are you being followed?”,

and with an exuberant sigh I say “Yes, I’ll do the dishes when I get home”

“Do you want me to pick you up?”

“If you’re on this side of town, can you pick me up? I’m on the corner of 5th and Marsh”

“Usually, it would take 20 minutes for me to get there, expect me there in 10” where she promptly hangs up, not unusual of her typical theatrics either. What can I say though, I wouldn’t be in this mess if I didn’t also have a flair for the dramatic especially now knowing how things played out…and have yet to play out?

Once secured in the passenger seat of her 96 Lexus I spill my guts to her and can’t help but feel the burning of tears in my eyes as the words flow from my mouth as though a dam had burst and nothing could stop it. She waits for me to end the tears of pure sadness that had touched a feeling I didn’t know I could feel, before enveloping me in her arms. Still weak from the sobbing, her embrace brings a calm I didn’t realize I needed. She can tell I was processing some heavy emotions and never questioned my story, but I could tell she genuinely believed my recounting of the day as her eyes were like the pages to which I cling to now, predictable. I have to get somewhere safe enough to read this notebook, it could be my only salvation.

There are no words to describe what it feels like to attend the funeral of your soulmate, but earlier that day that’s where I was, in a graveyard. Even now I sometimes catch myself talking about him in the present tense knowing…that he’s gone forever. Afterward, it was Ryan’s wish that his Will be read immediately after his burial, so his family and I were all herded to the Chapel next to the graveyard where we were all spectators to the liquidation of his estate and one intriguing monologue, he left us all with the following:

“If you’re all listening to this then I’ve died tragically and you are all now grief-stricken over this loss, particularly you, Ariel. I’m dead so I don’t have to worry about sounding too sensitive or romantic but you bring it out in me like some sort of spell. I think of you on my way home from work and suddenly find myself in the floral shop of the grocery store hoping I can surprise you, and can’t wait to get home to you. I mean you truly understand me, I know this sounds cliché but I’m talking about the kind of understanding where you know it’s going to be forever… No matter how long we had, you were my forever so I died a happy man. Don’t ever forget that and look for happiness as it’s bound to come unexpectedly and in many forms. It’s with that in mind that I refer to my family and tell you what you already know, I love you and will see you again on the other side. I leave half of what is leftover from my death to my family and the other half to my beloved Ariel. It’s not much as I had considerable debt but it should give my immediate family and my beloved $20,000 each with the exception of one black notebook in a safety deposit box. Ariel, please get with Saul, my lawyer, to get the key. I love you all and to all a good night... I never was good at goodbye’s but farewell you beautiful people.”

It took all I had not to burst into tears right there in the Chapel, but with the lord on my side, I hazily walked to the next room over to gather my thoughts and because I was instructed to by Saul. It was in this next room that another recording was about to play when Saul groggily choked out, “I was instructed to reveal this message from Ryan to you, alone. Please watch the whole thing before deciding and once you’ve made a decision, let me know.” And with that, I hear my Ryan’s voice again.

“Ariel, I’m going to get straight to it because I know you. You never once questioned me and for that I love you, but I have a confession. I was never a lawyer. I’ve never even been in front of a judge as a lawyer. I’ve actually been in front of a judge as a criminal and, not that I admitted it, but I was guilty. Guilty of being a stupid man and putting my trust in the wrong people. It’s because of this lost faith that I am dead. You see I was always able to provide for you because of another facet of my life. A facet to which I must now thrust upon you. IF you agree to this, then you must know you are entering a dangerous, irreversible, and treacherous journey. I don’t want to scare you away but I also want to express the severity of this agreement. All I can tell you of this endeavor is that it will result in so much wealth that you will never have to worry, even for the lives of your grandkids, and that you will not be required to do anything criminal, only to follow my instructions to the letter. I completely understand if you decide not to go embark on this opportunity and want you to know you will not forfeit your $20,000 if you decide not to do this. BUT if you agree, then you must give Saul all of your inheritance to help fund this adventure, because in the end $20,000 won’t mean anything to you anyways. Accepting the key from Saul will start your path to riches, and walking out will ensure your safety. Take however much time you need, but know the sooner you decide the more money you will receive. I love you all the way, Ariel.”

With that, the room grows silent, too silent. I’m not sure how to feel before I feel my mouth utter, “Saul, give me the key.”

I barely make it to the location of the safety deposit box before I start having this feeling, I’m not sure I would call intuition, but more a feeling of impending doom. Pushing past this feeling, I acquire the notebook and upon thumbing through it, I find it’s filled with Ryan’s handwriting. I knew what was going to be on the first page, so I decided to wait until I got on the bus to read it. See, the bus is where Ryan and I first met, it’s was one of those Hallmark moments where as soon as I stepped on the bus, he was enamored with me. So, it only makes sense to read such poetic words of love in the place where it all began. I won’t go into detail as those pages are all I have left of Ryan, but several pages into the notebook its creation becomes clear. It’s on page 7 of this notebook where I find the following riddle,

“Take this key to where I found thee, if you find the lock to your key then you will make me happy. If you need a clue, I’m the color of your favorite shoe. I am small but pack a huge byte. Be careful though, as I’m not the only one who know.”

I set the notebook down and look underneath the seat in front of me and can see a piece of duct tape sticking out the bottom of the seat. I reach under the seat to reveal a yellow USB, I know this must be mine. Though unsure what to make of what it is or what it contains, I slip it into my pocket where it suddenly dawns on me, I just put half a billion dollars in my pocket.

Earlier that month, Ryan was working on a case, back when I thought he was a lawyer, for this hotshot CEO who got caught for embezzlement. It was during this case that Ryan told me the CEO guy was using computer sticks to transport enormous amounts of money, say half a billion dollars per stick, to be laundered. A whirlpool of emotions hit me all at once and all I want is to get off the bus. Now that I’m with my sister, I can get some clarity and proceed from there. It also just dawns on me that someone’s still following us.

I demand my sister pull over and we confront this stalker. Surprisingly she agrees, and upon seeing a red dodge convertible, I know who it is, Ryan. Overwhelmed with this sight my body involuntarily lunges towards him and we embrace. No sooner than we embrace, he informs me the adventure has only just begun and that the notebook contains more hidden messages to more USBs and a Grand Finale prize at the end. I asked, “What’s the Grand Finale prize?” to which he responded, “you’ll just have to come to find out?”