CHAPTER 5
Bernie had recovered from the shock of seeing the girl abducted, and stood there in the street beneath the USO. He was furious at his own inability to do anything to help her. He thought about going to the police, but he had-had to deal with New York's finest before, on the opposite end of the spectrum. He shrugged as he thought about the time he had been arrested after getting into a fight outside a tavern; it hadn't been his fault, he had only been defending himself, but that had been beside the point. He knew it would take forever, telling them about the kidnapping.
After several minutes of standing around in half-shock, he decided to go into the building from which the girl had been taken. Upon entering the narrow lobby, he noticed two elevators on his right and on his left, a directory for the building.
He walked over and stared at the directory, noticing several companies and the USO. Had that been where she had been going? he thought. Most of the other places were probably closed today, so he decided he should check it out.
Bernie entered the elevator and got off on the floor marked “USO.” He paused after getting off and saw there was only one door on this floor, also marked USO. He opened the door and walked in.
“May I see your ID card, please,” came a request from a pretty girl sitting behind a desk on the other side of the room.
“Well, I don't exactly have one,” Bernie explained.
“I'm sorry, the USO is for military personnel, their dependents and guests, only,” she stated flatly, as if she wished it were a recording so she wouldn't have to say it over and over.
“I was supposed to meet a young lady here,” Bernie lied. “Actually she was going to meet me outside, but I thought since I arrived a little late she may have come on in, “Bernie improvised, pretending to look around for someone.
“It's been quiet today. Most of the ships are underway,” the girl said.
“Oh, well maybe you know her, she's about five four, auburn hair that reaches down to here.” Bernie gestured at his shoulder. “Pale grey eyes?”
“Do you know her name?”
“Well,” Bernie hesitated, “not exactly.”
“Uh huh, I see.” The girl said squinting her eyes and looking Bernie over. “Do you know what service she's in?”
“Well ...” Bernie dragged the word out and curled his upper lip, trying to ingratiate himself to the girl, “not exactly.”
“What do you know about her?”
“She's very attractive and I only recently met her. She wrote her name and phone number down but I lost them. I was a little inebriated at the time,” he continued to lie. “And she has a rather sad, distant look in her eyes.”
The girl thought for a moment. “I probably shouldn't say anything, but it sounds like it might be Jackie. I think her last name's Harris, but I'm not sure. You get to know people by their service and first names. I wouldn't normally say anything, but Jackie always comes here on Saturday, alone.” She emphasized alone. “She doesn't usually say much but I'm very perceptive, know what I mean?” She inhaled loudly and looked pensive. “You know I haven't seen her yet today, and she's usually here by now. She just comes in, doesn't socialize; just asks for only one ticket to whatever Broadway or off-Broadway show we might have, and has a soda and leaves.”
Bernie smiled to himself. He had hit a gold mine. This girl loved to gossip. “What service is she in?” he quizzed.
“Oh, let me see, I think it's the Coast Guard. I really shouldn't be talking to you about this, but, if she's finally coming out of her shell and found her a man, especially at her age,” she added cattily. “Well, who am I to stop the course of love.”
“Her age? What do you mean? She couldn't be more than twenty-three.” Bernie asked.
“Twenty-three… my big foot. I hope I'm that well preserved when I'm twenty-nine. You know, I think she'll be thirty soon, if I remember correctly.” She nodded her head. “As a matter of fact, I think she said her birthday is around the first of next month.”
Bernie grinned and let his eyes twinkle. “Oh, but you must still have ten years until you're twenty-nine,” Bernie flattered, and then added, “Do you know where she lives? Maybe I can call and see if she's just late?”
“She's on Governors Island… on one of their ships. I'm not sure which one,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “Although I think she also has a room on the base; but she's stationed on one of the ships. I'm just not sure which one. I'm not really sure she has a room on the base as far as that goes. Besides, even if I had her phone number, which I don't, I couldn't give it to you.”
“I understand. Thank you so much. I guess I'll just wait outside, maybe she will still show.” Bernie said as he began to turn for the door.
“You can wait here if you like.” She gestured toward a couch across the room. “By the way, my name's Beth. What's yours?” She smiled.
Bernie paused for a moment. “Uh, Larry, Larry Jones. Well it's been nice meeting you, Beth. I guess I should wait outside for a few minutes. If you see her, would you tell her I was here?”
“Sure, someone else may come in that knows her. I'll ask around, if you want to check back in with me later.” She scribbled on a piece of paper. “Here's the USO's number, and there's my home number, so give me a call.”
“Thanks, Beth. I'll do that. What time do you get off?” Bernie asked as he opened the door to depart.
“Nine thirty.” She smiled encouragingly. “I hope to hear from you.”
Back out on the street Bernie walked aimlessly, trying to think what he could do now. As he came back around the corner to Broadway, he saw the black street preachers. He stopped and stared at them, thinking that something looked vaguely familiar. Then he realized what it was: It was their clothing. It was similar to the clothing the abductors had been wearing. It suddenly hit him, that if he really wanted to help the girl he could follow these guys. He thought about it for several minutes. He didn't even know the girl and wondered why he should get involved; it wasn't like him. But something about this girl was special. He reached into his pocket and felt the twenty-dollar bill. He just hoped they used public transportation and not the van to go wherever they went when they finished.
He also felt a subway token. His round trip token. He always bought his return fare, just in case he got robbed. After all, this was Manhattan and it was a long walk back to Brooklyn. In New York, anything could happen—and usually did. He decided he would wait and follow the men. He really didn't have anything better to do, and he would look at it like an adventure.
He wandered over to a street vendor, bought a bagel and thought about the girl. What had Beth said her name was? Jackie. He smiled. Yes, Jackie; he wondered if it was short for Jacqueline.
He blended into the crowd and watched the men.