She possessed intimate familiarity with the area even though she had never been there.
There was an alley like that whenever there was a meaningful number of people living together.
Like the blind corner of a sink, hidden from view, with the crusts of countless bile, vomit, blood, saliva, and other unmentionable fluids that just accumulated and congealed into a slimy sap.
This alley was like that hidden corner of that sink… it kept all the secrets that couldn’t be scrubbed away. And the slimy sap, it was the line of scantily clothed prostitutes on the blind side of it.
Cars came, stopped by, words were exchanged, clandestine agreements were made, and the women in their kaleidoscope of colorful coats went for a fleeting ride to the parking lot in front. Most didn’t take more than fifteen minutes.
But the old family van spelled trouble the moment those languid lights turned on around the corner.
It drove slow, too slow, but without any change in speed as if gliding with the engine turned off and the noise of the rubber of the tires dragging the large station wagon.
It took its time and selected its unsuspecting prey.
It even shared a joke and laughed. Not his first rodeo – Marilyn thought.
The engine quietly turned on and the van descended into the parking lot and unflinchingly approached the darker corner.
Marilyn kept its distance as the silence and the unsettling quietness crept in.
Nothing moved. Not a blow of wind, not a leaf, not a mice or an insect. It was all just dreadfully still.
Fifteen minutes passed...
Twenty.
Finally the brief muffled screams.
A door opens fast.
The unconscious body falls violently to the ground.
The van finally accelerates and the roar of the engine is finally felt as if proclaiming its violent trophy to then disappear in the night’s anonymity.
Marilyn finally stands by the unconscious body, her trained eyes notice a fractured nose, maybe a loose tooth plus a smattering of bruises.
But the Shadow doesn’t stand by to admire, she takes her chance and her sip.
Tomorrow night she would cook her new friend some chicken soup with Vicodin…