Mezzanine

| 44 |

The three of us stared at the paper, none of us saying a word for way too long.

Carter scratched his head, rereading the top of the paper again in his mind. It doesn't make sense, he thought.

He was right. I couldn't figure it out.

"What's Black Rose?" Carter finally asked.

"A bar maybe." Lola shrugged.

"Or it could be a tattoo parlor or antique shop or something," I added.

"I...don't get it," Carter said.

"Well, it's a job application." Lola pointed to the blank spots on the form where someone would fill in their information. "Like one you'd get from a business if you were—"

"I know what a job application looks like." Carter scowled. "I just...don't understand why."

"If Damien got fired from the psychic shop, he'd probably need to find another job soon," Lola responded with a shrug.

"I get that much," Carter began, "but..."

"Why would this be the only thing in his bag," I finished his thought when he trailed off.

"Yeah." Carter nodded. "Exactly."

"Maybe he passed this Black Rose place on the way to the old burnt down psychic shop and decided to grab one to fill out later," Lola suggested.

"Maybe," I drew the word out. It made sense, but not completely. I took a seat on the curb, resting my elbows on my knees. I needed to think. We were missing something.

"But if he just stopped in to grab this," I finally said, "that means he would have brought a completely empty bag with him. Why bring a bag if he wasn't carrying anything in it?"

"What if he didn't bring it to carry something to the house," Lola began, "but was expecting to find something there to take away."

"There was nothing down there though," Carter said. "Just that hearth, and it was built into the ground."

"So whatever he was looking for, he didn't find it." I stared at the blank job application. There were places on the form for information like phone number and home address. "Dammit," I muttered under my breath, grabbing a fist full of dry leaves and crumpling them. Pain shot through the bite on my palm, and I tried not to wince. I tossed the leaves to the side in frustration. "Why couldn't he have just filled it out first?" We could have used it to find him.

Lola chewed on her bottom lip. "We need to go here." She tapped the top of the paper, where "Black Rose" was written in stylized calligraphy. "If Damien wanted to apply for a job there, maybe it's somewhere he goes a lot. Maybe someone that works there would know him."

"Or maybe he'll go back to get another application," Carter said. "Considering he lost this one."

"Good idea," I said. "It's got to be nearby." I stood and glanced up and down the street like an idiot expecting to just see the place right here. Thankfully, neither Carter nor Lola caught me doing it.

"I can't find it on my phone," Lola said. "The search doesn't come up with anything."

"There's an address at the bottom of the page," Carter said. "It says 606 Second Avenue. Maybe try that?"

Lola glanced at the bottom of the page where Carter was pointing, quickly transcribing it into her phone. "Got it! Looks like it's only a mile from here." A half smile spread across her face as she looked up from the screen. "We can walk a mile."

***

Second Avenue ran adjacent to Ocean Avenue, just one block from the beach. While Ocean had access to the boardwalk and was lined with mostly tourist shops and overpriced seafood restaurants, Second contained a more...eclectic mix. The shops were seedier and stranger, and the dimly lit bars and sketchy nightclubs were enough to make anyone feel right in hell.