Chapter 14: Hidden Danger

After scanning the room for a minute, Tom noticed Roxanne at the pool table and hulked over to her. Annoyed that she’d missed the cue ball, Roxanne ignored his stare and continued to line up her shot, sinking the nine ball in the side pocket.
“I thought about what you said,” Tom said while standing behind her.
“What part?” Roxanne asked, as she sunk another shot.
“About how I don’t trust you. I don’t include you.”
Roxanne walked around the table, eyeing the balls, chalking her cue. She leaned over the table for a hard to reach shot, which she missed.
“Uh-huh,” Roxanne walked over to the corner and lined up her stick for another shot.
“And I want to change that.”
“Okay,” Roxanne sunk another shot, but when she walked passed Tom, he grabbed her cue and forced her to make eye contact.
“I have somewhere to go. Will you come?” he asked.
“Is this another refined outing or maybe an impromptu doctor’s visit? Either way, the answer is no.” She tried to step around him, but he blocked her.
“Come on, Roxanne. It’s a building site. You have to see for yourself.” She shrugged. She looked at the table, noticing the eight ball trapped in front of the seven ball in a difficult to bank shot.
“Sink the eight ball, I come with you,” she said and handed him the pool cue. “Miss, and I don’t.” Being the refined type, Roxanne was pretty sure Tom didn’t have a lot of experience hanging out in bars and pool halls. Therefore, she was fairly confident he’d miss, and they’d both go home so she could sulk in private.
Tom gave her a look of disgust and eyed the table. He walked around the pockets and looked at the balls’ positioning. When he lined up and shot to bank the eight ball off the opposite wall, Roxanne thought for sure he’d miss.
Tom leaned over the table, the rigidness gone from his back, giving way to a graceful arc where he smoothly glided the pool cue through his long, nimble fingers. He tilted his head and let his mouth relax, as he knocked the cue ball into the cushions where it came careening back to tap the eight ball into the pocket.
Once he was sure the shot was sunk, he stood up, stiff and straight, and handed the cue back to Roxanne. Then he offered her his arm and said, “Good, now let’s go.” She curled her arm around his as they exited the bar. Roxanne was impressed, not only with Tom’s superior billiards skill, but also with his willingness to apologize.
“Where’d you learn to do that?” Roxanne asked.
“Must there be no secrets with you?” She shrugged. “I may not play billiards in bars or pool halls, but remember my parents are rich. We had a billiard room of our own, and my old tutor was quite the teacher.” Tom smiled at the memory.
Of course, Roxanne thought. How did she not think of that sooner?
Tom drove to the outskirts of the city, near the airport.
“I want you to see this building that’s coming up for sale. The owners are supposedly taking bids next week. I want your expertise to see what I can do with it,” Tom said.
Roxanne sighed. It was certainly a step in the right direction that Tom was including her in some of his plans. Yet, she couldn’t help be disappointed that he treated her like a business associate instead of a girlfriend.
They pulled up on a shadowy block of office and manufacturing buildings. The five-story building Tom pointed out to Roxanne had been a factory and warehouse for paper products. He was thinking of developing it into a space to hold special events with apartments above. He claimed lots of urban professionals would pay top dollar for an industrial loft above a chic wedding hall below.
Roxanne looked at the site, and was impressed with Tom’s vision. He pointed out how he could adjust the entrance and windows, designating where he’d put a sign, and even described a logo. During his descriptions, his face looked excited and animated. Talking about building and development made Tom show his emotions, as his head and arms appeared less robotic.
Craving to hear more, Roxanne could tell that real estate development was more than just a job for Tom. It was the passion that fueled his human side.
They started to walk around to the back of the building, check out the loading bays, when they heard a group of people talking and could smell something burning. The back of the building faced an open lot, and was therefore, pretty hidden. Instinctively, they crouched down so they wouldn’t be seen.
While they couldn’t tell exactly what was going on, they could make out several figures in hard hats. From their vantage point, it was hard to make out faces. Roxanne wondered if she knew any of the guys. There were plenty of construction crews in Memphis, yet they all tended to run in the same circles.
At one point, they could see flames jump from one of the loading dock areas, and Tom protectively put his arm in front of Roxanne to shield her. He held his finger in front of his lips to indicate she should remain silent. In their crouched position, they could see something burning, they just didn’t know what.
Tom led them back around the front where they hopped in his SUV and sped off.
“What was that all about?” Roxanne asked? Tom looked concerned, angry even.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “That building is supposed to up for sale soon. No one should be burning anything in there.”
“It was so odd. Even if they were welding or something, construction guys don’t work at night. What’s going on?”
“I need to look into this further,” Tom said, and Roxanne nodded, thinking that Tom would send his guys out to uncover the mystery. Then he turned to her, “Let’s make this our secret. Tomorrow night, just you and me. Wear dark clothes and dress warm. It could be a long night.” Roxanne couldn’t wait.