![\"Nighthawks](\"https:\/\/marksaywriter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Nighthawks-1-Edward-Hopper.jpg\")
<\/a> \u201cWhat can I do for ya?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\u201cCoffee,\u201d replied Peggy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSame for me,\u201d said Jack.<\/p>\n
The waiter turned, took two small mugs from a shelf beneath the counter and pushed one beneath the tap of the coffee urn. It ejected a faint hiss and Jack felt Peggy squeeze his hand. They had been both been scared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing spooks,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cThat guy was nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n
The waiter placed the mugs in front of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack or white?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack,\u201d said Jack.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll have a splash of milk,\u201d said Peggy.<\/p>\n
The waiter took the milk jug, and as he poured the diner door opened and the guy walked in. They hadn\u2019t seen his face in the street but knew it was the same guy, shorter than Jack, stocky, the brim of his hat tilted down. Jack felt Peggy squeeze his hand again, this time tighter, but kept his eyes forward. His heart beat hard as the guy walked the length of the counter and sat on the stool before its corner. From there he could look straight ahead and keep them in his field of vision.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoffee please,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoffee it is,\u201d the waiter replied.<\/p>\n
Jack gently loosened Peggy\u2019s hand. The squeeze was an indication of fear, an admission of guilt. He glanced at her and mumbled, too quietly for any other ears: \u201cStay calm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack or white?\u201d asked the waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack,\u201d said the guy.<\/p>\n
The waiter placed the mug on the counter. The guy took a spoon, looked down at the mug and stirred slowly. Jack watched from the corner of his eye, suppressing the urge to acknowledge his fear. He looked forward, took a packet of smokes from his side pocket and removed one slowly, assuring himself that his hand was steady. He offered the cigarette to Peggy. They shared a silent question. Did her husband send this guy?<\/em> She shook her head to the cigarette, but her eyes said she didn\u2019t know the answer to the question. Jack lit up and took a long draw on the smoke. It steadied him, enough to feel confident in pretending there was no reason to be scared. A glance told him the guy was still looking into his coffee mug, the hat brim tilted just enough to conceal his eyes. Jack leaned forward on the counter. Peggy followed his lead and raised a hand to inspect her fingernails. That\u2019s good<\/em>, he thought. Do what a woman would do when there\u2019s nothing on her mind.<\/em><\/p>\n Jack decided it would help to make small talk with the waiter.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019s the regular guy?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cRegular guy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe one who usually does the graveyard shift.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s sick. Boss asked me to cover.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou doing a double shift?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNah, we juggled them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMust be difficult, working this late.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve done it before. Like it. You don\u2019t often find it this peaceful in here.\u201d<\/p>\n The other guy lifted his head and spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cYou like it this way?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d said the waiter. \u201cTends to be busy enough over the whole shift, but there are always quiet times, when I can think about things.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou got a lot to think about?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEnough, mainly to do with keeping my girl happy, but not so much to keep me asleep at night.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hope she\u2019s not hard to keep happy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNah, she\u2019s good to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n The smiled, first at the waiter, then at Jack and Peggy. He seemed friendly, the type who liked conversation with strangers. Jack was still wary but thought it better to acknowledge the smile.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking late?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cCould say that,\u201d said the guy. \u201cI was due to meet a guy but he wasn\u2019t there. I found a phonebox, he promised he was coming, I had time for a coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo you came here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI came here, at this time of night. Couldn\u2019t have done that when we were kids, found a diner open for a coffee this late.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s progress.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about you? Working?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack glanced at Peggy. She shuffled a little in her chair, a faint giveaway.<\/p>\n \u201cBeen working,\u201d he said. \u201cHad to stay late.\u201d<\/p>\n Peggy joined in the lie.<\/p>\n \u201cWe deal with people on the west coast, and they deal with people in Hawaii. Sometimes something happens and we have to stay real late.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s dedication,\u201d said the guy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s what you do to keep your job.\u201d<\/p>\n There was a sing song cynicism in Peggy\u2019s voice, one of the things he liked about her, one of the reasons for risking what her husband might do.<\/p>\n \u201cSo what\u2019s the business?\u201d asked the guy.<\/p>\n \u201cShipping,\u201d said Jack. \u201cRoutine stuff, but it brings in the money.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what it\u2019s about.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re right, that\u2019s what it\u2019s about.\u201d<\/p>\n The guy sipped at his coffee and they sat in silence. Jack smoked his cigarette, Peggy examined her fingernails, and the waiter began to rearrange dishes under the counter. Jack kept his eyes off the other guy, but felt a little easier. For a couple of minutes they just sat still as quiet creatures of the night.<\/p>\n Then the other guy looked at his watch, took a last mouthful of coffee and placed a couple of coins on the counter.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s it,\u201d he said. \u201cAll good.\u201d<\/p>\n The waiter nodded to him.<\/p>\n \u201cG\u2019night mister.\u201d<\/p>\n As the guy left the diner he looked back at Jack and Peggy.<\/p>\n \u201cGoodnight folks.\u201d<\/p>\n They returned the goodnight, and as the guy stepped outside they looked at each other and shared a long, outward breath of relief. Their faces relaxed into faint smiles and their heartbeats became less intense. They didn\u2019t need to tell each other that this had gone on for long enough, that the tension between their longing for each other and the fear was too much to sustain. Soon they had to take off to some place her husband would never find them. They clasped hands and smiled into each other\u2019s eyes. Then Jack realised the waiter was facing them across the counter. He said four words.<\/p>\n \u201cThe guy said \u2018all good\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n He slapped one hand around Jack\u2019s neck and with the other pulled a large knife from beneath the counter. A single lunge took it into Jack\u2019s chest, beneath the left rib cage and up to pierce his heart. The waiter released the body, and as Peggy screamed he grabbed her hair and ran the blade across her throat. Both bodies went backwards, crashing from stools to the floor and leaking dark pools of blood.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The waiter walked around the counter and looked down. Jack\u2019s eyes were already cold. Peggy gagged for a few seconds then closed her eyes for ever. In the corner the diner door opened and the other guy returned. He took a gun from his pocket, walked around the counter and looked down on the bodies.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth dead,\u201d said the waiter. \u201cNo need for a bullet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s better,\u201d said the guy.<\/p>\n \u201cI told you I could do it quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay. Where\u2019s the other guy? The one who works here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOut back, unconscious, tied up, gagged.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPistol whipped?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, chloroform. He\u2019ll wake up in two, three hours. I\u2019ll untie him before then, we\u2019ll be gone. He won\u2019t even know what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s good. My other guy\u2019s in the car. We\u2019ll get these out of here, then you clean up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m interrupted?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomebody broke a glass and cut their hand. They\u2019ve gone to the hospital. But you\u2019d better put the closed sign on the window. Just change it back when you leave.\u201d<\/p>\n The waiter looked down at the bodies.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about when someone comes looking for them?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey were never here.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n