The greatest love story ever told

The greatest love story ever told

  The old man opened the door to his large office, walked in, unbuttoned his robe and hung it on the coat stand. He walked over and laid a file folder on his desk and sat down in his leather chair. He opened the folder, took out the five-page document, folded back to first page at the staple and began to read.


I’ll start writing today the events and accounts of our true Hollywood romance, No not Hollywood, Bigger than Hollywood, can’t even be called a fairytale romance cause that would imply make believe. “The Greatest Love Story Ever told.” Yes, that’s perfect, that’s what it will be called. I think I’ve heard that title used before but it is particularly fitting for our story. The other ones can have Hollywood or fairytale I don’t care, “The Greatest Love Story” That’s ours now.

Yesterday,
Our first face to face.
Her eyes, so close, melt me.
She asked me to hold the elevator, I of course obliged.
Her arms are full of groceries, struggling to make it before the door closes.
I reach out with one hand and hold the door, catch an orange that falls from her bags with the other hand. Goddamn that was cool, like James Bond.
Calmly, very cool, I say, “ looks like you could use an extra set of hands, Please, use mine.”
Such a beautiful smile, She sets her bags on the elevator floor, takes the orange from my hand, our hands brush, warmth stirs within me. “ Thank you very much, I should be ok though, my apartment is just outside the elevator door. 7th Floor.”
I press the number 7 button for her.

Of course I already know this, room 702, that’s her.

Mr. Telman , The building maintenance super, filled me in two years ago.
“Yeah Jimmy I know her, 702 I think, her names Kattie.”  "Real nice girl Jimmy, very polite”
You can say that again Mr. Telman, Real nice girl, very polite but you forgot stunningly beautiful and mine.

The elevator door opens on the 7th, she picks up her groceries and steps out, “Thanks for your help.”  So polite.

Two years since she moved in, one year ago old Mrs. Stombry in apartment 802 died right above her.
Cranky bitch landlord finally agrees to let me move into 802 after my fourth complaint about leaking waterlines. Stupid bitch doesn’t know what can be accomplished with a propane torch. Just heat up the solder of a joint and bingo, another leak. Surprised Telman didn’t figure it out.
Her taste in music and mine are exact, Sarah McLaughlin, Allanis Morrisette, Madonna, Kenny G.  I try and play the same Cd that she is playing so my music doesn’t disturb her.
$280.00 bucks at Mr. Music to buy all those Cd’s, But I think I got all the same ones she has. How many couples have the exact same taste in music like that? Some silly punk will scoop up all my old cd’s that I left in the lobby down stairs. Thrash metal, what was I thinking? God I’m glad I grew up.
It was pretty hard to figure out, just by listening at the floor, who the artists were that she was playing. Once I tore up the floor behind my couch and removed the insulation between my floor and her ceiling it was much easier to hear.
An Hour of music while on the Stairmaster every day, no wonder she is in unbelievable shape. To think I lifted weights all those lonely, quiet hours. There is nothing like an hour on the Stairmaster while listening to a great album. Now that’s a work out. I wish someone would hurry up and buy my weight set; it has been in the “buy and sell” for 7 months. Hopefully I get enough to pay off my loan for the Stairmaster because my one year no interest no payment is coming due.

I got so lucky in my kitchen, when I tore the drywall away from behind my stove I was able to trace the 220volt outlet cable down my wall and into her kitchen wall. I found where her range hood exhaust pipe ran strait up the wall and joined into mine. All the range hoods right from the bottom floor must exhaust into this common line.
I was so amazed when I found that you could buy a small camera fairly inexpensively on the Internet. I started with two because I only had $90.00 bucks left in my account. It was no problem getting the first camera installed in her range hood, looking down at her stovetop. She is going to be so surprised when I am able to make all her favorite dishes just like she likes them. I can’t wait to surprise her with that delicious vegetable stir-fry that we both make twice a week.

I assumed she had the same bathroom vent in her ceiling that I have in my bathroom. So when I lifted the tiles from floor and cut a hole directly below my vent, there it was. It would have been so easy to install a camera in the fan housing but that wouldn’t have been right. We can save that stuff for the wedding night; anticipation just makes my love grow stronger, if that’s possible. Same for the bedroom, one must have some privacy you know.

My second camera was installed in the living room light fixture.
One Saturday morning I heard her phone ring so I lay down where I had lifted up the flooring to listen. It was her mom; she decided to go visit her for the weekend. I had two whole days to get the camera in place. I simply tore up my floor directly above her living room light then drilled a hole in her ceiling; Her ceiling light shade caught all the gypsum dust. The camera would be very hard to notice because the bright light would obscure it when the light was on and when the light was off it would be too dark to see. This camera location turned out to be perfect, I could see down her hallway to the front door, I could watch while she lay on the couch reading or listening to music or working out on the Stairmaster.

This crazy city scares the crap out of me some times, you hear about some loony attacking unsuspecting women on the street. That will never happen to my girl, I stay far enough behind her that she doesn’t know I am there but close enough that I can intercept any attacker. She is such an independent woman, I’m sure she would be upset if she found out that I walk her to and from work every day so I’ll just stay in the shadows.
I get a bad feeling about her boss; I can see the way he looks at her through the front glass window of the store. I hope it’s not necessary, but I may have to let him know that he is making advances on an engaged woman.
It’s made things much easier since I moved my bookstore into the old sub sandwich shop across the street from her store. The couple didn’t want to sell their shop but it was the only store on the whole block that I could afford to rent. I found an old antique telescope in a second hand store that was perfect for the front window of my store, It looked decorative so no one ever questioned it and when times got slow I could watch her.

The next few months were spent studying her likes and dislikes. Every move she made I watched, I know her better than I know any other living soul. I know now that I will make a perfect husband.
With our meeting yesterday on the elevator I know our time is now.
I have prepared for tonight, went shopping for everything I’ll need to make the perfect dinner. Roasted lamb skewers, wild rice and asparagus. I’ll bring everything I need down to her apartment and surprise her, She will be so happy.



The Old man folded back the sheets of paper, looked at the title page of the collection and drew a heavy, weighted sigh.

Prosecution exhibit (10-43)
            Excerpts from the journal of James H. Garry recovered on site,                          12-345 Waymyer Street
J.H. Books

Trial 212
District court, Lunex County

He closed the folder and set it aside. He reaches over and presses the button of the intercom system. “Michelle, would you please send for both the prosecuting attorney and the defense council and have them report to my office in ten minutes, Thank you.”
  “Right away sir.” Came the reply from the box on his desk.

Within ten minutes both lawyers were sitting in front of his desk. The old man stood and began, “I’ve come to a decision and before either of you try and argue your point I want you to know, it is final.”
  “I have no choice but to disallow the journal from being entered into this trial.” Said the judge.
  “ But sir that is our strongest piece of evidence we have tying Garry to all four victims.” The young prosecutor protests.
  “ I understand that Mr. Irwin, and if your investigators would have understood how important it was to include the mans place of business on the search warrant, we wouldn’t be in this position.” “ Instead you and your people leave me as the asshole that has to let loose this monster back into our community.” Scolds the furious judge.

Television news report later that evening.

“A surprise outcome in the James Garry quadruple murder trail, Prosecuting Attorney Richard Irwin dropped all four counts of murder stating important evidence being disallowed as the main cause.”
“ Judge Byron Kettle ordered Garry to be released immediately even though he will still have to stand trial for Invasion of privacy and destruction of property later this month.”
“Garry was charged with four counts of first degree murder in connection with the deaths of his elderly neighbor Irene Stombry, whose apartment he later moved into; Will and Marrion Strait, owners of Waymyer Subs and deli and Katherine Dubrand, The woman that lived in the apartment directly below Garry.”
  “It was believed that Garry had an unhealthy obsession with Miss Dubrand and stabbed her to death with Shish Kabob skewers when she snubbed his advances. The other three deceased were thought to be unfortunate victims that stood in the way of Garry while he was trying to get closer to the young lady.”
  “It now looks like we may never know exactly what happened, a sobering thought that we may still have a murderer wandering the streets of our great city.”