Almost 80
By Michael J. O’Leary
He was asleep, it was his mid-afternoon nap when he was startled by the ring of his cell phone. The name that appeared on the screen was ‘Jacqueline’. It was the only name in his contact list that was just listed by the first name.
He answered, “Hello”.
He heard her say, as she always did, “Hi Matthew, this is Jackie”.
He reminded her that he knew it was her because her name is on his contact list, it always shows up on his phone when it rings.
Jacqueline said, “Oh I know. The reason why I’m calling is, I’m working a little late today, and I’m ordering Chinese take-out for dinner and wondered if you wanted me to order something for you. I thought we might share dinner together.”
Matthew said, “Oh, that would be great! Sure, I’ll order my usual: a vegetable egg roll, and an order of chicken fried rice.”
She told Matthew that she should be there between 6 and 6:30 and that they could eat at his place, because her place was just a mess, as it always was. Before ending the call, Jacqueline asked, “How are you doing today, Matthew?”
He responded, “Never better. Not bad, for an old guy, who’s almost 80.”
“Glad to hear it. See you later,” Jacqueline said.
Matthew said, “Thank you for calling, Jacqueline.”
———
Matthew had met Jacqueline on the day she was moving into his wing of the apartment complex. He lived in unit 150 on the ground floor and Jacqueline was moving into unit 151 just across the hall. The day they met, he was going out to get his mail and encountered her struggling with several boxes. Matthew held the outside door open and said, “Here, let me give you a hand,” taking the boxes from Jacqueline.
He said, “I take it you are my new neighbor, moving into 151? I’m Matthew McCully, I live across the hall in 150.”
Jacqueline smiled at him and said, “Oh, hi, I’m Jackie Anderson, nice to meet you.”
Matthew looked at her and said, “I hope you don’t mind an old man saying, ‘but you’re too pretty to be a Jackie’ – you are most definitely a Jacqueline.”
Jacqueline smiled and looked somewhat embarrassed and said, “Sure, Jacqueline is my given name and I do love it, but everyone has always called me Jackie, so I just kind of got used to Jackie.”
Matthew said, “Oh I know how that goes. People used to want to call me Matt, but I prefer Matthew.”
Jacqueline said, “Thanks for your help, and nice to have met you,” as she closed the door of unit 151.
———
Matthew remembered that when she first moved in, she had just turned 30, moving to the Detroit area from the east coast where she had worked as a reporter for a weekly newspaper in Salem, MA. She had just started her job as a stringer reporter for the Detroit Free Press – a freelance reporter who contributed stories and was paid when a story was published. She was hoping that her previous reporting experience and her Master of Fine Arts from Harvard would help her secure a permanent position with the Free Press. After she submitted a couple of excellent stories about crime in the city, she landed a position as the Free Press crime reporter.
———
It was about 6:40 p.m. when Matthew heard a knock on his apartment door; it was Jacqueline, with the Chinese take-out. He had set the table, opened a bottle of Zinfandel, and was boiling water for the Oolong tea that accompanied the Chinese take-out order.
They sat down at the table and Jacqueline placed all the cartons and the fortune cookies in the center of the table.
Matthew said, “Let’s take a minute to give thanks.”
Matthew began, “Let us quiet our minds from today’s activities, be calm and at peace. We give thanks for this food that will nourish our bodies, minds, and hearts.”
Jacqueline said, “That was beautiful Matthew, how do you do it?”
“Do what?” Matthew asked.
“Remain so calm, and together, just celebrating Chinese take-out. I can never calm myself, and collect my thoughts in just a matter of minutes.” Jacqueline said with a sigh.
Matthew responded with a smile and said, “Well it’s something I’ve been working on for a long time, and I still have a long way to go.”
Jacqueline said, “You are so filled with wisdom and understanding, I hope I can reach that state someday.”
Matthew chuckled saying, “Some of my friends might disagree with you about being filled with wisdom, I’m afraid most would claim I’m filled with something else.”
“How was your day today, Jacqueline?” Matthew asked.
“It was okay, the usual city crime stuff: muggings, assaults, burglaries, and shootings. Although, I am working on investigating a city Councilman rumored to be taking kickbacks from several city contractors.” She said with great excitement.
Matthew looked at her anxiously, and said, “Tread carefully Jacqueline, Detroit has a shady history for getting even with reporters who look too deeply into city business.”
Jacqueline said, “Oh, please Matthew, I’m not going to end up as part of a foundation in one of the new downtown buildings. I’m a professional, I know what I’m doing.”
Matthew smiled and said, “I know you do, but I’m just telling you to be careful.”
After dinner, Jacqueline said, “I need to head over to my place, to finish up my notes on the Councilman story, and head off to bed.”
Matthew thanked her for including him in her dinner plans.
———
Two days later, Matthew clicked on the Detroit Free Press website and found Jacqueline’s first installment concerning the Councilman accepting kickbacks. The story’s headline read: “Councilman of District 12 Gets Kickbacks for Contracts” by Jacqueline Anderson. Matthew read the article, and it was pretty damning for Councilman Henry Johnson of District 12. Jacqueline had discovered that he had been accepting money for bids from at least three contractors. The article stated that the City Attorney was still investigating but that an indictment was forthcoming. Just as Matthew was finishing the article, he heard his phone; Jacqueline’s name appeared on his screen.
He answered, “Hello”.
He heard her say, “Hi Matthew, this is Jackie”.
Matthew smiled and said, “Hi, Jacqueline, how are you today?”
Jacqueline said quickly, “Sorry, Matthew I don’t have much time to talk, I was just calling to check on you. How are you doing today?”
Matthew replied, “Not to worry, I’m doing fine. I just finished reading your article, and I want to remind you to watch your back, and remember what I told you.”
Jacqueline told Matthew, “I know, I know. I’m being careful and the City Editor and the paper have my back.”
With that being said, Matthew thanked her for calling and ended the call.
———
As the week progressed, Matthew read two more stories by Jacqueline about kickbacks to the Councilman of District 12. Four days passed and Matthew hadn’t heard from Jacqueline, which was unusual. He thought he might try knocking on her apartment door. He walked across the hall and knocked on her door several times, he waited and there was no answer. Now, he was concerned.
———
The next day, he tried calling her. His call went straight to her voicemail. Matthew decided he needed to do something. He would call Jacqueline’s boss, the City Editor. When he called, he was surprised, his call was answered by a polite operator asking, ‘how his call might be directed.’ Matthew asked to speak to the City Editor, Joel Stevenson.
The operator responded by saying, “The editor is unavailable at this time to take a call,” and asked, “Would you like to leave a message.”
Matthew said, “Yes, please tell Mr. Steveson to call me, Matthew McCully at, 734-855-6161 concerning Jacqueline Anderson’s whereabouts.”
———
Later that afternoon, Matthew’s phone’s screen flashed ‘Unknown Number’.
He answered, “Hello, this is Matthew McCully.”
The caller responded by saying, “Mr. McCully, this is Joel Stevenson, City Editor at the Free Press. You called and left a message about Jackie Anderson.”
Matthew replied, “Yes. I hope you might be able to tell me her whereabouts.”
Stevenson said, “Strange. I was calling you for the very same reason. She hasn’t been to the office in days, and has left no messages with anyone.”
“When was the last time you saw her.” Matthew inquired.
Stevenson said, “Well, it’s been at least four days. She was in the office to submit her most recent article on Councilman Johnson, and that’s the last time I spoke with her.”
Matthew told Stevenson that he had tried calling her and even went over to her apartment and knocked on her door, and got no response.
Stevenson said, “This sounds like it might be a police matter.”
He then asked, “Mr. McCully, what’s your interest in Jackie?”
Matthew replied, “Oh, I’m her friend and neighbor. I’m nearly 80, and she is nice enough to check on me from time to time, almost every day. Well, it has been about five days since she last contacted me, and that’s just not like her.”
“This definitely sounds like a police matter,” Stevenson said.
Matthew asked Stevenson, “Do you think this has something to do with the series of articles on Councilman Johnson?”
Stevenson cautiously said, “Well let’s not jump to conclusions. We’ll have our legal people contact the Detroit Police Department, and place a ‘missing person’ report for now.”
Matthew asked Stevenson to please keep him updated, and told him that he would do the same. Matthew was now left with nothing to do but sit and worry about Jacqueline. Where could she be? Was she in danger? Was she still alive?
———
About two days later, Matthew still hadn’t heard anything from or about Jacqueline. He was ‘a total wreck’. Where was Jacqueline?
Later that day, Matthew heard the outside door buzzer sound in his apartment. He pressed the intercom button and said, “Yes, who is it?”
A voice came through the intercom and said, “Detectives Joseph and Burrows from the Detroit Police Department. May we come in? We would like to talk to you about Jacqueline Anderson.”
Matthew felt tense, had they found Jacqueline?
The voice on the intercom said, “Mr. McCully, are you there? Will you let us in?”
Matthew said, “Oh, sorry.” Matthew opened his door and saw two detectives, a man, and a woman. He escorted them into his apartment and they introduced themselves, as Detective Joe Joseph and Detective Elizabeth Burrows, handing Matthew their business cards. Matthew looked at Detective Joseph and said, “Wait, your name is Joseph Joseph?”
The Detective replied, “Yes, my parents liked the name, so they named me Joseph Joseph, but I go by Joe.”
Matthew looked over at detective Burrows, who had a slight smile and just raised her eyebrows and nodded in confirmation.
Matthew said, “Detectives, please have a seat,”
It was Detective Burrows who initiated the first lines of inquiry.
She said, “We’re investigating Jaqueline Anderson as a ‘missing person’ as was filed by her employer.”
Matthew asked, “Do you have any leads?”
Detective Burrows replied, “We can’t comment on an ongoing investigation. However, we were hoping you might be able to help us.”
“Certainly, ask me anything,” Matthew said.
“When was the last time you heard from Jacqueline.” Detective Burrows asked.
Matthew said, “Seven days ago, she called me just to check in on me.”
Detective Joseph then injected, “Was she in the habit of calling you to check in on you?”
Matthew replied, “Yes, she’s a friend. I guess she thought that since I’m almost 80, I needed checking…that’s just the kind of person she is…a nice young lady.”
Detective Joseph asked, “Did Ms. Anderson sound different during this call?”
“No, not really. She seemed hurried, said she couldn’t really talk and that she was just checking on me. She always seemed hurried, dashing about spinning lots of plates in the air.” Matthew said with an old guy chuckle.
Detective Burrows asked, “Can you tell us anything about any of her friends?”
Matthew replied, “Well this may sound strange, but I never heard her talk about any friends or family members, and as far as I know, she wasn’t dating anyone. She just seemed to be always working on her next byline.”
“And checking in on you, Mr. McCully”, injected Detective Joseph.
Matthew replied, “Well, I guess that’s right. She was worried about me because I’m almost 80.” Matthew then asked, “Do you think her disappearance has anything to do with the articles she wrote about Councilman Johnson?”
Detective Joseph said, “What makes you think her disappearance is connected to those articles?”
“Well, I know that Detroit has a reputation for taking care of people who dig too deeply into city business,” Matthew said.
Detective Joseph said, “Well we can’t jump to any conclusions, but we will certainly look into the stories she worked on.”
With that being said, both detectives stood and thanked Matthew for his help.
Detective Joseph said, “You have our cards, if you hear from Ms. Anderson, please contact us.”
Matthew assured them that he would, and asked them to do the same. He then showed them to the door. Matthew closed the door and wearily walked over to his recliner and plopped into the chair, and wondered, where was Jacqueline? Most importantly, was she okay?
———
Another week passed and there was still no word about Jacqueline. It had now been two weeks since Matthew had talked with her. He couldn’t help but think that something terrible had happened to her.
Suddenly, Matthew heard his phone, and the words ‘Unknown Caller’ appeared on the screen.
He answered, “Hello, this is Matthew McCully”
The voice on the call said, “This is Joel Stevenson from the Free Press.”
Matthew excitedly asked, “Have they found Jacqueline?”
Steveson said, “Well no, but the police did find her car parked in the long-term parking lot at Metro Airport. Did she mention anything to you about taking a trip anywhere?”
Matthew replied, “No, not a thing. Did the police indicate any evidence of foul play?”
“No, but you know the police, they never comment on an ongoing investigation. They called to update me on where they were with the ‘missing person’ report. So, I called you, just to keep you up to date.”
Matthew thanked Stevenson for calling and told him he hoped Jacqueline was alright.
———
Matthew felt so forlorn. He was sure she was missing because of the articles she wrote about Councilman Johnson; that just had to be it. He fell asleep in his recliner. He was awakened by a knock on his apartment door. He groggily rose, looked at the clock on the wall, and realized he had been asleep for nearly four hours. He went to the door, opened it, and saw a smiling woman about 40 in his doorway.
She said, “I’m sorry to bother you, I’m Janet Ruskin, and I’m moving into apartment 151. I was hoping you had a hammer and a screwdriver I could borrow?”
Matthew looked bewildered and said, “Wait a minute, you’re moving into 151? Is the apartment empty?”
Janet answered, “Well no, it has a few of my things in it now, but it was empty. Diane in the leasing office told me it had been sitting empty for months.”
Matthew was dumbfounded, he gained his composure and then introduced himself. He told Janet that he did have a hammer and screwdriver. He invited her in and told her to have a seat while he retrieved the tools.
When Janet left, she thanked him and said she would return them shortly. She said, “I don’t want to be one of those neighbors that borrows things and never returns them.”
Matthew chuckled and said, “Not to worry, I know where to find you.”
———
Matthew was beside himself, definitely puzzled and confused. What happened to Jacqueline? He picked up his phone and tapped his contact list to try to call Jacqueline again. There was no contact listed as Jacqueline. Matthew was shocked. Was he losing his mind?
He then called the apartment’s leasing office. His call was answered by Diane, the leasing agent. Matthew identified himself and asked her, “who was the last person who leased apartment 151?” Diane replied, “You know who that was Matthew, it was Mr. Phillips, Bob Phillips, who passed away about six months ago in hospice care. That apartment has been sitting empty until now when we leased it to Ms. Ruskin.”
Matthew said, “Oh, now I remember. I have one more question, has there ever been a tenant by the name of Jacqueline Anderson within the complex?”
Diane responded, “No, not since I’ve been here. And as you know, I’ve been here for more than ten years.”
Matthew thanked Diane and ended the call. He wondered, where was all this coming from about Jacqueline Anderson?
He had an idea, he logged onto the internet and Googled Jacqueline Anderson, the Detroit Free Press. His search produced nothing.
———
Just then he heard the sound of his alarm on his phone. It was time to take his new heart medication. He got up, went over to the prescription bottle, and took one of the pills with water. He looked at the prescription bottle and realized he hadn’t explored the side effects of the medication. He Googled the medicine’s name and discovered that the medication may cause: respiratory problems, liver damage, upset stomach, and several other effects. However, one effect that caught his eye was that the medication could possibly create drowsiness with vivid dreams and/or nightmares. He said to himself, ‘Good God! Jacqueline Anderson was just a dream – a nightmare. It all seemed so real.’ He leaned back in his recliner and sadly whispered to himself, ‘Well, I guess that’s to be expected when you’re almost 80’
——— The End———
MJO 2022