Cinema T(error) - Chapter 3
Chapter 3
They managed to convert my town into a city in just under six years. The red apartment building used to be the only tall building around. A beacon you would use when giving directions. “The shopping mall is near the Red Building; you can’t miss it”. Now it’s just one of many.
The counsel managed to build eleven more high-rises in those six years. They rented them cheap to everybody that would take residence and with it came the decline. The once peaceful and clean neighborhood was now a dirty mess. Graffiti painted on every wall. Old people scared every day.
I remember the first time I went here to visit mister van Hoorn. It was very cold and the day before it had snowed. The snow had frozen over and made the icy road very slippery. I didn’t have a car back then and it had taken me two hours on my bike to reach his place. I must have fallen over 3 times.
Mister van Hoorn and his wife, Carla, offered me hot chocolate and let me warm up close to the radiator. They were both old already in my young mind. They looked very happy together like old people do. I had just started my business and was grateful for the work. I had no trouble setting up his email on his new computer. I earned a whopping 30 euro that day. No tip. I fell another 4 times on my way home.
Six years later I drive up to his place in my hard earned second-hand air-cooled car. A 14-year-old Ford Focus. Maybe I should have done better for myself. It is still morning but it is hot already. I park my car close to the red building. It doesn’t stand out with the other crappy cars. It will be fine.
I walk the short distance to the entrance. The ground is littered with paper, dog shit, chewing gum and 7up cans. I never saw so many 7up cans, somebody must be a real fan. In the corner near the door lay a couple of broken syringes. I can hear people screaming in the distance. Even though it’s a bright day the building looks faded. I press the rusted button near the number 79. The nameplate seems to have disappeared.
“I knew you would come”, said the voice coming from the speaker. “Let me buzz you in.”
On my way up I noticed that the seat in the elevator is slashed and on the mirror someone wrote; ‘your mother is a whore’. I feel sad for this whole neighborhood. I feel like leaving.
The moment the elevator doors open I don’t see the familiar face of mister van Hoorn. This is strange. Normally he is standing in the doorway of his apartment welcoming me. I walk to the door with the number 79 and knock.
I can hear the unbolting of locks. Many locks. What the hell is going on? Eventually, the door opens and I see van Hoorn. He urges me to enter his home fast. He closes the door and starts locking the door again. It takes him a minute. Four locks in total. They look brand new.
“I’m glad you could come on a Sunday.”
“Well you are paying me triple”, I reply. I like to remind mister van Hoorn that my services actually cost money. I put extra emphasis on ‘triple’.
“Triple? I thought I said double on the phone”, he says.
The little snake. He might know me, but I also know him. I already knew he would try something like this. Luckily I have toughened up in six years and am perfectly able to ask for my money.
“It’s triple or I’m leaving, you know what you said.”
Van Hoorn looks like I am about to steal his last dime. What an actor. I stay calm and let the moment pass.“Let’s see if you can help me first”, he replies.
His laptop is the same one that I installed his email on six years ago. By today standards it looks old. The lid is closed but it’s turned on.
I sit down in front of the machine. My hand reaches out to open the lid.
“Wait!”
I draw back my hand.
“Before you open the lid I need to tell you something and you have to promise that you won’t tell anyone. Not even your girlfriend and certainly not my wife.”, he started to whisper.
Now that he mentioned his wife, I start to wonder where she is. She always right there to offer me a drink.
“Where is your wife mister van Hoorn?”, I ask.
“She’s in bed”, he replies, “She is not feeling well”. His voice starts to tremble.
I feel slightly worried.
“She was attacked in our building two weeks ago. Two men robbed her. Stole her necklace, purse and her wedding ring. They then pushed her so hard against the wall she passed out. She spends 3 days in the hospital.”
“Now she won’t come out of bed and she barely speaks to me. She made me put extra locks on the door to make her feel safe.”, van Hoorn is near tears.
I’m shocked. So that’s the reason for all the locks.
“Did they catch the men that did this to her?” I ask.
“Of course not, the police are useless.”
“That’s why I need you”, he says.
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