Tanya drove up to Frank's apartment. It was a single-building complex located across a busy road from a pool hall, a piano shop, and a couple bars. The windows were textured glass, and the parking lot was gravel. Athena was standing outside her car, puffing her vape pen. Tanya got out and hugged her.
"You sure you want to do this?" Tanya asked.
"Yeah." Athena nodded at a gray pickup across the lot. "It looks like he's home."
"Looks like it. Just let me know if you change your mind, okay? It's not too late."
"I'll be fine. Well, not fine, not even a little, but, well, you get it."
"I do."
They approached the front door. Green paint was peeling off its corners. A call box hung on the bricks beside it.
"Does someone need to buzz us in?" Tanya asked.
Athena rolled her eyes and opened the door.
"Stupid lock broke almost a year ago. Landlord never got around to fixing it." She sucked in a sharp breath. "I wonder if someone …"
"We don't need to think about that now," Tanya said. "That's a worst-case scenario and also unlikely."
Even as she said it, the subjects of her videos crossed her mind. People who disappeared without a trace, people who died, people who lost their minds; these things happened, and often, it seemed. She shook the thoughts away and tried to keep a stoic attitude as they ascended the stairs. They reached Frank's apartment, and she tried the knob. It was locked.
"Damn."
"Girl, please," Athena said and pulled a keyring out of her purse. She singled out a rainbow-colored key. Tanya cocked an eyebrow at her. "What? We were practically married."
Tanya stepped aside and gestured to the door. Athena slipped the key inside and turned it. The door sighed as it dragged across the beige carpet. Even before stepping inside, Tanya knew the place was empty. Still, she followed Athena through the door.
A faint smell of algae and burned plastic lingered in the air. She wrinkled her nose but said nothing. Everything looked undisturbed. The only mess she observed was four vinyl records or Laserdiscs splayed across the coffee table.
"He cleaned his apartment," Athena said.
"Is that abnormal?"
"I mean, it was never a pigsty, but I've never seen it this clean."
"Huh," Tanya said. She'd never been over here—they usually hung at Athena's or the diner—but couldn't imagine Frank as a neat freak. She decided not to bring up the smell. "Should we call for him?"
"Frank," Athena hollered. "Did you forget I have a key?"
"Maybe not so loud. Neighbors."
As they moved from the living room to the back hallway, Tanya cast a glance at the entertainment center. The fifty-five-inch flat panel rested on an Ikea stand. A VCR and his newly acquired Laserdisc player were stacked on shelves inside. No tricked-out gaming system or Blu Ray player for Frank. Aside from his laptop, which she assumed was in his room, and the TV, he preferred vintage electronics only.
They entered the hallway. She could still smell the algae and burnt plastic but had yet to find a source. The hallway was dark, and aside from a Robocop poster, it was nondescript.
"What room should we try first?" Athena asked.
Tanya hated how timid her friend sounded. All her exuberance was gone.
"Let's try the bathroom."
The door was closed. Athena knocked and gave the door a push.
"Empty," Athena said as if it wasn't obvious.
Unless the mirrored medicine cabinet led to some secret crawlspace, there was nowhere to hide in the small room. The shower curtain was pushed aside. They'd opened the door all the way. Like the front room, everything inside was clean.
"Bedroom's last," Athena said with a grim sigh.
They trekked down the hallway and reached the door. A horrible image invaded Tanya's brain. She imagined finding Frank dead in the room, either with his wrists cut or somehow strangled to death. Such a sight would be a lot for Tanya to handle, but it would more than likely kill Athena. She put a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Maybe we shouldn't."
Athena flashed her a glare that told her all she needed. No matter what waited on the opposite side of that door, Athena had to see it. The algae and burnt rubber smells were stronger. Rocks of dread settled into Tanya's guts. Athena reached for the knob and turned it.
The door yawned open to another empty room.
"Fuck!" Athena stomped through. "Frank? Frank!"
She glanced around, then dropped to her hands and knees and checked under the bed. The immaculately made bed. Seeing nothing, Athena stood and wiped her eyes. When she turned to Tanya, they widened, and she yelped. Reading her friend's alarm, Tanya spun to see who was behind her.
A tall blonde wearing workout clothes with the Nike logo emblazoned across the chest stood in the hallway with her hands on her hips. She was fortyish, could've been either Tanya or Athena's mother.
"Are you the police?" she asked.
"What?" Tanya asked. "No."
"Do we look like police?" Athena asked, some of her spirit back.
"No, I guess not," Nike Mom said with a smirk. Her expression turned serious. "So, girlfriend then?" she asked, looking at Tanya.
"Um, she is," Tanya said, gesturing to Athena. "Or was."
"I am. We never broke up or anything." She shook the woman's hand. "Athena."
"Daphne," the woman said.
"Why'd you think we were police?" Tanya asked.
"Well, for one you broke in—"
"I have a key!" Athena said.
"And well …" The woman grimaced, something clearly on her mind. She met Athena's gaze. "I don't want to upset you."
"That's why we're here," Tanya said. "He's missing. We're worried something happened."
Athena was nodding, but she had a deer-in-the-headlights look in her eyes. Cliché expression it was, Tanya could think of no other way to describe it.
"Well, I don't know anything," Daphne said. "Just that he hasn't been around for a couple days and I … thought I heard a scream from his apartment the other afternoon. Might have been yesterday. Honestly, my sense of time isn't great since my divorce, but you don't need to hear about that."
"No, it's okay," Tanya said, sincerely hoping the woman didn't take that as license to continue talking about her personal woes.
"A scream?" Athena said. "You didn't call the police?"
"I just thought … well, I don't know what I thought."
"Great," Athena said, her voice now scratchy.
"Did he scream anything you understood?"
Daphne put her lips together and shook her head. "Sorry."
"It's okay. It's fine."
"It's really not," Athena said.
"There's no sign of a disturbance, at least," Daphne said with a shrug.
"Yeah, well, I guess we should be going," Tanya said. "Can I give you my number so you can let me know if you hear anything?"
"Oh, sure."
Daphne took out her phone, and Tanya gave her the number. Behind her, Tanya could hear Athena trying hard not to fall apart.
"Come on," she said, taking her friend by the arm.
Daphne left the apartment quickly. She cast a final glance over her shoulder before entering the door across the hall.
Tanya ushered Athena forward, but something reflected off the TV and made her stop. She released Athena and turned toward the entertainment center.
"What?" Athena asked.
Tanya said nothing as she approached the television. The glistening thing clung to the corner of the TV screen. It was clear and gelatinous.
"What is it?"
Tanya wiped the substance with her index finger. It was sticky and cold. It smelled like algae and burnt plastic. She stopped short of tasting it.
"I don't know," Tanya said. "Probably nothing."
She wiped it on her jeans, and they left the apartment without locking up.