Fool

Four Doors Down

Garrett Matzen lived on the Little Fool’s floor, four doors to the left. The Little Fool had only seen him in passing a few times, but that was enough to learn a few details about the man. Garrett worked nights at a bar in the Lower East Side. The Little Fool always thought it was crazy, but instead of paying for parking, Garrett would park in the lot behind the building. He lived alone, and drove a Celica. After that, the Little Fool knew nothing about the dead man. It was a brief flood, but for a moment, the Little Fool wanted to know more about Mr. Matzen. But, no. Garrett Matzen was nobody in the Little Fool’s universe.

The Little Fool opened the envelope from the NYPD, anxious about what he might find printed on the pink paper. Slowly, he unfolded the thin sheet of paper, looking over the entire page slowly. It was a general notice that had been sent to everyone in the building. Warning the residents to be careful, and to avoid going outside late at night. Chuck no doubt knew what the Little Fool did for a living before he moved into this building. He deliberately knocked on the Little Fool’s door last. Maybe he was hoping that the Little Fool would tell him something; something he’d be able to tell the rest of his tenants. Maybe he was hoping to hear that Mr. Matzen was a bad man who had gotten into trouble with other bad men. Maybe he had cheated on his wife, and she wanted him dead. Something that would tell the tenants that who ever had killed the man that lived four doors to the left of the Little Fool would never be back to their building again.

Chuck said that it was murder. The Little Fool knew that from the pink piece of paper that Garrett Matzen had been first degree murdered. Whoever had killed him had wanted him dead, and they wanted it bad enough to wait outside in the cold all night. They wanted him dead enough to wait for him, but they were scared enough after they had first degree killed him that they panicked and left Mr. Matzen in his car. They didn’t try to cover their tracks at all.

The Little Fool threw the envelope down on the counter and walked back to his bedroom. He reached up to the ceiling fan and pulled down on the small gold chain, turning the fan off before letting himself fall back down onto his bed. The sheets were in a tangled mess down at the foot, but the Little Fool didn’t care. The building was stupidly hot lately, and Chuck hadn’t done anything to address the issue. Now, with Garrett Matzen being first degree killed in his car, everybody would forget about the busted heating system for a few weeks.

Just as the Little Fool began to doze off in the afternoon’s sticky heat, a frantic pounding came, once more, from his front door. The Little Fool grunted as he forced himself back to his feet. He snatched his bathrobe from the corner of the room and quickly put it on as he stomped to the door. He reminded himself not to throw the door open as he grabbed hold of the doorknob. Calmly, the Little Fool opened the door. Tommy stood in the hallway, choking back tears. It had been months since Tommy had even sent him an email, and now here he was, standing at the Little Fool’s front door.