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The Railroad Clerk


At twenty-nine years of age and standing about five foot, six and weighing maybe one hundred-thirty pounds, Ray wasn't an outstanding looking man.
He had a very prominent nose upon which he wore thick dark-framed glasses. His dark hair was full and tended to fall over his blue eyes. He seemed to have a meek like appearance which belied his quick wit. At the moment he was lining up the way-bills for the South-Central Railway north-bound train #156. The conductor was waiting in the small cubicle for Ray to finish readying the clerical work on the train scheduled to leave in twenty minutes.

The Trainmaster,s voice boomed over the inter-com sitting on the desk. "How we doing on the way-bills Ray?" "Just a couple more minutes," he replied,"and we'll be ready to take him south to the caboose." "We're already doubled over, so bring him up to the north end of the yard and he can catch it there as it passes." As he finished the clerical work and handed the bills to conductor, He noticed the train was already moving northward to begin its journey northward. Grabbing the keys to the van, he left the office and was ready to go by the time the conductor had his travel bag loaded. When they arrived at the north end of the yard they could see the caboose slowly approaching the crossing. On the way back to the office he could hear the conductor over the vehicle radio that he was on the cab and ready. The Engineer replied "Here we go." and Ray heard the train whistle blowing as the train neared the the next crossing and picked up speed.

It was nearing time for his shift change and every once in awhile he
could feel the vibrations from the switched cars in the yard as they coupled
with the row of others in the track to which they were switched. He bid
everyone good-bye and left towards home. He stopped at a postal office halfway to his home. There were few people there as he walked to the boxes at the rear of the foyer. Slipping a key into the box, he pulled out a large brown unmarked envelope and examined it carefully, then locked the box and returned to his car and drove home.

Pulling into the driveway of his small cottage. His next door neighbor was mowing his lawn, he waved and ray waved back, then entered through the front door and walked to the kitchen. Placing the envelope on the table, he went to the fridge, grabbed a beer and popped it open. Taking a
swallow and returning to the table; he sat and glanced at the envelope a second before reaching for it and opening it. He pulled the contents out which in turn was a slightly smaller envelope which was also sealed. Upon opening this one he pulled out another smaller envelope; he then opened this envelope and dumped the contents on the table.

As he silently studied the pieces on the table, he felt the soft caress of his cat rubbing his legs and heard her purring as she showed her delight at seeing him. He got up and insured she had food and water. Patting her on the head, he returned to the table, picked up a folded dossier and lit up a cigarette, taking a large puff and slowly letting the smoke drift from his nostrils and unfolded the paper. Several pictures dropped out of the papers which he placed on the table and then scanned through the paper. The name read Janet Watkins, age 41 , a school teacher. She was married to Samuel Watson for the past 15 years, no children. The school she taught at was a middle school in an Austin, Texas suburb just south of downtown, Included was a list of places that she frequented and routines she usually followed: it included her hairdresser and favorite places to shop such as grocers and clothing stores. Her husband was an Airline pilot and was often away from home.

Ray took another swallow of beer and looked at the pictures. One of them was of Janet in casual clothing and seemed to be one of her entertaining at a pool party barbecue while another was a close-up of her face and the third looked like she was dressed for a noght on the town. There was one photo of Samuel looking dapper in a flight uniform. He was a solidly built man of average height. There was a picture of their home and one of the school where Janet taught, both of which had addresses written on the backs. Ray picked up what appeared to be a bankbook account writen on it which showed a deposit of $5,000.00 with a note that the balance was to be deposited on completion of the job. He smiled as he noted the name on the account was for a James Williams and was for a Carribeian bank. One of the untraceable private accounts untouchable by the U.S.Government. The cat had been rubbing on his legs again and by by this time had gone off after some imaginary creature or to lay down and take a cat nap.

He checked the time and noted that he would have to shower and get ready for a date he had that night for dinner and a dancing. he put everything back into the small envelope and walked into his bedroom. He pulled the chest of drawers away from the wall and took a lamp-cord plug and inserted it into the wall outlet and turned it. He removed the faceplate away from the wall and placed the envelope in a small but deep storage area and replaced the faceplate and left the lamp plugged in. He removed his clothes and headed to the bath and ran the shower water while he shaved and then had a nice warm soothing shower. Stepping out of then shower, he toweled himself dry and walked back to the bedroom wardrobe and selected a nice sport shirt and comfortable slacks and some casual shoes and dressed for the date with a smile on his face.

Jan was just putting the finishing touches to her make-up when the doorbell rang. She and Ray had been dating about eight months now and she was wondering if anything would ever come of their relationship. She thought Ray was pretty much a devil may care type and was always amazed at the humor and confidence of the man. Upon answering the door, she was greeted by a quick grin and hug by Ray. Smiling back she gave him a kiss on the cheek and stepped out the door closing it behind her and they strolled to his car hand in hand like high school kids enjoying the last rays of the days sinking into light gray darkness. Ray noticed the shapely thighs as she moved into the vehicle and her skirt rode up slightly. He found her to be a very attractive women. Her hair was dark brown and cut in a short bob. At twenty-two, she was a tall slender woman with a heart shaped face and a dimple on her chin. Just slightly taller than Ray, she gave the impression of not over-looking him but of a good pairing of sizes.

Ray slipped into the drivers seat and couldn't help but admire the simple grace in which she carried herself. "What do you say about Italian tonight?" She looked across the seat at him with those wide eyes and replied, "Italian sounds fine." "I know just the place." he said and drove off across town to Toney's Restaraunt. He pondered how lucky he was to have met this fabulous young girl. They met at the Leopard Lounge when he and a couple of friends from work stopped in for a couple of drinks. Jan was bar-tending there and Ray was instantly smitten by her. Then over a time, they exchanged phones and agreed to get together and it was all go from there.

They were greeted by the hostess at the restaraunt and ordered a secluded table for two and retired to the bar for drinks while awaiting a table.

Shortly after they were escorted to a table and ordered dinner, She ordered Manaconi stuffed with meat and cheese and smothered in a rich red sauce and cheese, while he orders Meat balls and spaghetti with a dark red sauce and two glasses of red wine as an accompaniment. As they ate, they engaged in the light-hearted conversation of a couple still learning about each other even after all these months. He talked about his arrival to New Orleans to start a new life after a divorce from his first wife in Philadelphia. How he fell into this job with the rail-road after being told of the opening from a man he knew. She was a local and knew all the wonders this city offered.

Afterward they decided on a jazz club on Frenchman street and were soon seated at the bar listening to a trio consisting of