Young couples walked along the canal on an early May afternoon the way young couples do when they have nowhere in particular to be. Some gave off an aura of boredom on the verge of despair. A few pensively watched the water flow by - dotted with paddle boats and ornamented with various men and their fishing poles - like an impressionist scene, thought Paul as he breathed a bit of the maritime air.
This particular stretch of "seaside" real estate lay along the route between Red Bridge which crossed the canal to Paul's right and Shipwrights Dock to Paul's left. There had never been a shipyard nearby, so the dock's name was a mystery, but names are often more aspiration than truth.
Paul tried to appear aloof and unexpectant.
A figure in a short black jacket rounded the curve off bridge and started towards Paul. A little urgent in his gate, thought Paul. It could be him.
Paul noticed piercings, stretched earlobes, tattoos.
False alarm.
Munsky was the name of his target according to the file. Munsky ran a pawn shop and was rumored to deal in stolen motorbikes, but it was always hard to tell whether that was a minor infraction or if t was just the tip of the iceberg. Munsky was skinny and young looking, Paul remembered from the photographs. He didn't look the part at all. Maybe he'd inherited the business from his old man. The file didn't say. Anyways, looks could be deceiving.
A slow middle-aged couple meandered nearby. They spoke only in low whispers. Paul couldn't make out a single word of their conversation. Their presence made him nervous, despite their clear lack of interest in Paul. They didn't fit in with his vision of the day, tracking the elusive Munsky. They seemed quite decidedly unmysterious.
It was Paul's first gig. He'd begged and begged for an assignment from Bob Kropf for the better part of a year. Paul didn't know a thing about being an investigator, he admitted, and Kropf was worried he'd manage to get knocked around or worse his first day on the job. Not that Kropf was all that concerned about Paul. He just didn't want to deal with the liability.
