100 Theme Challenge #52

This is the sequel of #50 and #51.

52.Wedding

(I decided not to follow that theme and continue my film noir story)

Part III

Sharon Porter was the waitress working at the bar, and she was mostly doing day shifts. Jack had met her a handful of times and it was enough for him to decipher she was a quiet mouse, keeping to herself and trying to live by without much disturbance around her. For her to work in a bar was already quite a feat. But, like a good mouse, she observed and knew everything about anything.

"The tips are great, that's mostly why. And the boys usually keep their hands to themselves, but I can take of myself if anyone try to touch something that aren't theirs." Sharon's voice was rough from cigarette abuse and perhaps from illicit substances as well. Her eyes couldn't stay focused on Jack, they were dancing around the interrogation room as if they wanted to bulge out of their sockets and run away, which was probably what Sharon was feeling at the moment.

"James was a good boy, and he did his job well. I never caught him taking a few extra bills from the cash register either, and I saw it happen a lot in my career, trust me Mister…"

"Byrne," Jack replied kindly, but he was getting annoyed. That old lady was beginning to make him feel dizzy with all her fidgeting. "Listen, Ms.-"

"Oh no, it's Miss," she interrupted him with a wink.

"Listen, Miss Porter, you're not here because you're a suspect, your alibi has been verified already. You were the last person who has seen the victim alive. Could you tell me if you saw anything odd during that night?"

"I wasn't even supposed to work that night, you know, but Ada – that's the other waitress – never presented herself, and they called me to replace her. It's the third time this month. Anyway, I didn't see anything particular, except for McDoyle closing the bar with him. Well, it's not particular, it wasn't the first time it was happening, and I left while James was finishing up with that drunk man."

"James was your colleague, yet you don't seem afflicted much," Jack noticed, and Sharon sighed.

"You wouldn't believe the things I witnessed in that neighborhood, Mister Byrne, I once saw two women fight over a cat. God only knows what happened to that poor creature."

Jack's eyebrows raised, but he didn't say anything. "So you left while that McDoyle was still in the bar?"

"Yes, but that old punk was as drunk as always, and he can't remember his own name when he's drunk, even less kill someone."

Jack still added McDoyle to his list of suspects.

"How was the victim acting throughout the night?"

She shrugged. "Like always. He kept making those bad puns of his, so I suppose everything was all right for him. He wore his heart on his sleeve, that poor bird, and he was usually in a sour mood when he had problems, but that wasn't the case last night."

"Thank you for your time, Miss Porter."

(What is 100TC?)