24. The Mistake
Jenkins walked out of the high-rise building, a few men in suits followed him out the door and they shook hands before going their separate ways.
Thanks to his hard work and his alumni connections he secured a lucrative position at a law firm in downtown Los Angeles.
Despite everything that happened with Darla, she made good on her promise.
She continued to pay for his college and didn’t contact him again after that night of Pamela’s birthday party.
He removed his suit jacket as his sun became immediately sticky from the summer heat. He lifted his face towards the sun and smiled, he won his most recent case and was able to put a known sexual predator behind bars for the rest of his life. It was worth a moment to celebrate in the sun.
After the Darla situation, he changed his study to be a prosecutor. His new fight was against those who cause harm to others. He was prepared in case Darla ever harmed someone else. It was his new life purpose.
His phone vibrated against his chest, and he put down his briefcase while pulling the phone out to answer. The phone number was from out of state, and he didn’t recognize the area code. He shrugged and flipped open the phone and pressed it to his warm ear.
“This is Jenkins.”
“Jenkins, I am so glad you answered. I need your help.” A woman yelled breathlessly, and Jenkins pulled the phone away from his ear an inch. He tried to place the voice, but he didn’t recognize it.
“Who is this?” His mind reeled as he tried to think through any recent conversations he had where he planned to take on a new case for someone. Nothing came to mind, but his shoulder tensed because something about this felt familiar to him.
“It’s Pamela.”
He remembered Pamela and the voice on the phone didn’t match. Whoever he was talking to was a different Pamela. A raspy voice who sounded more like a frog.
“Pamela who?”
“Pamela Shaw, I used to be your mom, Darla Samson.”
Jenkins flipped the phone closed and put it back in his pocket. He ignored the next few vibrations as he descended down the stairs to the street where his car was parked.
His feet hit the concrete harder than his normal walk and people perched on the steps gave him curious looks as he stomped past them. Once in the car he pulled the phone out again and opened it to stop the annoying vibrations.
“What do you want?”
“No, Jenkins, will you just listen to me?”
“I’m listening.” Jenkins hadn’t spoken to Pamela since the day she switched, and he was thoroughly annoyed that she has popped back up in his life now after all this time.
“I’ve switched with someone, a woman. I have no idea who I am or where I’m at.”
“I told you I want nothing to do with this.” Jenkins pulled the phone away and was about to hang up when he heard her voice get louder, desperation strained her already hoarse voice.
“No, you don’t understand. It’s not like that. I don’t know who I switched with.”
“How could you not know?” Jenkins perked up, intrigued by the sudden dilemma she found herself in.
“Well, after I switched from Darla to Pamela, I felt the tether disappear. I tried to summon it to just see if I could switch with someone, but nothing.”
“Okay, so then how did you switch?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I was lying in bed thinking about how I wished I could have the ability to switch with someone, anyone, and then fell asleep. When I woke up this morning, I was in a completely new body.”
“What do you need my help for? Just lay back down and do the same thing you did last night.”
“I tried that already. That is why I need your help. Can you please go to my house and talk to whoever is in my body and find out if that person did anything to cause this?”
“Oh. You could also ask Darla for help.” Jenkins scoffed and rolled his eyes.
No wait you can’t, because she passed away from cancer. Oh. wait. It wasn’t Darla though. It was Pamela. He shook his head as the confusion around who was who derailed his train of thought.
“You know I can’t do that.” Her voice got low and feral.
“I know. I just wanted to remind you of the very good reason I have to not help you.”
Jenkins looked at his watch. He had a few hours until his next appointment. Part of him wanted to tell her to pound sand, but he was curious about this situation and wanted to find out for himself.
On the one hand, she made this bed, and she needs to sleep in it.
On the other hand, this poses a surprising opportunity to prevent her from ever switching with anyone ever again.
I can make her think I’m going to help her switch, but really, I can spend my time stopping her from hurting anyone ever again.
“Are you still there?” the stranger’s voice cut through his thoughts.
“Yeah, I’m still here.” Jenkins sighed. “Fine, I will help you this time. But after this, I’m done.”
“Fine.” The line cut out, and he closed his phone before tossing it on his crumpled jacket in the passenger seat. He sat for a moment in his quiet car, the street and sidewalk around him bustled with people. He could leave it alone and just ignore her.
He didn’t owe her anything. He remembered back to the last time he saw Pamela’s body in person. It was at Darla’s funeral, just shortly after she turned nineteen and a whole year after the switch.
She tried to get his attention to talk to him, but he ignored her. His steely gaze remained focused on the coffin that held a young, dearly departed soul.
He drove through the city slowly, deciding if this was something he really wanted to get in the middle of, and despite being lost in thought, he made his way to Pamela’s house. Her residence had changed a few times over the last sixteen years.
As her fame and popularity had grown, so had the need for additional security and privacy. He had never been here before, but thanks to the many Christmas cards she had tortured him with over the years, Jenkins knew he was at the right place.
The property was fully gated and had a small call box. He rolled his window down and pushed the button.
“What do you want?” The gruff voice came through despite the static.
“It’s Jenkins.” He gave no other explanation. If he was denied entry, he would just leave it at that. Soon, the buzz let him know he was given access to the property as the gates swung open, allowing him to drive in.
“I guess she doesn’t fully hate me after all these years,” he said under his breath. The property was more expansive than he had imagined. Gardeners trimmed trees and bushes, while some pulled weeds from the flower beds sprinkled throughout the lawn.
The drive wound its way up to the mansion that sat atop the slanted property.
Jenkins’s mouth fell open as he took in the sight of the house.
It was a Spanish style two story house with a red roof.
The front porch was framed by two circular tower looking structures.
By the time he parked a woman dressed in a housekeeper’s uniform was waiting for him on the front porch.
“Hi, I’m Jenkins, I’m here to see Pamela.”
The woman eyed him suspiciously, “Yes, she told me if you ever showed up to let you in right away. Follow me.”
Wow, this place is massive. Darla has done well for herself. It’s quite sad, all this room and no one to share it with.
The back wall was floor to ceiling windows that overlooked an infinity pool with a view of downtown Los Angeles in the background. He had a strange feeling as though he had been here before.
“Sir, this way,” The woman called out. Jenkins, lost in thought, hadn’t realized the woman had gone down a hallway and reappeared again to get him.
“Sorry.” The two walked down the wide hallway lined with windows on one side that overlooked the front lawn. Large movie posters lined the opposite wall. Some were Darla’s, and the rest were Pamela’s movies that she starred in over the years.
I knew she had a desire to continue acting, but this level of wealth, even for her, is a lot.
“You can wait here. I will go get Ms. Shaw.” The door she opened led to a large two-story library. A lit fireplace sat in the middle, perfectly lined up with the door. Jenkins thanked her as he entered and sat in one of the chairs near the fireplace.
The books along the wall all appeared to be decorative, and his interest was piqued enough that he walked over to the shelf closest to him.
Every single book was a hardcover, the first one he grabbed was a first edition of a book he had never heard of.
He carefully put the book back, and resumed his position in the cushy chair.
Hands in pockets, clean conscience. His sister’s voice echoed in his head.
The door opened a few minutes later and Pamela entered, she was wearing a long-sleeved flowing robe with ruffles on the sleeve cuffs and ruffles that gathered at the bottom.
“Jenkins, darling!” She glided across the room and embraced Jenkins like they were long lost friends. The housekeeper watched from the door. “That will be all Greta, I shall let you know if we are in need of additional assistance.”
Pamela waved her hand to dismiss Greta and the door closed tightly behind her. He knew Darla well enough to know how she moved and her preferred facial expressions. Whoever is in Pamela’s body is not Darla.
“Jenkins, darling, to what do I owe this surprise visit?” Jenkins raised his eyebrows at her, and he smiled at the amount of effort this person was going through to convince him she was the real Pamela.
“Well Pamela called me.” He sat back down, amused by her unnatural performance. He invited her to sit next to him in the open chair.
“Did I? Oh yes, of course I did!” She drew out each word, attempting to sound as classy and fancy as possible. “I called you by mistake.” She waved her hand dismissively.