The storm is ever-growing. It is either melt the frost or be consumed by its bite.
Let's bring out the flamethrowers, y'all >:)
Wist's Blizzard Thread
5 posts in this topic.
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Week 40: June 6th
2519/2500 words
Life Part Fourteen
“After this drink, I’ll take you home.” Jack took another long sip, eyeing Mallory. “I have booze at my place, so you don’t have to worry about being cut off.”
Mallory spluttered. “I… huh?”
“Well, a blind man could see how quickly you took a liking to alcohol. Trust me, you won't want to stop.”
Mallory felt his face flush slightly. Was it that instantaneous? Was addiction already setting in? Would he never recover from these two drinks? Would he develop a beer belly and bad breath and suddenly be unable to get up from the couch to get his own can?”
Whatcha thinking about?” Jack leaned in, eyes slightly narrowed. “You look like I just told you you were about to die tomorrow.”
Mallory swallowed. “I… I didn’t realize I wouldn’t be able to stop so fast.”
Jack snorted. “Babe, it’s a drug. It’s not exactly a kiddie pool. You don’t dip your toes in. You’re either addicted or not. And right now…” He waved his hands. “You seem pretty addicted.”
Mallory looked down at his glass in horror. Is that what Dr. Indra wanted? An addiction? There’s no way, right? Addictions were bad. Therapists told you to avoid bad things. So it would double make no sense for Dr. Indra to tell him to drink if she knew it would make him addicted so quickly. That could make her lose her license or credential or whatever! Mallory had to be being played, right?
Jack frowned. “You good?”
“No.” Mallory’s voice cracked. They couldn’t do this. They really couldn’t do this. An addiction? A dead wife? A new boyfriend? He couldn’t handle all of that. No. Not in the slightest.
Life smirked and clapped him on the shoulder. “Oh my gosh, relax! I was joking, babe. You’re not addicted.”
Mallory whined. “What?”
“You took like two sips of actual alcohol. Most of that is punch. You’re fine.”
Mallory blinked dully. “You… you were joking?”
Jack nodded like Mallory was stupid. “Uh… yeah? Duh. Common sense.”
Mallory blinked. “Oh. Ha. Ha.” He felt like crying. He had been so terrified, and it was just a joke. A little goofy moment for Jack. How was he supposed to react to that? To the realization of a horrible fear being someone’s punchline?
Jack snorted. “You are so sensitive. You really need to lighten up. Smile. You’re not like allergic to happiness, are you?”
Mallory flinched. “No…”
“So why are you acting like it?”
“I…”
“You’ve been acting like this since we’ve met, babe. It’s getting exhausting. You need to show that you’re more than just an emotional black hole.”
Mallory gasped slightly. “I-”
“Honestly, you’re lucky I’m even giving you the time of day with how you’re acting. Seriously.”
Mallory cried out. “I’m sorry! I… I’ll be better! Teach me how to be better!” He set his glass down and started sobbing, covering his face. “I… I want to be better. I want to be worth your time. I’m sorry I’m not. I’m sorry. I’m useless and awful; only one woman has ever loved me, and she died. And no one has ever looked at my disgusting frame and thought it was worthy of anything before or since, so please.” Mallory looked up, his eyes a kaleidoscope of tears and jagged hopes born from torturous places, and Life’s heart was singing. Oh, Life couldn’t be happier with this display, with Mallory begging to know what it was like to be wanted finally. His tears were sweet nectar, his pain ambrosia. Life had never seen or felt anything sweeter.
Jack finished off his drink and set the glass down. ‘Come on. Let's get you to my place. I can show you plenty of tips and tricks there.”
Mallory blinked. “Huh?”
“What? Do you expect me to grow your character in a bar? I’m taking you home. Buckle up because you’re about to get a long lesson.’
If I were to talk about what Mallory and Life did, I think I would hurl. The idea of Life kissing anyone makes me want to projectile vomit hard enough to break the sound barrier, so anything else is definitely far off the table. It was made better by the fact that they spent multiple nights together. Poor Mallory was blinded by his desire to be desirable and Life grinning and sniggering all the way. I will not subject you to the horrific, gory details of Life and Mallory’s romantic relationship because if I do, I will find a way for immortal beings to die. But I will tell you this much: Life was way too happy for it to be anything good.
As far as Mallory’s drinking was going, it was getting much worse. Dr. Indra handed him fatter stacks of cash each session and was greatly thrilled that Mallory had met someone as helpful as Jack.
One day, though, Mallory and Jack got into a fight. Jack was greatly displeased about the number of male contact names in Mallory’s phone, and that confrontation went a little something like this:
Jack marched up to Mallory with his phone, holding it like it was the most vile thing in existence. That was funny because he was the most vile thing in existence, but I digress. Mallory was lying on the couch, recovering from a gruesome shift, when Life stood in the doorway.
“What is this?”
Mallory hummed. “What?”
Jack seemed to be fuming. “Why are there so many men on your phone, huh?”
Mallory blinked. “Because I work with a lot of men?”
Jack scoffed. “Typical. They’re all coworkers. Every single one?”
“Well, one of them is my dad and I think there’s that one pizza place we like-”
“Don’t mock me, Mallory!” Life marched over and yanked Mallory from the couch hard enough that Mallory could feel how it would bruise. He cried out as he almost immediately lost his footing, becoming entirely at the mercy of this terrifying man wearing his partner’s face.
“Who else do you need but me? Tell me! Who else do you need but me?”
Mallory was quickly tearing up. “J-Jack!”
“ANSWER ME!”
“No one! No one else but you, Jack! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Jack dropped Mallory back on the couch. “Good. Now delete this before therapy. You’re walking today.”
Mallory nodded out of pure fear as Jack walked away.
Now, Mallory couldn’t exactly delete all of his coworker’s numbers. Or his boss’ number. That would only ruin his job, so when it was time for him to leave for Dr. Indra, he knew he had to beg her for a solution. He had come to hate Dr. Indra’s setup much less after all this time visiting her. The coffee table was less broken and more… eccentric. The worn couches had character. And the doctor herself had proven helpful with her tip to head to bars. That’s how he met Jack, after all.
So when Dr. Indra sat down in the chair across from him, he didn’t hesitate this time. “Dr. Indra, Jack and I… have a problem.”
She nodded slowly. “What’s the issue?”
“We got into a fight. He doesn’t like that I have a bunch of male coworkers on my phone and wants me to delete them, but I can’t.”
She nodded. “That does seem like a dilemma….”
“Do you have a solution?”
She sighed. “Mallory, now is the time when you really have to start making decisions for yourself. I can give you the tools, but I can’t give you the answers.”
Mallory frowned. “Okay…?”
Dr. Indra opened the coffee table drawer and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. “Drink up. It’ll help you choose.”
Mallory eyed the bottle. “I… have a shift today.”
“So? It’s good for the brain, and it’s therapist’s orders. Your boss can’t argue.”
Mallory only hesitated momentarily before taking it and drinking it directly from the bottle.
“Good job. Now you just think on it, and you’ll decide in no time.”
Spoiler alert, a bottle of alcohol did not help Mallory decide. It just made him make the very terrible decision of attending his job drunk, which his boss, Peter Steve, did not like.
As far as bosses went, Mallory’s could be a lot worse. Peter Steve was just your average middle-aged man, running his fast food company with the standard amount of bad decisions and attempting to ensure his workers didn’t cancel him on social media. It mostly worked out for him, especially with how he sent Mallory to grief counseling. That was a massive win in the PR department. But regardless, even with his fears of someone complaining about him in public, when Mallory showed up to work completely drunk, he knew he had to step in.
Mallory had clocked in about half an hour late, stumbling into the kitchen with a wide grin and… Life-sized mosquito bites on his neck. His coworkers could smell the whiskey on him from across the street, and they immediately knew they had no idea what to do.
One of them, a teen named Darryl, slid up to him. “Hey, Mallory?”
Mallory ignored him and slogged by, falling more than walking into the locker room. Darryl gave up right then and flagged down Peter Steve.
“Uh, Peter?”
Peter hummed. “What is it kid?”
“Mallory’s drunk. Like… about to take his shirt off and use the ice cream machine as a stripper pole kind of drunk.”
Peter frowned. “Pardon?”
Darryl raised his hands. “Look, I know we’re a fast food family or whatever, but Mallory came in here smelling like a BevMo!™. That’s all I’m going to say. Maybe you should investigate.”
Peter nodded slowly. “Okay… I’ll look into it. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”
Darryl nodded. “Yeah, sure. Good luck with… whatever that is.”
Peter hunted down Mallory to find him still in the locker room, then unconscious and leaning against one of the lockers, drooling all over his socks.
Peter sighed. This did not look like a man who had successfully attended therapy and improved from his grief symptoms. If anything, everything looked much worse. He cleared his throat. “Mallory?”
Mallory startled awake, snorting slightly. “Hmm? Jack?” He blinked dully. “Oh. Peter. Petey. Petey Stevie.”
Peter sighed again. “Don’t call me that.”
“Stevie Petey?”
“Why did you come here drunk, Mallory?”
Mallory blinked, eyes sluggish and heavy. “You see. My therapist. She… she said I needed to be more social. And she told me to drink.”
“I highly doubt your therapist told you to drink, Mallory.”
“She did! You can ask her!”
No one is going to believe that, Mallory.” Peter sat down beside him, frowning. All he felt was bitter disappointment. Mallory really had fallen so far. “Look, I know losing Sarah was hard.”
Mallory snorted. “Look. I have a therapist and a Jack helping me with that. They’re changing every aspect of my personality to make it better. Because I sucked so much before and they’re making me… not!”
Peter nodded slowly. “Your therapist and boyfriend are changing your personality because they thought it sucked before.”
Mallory nodded profusely. “Yeah!”
Peter blinked slowly. “Seriously?”
Mallory grinned. “Aren’t I better? Not a dumb loser like before.”
Peter sighed. “Mallory. You are drunk at your place of employment. I don’t think you understand what improvement is.”
Mallory frowned. “But, my therapist-”
“Sounds like he doesn’t have any training. I’m not going to tolerate this in my establishment. Pack your things. You’re fired. Get out of my sight.”
Mallory flinched back like that was the most shocking news in the world. “Huh. But. Therapy. You… you were the one who ordered it.”
“Yeah! And you were supposed to learn some new breathing exercises or stretches. Not to drink before coming to work.”
Mallory fish-mouthed. Peter raised his hand. “Save it. Things. Packed. Now.” He left the locker room, leaving Mallory unemployed and wildly drunk.
When Mallory called Jack, begging for a ride home, he thought he was going to be in so much trouble. Jack seemed terse on the phone, and Mallory was trying really hard not to be emotional.
When Jack arrived, he seemed quiet. He didn’t say a word as Mallory entered the car, his hands shaking at the memory of a belly-tossing flip. Mallory stared at him for a moment, trying to gauge what he wanted, but Jack wouldn’t say a word.
“Jack?”
“Hmm?”
“I… are you mad? I know I just got fired, and that’s going to make me a freeloader and-”
“Mallory.” Jack looked at him. “I am thrilled about what happened today.”
Mallory froze. “What?”
“Look, now you have no reason to talk to any other guy but me. You’ll be in my little bubble—all mine, just like you should be. Everyone else should keep their hands off.”
Mallory blinked. “Jack… where is this coming from?”
“What do you mean?” Jack scoffed. “I’m sick and tired of how much attention you get from everyone else. Now you can stay home and only leave to go to therapy. Only talk to Dr. Indra and me. No one else.”
Mallory swallowed. “I… speaking of Dr. Indra… can you take me to her? She told me how to deal with work, and I want to tell her how it went.”
Jack nodded. “Okay. You can thank the woman for me.”
Mallory nodded. “Thank you…” He definitely didn’t like this ownership talk and wanted to talk to Dr. Indra about it.
So, he went into Dr. Indra’s office for the second time that day.
Dr. Indra looked up from her position in the chair. “Oh, Mallory! I didn’t expect to see you again. You’re lucky my current appointment was canceled due to a heroin overdose. What do you need?”
Mallory stumbled forward and landed on her couch face-first. “You got me fired, and Jack likes that.”
Dr. Indra hummed. “You got fired, and Jack… what now?”
“He explicitly said that he was thrilled. He likes it.”
“I see. I see. And you want me…?”
“So tell me what to do.”
Dr. Indra hummed. “Okay. Okay.” She sat further back. “Have you ever tried gambling?”
Mallory sat up. “What?”
“Gambling. The art of playing games of chance for money.”
“I know what gambling is! But… but why?”
“It can help you feel more in control. Create a space where you can decide what to do with your money. Besides, I’ve heard it’s really fun.”
“But… it’s gambling.”
“Yes, Mallory. It’s gambling. I’ll give you some starting money, but you’re on your own after that.”
Mallory nodded, slightly dumbfounded. “Okay…”
Dr. Indra went to her safe in the wall and handed him another wad of cash. “Here. Have fun.”
Mallory nodded. “Sure. I guess.”
Jack was not nearly as confused about the gambling as Mallory thought he should’ve been, but at this point, Mallory had accepted that he was wrong about the situation, and it was time to start gambling. He never thought that his life would lead him to a casino, but life and Life could lead you to some odd places, especially when you were dating him. -
Week 41: June 17th
5,646/6,000 words
Life Part FourteenSpoiler
The first thing that hit him was the noise. It rattled in his skull. Excited cheers. Falling coins. What had to be thousands of slot machines with that volume. A never-ending sea of chatter. Mallory cringed. How did people spend hours here? How was this fun?
Jack clapped him on the shoulder. "Here we are, babe. Therapist's orders."
Mallory swallowed. "How much are we paying her?"
"Not enough. Come on, it'll be fun. Loosen up. You need this."
"I need this." Mallory nodded. "I need this. What... is this? How does one gamble?"
Jack snorted. "Do you know how to play poker?"
"No?"
"Blackjack?"
Mallory swallowed. "I didn't realize gambling required so much... skill."
Jack sighed. "You're hopeless. You're lucky you have me to guide you here."
Mallory flinched. "I know. Thank you, Jack."
"Good." Jack led him deeper into the noise den, glancing around. "Let's get you started on a slot machine. Little skill. Pure luck. Perfect for someone clueless like you."
"Great." Mallory's throat closed with shame.
The deeper Mallory went into the casino, the more lost he became. The cigarette smell was messing with his head and he hated that there were no windows. He was completely barred from the outside world. When Jack sat him down in front of a slot machine, he didn't have the strength to protest. He just stared wide-eyed, truly overwhelmed by the beast before him. On the screen was a little reel where a cherry, a rectangle labeled bar, and two of those bars on top of each other were prominently displayed. That didn't tell him anything. Above the screen was a sign
Jack looked at him and sighed. "Alright. Don't touch anything. I'll do the first time for you."
Mallory nodded as Jack stuffed a twenty dollar bill into the machine.
"This is a one dollar slot. For every dollar you put in, you get one credit."
Mallory nodded. "One dollar. One credit."
"Exactly. One would think that was obvious and very simple, but I guess not."
Mallory flinched, but swallowed down the hurt. "Sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"I..." Mallory squirmed. "I don't know."
"Settle down and pay attention then." Jack pointed at a button below the screen that read 'bet one.' "You press that to bet one credit."
Mallory reached out to press it, but Jack slapped his hand, glaring daggers at him. "I said don't touch anything!"
Mallory drew his hand back as quickly as he could, his coming to a metaphorical stop in his chest.
Jack glared at him for a few moments more before moving on, pointing to the next button. "This is the button to bet the max amount of credits. This machine allows three credits at a time."
Mallory nodded mutely.
"And this button is to make it spin and actually bet for you."
Mallory nodded again, rubbing the back of his hand. It was stinging now that the shock of the strike was fading. He thought that Jack was getting "handsy" during fights now.
But I knew it was just Life's aggression showing face. He could only pretend to be kind for so long. Mallory was in dire physical danger.
Jack just kept marching on. "You press this button to get your money after you're all done."
Mallory nodded. "O-Okay."
"Now. Go on ahead."
Mallory hesitantly reached out to press the 'bet one' button.
"What are you doing?"
Mallory blinked. "Betting one credit...?"
"Why would you do that?"
"Because... I thought that was... good?"
Jack scoffed. "No! Always bet max. That's where the best pay-outs are."
Malory flinched. "Okay. Okay. Betting max." He finally pressed the bet max button.
"There you go."
Mallory relaxed a little at the encouragement, pressing the spin button. He watched as the reel spun, settling in a two by six formation. The first column was a cherry and three bars. The second just a seven centered. The third was another seven on top of a bar.
Mallory looked up at Jack. "What did I get?"
Jack sighed. "Nothing. Just keep working that, I'll be at the bar."
Mallory opened his mouth to question him, but he was already walking away. He was alone. Swallowing, he turned back to the machine. He could do this, right? Just keep pressing the button until he ran out of credits. Or won big, but that seemed unlikely.
He pressed the button again, no longer trying to make sense of the reel. He just watched his credits. If the machine didn't give him the money automatically, it had to do there.
Nothing happened. He just had fourteen credits. Frowning, he pressed the button again. Eleven credits. How did people enjoy this? It was just the number going down with nothing back.
"Am I doing this right?" Mallory looked around, as if someone would come and ease the confusion away.
But there wasn't. He was still alone.
He just went back to watching his credits, pressing the button. Eight credits. Five credits.
Mallory squirmed slightly. What happened if he never made any money back? Would Jack and Dr. Indra retaliate? Were slot machines really luck or was there some level of skill he was missing?
With a small sigh, he just pressed the button again. It's not like he could do anything else.
His credits went down to two. He sighed. That was it.
But then it suddenly skyrocketed, the numbers reconfiguring.
"What?"
The new credit count was two hundred and two.
He stared in disbelief. He won? He really won?
Mallory looked down to the console, pressing the button Jack told him would give him his winnings. Jack would be proud, right? He had to be.
The machine spat out a small piece of paper. Mallory took it, reading it as quickly as he could. It was a voucher.
He stood up, looking around to find the bar. He didn't spot it immediately, so he just set off in the direction Jack went. They would run into each other eventually, right?
He searched the casino, weaving around much more complex machines and card game tables. Maybe he would learn all of this, but that seemed unlikely. He eventually stumbled onto tile floors, finally in the bar area.
“Jack?” He scanned the seats until he spotted him. “Jack!” He ran up to him, voucher in hand.
Jack turned around, his usual whiskey in hand. “Mallory? Did you run out of money?”
Mallory shook his head. “I… I won.”
“You won?”
Mallory held out his voucher. “I won.”
Jack took it, reading it carefully. He frowned slightly. “So you did. Two hundred bucks after a twenty dollar deposit.” He looked up. “Not bad. You did good.”
Mallory was practically glowing. He did good? Jack thought he did good? He grinned. “So… how do we cash it in?”
Jack rubbed his shoulder. “We take that to a machine and we’ll get our money.”
Mallory nodded. “Okay!”
Jack led him away from the bar, keeping him close. Mallory couldn’t help but lean into the touch. It had been too long since Jack had been proud of him. He was going to soak this in when he could.
“So, what do you want to do with your winnings?” Jack smiled down at him.
Mallory hummed softly. “I don’t know. Maybe just… go home. While we’re ahead.”
“Aw come on. You won that with twenty. Imagine what you could win with two hundred.”
Mallory frowned. “But imagine how much more money we’d lose.”
Jack sighed. “Spoil sport. But fine, we can stop today. Tomorrow, you’re going to the big leagues.”
Mallory suddenly found himself dreading tomorrow.
The next day, Jack led him right back to the same slot machine, a wide grin on his face. “Alright. Get three sevens on the pay line and we’ll get one thousand.”
Mallory blinked. “A thousand?”
Jack nodded. “You can do that for us, right?”
Mallory swallowed. “I’ll try.”
“Good job.” Jack clapped his shoulder. “You know where to find me.”
Malloy nodded slowly. He could do this. He could make Jack proud. He fed the machine another twenty. Hopefully that’s all it would take.
Twenty credits later, Mallory had completely failed to win a single prize. Three sevens on the pay line? What did that even mean?
Mallory chewed on his lip. Jack would be so disappointed. But he could keep going. Add more money, try harder. Be better. That way Jack would be happy with him. He just wanted Jack to be happy again.
He dug through his pockets, pulling out another twenty. Forty dollars for a slot machine. But a small price to pay to make Jack smile like that. Three bets later and he still had nothing to show for it. Five bets was more of the same. How was it possible for him to lose this much? At some point, he had to get the smallest scrap of anything. This was getting ridiculous.
He had very little hope for his sixth bet. His bad luck was back. There was no way he would ever see a thousand.
The machine started ringing, lights flashing across the screen. Mallory flinched back, his heart racing. “What the…?”
The word ‘JACKPOT’ flashed across the screen. Mallory’s eyes widened. Did he really manage to do it?
As the screen dissipated, his credits jumped to one thousand and two.
“Mallory?” Jack was back, glass of whiskey in hand.
Mallory turned back. “I did it. I… actually did it.”
Jack leaned in, reading the screen. After a moment, he let out a low whistle. “Wow. So you did.” He laughed. “You did good, babe.”
Mallory was glowing at this point, all flushed from praise. “Thank you.”
Jack kissed his temple. “We’ll have to come back if you’re a little good luck charm. Come on, let’s cash this in.”
Mallory nodded profusely. “Yeah. Yeah. Coming back. Good idea.”
“Look at you learning how to have fun.” Jack’s smile only grew. “You’ll have a great time.”
Mallory basked in the glow of how happy Jack was. Yeah. He’ll have a great time. A great time making Jack happy.
And so Life lead Mallory further down his spiral, now actively giving up his cash almost every day just to please the insatiable celestial. All sense of hesitation melted away under the weight of Jack’s praise, the way his touch would be so much gentler after a big win. Soon he moved one from one dollar machines to five dollar machines. Anything to bring that voucher to Jack and curl up in the afterglow.
Mallory didn’t even have a grip on how much he was spending. Twenty after twenty added up in minutes, and soon he was spending hundreds of dollars a day for winnings that didn’t quite match his efforts. He didn’t notice the way his money from Dr. Indra dwindled to almost nothing. He didn’t notice how the time between each win was only increasing each day, Life laying his heavy hand on the scales to make sure he got what he wanted.
After all, dating Mallory was only temporary.
Four months, two weeks, and six days later, Mallory finally hit the end of the line.
Mallory had seventy-five dollars at the beginning of the day. It was all that was left from his winnings and his supply from Dr. Indra. Jack gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and a good luck.
And Mallory failed. Spectacularly.
You see dear readers, slot machines were supposed to operate on random number generators. But things weren’t perfectly random when Life was the one spinning the reel. So seventy-five dollars went in.
And no money came back out.
When Mallory’s credit count reached zero for the last time, he stared blankly at the screen. No. That wasn’t right. That couldn’t possibly be it.
But it was, and the screen was unforgiving.
He shook his head slowly. “No. That’s not…” He reached into his pockets, fingers grasping at air. “No. No!” His breath speed up. He always came back with something. Even if it was just a twenty buck win, it was still something. He stood up, scrambling back from the machine like it had burnt him. “Please. No. This can’t be happening.”
A couple of machines down, the jackpot bell rang loud and clear. People were cheering. He felt sick.
“Jack. Jack has to understand. He’ll understand.” Mallory turned around to rush to the bar. He would beg for Jack to understand. Get on his hands and knees if he had too.
The machines and people passed by in a blur as Mallory barely restrained himself from sprinting. Jack had to understand. He had to. He had to.
He almost crashed right into Jack, barely keeping himself together at this point. Jack turned around with a grin. “Mallory! What are you bringing me today?”
Mallory stared at him in horror, trembling slightly. “I… I…”
Jack nodded. “It has to be something big if you’re acting like this.”
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Life? Yes? Well, it’s not enough.
Mallory swallowed and shook his head slowly, his gaze drifting to the floor.
Jack froze. “What?”
“I… I didn’t win anything…”
Jack stared at him like Mallory just insulted his favorite pastime: emotional torture. Mallory shifted, wringing his hands. “But that just happens sometimes, right? Not every day is going to be a winner.”
“How much money did you spend?”
“What?”
Jack set down his glass. “How much money did you spend?”
Mallory had to take a deep breath. “The… the rest of it.”
Jack took a deep breath, his face twisting in the way that made Mallory’s stomach drop. “And she won’t give you more?”
Mallory shook his head wordlessly. Dr. Indra wanted him to fund himself now. She had only gave him the first stack of cash.
Jack shook his head. “I… I can’t believe you Mallory. I’m… disgusted right now.”
Mallory flinched. “I’m sorry-“
“Save it. I just… I can’t keep doing this for you, Mallory. I try to be supportive, but you fail me every time. How do you expect me to stay with you?”
Tears sprang to life in Mallory’s eyes. “I… I guess I thought… you loved me enough… to stay.”
Jack scoffed. “God, you’re so selfish. You think I’m here to bend over backwards for you? That’s not fair, Mallory. You’re in therapy. Why aren’t you any better?”
“I…” Mallory looked back up at Jack, shaking freely now. “I don’t know.”
Jack picked up his drink and chugged the rest of it, slamming the empty glass down harder than necessary. “Then we’re done. I want you out of my house. You can come crawling back when you’re finally better.”
“No!” Mallory practically lunged for Jack’s hand. “Please… please…”
Jack tore away. “I’m sick of being your babysitter, Mallory. You’re helpless. You’re stupid. You’re so incredibly needy. I want you out.”
“I… I’ll be better. I promise I’ll be better. I’m sorry.”
“I have heard that too many times from you.” Jack crossed his arms. “I’ll take you back when it’s true.”
Mallory laced his hands in his hair. “How am I going to get my stuff? Where am I going to stay?”
“Improve fast enough and you won’t have to worry about that.”
Mallory shook his head. “I… I still have tonight.”
“Find a park. You’ll make do.” Jack pushed past him, leaving Mallory decimated with no retort, no possible response. Jack was just leaving him to sleep outside? Like they weren’t anything at all?
“Jack… Jack please!”
He didn’t respond, leaving Mallory entirely alone at the bar. He started to panic, pacing back and forth. He had no money on him. He had no access to a bank account without Jack. He controlled the cards. Mallory didn’t even have a wallet.
Find a park? Wasn’t sleeping out there illegal? What other choice did he have? Mallory shook his head and slowly wandered to the exit, heart pounding. He could win Jack over, right? He could find some way to have Jack let him come back home.
Meanwhile, Life went back home, hopping into his home plane with a sneer and a little shimmy. He went back to his bedroom, falling on his bed. The image of Jack melted away, being replaced by a stone figure with glowing eyes.
It was only three minutes and six seconds until there was a knock on his door. Life waved his hand, letting it pop open. “What is it now, Deathie?”
“I’m not Death.”
Life turned to the door, a massive grin on his face. “Oh my god! It’s you! Aren’t you too busy to talk with little ole’ me?”
“I know what you’re planning. You’re not going to like the outcome.”
Life snorted. “You can see the future now?”
“No. I can use common sense.”
He huffed, sitting up on his bed. “Why don’t you get back to stalking the planet?”
There was a sigh from the door. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
As footsteps receded from the doorway, Life leaned forward. “Hey! I’m older than you! Don’t tell me what to do, kid.”
There was no response.
Back on Earth, Mallory entered the nearest park, shivering slightly. It was cold in the evenings, how was he supposed to sleep completely exposed? Wiping his nose, he trudged on, making sure there was no one in the park that would bother him. Thankfully, it seemed deserted.
He sat down on a bench far away from the entrance. This was it. This was his life now. He laid down, curling into himself. It was so cold. The metal of the bench, the bite of the air. How was he going to do this?
He looked up at the night sky, the light pollution of his city decimating the stars. “I don’t know who up there is doing this to me, but can you please stop? Leave me alone?”
There was no response, but something in Mallory told him to sit up. “What did I do to deserve this? What have I done wrong to you? Why me?”
“I don’t think there’s rhyme or reason, kid.”
Mallory flinched as he turned around. A man he had not spotted during his check of the park stood beside the bench, wearing an oversized jacket riddled with holes. He was unshaven, his beard turning grey. His face was coated in dirt.
Mallory swallowed. “I… I didn’t…”
“Know I was here? Yeah. A few years of doing this and you get good at hiding.” The man sat beside the bench. “Why are you here, kid?”
Mallory watched him hesitantly, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. “I… I got… kicked out. Told to sleep outside until I’m good enough to come back.”
The man sighed and shook his head. “You’ll never be good enough. People like that… you can never please them.”
“No. That’s not true. He was happy. For a time. I just… ruined it. And if I can ruin it, I can fix it.”
“That’s not how it works. Trust me… I would know.” The man leaned against the bench with a soft groan. “Once you’re out here… you’re invisible to the world. No one’s taking you back.”
Mallory chewed on his lip. “Why are you out here?”
He chuckled. “I lost my job. Hit hard times. I couldn’t seem to crawl my way out of it, so now I’m here.”
“Oh,” Mallory whispered softly. “I’m sorry.”
“Eh, I’ve been sorry long enough for the both of us. Don’t bother.”
Mallory nodded stiffly, crossing his arms. “Okay.”
The man raised his hand. “The name’s Hugh.”
Malloy hesitantly took his hand, giving it a quick shake. “Mallory.”
“Well, Mallory. You shouldn’t sleep on the bench. You’re too exposed. Any person can sneak up on you.”
Mallory shrank back. “Where can I go, then?”
Hugh stood up slowly, using the bench as support. “Well. I’ll take you somewhere. Just follow me.”
Mallory briefly considered if he should follow a perfect stranger into the night, but he didn’t have much of a choice. “Alright.” He stood up too, frowning slightly.
“Don’t worry, kid. I don’t bite.” Hugh led him on to the grass, holding his jacket close. “People are a little chewy for my taste.”
Mallory stumbled slightly. Did he… has he really…?
Hugh laughed. “Oh, that was good. Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”
Mallory forced out a laugh, hoping he didn’t sound nearly as scared as he felt. “No, no. It was… a good one.”
Hugh frowned. “You okay?”
Mallory swallowed. “Just fine.”
“Got used to being homeless that fast?”
He spluttered. “Other than that, of course!”
Hugh chuckled again. “Just checking. Come on. We’re almost there.”
Mallory’s face was burning. Was Hugh making fun of him? Was he upset with him like Jack was?
Soon, Hugh led him to a dark corner of the park, far away from where the hubbub would be. There was a small tent there, tucked away from prying eyes.
“This is where I’ve been sleeping.” Hugh looked at it with almost a sense of pride. “I’ll probably move on to somewhere else in a couple of days, but feel free to stay here until then.”
He turned to Mallory. “Where are your supplies?”
Mallory fish-mouthed for a second before looking at the floor. “I… I don’t have any.”
Hugh frowned. “You didn’t grab anything before you left?”
“I… I wasn’t home when I was kicked out. I didn’t have a chance to grab anything. Besides, Jack controls all the finances.”
“Who’s Jack?”
Mallory sighed. “My boyfriend.”
Hugh stared at Mallory for a bit, making him squirm. Was Hugh homophobic? Had he just ruined his chances of having a safe place to sleep tonight?
Hugh cleared his throat. “Well, he set you up for failure. Stick with me as long as you need to, kid. I’ll make sure you don’t die out here.”
Mallory shook his head. “Oh, you don’t have to do that. It’s fine.”
“You don’t even have a jacket. You’re not going to last out here.”
“I…” Mallory shifted. “I don’t want to be a burden.”
“And I don’t want you to freeze to death out here.” Hugh sighed. “Look, I can’t force you to accept help. It’s not my place. But at least actually consider it. There’s safety in numbers. Going off on your own with nothing is a one way ticket to the dirt.”
Mallory squirmed. “I’ll stay one night. We’ll see.”
Hugh nodded. “One night. I should have a spare sleeping bag. Let me check.”
Mallory nodded slowly. “Go ahead.”
Hugh ducked into the tent. Mallory sat down in front of the entrance, picking at the grass. How do he get here? Only a year ago, he was happily married to Sarah. And now… everything had completely fallen apart. How was he ever going to recover from this?
Hugh popped out of the tent with a sleeping bag and a blanket. “It’s not luxury, but it’s better than sleeping on a bench.”
Mallory stared at the bundle in his arms. “How did you get all of this stuff?”
“I used to camp a lot in my glory days. When I got my eviction notice, I packed as much as I could.”
“Smart. I wish I had that opportunity.”
Hugh shrugged. “I wish I wasn’t evicted at all, but wishing’s not going to do much.” He sighed, handing everything off to Mallory. “Sleep on the grass. It’ll hurt less.”
“Thank you. For the stuff.”
“Sure, kid. I’ll be in the tent if you need me.” Hugh disappeared back into the tent, this time sipping it closed.
Mallory set the sleeping bag down in the patch of grass beside the tent, looking around to make sure no one was watching him. When he was satisfied, he eased himself in, nestling in as comfortably as he could for someone sleeping on the hard ground. “Goodnight, Sarah,” he whispered. “I hope you still love me after all of this.”
He curled into himself, squeezing his eyes shut, and hoped for sleep to come.
The next morning, Hugh shook him awake. Mallory shot out of bed, gasping for breath.
Hugh patted his shoulder. “Rise and shine. We need to find a way to eat today.”
Mallory nodded, untangling himself from the sleeping bag. “So we do.”
“I usually go to the soup kitchen a few blocks east. Feel free to join me.”
“I… I think I will.” Mallory finally stood up, brushing himself off. “I don’t know how to do this.”
“Then follow me. It’s a decent walk, so I hope you can handle it.”
“I guess we’ll find out.” Mallory fidgeted with his shirt as he followed Hugh out of the park.
Hugh chuckled.
Mallory smiled. “Hey, Hugh?”
“Yeah?”
“Why were you fired?”
Hugh sighed softly, a sense of weariness dulling his eyes. “I was laid off. The company was downsizing and suddenly they didn’t need me anymore. Happened to a bunch of people.”
Mallory frowned. “Don’t they have to give you unemployment?”
Hugh shrugged. “Yeah. But unemployment only lasts so long. Besides, I had… big expenses then.”
“Did you just buy a new house or something?”
Hugh shook his head, slowing down. “I wish. But no. My…” He cleared his throat. “My son died. I was trying to put together a funeral.”
Mallory flinched. “Oh. My… my sympathies. How old was he?”
Hugh swallowed. “Sixteen.”
Both of them walked in silence for a minute before Mallory managed to speak up. “I… I lost my wife and daughter in a car crash. She… she was in labor. I never got see my daughter’s face.”
Hugh turned towards him, a sudden understanding crossing his face. He looked much older with the apparent grief, his wrinkles almost smearing shadows across his eyes. “Oh. What… what was her name going to be?”
Mallory looked at the floor, feeling tears start to build. “Mila.”
“That’s a beautiful name.”
Mallory let out a weak laugh, wiping at his eyes. “Thank you.” He took a deep breath. “What… what was your son’s name?”
“Allen.” Hugh smiled softly. “Named after his grandfather.”
“I’m sure he was lovely.”
“He was. Way smarter than me. If he had a chance, he would’ve changed the world.”
“I’m sure he’s changing wherever he ended up.”
Hugh nodded. “That’s a nice thought. I bet your daughter is living an amazing life too.”
“She deserves it.”
Hugh nodded. “I’m sure she does.”
Mallory wiped his eyes again for good measure. Jack had never been that kind about Sarah and Mila. He didn’t understand the crushing weight of their deaths. But Hugh did. Hugh was gentle in a way Jack never could be. How was it that a stranger was kinder than his boyfriend? It didn’t make sense.
Neither of them spoke until they arrived at the soup kitchen. It was ran in a small church, and most of the volunteers seemed to be teenagers.
“Just do what I do. It’s not hard. Most of the people here are sweet.” Hugh stopped to ponder. “Probably best not to mention that boyfriend of yours, though.”
Mallory nodded. “Okay…”
Hugh stepped into the line, Mallory close behind him. He grabbed two trays, passing one off to Mallory. “Here. Don’t drop it. You’ll never forget that embarrassment.”
Mallory snorted, holding his tray close. “Noted.”
The first teenager behind the line grinned. “Hello! Would you like some soup?”
Hugh nodded. “Please.”
The teen handed him a bowl of a nondescript tan soup. “Enjoy!”
He gave her a strained smile. “Thanks.”
As Hugh moved forward, the teen turned to Mallory. “Hello! Soup?”
Mallory nodded.
The teen gave him the same grin, giving him the same soup. “Enjoy!”
Mallory nodded again. “Thank you…” He quickly shuffled forward.
The next teen looked significantly less enthusiastic. “Bread?”
“Yeah.”
The teen handed him a plate with a hard roll of bread on it. Mallory smiled. “Tha-“
The teen sighed. “Next.”
Mallory scurried off, his heart pounding. Was he going too slow?
The last person was an older woman, wearing a soft smile. “Water?”
“Yes. Water.”
She set a bottle of water on his tray. “You’re all set.”
Mallory cleared his throat. “Appreciated.” He turned around to try and find Hugh.
Hugh waved at him from a table further away from the line. Mallory rushed to join him, sitting across from him.
“That bad?”
Mallory fanned his face off. “I apparently left all of my ability to speak to people at home.”
“Don’t worry. It’s stressful for most. Just eat up and be glad you only have to do it once a day.” Hugh tore his roll in half, dipping one piece into the soup.
“How do you get lunch or dinner?”
“I usually don’t. You can try to find someone else who will give you something if you want, but in my experience it just ain’t worth it.”
Mallory slowly gathered a spoonful of soup. “Got it. One meal a day now.”
Hugh gave him an affirmative grunt around the bread in his mouth.
Mallory went to swallow the soup, only to start coughing.
Hugh snorted. “Too much salt for you?”
Mallory shook his head. “N-No. There was… something in my throat. It made it almost impossible to swallow.”
He cleared his throat. Nothing came up.
“Something… stopped you?” Hugh furrowed his brows.
Mallory nodded, suddenly out of breath. His throat was so tight. He could scarcely breathe.
“Mallory? Mallory are you okay?”
Mallory coughed weakly. What was happening? Why did this all start now?
Life hung from the ceiling as a spider, watching Mallory choke on his own throat. If he could, he would smile. This play would guarantee that Mallory would suffer for the rest of his life.
Hugh pressed against Mallory’s throat, his face paling. “Someone call an ambulance! Right now!”
Mallory was wheezing, barely grasping what was happening. “H-Hugh?”
“Don’t talk right now. You’ll be okay. You’ll be okay.”
Mallory’s face was getting warm. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t see anymore. He reached out to Hugh, struggling for breath, before pitching backwards in a dead faint, tumbling towards the floor.
When Mallory woke up, he was being jostled, like he was in a moving vehicle. He couldn’t move. There was something in his mouth. He felt so light-headed.
“Patient is gaining consciousness.”
“Good. Good. Mr. Mallory? Can you hear me?”
Mallory whimpered, trying to open his eyes.
“You passed out due to oxygen deprivation. There is a lump on your throat we suspect is a tumor.”
A tumor?
Was he dying?
“Just hang in there, sir. We’ll take care of you.”
Mallory slowly lost consciousness again, drifting away.
An hour, twenty minutes, and thirteen seconds later, Life was back to being Jack, pacing in front of Mallory’s hospital room. Human doctors would be able to figure this out. This was meant to make Mallory suffer, not kill him outright! There had to be something.
A doctor, with the name tag Dr. Dissanayake and long black hair tied back in an elegant braid stepped out of the room. “Are you Jack?”
Jack nodded. “I am.”
“I’m afraid I only have bad news to give you.”
Life wanted to kick himself. This wasn’t the plan. “Okay?”
“Mallory’s cancer has spread to his lungs. His tumor is big enough that it’s pushing against his trachea. There’s no hope of recovery.”
Jack growled. “What about radiation? Chemotherapy?”
“Mallory can’t breathe, sir. His body is shutting down due to lack of oxygen. It’s too late for that.”
Life wanted to scream. Why did he have to pick throat cancer? He just wanted Mallory to struggle with eating! Was that so much to ask?
“I’ll give you time to say goodbyes.” She gave him a pitiful smile and walked away.
Life opened the door and marched in. Mallory had a breathing tube in his throat, his face completely slack with unconsciousness. Life could feel the brain death he was going through.
A hand landed on Life’s shoulder. He turned around. It was Death, looking like a perfect copy of Sarah. |We told you this would happen.|
Life scoffed. “This is your fault! Stop him from dying! I don’t have control anymore!”
|I can’t. Just like you can’t spontaneously make someone be born, I can’t stop this. You killed him, Life. Let him go.|
“I didn’t mean to! Just stop it!”
|It doesn’t matter. He’s gone. I’m here to take him home.|
Life screamed, stomping his foot. The lights in the room flickered. “No! You can’t! You can’t!”
|Maybe you learned your lesson this time.| Death peeled back the air and stepped through the hole, disappearing into thin air.
Life trembled, his eyes glowing a dark red. He stormed up to the window and punched it as hard as he could. The glass shattered on impact, a chunk of the wall falling to the ground below. Life turned into a morning dove and flew away.
Meanwhile, in Death’s domain, Mallory blinked his eyes open, groaning softly. His throat felt clear and he had no breathing tube. He rubbed his temples. He was in the bedroom he shared with Sarah before… everything. What happened? Was the car crash just a terrible dream?
He sat up, only to lock eyes with someone who looked exactly like Sarah. Her same almost mischievous smile and everything. But… no. Something was wrong.
“You’re not Sarah, are you?”
The person, Death, shook Death’s head.
“But you’re going to take me to her?”
Death nodded, holding out a hand.
Without a hint of hesitation, Mallory stood up, taking the hand. “Thank you.”
Death’s smile turned slightly sad as Death led him to the door of the bedroom. When Death opened it, Mallory’s face brightened, tears streaming down his face. “Sarah!” He ran through the door. Death seemed to watch him for a bit before following, closing the door with that same thud. -
Week 41: June 17th
346/6000 words, 6,010 in total
Fae Part OneSpoiler
I am struggling to figure out exactly how to follow that. Mallory was only the most recent of Life’s little “projects,” but it would most likely be a long time before he’s replaced. Life tends to go on hiatus after excursions like that, pouting about how his fun had to end. He was utterly abhorrent, but there wasn’t much any of us could do. The world was his to do what he wanted with it. Only Death had the minimal power to clean up after him, but that was it.
As for what I could do, I can tell you about it. My power lies in observation. I see all. I hear all. I know all.
And I know that Life will never truly stop, just rest.
But I am done talking about that wretched sack of roaches with the moral compass of a wronged orca. In this story, we are revisiting someone you’ve already met. I’m not sure if you remember her, she wasn’t the main event when you met her. Of course, I am speaking of Officer Elsa Hoffman and her partner Officer Timothy Randall
You see, most of you mortals have minor encounters with the monsters in this book. However, they are small enough that you usually dismiss them. While it’s amusing to watch you all try to explain your circumstances as something mundane, around half of the time, it is far from it. So, Officers Hoffman and Randall stumbling across the mermaid cases was normal routine. Nothing strange or worth noting alone.
But, things shifted from routine to abnormal when they had their second encounter. One that couldn’t be justified as anything else.
It started with a normal, tragic nine-one-one call.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”
“My baby is gone. My baby is gone!”
“Ma’am, please try to remain calm. What’s the issue?”
“I… I woke up this morning to feed my daughter and she’s not in her crib. The window is open. My baby is gone!”
“Okay. Okay, ma’am. Don’t touch anything in the room. Sit in your living room. A unit will be sent your way. Pleas try to remain calm.”
The woman started sobbing. “My baby… my baby…” -
Week 42: June 18th
Did I just write almost eleven thousand words today? Maybe.
13,005/13,000
The Fae Part TwoSpoiler
“It’s going to be alright. What’s your name? Can you tell me that?”
The woman took a couple of shakey breaths. “Aditi Sharma.”
”Alright, Ms. Sharma. Can you give me your address?”
“Yes… yes… it’s Aj*7370@&3kdjm.”
What? Did you really think I was going to give you this woman’s address? You don’t need to know that. She deserves some privacy.
”Alright. A police unit is being sent your way. Hang tight.”
”Tell them to hurry.”
Officer Randall switched off the radio, letting out a low whistle. “This one’s going to pretty.”
Officer Hoffman shook her head, stopping at a red light. “Of course it had to be another kid. Just a baby this time, too.”
“Still shaken up by the O’Connell case?”
Officer Hoffman glared at him. He raised his hands. “Sorry for poking the bear.”
She sighed. “I just… I don’t understand how you’re not, Tim. A little infant just poof gone? That doesn’t just happen.”
“I know. I know.” Officer Randall sighed. “But you have to keep your head on straight. That mom on the phone expects us to find her kid. If we go in panicked, she’s going to lose it.”
Officer Hoffman sighed, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel as the light turned green and she took a left turn. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “You don’t have to apologize. We all have that thing that gets under our skin.”
“What would I do without you?” Officer Hoffman smiled.
“I don’t know. Die, probably.”
She gasped theatrically. “Compliment revoked. I forgot you’re a narcissist.”
“Oh come on.” Officer Randall grinned. “You know I deserve it.”
“Shut up and make sure I’m going the right way.”
“Roger, Roger.” He messed with the GPS system, checking the future turns Officer Hoffman would have to make. “Oh, and Elsa?”
“Hmm?”
“Never call me Tim again.”
She snorted, completely caught by surprise. “What? Are you that attached to hotshot?”
“It’s been your name for me since the academy.” He pouted. “Tim makes me feel like I’m in trouble.”
“You’re ridiculous.
“And yet we’ve been partners for ten years.”
“That doesn’t stop you from being ridiculous.”
Officer Randall huffed. “Take a right up here.”
Officer Hoffman did so, turning into quite the neighborhood. Most of the buildings were two or three stories, with perfectly manicured lawns and shiny cars.
Officer Randall looked at the houses as they passed. “Hard to imagine anyone breaking into these houses without being caught.”
“No neighborhood is perfect.”
“Yeah, but some are better off than others.” Officer Randall leaned back. It’s going to be on the left. “Aj*73.”
Officer Hoffman pulled up to the curb. “Alright. Ready?”
“Ready to find this baby.” Officer Randall slipped out of the car, cracking his knuckles. Officer Hoffman sighed and followed him, the two strolling to the door. Before either could knock, the door swung open.
The woman had dark brown skin, her black hair tied into a bun. She held the door with a white-knuckle grip, her face twisted into a frown. “Officers? Come in. Come in.” She ushered them inside. “Do you want tea? Can I please make you tea?” She wrung her hands.
Officers Hoffman and Randall pulled out their badges, flashing them at the woman. “Good evening, ma’am. I’m Officer Hoffman, this is my partner Officer Randall. You must be Ms. Sharma.”
The woman nodded as she bustled to the kitchen, still able to see the police officers over her marble kitchen island. “I am. I called for you to come here.”
Officer Randall pulled out a notepad as Officer Hoffman looked around. “So, you called because your baby’s missing?”
Ms. Sharma pulled out a kettle, filling it with water. “Yes. Yes. I went in this morning to check on her, but she….” Her voice cracked, and she froze her movements, still filling the kettle. She shook her head after a moment, continuing her action. “She was gone.”
Officer Randall started jotting down details as Officer Hoffman nodded. “Alright. About what time did you check in on her?”
“I wake up at seven, and I check on her immediately. It couldn’t have been later than five after.” She set the kettle on the stove, turning on the flame.
“And when did you last see her?”
Ms. Sharma knitted her eyebrows, leaning against the counter. “She started crying around one am. So I went to check on her. I… I didn’t realize it would be the last time I saw her.” She let out a sob, holding her face.
Officer Hoffman’s heart broke at the sight. “We’ll do everything we can to ensure it isn’t.”
Ms. Sharma wiped her eyes. “Please… please find her.”
“We’ll do everything we can. Could you please answer a couple more questions for us?” Officer Hoffman tried her best to smile reassuringly, even as she imagined something like this happening to her kids. Just waking up to their empty beds. There couldn’t be a bigger horror on this Earth.
Ms. Sharma cleared her throat. “I can.”
“Thank you.” Officer Hoffman took a deep breath. “On your nine-one-one call, you mentioned that the window was open. Can you tell me where this window was?”
“It was the window in her room. Just wide open. And before you say anything-“ She gestured sharply. “There was no way she could climb out of the window herself. She can’t even walk, let alone climb out of her crib and up her windowsill.”
“Right.” Officer Hoffman nodded. “Was anything out of order in the room? Footprints? Misplaced items?”
Ms. Sharma shook her head. “No. Her room was… spotless. The only thing out of place was the window and… and her.”
Officer Randall looked up at that moment. “Can we have a description of your daughter? Name, age, appearance?”
Ms. Sharma nodded. “Her name is Deshna Chatterjee-Sharma. She’s nine months old. Her skin is a little lighter than mine, and she’s starting to grow black hair.”
Officer Randall nodded as he wrote that all down. “Do you have a picture of her we can use?”
Ms. Sharma nodded. “I’ll grab one after the tea’s done.”
“Thank you.” Officer Randall closed his pad. “Your cooperation is really going to help us find Deshna.”
“Good. I don’t want to do anything to prevent her from coming home.” The kettle whistled from the stove. “Let me grab that. I only have hibiscus. Is that alright?”
Officer Hoffman straightened her shirt. “Perfectly.”
Ms. Sharma hummed to herself as she prepared three cups of tea, gripping the kettle harder than necessary.
Officer Hoffman approached Officer Randall, trying to look nonchalant. “So, what do you think?”
He frowned, looking up. “Ms. Sharma?”
She hummed in acknowledgment as she set the kettle down, putting the cups on her kitchen island. Officer Hoffman gently grabbed a cup.
“Who is Deshna’s father? Is he… still a part of the equation?” Officer Randall briefly eyed the tea but focused back on his notepad.
Ms. Sharma sighed. “Oh. Yes, he’s still a part of the equation. He’s my ex-husband Karan, but we still talk. Do everything we can to make this easy for Deshna.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“We have lunch together every Wednesday.”
Officer Randall nodded. “Two days then…”
“Yes. It was his last night before he went on his trip.”
“Trip?” Officer Randall lowered his notepad slightly. “What’s his destination?”
“He went out of state. Always liked to this time of year. He left Deshna with me because she doesn’t like to be away from me for too long.”
Officer Randall frowned. “When was he scheduled to depart?”
“He left early this morning. Before… everything happened.”
Officer Randall gave Officer Hoffman a suspecting look. That has far too much in common with the case to be a coincidence.
Officer Hoffman nodded. “Ms. Sharma? Did your ex-husband have any qualms with your custody arrangement?”
Ms. Sharma blinked, taking a sip of her tea. “What? What does that have to do with anything?” She looked between the two officers. “Do you think… he did it?”
Officer Hoffman took a step back. “We mean no disrespect. It’s just essential to review every suspect.”
“Karan isn’t a suspect!” Ms. Sharma shook her head. “He loved Deshna. He would never do anything to harm her. We worked together to give her the best life.”
Officer Randall nodded. “Of course. We’re sorry for the intrusion.”
Ms. Sharma sighed. “Just… find my daughter. Without accusing my friend of kidnapping her.”
Officer Hoffman nodded. “We’ll do everything we can.” She polished off her cup. “Thank you for the tea.”
Ms. Sharma nodded. “I’ll give you all the tea you want if you find my Deshna.”
“Speaking of Deshna,” Officer Randall stepped closer. “May we search her room? We could find some vital evidence there.”
Ms. Sharma sighed, sipping her tea. “Go ahead. Just… be gentle, please?”
Officer Hoffman nodded. “We will. We’ll change it as little as possible.”
“Thank you.”
Officer Hoffman set the cup down, gesturing for Officer Randall to follow.
“Where is her room?”
Ms. Sharma gave them a weak smile. “Upstairs, second door on the right.”
The two officers headed up the stairs, Officer Randall eyeing the banister. “So… that Karan, huh?” He dragged a finger along it before turning to face Officer Hoffman. “How likely do you think it was him?”
“Statistically, very. In reality…” Officer Hoffman shook her head. “I can’t say. We know nothing about him.”
“All I know, it’s suspicious. Sergeant Callahan will want us to search this guy until he’s inside out.”
“So we do. Hopefully that won’t stop Ms. Sharma from cooperating. If she fights against us, we’ll never figure this out.”
“Well, she should understand that looking into this guy doesn’t mean we arrest him. We just need to rule him out.”
“Yeah, but most people are going to take it as a threat if you come into their house and act like their loved ones are criminals.” Officer Hoffman shook her head. “Look, your suspicions usually aren’t unfounded. But you have to act on them with a light hand.”
Officer Randall sighed. “Maybe. But we needed that information. How else am I supposed to get it?”
“Conversational.” Officer Hoffman turned on the light as they made it upstairs. “Is there any other family members we have to contact? Her father, grandparents?” She nodded to an imaginary Ms. Sharma. “Oh, okay. Have you seen your ex-husband recently?” She smiled. “Well, it’s good you two stay in touch. What about this trip he’s going on? Was he supposed to take Deshna?” She nodded, humming in understanding. “I see. I see. When was he leaving?”
Officer Randall sighed. “Look, just because you can think up all of that now doesn’t mean you would do any better in there.”
Officer Hoffman raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t give me that look.”
Officer Hoffman didn’t waver.
“Stop it.”
She leaned in a little more.
“Fine! Okay. You tend to do the more talkey talkey things in a good tone.”
Officer Hoffman leaned back, her face dropping the suspicion and replacing it with a smug expression. “Thought so.”
Officer Randall pouted, opening the bedroom door. “We’re here.” He pulled out a pair of gloves and put them on, and Officer Hoffman quickly followed suit.
“So, we need to take prints of the window. Probably won’t find anything usable, but it’s worth a shot.” Officer Hoffman looked around. “She said nothing else looked out of place.”
“Well, she’s not a trained investigator.”
“Yeah, but we don’t live here.” Officer Hoffman took a look around. “And she’s right… it is spotless. Not a single toy on the floor or a drawer open.”
“The window’s still open though. Good sign she didn’t mess with anything. I’m going to take prints on the sill and the window itself.”
“Sounds good.” Officer Hoffman approached the crib, inspecting it carefully. She shook it slightly. It was stable. “Serilda and I were so paranoid about buying a crib for Mira. All we could imagine was it breaking.” She sighed. “I can’t even imagine what Ms. Sharma is feeling right now. All of her nightmares…”
“We’ll find her, Elsa. That’s why we’re here.” Officer Randall dusted the window and sill with fingerprint powder. “Huh… that’s… weird.”
“What’s up?”
“There’s no fingerprints on the window.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come look at this.”
Officer Hoffman walked to the window, Officer Randall still brandishing his brush. Officer Hoffman scanned the site of the powder, looking for the distinctive shape of fingerprints, but there were none.
“There’s not even Ms. Sharma’s. There’s just… nothing.” Officer Hoffman leaned in closer. “But there’s no streaks on the glass, either. Nothing to suggest being recently cleaned.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Neither do I. Just… I’ll take a photo anyways. So we have record we did it.” Officer Hoffman pulled out a camera, snapping a picture of the powder. “Hopefully Callahan will understand.”
“I mean, what else can we do?”
Officer Hoffman sighed. “Pray?”
“Never been one to be religious.”
“Guess we just die then.” Officer Hoffman put the camera away. “Leave it be in case someone wants to double-check our work. Ms. Sharma isn’t allowed to come up here anyways.”
They both walked back downstairs, turning into the living room. Ms. Sharma was washing dishes.
“We’re going to head out. Thank you for your help.
Ms. Sharma flinched, dropping her sponge. “Oh… thank you.”
“Of course. We’ll try to keep you updated as the case develops. Until then, stay safe.”
“Yeah… yeah…” She picked up her sponge and kept going. “The picture of Deshna is on the island.”
“Thank you again.” Officer Randall picked it up as Officer Hoffman held open the front door for him, immediately tossing him the keys once he left. “You’re driving, hotshot.”
Officer Randall fish-mouthed. “What?”
“I drove here. You drive back. I don’t want to hear it.” Officer Hoffman slipped into the passenger seat, closing the door with a thud. Officer Randall had no choice but to concede, getting in the car and driving away.
They arrived back at the station a few minutes later with very little to show for their outing. The front desk officer looked up as they entered. “Welcome back, you two. How was the field?”
“Barren. Our crops are burned, our livestock wild.” Officer Randall took one of the breath mints and popped it into his mouth.
The front desk officer hissed. “Good luck back there.”
“Thanks for the encouragement.”
“Anytime. The sergeant just came back from his lunch break, so hopefully, he won’t eat you alive.”
“Serg loves us. Doesn’t he, Elsie?”
Officer Hoffman snorts. “He loves it when we don’t keep him waiting to talk about him in the lobby.”
Officer Randall snapped. “Absolutely right. We’ll be going now. Adios.” He ducked into the back room, Officer Hoffman following with a fond eye-roll.
The two of them made their way to a heavy door labeled Sgt. Callahan with a minimalist gold font. Officer Hoffman knocked, stepping back.
“The door’s open!”
They entered.
Sergeant Callahan was sitting at his tiny desk chair, flipping though files. Not that the chair was really tiny, just that the man who occupied it happened to be incredibly massive, primarily muscle and pure height. “Randall and Hoffman. I was wondering when you two were going to come back.”
“We’re here now, sir.” Officer Randall set down the photo of Deshna and the notepad.
Sergeant Callahan picked up the photo, inspecting it. “She’s young.”
“Nine months old.” Officer Randall turned to the appropriate page to prove it.
“What can you give me?”
Officer Hoffman let out a low whistle. “Unfortunately, there isn’t much to give. We questioned Ms. Sharma, and she pointed us toward her ex-husband.”
“What about fingerprints?”
Officer Randall laughed nervously. “Well… there were none?”
Sergeant blinked. “None?”
“None. We dusted the window and the surrounding windowsill, but there was absolutely nothing.”
Sergeant Callahan held out his hands. “Show me.” Officer Hoffman took out the camera and handed it over. “Well. I see it. Not a single one…” He whistled. “Must’ve been a good cleaning.”
“That’s another thing.” Officer Hoffman sighed. “There’s no sign of a recent cleaning. The glass isn’t streaky.”
“Well, I don’t really believe that the glass is just that clean. There’s something bigger at play.”
Officer Randall nodded. “If there is, we’ll find it.”
“Good. Now tell me about this ex-husband. Is he a potential suspect?”
Officer Randall nodded profusely. “His name is Karan Chatterjee, and according to Ms. Sharma, he left a couple of hours for an out-of-state trip before she discovered Deshna was missing.”
“Loving what I;m hearing so far. Tell me more about how Sharma and Chatterjee interacted.”
“Ms. Shamra and Chatterjee met to have lunch once a week to talk about Deshna. When I asked Ms. Sharma about custody, she shut down.”
Sergeant Callahan nodded, now flipping through the notepad. “Did you manage to find out his destination?”
“Ms. Sharma only told us out-of-state. So either he didn’t tell her, or she didn’t ask.”
Sergeant Callahan nodded. “Alright then. Right now, we have a proper mystery. It’s our job to solve it. Go to Stevenson to do a quick scan of his social media accounts to see who we can question about his whereabouts.”
“Yes, sir.” Officer Hoffman nodded as Officer Randall picked up the photo and the notepad. “We’ll come back with results by the end of the day.”
“This is a potential kidnapping. We don’t have time to delay. I want these by lunch.”
Officer Hoffman just nodded again. “Of course. You’ll get them.”
Officer Bradley Stevenson spent most of his days in his office, running several programs on his beloved computer. Which wasn’t nearly as sad as movies would have you believe. His office was incredibly bright, with strings of fairylights across the walls and little figurines of various creatures scattered across the room. Mermaids, vampires, transformed werewolves. Some with basis in reality, others less.
When Officers Randall and Hoffman walked in, Officer Stevenson looked up. The man himself didn’t nearly look as bright as his room. He was realtively scrawny, with dark bags under his eyes from long nights. He fixed his blue light glasses. “Ah, Rufus, is it?”
“My first name or last name?”
“Either?”
“Neither.”
Officer Stevenson sighed. “Alright then. You. It’s…” He narrowed his eyes at Officer Hoffman. “Eliza?”
She snorted. “Close, but no.”
Officer Stevenson sighed. “What do you need?”
“A social media scan. It’s for the potiential kidnapping case.” Officer Randall went to look at the figurines. “Nothing that needs permission or a warrant.”
“Which one? The young boy who disappeared at the park, or the infant who disappeared in her room?”
“The young boy’s was closed last week.” Officer Hoffman yawned. “They found him in a tiny town upstate.”
“They did?” Officer Stevenson blinked. “Huh. Alright then. Is it the infant then or…?”
“It’s the infant.” Officer Hoffman glared at Officer Randall as he knocked over the figurine of the mermaid. Officer Stevenson didn’t seem to notice.
“Okay.” Officer Stevenson rolled closer to his computer. “I just need first and last name.”
“Karan Chatterjee.”
Officer Steven typed it in. “Karan… Chatterjee…” He looked back up. “What social medias are we checking?”
Officer Hoffman looked over his shoulder, scanning his computer. “All of them. We need to find this guy. Leave no stone unturned.”
“Got you.” Officer Stevenson started typing at rapid speed, Officer Hoffman barely able to follow, she walked away, leaning against the wall. He didn’t even seem to breathe as he just kept going. Until he looked up.
“I have three results.”
“Let’s look at all of them.” Officer Hoffman went back to look over his shoulder. “We need something on this guy. Ms. Sharma didn’t tell us much.”
Officer Stevenson hummed. “Have you considered that the two of them are working together?”
Officer Randall looked back up at his scanning at that. “Buddy…”
But it was too late.
“How dare you?” Officer Hoffman scowled. “She was heartbroken! Losing her daughter… it’s the worst thing that could happen to a mother!”
Officer Stevenson blinked, looking up at her, before he shrugged. “Okay. There’s a reason I don’t do fieldwork.” He went clicked on the first result. “Karan Chatterjee… nope not this one. This one is a teenager. I forgot to put an age registriction.
“Age regitriction?”
“I have to put limits on my searches to get the person I want. Do you really think there’s only three Karan Chatterjees in the country? These are the results for the three closest cities. The more information you give me, the easier I can find him, but it sounds like you two were lucky to get his name.” He went to the second result. “Hmm. Seems the right age range. What names should I be looking for on here?”
“Deshna.”
“Cool.” He pressed a few buttons, typing Deshna into a box in the upper-right corner. “Hmm… no mentions of her in this account. Maybe he has a nickname for her.” He closed the book and started scrolling through what seemed to be an eclectic collection of social media posts from several sites. “Oh no. Not this guy. This guy is gay. And I don’t think yours is.”
Officer Randall snorted at how quickly he left the result. “You good there?”
“I don’t like wasting time. I should’ve done a more thorough check before falling back on manuel scrolling.” Officer Stevenson clicked on the thired result. “Either this is your guy, or we need a larger search radius, or he has his location off on social media. Both would significantly increase the time it takes to find him.” He clicked on the third result. “Right age range…”
Officer Hoffman leaned closer as Officer Randall finally wandered over, looking too.
“Let’s see.” He opened the same box in the top corner again, typing Deshna again.
This time, he had over one hundred results.
“A Karan Chatterjee with a Deshna. Let’s just make sure it’s your pair.” He pressed enter, the page immediately scrolling down to a social media post.
“Taking my girls Xi-wang and Deshna to the zoo today! #blessed #familyman #familytrip ”
Officer Randall frowned. “Who’s Xi-wang?”
“That’s what I was thinking.” Officer Hoffman frowned. “I guess Karan could be dating again.”
“Or, this could could be the wrong Karan Chatterjee.” Officer Stevenson scrowled up to the box and pressed an arrow pointing down. “As unlikely as it seems.”
The next post appeared.
“My baby, my light, my Deshna just turned nine months old today. It only seems like yesterday you were born, blessing this world with an endless amount of grace.” Attached was a photo of an infant with dark brown skin who was just starting to grow black hair.
“That’s her!” Officer Randall pulled out the photo of her, throwing it on the desk. “See? This is the right Karan!”
Officer Stevenson nodded. “Good. I could print out the results of this for you.”
Officer Hoffman smiled. “Please do. That would be helpful.”
“Alright.” With a shrug, he pressed a few more buttons and the printer in the corner hummed to life, configuring before spitting sheets of paper into the tray.
Officer Randall frowned. “How much is there?”
Officer Stevenson turned his chair around, leaning it against the desk. “Only one hundred, twenty-three pages. You’ll be fine. You’re lucky he doesn’t seem to be much of an addict.”
“That’s lucky?” Officer Randall stared at the still going printer in horror. “How much paper do you use in a day?”
Officer Stevenson sighed. “Enough to get the job done.” He frowned. “Ah! You got them all crooked.” He stood up, rearranging the figurines on his shelves.
Officer Randall cringed. “Sorry.”
Officer Stevenson ignored him, painstakingly placing each one on his shelf as if he was diffusing a bomb.
Officer Hoffman glared at him. “Good job, hotshot, you upset him,” she muttered.
“I didn’t mean to.” He raised his hands in surrender, looking between the two of them.
“Well you did. Apologize once he’s done.”
“I will! I will!”
“The printer’s almost done.” Officer Stevenson turned around. “You two are bad at whispering.” He went back to his work, shaking his head.
Officer Randall’s face paled. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”
“I’ve never had a gorgon before.”
“Right, of course.”
Officer Stevenson snorted. “I was joking. I don’t trust anyone else to buy these. They never buy the right ones. You apologized. I appreciate it.”
The printer shut off.
“That’s our cue.” Officer Hoffman grabbed Officer Randall’s shoulders. “We best grab those and get going. Lots of work ahead! Thank you for your help!”
“It is what I am paid to do.”
Officer Randall and Officer Hoffman both had to grab from the stack to grab all of the paper to ensure they didn’t drop any, Officer Hoffman making a beeline for the door as soon as she could. Officer Randall wasn’t too far behind.
“We have been in his office too many times to count! Why are you always so infatuated with those things?”
Officer Randall groaned. “Because they’re so fun! I wish we could personilze our desk like that! But no! Officer Stevenson is special so he gets a special office.”
“He is special! Let’s throw you on that computer and see how far you get.”
Officer Randall pouted. “I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve his office. I’m just saying some personalization like that would be good for office moral.”
“You know Sergeant Callahan would never approve of that. He’s barely okay with Stevenson’s. And the only reason why he was convinced was because no civilian goes back there and it’s Stevenson.”
“I’m not saying it will happen. I’m just saying it should.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Officer Hoffman rolled her eyes. “Come on. We have all of this to sort through.”
Officer Randall huffed. “I am coming.”
The two of them make it to a communal work table, setting down their piles of social media posts. Officer Hoffman grabbed the first one off of the top. “Okay. We need to find out anything we can about this Xi-wang person and if he’s been ranting about Ms. Sharma.”
Officer Randall took his own sheet of people. “Some other people to question about what he’s been up to would also be good.”
“Absolutely.”
It wasn’t very long before Officer Randall cleared his throat. “Elsa?”
“Hmm?”
“He’s talking more about Xi-wang here.” He passed the paper over. Officer Hoffman scanned it. “Look at this dinner Xi-wang prepared for me! I feel like the luckiest man in the world.” The attached picture was a two person dinner: steaks and asparagus with wine. A red candle was on the middle of the table.
“This seems… very romantic to me.”
“My thoughts exactly. I’m thinking your guess was right.”
Officer Hoffman nodded. “That could add motive. He had a new girlfriend and she just wanted him to get Ms. Sharma out of his life.”
“Gross behavior, but not uncommon.”
‘Unfortuantely.”
“Anything on your end?”
“Not quite yet. Most of this is reposting. Nothing original and nothing telling like ‘I hate my wife’ or ‘ever imagine kidnapping your kid as a joke?’”
“What a shame. I’m sure we’ll find something.”
“If there’s anything to find. Right now, all we have is that he has a new girlfriend. The only reason he’s even a suspect is because he left close to the time Deshna disappeared.”
“And because he’s close to Deshan and Ms. Sharma. And because the statistics most kidnappings committed against children are by adults close to them.”
“Right, right.” Officer Hoffman sighed. “But right now we’re putting our eggs all in one very loose suspect. What do we do if we find out it isn’t him? We’ve already lost so much time in finding Deshna.”
“Right now who else would we investigate? We don’t know anyone else connected to this. Maybe it was Xi-wang operating alone, but we need to find out more about her too to investigate her. You could give in to Stevenson’s theory and see if it was Ms. Sharma somehow.”
Officer Hoffman scoffed. “Stevenson is good at computers. Not theories.”
“Then what else is there, Elsa? Who else can we look into?”
“I… I don’t know.” Officer Hoffman sighed. “You’re right. This is all we have.” She picked up another post, only to get another repost. She sighed and set it aside.
“Hey.”
“Hmm?”
“I know this is hard on you. I know you acted like you were feeling better in the car earlier, but this is killing you. And I’m sorry. But as soon as you get home, Mira is going to give you a big hug and Cade is going to give you a rock he found, and you’re going to remember why you’re here doing this. Okay?
Officer Hoffman nodded. “Thanks.”
“Don’t give me that empty-eyed thanks. Just… really think about it. Close your eyes and imagine it if you have to. Serilda’s cooking making the whole house smell like heaven. Mira is coloring, so you can hear her markers just scratching the page. Cade is probably outside, so you’ve left the door open and you can just feel the breeze seeping in. Doesn’t it feel like home?”
Officer Hoffman closed her eyes, trying to imagine opening her front door. The door swings fast, so she has to be careful. She can smell garlic on the stove. She can hear something sizzling.
“Mom’s home!” She closed the door behind her.
But there was no response.
“Mira? Cade?” Silence.
“Mira! Cade!”
Officer Hoffman’s eyes snapped open. “We don’t have time for this.” She took out another paper. “Get back to it.”
Officer Randall sighed, but listened, taking another paper. The silence was heavier this time as they worked, guilt tainting their usual comfortable air.
It was a solid fifteen minutes before Officer Hoffman finally had something to show for her work. “Hey. Hey! Look at this.” She passed the paper over. “I got a photot of Xi-wang.”
“What?” Officer Randall snatched it.
“It’s only been three months since I’ve been with this amazing woman, but every day has been a dream. I don’t know how I’ve been so lucky.” The photo attached was of a woman with pale skin, short black hair, and a warm smile.
Officer Randal whistled. “Three months. And this was what? Two months ago. They’ve been together for pretty much Deshna’s whole life.”
“The real question then becomes, how much of that was during a certain marriage.”
“Do you think they could still have lunch with each other if he cheated on her.”
“I think Ms. Sharma would do anything for Deshna.”
“You have a lot of confidence in this woman you’ve never met.”
Officer Hoffman stood up. “Come on. We need to find this woman’s address. She could have the answers we desperately need.”
Officer Randall sighed. “I know. I know. I work here too.” He stood up, collecting the papers. “Where should I put these”
“Put them on your desk. We might need to go back. I’ll go to Stevenson.”
“Okay then.”
Officer Hoffman took off, still holding the photo of Xi-wang. She went into Stevenson’s office. “Stevenson.”
“Oh, you’re back.” He looked up. “What is it?”
“I need you to run a scan for a driver’s liscense.” She put the photo of Xi-wang on the desk. “This woman.”
He picked up the photo. “That’s easy enough. Good lighting, subject’s in focus, nothing too distracting or obscuring her face. Give me five minutes.” He rolled to the printer, putting the photo on the scanner. He went back to the computer, going to a different window and selecting a few options that meant nothing to Officer Hoffman. Soon, the printer was humming again, the screen showing a progress bar. Officer Hoffman just leaned against the wall and waited, tapping her foot against the floor.
Once the progress bar filled, a driver's license appeared on the screen. Officer Stevenson rolled back. “There we go! Xi-wang Chin’s driver’s license. I can print this out for you too.”
“Please.”
The door opened then, Officer Randall walked in. “How is everything?”
“Perfectly!” Officer Hoffman grinned. “We have Xi-Wang’s driver’s license.”
“Which is printing out now.” Officer Stevenson pulled away from his computer again. “Just one paper this time.”
Officer Hoffman waited by the printer, taking the paper as soon as it was done. “Thank you again!”
“Still paid to do it.”
Officer Hoffman rushed past Officer Randall.
“Hold on! Where are we going?”
“We can use the address here to question her!”
“It’s an hour to lunch. We need to report to Sergeant Callahan soon.”
“He won’t mind us being a little late if we have something more substantial to give him.”
Officer Randall sighed. “Normally I would say it’s your funeral, but it’s not. It’s ours. And I don’t want to die yet.”
“We’ll be fine!”
“When did our roles reverse? Why are you acting like this?”
“Because I want to have something, Tim! The clock is ticking down. We know nothing about anything. I just… we need to do better.”
Officer Randall sighed. “Okay. I see my attempt to calm you down made everything worse, so I’ll respect that. I’ll pop in and tell him we’re going, so he knows why we’re late.”
“Thank you.”
“Meet you at the car.”
“Sure.” Officer Hoffman went past him, out into the hallway. Officer Randall rubbed his temples before going out too, making his way to Sergeant Callahan’s office. He knocked on the door.
“Come in!”
Officer Randall entered, frowning slightly. “Sir?”
“Oh, Randall! Here with an early update?”
“Yes, sir. We found the name and address of Karan’s current girlfriend, so we’re going to head out to question her.”
“Good job, you two. I look forward to hearing your findings when you get back.”
“Of course. I’ll be going then.”
“Close the door behind you.”
Officer Hoffman sat in the driver’s seat, obsessively adjusting and readjusting the mirrors, frowning as it never seemed to look quite right.
Officer Randall slipped in. “I was going to drive.”
“It’s fine. You drove here.” She handed him the paper. “Navigate us to that address.”
“You got it, boss.”
She rolled her eyes, pulling out of the parking lot.
It was about a thirty minute drive to Xi-wang’s house, most of it consisting of silence punctuated by driving instructions. Once they arrived, Officer Randall turned to Officer Hoffman.
“Remember, Elsa. Conversational.” He placed his palms together. “We don’t want her getting defensive.”
Officer Hoffman shot him a small glare, which he took as a win. Before Office Hoffman shot out of the car like a bullet on stimulants. Then maybe it was less of a playful thing and more of her being annoyed at him for wasting time. He sighed, getting out of the car. They really needed to find this kid. For Ms. Sharma, of course, and to make sure she was safe. But for Elsa too. She was always a bleeding heart. And it hurt to see her like this.
He got out off the car and followed her, spotting her already at the door. He jogged up the walkway, someone opening it right as he made it.
It was a young woman with brown waves and sweatpants.
Definitely old enough to own this house, but not Xi-wang. “Uhhh… can I help you?”
“Officers Hoffman and Randall.” Officer Hoffman flashed her badge. “We’re here looking for a Xi-wang Chin. We were told this is her residence.”
“Oh. I’m her roommate.” The woman frowned. “Why are you looking for her? Did she kill someone or something?”
Officer Randall frowned. “Is she the kind of person to kill someone?”
The woman narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think I’m supposed to answer that without a warrant.”
Officer Hoffman sighed. “Okay. Just… where is Xi-wang?”
“Oh, she’s not here. She went out with her new boyfriend. Karen, or whatever.” She scoffed.
“Do you not like this… Karen?” Officer Hoffman and Officer Randall exchanged a glance.
The woman huffed. “I just… all most women are about is getting married and wearing make up and having kids! I thought Xi-wang was different until she met this guy and met his daughter and now she goes on and on about how amazing it would be to be a mother.” She crossed her arms. “He ruined her.”
Officer Hoffman smiled as Officer Randall took out his notepad, flipping to a new page. “Can we come in, please?”
The woman narrowed her eyes. “What? Did Karen die and now you think I did it?”
“No one died, ma’am.” Officer Hoffman put on her best smile under the present circumstances. “We suspect that Karan Chatterjee, Xi-wang’s boyfriend, was involved in a kidnapping. We think you have some valuable information about their relationship. Possibly about whether or not Xi-wang was involved.”
The woman frowned. “Don’t you need a warrant to question me?”
“No, ma’am.” Officer Hoffman’s eye twitched. “All we need is your permission and for you to answer the questions.”
The woman sighed. “Fine then. Come in.” The woman stepped back, letting Officers Hoffman and Randall inside. It was a modest place, a boxy living room closed off from the rest of the place. There was a coffee table with a couch on one long side and an armchair on one short side. The woman sat in the chair. “So. What do you need?” Officer Hoffman sat down on the couch while Officer Randall walked around, scanning the place.
Officer Hoffman smiled. “Let’s start simple. What’s your name?”
“Amanda Gilde. But my guy friends and subs call me Manny because it’s less girlish. It fits better.”
Officer Hoffman nodded. “Okay, Manny. How long have you been living with Xi-wang?”
“Two years now.”
“How would you describe your relationship with each other?”
“I don’t know.” Amanda shrugged. “She was pretty boring for a while. Nothing really annoying, but she didn’t like sports or beer.” She groaned. “But that changed when she met Karen. At first, it wasn’t too bad. Just talks about how he was cute or whatever.” Amanda gagged. “It just got worse and worse.”
“Is there any particular reason why you didn’t like Xi-wang talking about Karan?”
“Because she sounded so basic!” She collapsed against the back of the chair. “All boy crazy and stupid. It made no sense! He was married when she met him.”
Officer Hoffman frowned, glancing at Officer Randall, who was dutifully writing stuff down as he pretended to look around. “He was married?”
“Yeah! She talked about it when she first met him. About how cute he was, but how she wasn’t a homewrecker.”
“And when was this?”
“Sometime…” Amanda frowned. “In August?”
“August. Alright. When did you find out that she was with Karan?”
She groaned loudly again. “February. A week after Valentine’s Day. And she was so obnoxious about it. I thought I was going to lose it. You don’t understand.”
“My sympathies. So it’s been five months now?”
“Five long, long months….”
Officer Hoffman nodded, trying not to let her sarcasm be too obvious. “Right. So during this time, have you actually ever met Karan?”
“Just once. Xi-wang wanted to introduce me to him, but I made it clear I was not interested in knowing him. She never brought him around again.”
“How did he seem during this meeting?”
“Eh, couldn’t really say. It lasted for all of ten minutes. They had theaters for a movie, and he was going to stay until it was closer to the show, but I didn’t want any of that.”
Officer Hoffman nodded. “Alright then. During these five months, has Xi-wang ever mentioned a girl named Deshna?”
“Oh. My. God.” Amanda straightened herself in her chair, leaning forward. “Is that the girl that was kidnapped? Because let me tell you, for the past three months, that’s all Xi-wang will talk about! Like, hello. It’s just an infant. It can’t even talk. It probably doesn’t like you because it’s a baby. You don’t understand how annoying she has been! She has pictures of it on her phone. She shows pictures of it to people at work. She’s just obsessed with that kid. It’s like she thinks she’s its mom or something.”
Officer Hoffman had to clench her fist at that, trying to stay calm. It? It? Deshna was a human. She was a human with thoughts and feelings. And maybe she couldn’t express them the way Officer Hoffman or Amanda could, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have them. Officer Hoffman looked up at Officer Randall. He needed to take over before someone here was arrested. And it would have nothing to do with a kidnapping charge.
Thankfully, Officer Randall recognized that look immediately and sat beside her. “And how long has that been going on for?” He rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to silently remind her that Mira and Cade didn’t need their mom to lose their job over someone like this.
Amanda hummed. “The Deshna thing started around two months ago, but it’s gotten a lot worse in recent times.”
Officer Randall nodded. “Okay, okay. Has she ever mentioned Karan wishing he could see her more? Or her wanting to see her more for that matter?”
“I think I’ve heard both renditions of that, honestly.” Amanda sighed. “Oh, Karen is so sad that he’s missing Deshna’s one-month birthday. And oh, I wish I had Deshna and could take her to the beach with me and Karen today.”
Officer Randall smiled. “Thank you so much. Really. You have been such a big help. Can you just answer one last question?”
Amanda nodded. “Yeah. you’ve just let me finally complain about the menace in my house, so I’m happy to continue.”
“Did Xi-Wang ever mention where she was going with Karan?”
Amanda sighed. “Only like every day for the past week. They went to California. Santa Fe. She’s going to see Karan’s family.”
“Do you know how long they’re going to be gone?”
Amanda put her hands on her knees, mocking Xi-wang. “Oh, for five whole days! I’m going to get to cook with his mom and play card games with his dad and be an utterly useless woman!” She gave one last mocking smile before dropping the demeanor and rolling her eyes. “Gross stuff like that. Five days. I say good riddance, stay forever.”
Officer Hoffman stood up. “Thank you for your help.” She turned around and immediately headed out the door. Officer Randall smiled. “Have a good day. If we need more information from you, we’ll be in touch.”
Amanda shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Oh, and Hoffman, was it?”
Officer Hoffman turned around. “Yes?” Her smile was all teeth at this point.
“You’re one of the good women out there. No man. No children. Just doing your own thing.”
Officer Hoffman couldn’t resist the urge to snort. “Half credit.”
Amanda frowned. “Huh?”
“My wife and I have two kids.”
Officer Hoffman left before Amanda could respond, Officer Randall trying to hold in his laughter as he followed.
“Oh, Elsa! The look on her face! She really thought you were an ally of hers.”
Officer Hoffman shook her head. “So infuriating. I don’t understand why people have to do that. And it goes both ways! All of the people who tell you and Idalia to have kids. All of the people who tell me and Serilda we shouldn’t have. It’s just…” She cried out in frustration. “Let people do what they want, you freaks!”
Officer Randall snorted. “Hear, hear.”
“And just because you don’t want kids doesn’t mean you have to insult them. Like, children are people. They can hear you. That can absolutely damage them.” Officer Hoffman sighed. “You and Idalia don’t go around acting like that.”
“What do you mean? I love punting babies in my spare time.”
“You are thin ice right now.”
“My apologies. I am very nice to babies in my spare time.”
“Better.” Officer Hoffman sighed, sitting down and rubbing her temples. “God, I need this case to be over.”
“You’ll feel better when you see Mira and Cade. You always do.”
“That’s what, five and a half hours away?”
“Well, it’s really hard to solve a kidnapping before then. I think you’re going to have to settle for that.”
Officer Hoffman nodded. “I guess so. What now, then?”
“Well, it is lunchtime.”
“But the case-”
“Will be there in thirty minutes. Besides, you can’t solve it falling apart. Now, I’m not taking you home because I know taking you out will just be worse, but I can take you to your favorite fast food chain.”
“The Golden Drum?”
Officer Randall chuckled. “The Golden Drum. Come on now. Let’s get you that spicy chicken sandwich you’re obsessed with.”
“Have I ever mentioned that you’re the best?”
“Not enough.”
“Now you’re just being arrogant again.”
“I’m telling the truth. Now get in the car.”
Officer Hoffman huffed. “I am complying. But only because I want that sandwich. Don’t confuse my motivation.”
“Mhm. Of course. I’d never.”
Officer Hoffman rolled her eyes and slipped into the car, crossing her arms. “Get in the car.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming. I know better than to separate a woman from her chicken.” Officer Randall got into the driver’s seat. “So, despite everything, we got some valuable information from her.” He pulled out of the driveway, not bothering to ask for directions this time.
“Yeah. A lot more than I was expecting. I wonder when Ms. Sharma and Karan officially divorced. How long was it until Karan started dating Xi-wang?”
Officer Randall nodded. “All good questions. Another I would like to know is if Ms. Sharma even knows about Xi-wang. She never mentioned her.”
“True. If she’s a big secret, I could see why Karan took Deshna. He wanted to separate his new life from her completely. Sharing Deshna would only get in the way of that.”
“Exactly.”
“But that only works if Ms. Sharma didn’t know about Xi-wang.”
“Not necessarily. Maybe Ms. Sharma knows but doesn’t like the girl. Or maybe Xi-wang doesn’t like her and wants her out of the picture. It’s a complicated situation.”
“I suppose…” Officer Hoffman looked out the window. “All I know at this point is that if one of them did it, both of them did it. I don’t see how Karan could’ve kidnapped Deshna and hid it from Xi-wang or vice versa. They’re either in cahoots or innocent.”
“Two people are easier to find.”
“Hopefully. If they stay together.”
“I don’t see why they would separate.”
Officer Hoffman stopped to consider it. “They might separate if they knew they were being pursued. Splinter our attention on two moving targets.”
“No, that’s what you would do. These two are madly in love with a baby they just kidnapped. Do you really think they’re going to want to separate?”
“Well, we can’t know for sure until it gets to that point. We just have to stay on guard and try to draw them out without spooking them. If it gets that far.”
“What do you mean if it gets that far?”
“Well, there’s every chance an officer could stop them on their way to California. Deshna’s description is spreading fast at this point. Once they crossed state lines, it became a federal crime.”
“They’re going to get a much bigger mess than they planned for, then.”
“That’s the plan. The more surprised they are, the easier they go down.”
Officer Randall pulled into the drive-thru. “We’re here. Do you want fries with your sandwich?”
“Are you going to buy me fries with my sandwich?”
“I would buy you curly fries.”
“Then get me curly fries. You’re getting something, too, right?”
“Of course! You know their chicken strips are to die for.”
“Good. Put some respect on the Golden Drum.”
“Always.” Officer Randall pulled up to the ordering station.
With a sharp crackle, it came to life. “Hello, welcome to Golden Drum! Fast chicken, good chicken. What can I get you?”
“Hi, can I get a spicy chicken sandwich with curly fries and a three-piece chicken strip meal with curly fries?”
“Okay!” After a few moments of silence, the voice returned, the order appearing on the screen. “So that is a chicken sandwich with curly fries and a three-piece chicken strip meal with curly fries?”
“Spicy chicken sandwich,” Officer Randall corrected, smiling at the ordering station.
“Oh, my apologies!” The order on the screen changed.
“It’s alright. Simple thing. Simple fix.”
“Thank you. You’ll pay at the next window.”
“Thank you!” Officer Randall sat back again, drumming against the steering wheel. “So, what’s your plan to keep them surprised?”
“Make no public claim that we consider those two suspects, but contact the Santa Fe police. We have to tell people why we’re questioning them legally, but no one else needs to know what’s happening.”
Officer Randall nodded. “Smart. The media tends to ruin more cases than it helps. We keep our heads down, and we should be able to get them to come back without much fuss.”
“Exactly.”
Officer Randall’s phone rang. He frowned, picking it up. “It’s Callahan.”
“You told him where we were going, right?”
“Of course.” He answered the call, putting it on speaker. “Sir. You’re on speaker with me and Officer Hoffman.”
“I thought you two were going to question the suspect’s girlfriend.”
Officer Randall sighed. “We were, sir, but she left with Karan on his out-of-state trip. So, we questioned her roommate instead to find out if Xi-wang would’ve been involved.”
There was a moment of silence before Sergeant Callahan sighed. “Okay. I can’t fault you there. But, there’s been a situation.”
“What is it, sir?”
“This roommate you questioned posted on social media that her roommate and her boyfriend are kidnappers. It’s gone viral.”
Officer Hoffman scoffed. “Are you kidding me? We were just there!”
“Apparently, this girl has quite the social media presence. She took the whole thing as an extension to her fame.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Officer Randall rubbed his temples. “Why can’t anyone keep things to themselves anymore? That’s going to send Xi-wang and Karan running while the media crawls all over this like ants. They’ll be in Venezuela by the time the California force can track down Karan’s whereabouts in Santa Fe.”
“Wait, you tracked Karan to Santa Fe?”
“Yeah.” Officer Hoffman sighed. “The roommate knew where they were going. They’re heading to Santa Few to visit his parents. Well, at least they were. Who knows at this point?”
“No one but them, unfortunately. Head back to the station. Tell me everything this roommate told you while I send Stevenson to play damage control on this.”
“Alright, sir.” Officer Randall hung up. “Sorry, Elsa. I guess no chicken sandwich for you.”
“If you and Idalia want to swing by after work, we can make it a family outing.”
“That sounds nice.” Officer Randall checked over his shoulder before pulling out of the line and back onto the road. “This is going to be a disaster.”
“A colossal one.” Officer Hoffman smoothed her hair, her hands going over the sandy blonde locks. “I want to say there’s something we could’ve done, but…” She shrugged. “I don’t think there is. I think it’s just a bad situation. We needed that information. And technically, it is the public’s right to know what’s going on, even if it messes things up for us.”
Officer Randall patted her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.”
“We don’t really have a say in the matter. We either figure it out or never find Deshna.”
“That’s the spirit!”
Officer Hoffman rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.
As soon as the car parked, both of them all but jumped out, only to be greeted by a mob of people outside of the front doors. Officer Hoffman sighed, tying her hair into a ponytail with a holder she fished out of her pockets. “Oh boy. Here we go.”
Officer Randall didn’t have much hair to tie, so he just nodded. “Ready when you are.”
Officer Hoffman went first, sticking her shoulder out to cut through the crowd. “Excuse me. Excuse me! Police coming through.”
Soon there was a microphone in her face. “Excuse me, are you one of the officers who questioned MannyTalks?”
“Never heard of her.”
“She’s the podcast internet star who-”
“I don’t care.” Officer Hoffman kept pushing, trying not to growl at the people who kept pushing in her way.
“Ma’am, is it true that Karen Chatterybee is the person who kidnapped the baby?”
“Guilt is only determined in a court of law. Besides, we haven’t investigated a Karen.”
The chatter was getting too much. Officer Hoffman just wanted to get through to the door.
“Hey, is it true that you insulted MannyTalks and called her alternative lifestyle gross and against biology?”
“No!” Officer Hoffman snapped at the newscaster, who just shoved a microphone in her face. “I don’t know who MannyTalks is. I don’t care who MannyTalks is. Now, if you excuse me. I am trying to find a missing infant who could be injured.” With a final surge of strength, she made it through the door, ushering Officer Randall through.
Officer Randall was panting, his jacket all crooked. “I swear… that is what it’s like to live during the zombie apocalypse….”
“Officers!” Sergeant Callahan stepped into the lobby. “I see you made it alive.”
Officer Randall nodded. “Barely.”
“We’ll be fine.” Officer Hoffman made sure her ponytail was straight. “How bad is it?”
“Well, Karan and Xi-wang’s faces are plastered on every top news channel, and I had to send a unit to Ms. Sharma’s home to protect her from the swarm there.”
“Should we board up the windows? If we run out of ammo, Stevenson’s figurines could make great makeshift weapons.” Officer Randall went to peek out of the closed blinds. “We could try flares too.”
Sergeant Callahan gave them a small smile. “Funny, Randall. To my office. I want to hear what this problem starter told you.”
The two of them followed Sergeant Callahan back to his office, getting situated in the same seats as Sergeant Callahan sat in his. “Alright then. So, you discovered that Xi-wang and the suspect are traveling to Santa Fe to visit the suspect’s family. What else?”
Officer Hoffman scooted closer to his desk. “We discovered that the suspect and Xi-wang met in August of last year, when the suspect was still married to Ms. Sharma. They started dating in February.”
Sergeant Callahan nodded, frowning. “Half a year from married to dating someone else. Not a lot of time, considering how long divorce takes.”
“Our thoughts exactly. Xi-wang started talking about Deshna to her roommate back in April.”
“What kind of talk?”
“Things about missing Deshna, wishing she saw her. Karan wishing he saw her more.” Officer Hoffman leaned back. “Money stuff, really. The things that get people interrogated.”
“Good. Very good. That’s the kind of find we need. We’ve made good progress today. I’m proud of both of you. I’ve contacted stations inside of California to be on the lookout for Xi-wang and Karan. With any luck, we’ll catch them before the day is out.”
Officer Hoffman smiled. “Thank you, sir.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Prepare whatever materials you have to submit a request for a warrant to search Xi-wang’s room and Karan’s home. Hopefully we’ll find enough clues for an arrest.”
“Yes, sir.”
Four hours of sorting through the rest of Karan’s social media posts, requesting Xi-wang’s, and filing them into request forms, Officer Hoffman and Officer Randell were just about done with their warrant request forms.
Officer Hoffman groaned, holding her head in her hands. “I hate this part of the job.”
“I feel like you hate a lot of the job.”
“Yeah. And this is included.” Officer Hoffman looked up. “Police officers. We find your missing kid. We find the murderer. We shuffle paperwork. Ugh, I would love a good murder case right now.”
“You do realize someone has to die then, right?”
“I wholeheartedly volunteer.” Officer Hoffman finally looked up, glancing at Officer Randall. “How’s yours going?”
“About the same as yours. Tedious. Boring. Possibly life-threatening. Hopefully whoever you have lined up can stomach a double homicide.”
“I can arrange that.”
Officer Randall’s phone started ringing. He fished it out of his pocket, answering it. “Hello?”
“Randall? This is Lopez. We have the suspects from the Chatterjee-Sharma case.”
Officer Randall stood up. “They were brought in?”
“No, not exactly. They just sort of… walked in.”
“My partner and I are coming.” Randall hung up. “We have to go. Karan and Xi-wang just walked in.”
“Of their own free will?”
“Seems so.”
Officer Hoffman stood up. “Let’s hope this is the answer we need.”
“Wouldn’t that be great?”
It was a short walk to the interrogation rooms, Officer Lopez walking forward. “We got them separated. They’ve had no contact since they’ve arrived.”
“Good job, Lopez. We got it from here.”
He nodded. “The floor is yours.” He walked away.
Officer Hoffman eyed both Xi-wang and Karan through the two-way mirrors. “Who do we question first?”
Officer Randall hummed. “I feel like we don’t know enough about Karan. At least we know something about Xi-wang. Not much more, but it’s still more.”
Officer Hoffman nodded. “Sound logic. Let’s hit her first.”
The two of them entered the room Xi-wang was being kept in. “Good evening, Ms. Chin.” Officer Randall sat down, while Officer Hoffman leaned against the wall, staring her down.
Ms. Chin shifted in her seat. “Good evening, officers.”
“So, why did you come in tonight?” Officer Randall crossed his arms across the table.
“Karan and I were driving to Santa Fe to stay at his parents’ for a bit. For his dad’s birthday, you know? And we had only been on the road for around four hours when he got a call from Aditi. So we say hi all cheerfully thanking it’s her wishing us luck or telling us to have fun. But she’s sobbing. So we ask her what’s wrong, and she tells us that Deshna is missing. She’s hysterical, we’re terrified and we try to get her to explain, but all she’s saying is that Deshna is gone.” Ms. Chin’s voice cracks. “And Karan asks if someone broke in or if something happened. And Aditi says that when she came in to check on Deshna she… she just wasn’t in her crib…”
Ms. Chin laced her hands together, resting her face on her knuckles. “Oh, it was awful. Just awful.”
Officer Hoffman and Officer Randall exchanged a glance. That wasn’t exactly the confession of a kidnapper they were expecting to get. It sounded more like Ms. Chin was utterly devastated, barely keeping herself together. The difference made the two slightly uncomfortable.
“Uh, Ms. Chin?”
She looked up, tears sparkling in her eyes.
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
“Oh.” She wiped her eyes. “Well, as soon as Aditi got off the phone to call the police, we turned around. Well, as soon as we could. We were on a two way highway. Not many places to safely turn around. And on the way back, we were listening to the radio, to see if we would hear any news about Deshna. For a while there was nothing, but eventually…” Her eyes got heavy as she stared off into space. “The radio blamed us. It said we were the lead suspects in her kidnapping. And it said my roommate was the one who provided all of the information to determine this.” She let out a sob. “Oh, it was awful. We were already so scared for Deshna, but now everyone thought we were evil. The ones who would hurt her. Who would help us?”
Her gaze latched on to Officer Randall’s. “Please. Please, we just want to help. Deshna is like a daughter to me. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”
Officer Randall looked at Officer Hoffman. She was feeling so heartbroken for this woman. She couldn’t imagine losing her daughter like Ms. Sharma did, but everyday people told her that she was hurting her kids. That her marriage to a woman was hurting her kids. That their careers were hurting their kids. And everyday she went to bed, covered in sores from their words.
Your kids need a father in their life!
Mothers are supposed to stay at home!
You’re supposed to cure their mental illness, not give into it!
On the really dark days, when she was drowning in the voices of anyone who ever called her wrong, she was afraid they were right. That she was the reason her kids would never be happy, never be healthy.
But she saw proof to the contrary every day. She saw it in the way Mira would color pictures of her moms and bring them to show and tell with the biggest smile on her face. She saw it in the way Cade brought his flashcards to school and the bits of sign language his teacher was teaching him home. She saw it in the way she would come home and feel content. Happy. Her daughter wasn’t broken. Her son wasn’t broken. Their family wasn’t broken. And she wished she could give Ms. Chin the same encouragement, the same healing.
But she would need the see the proof first.
Officer Hoffman approached the table. “Ms. Chin. Your roommate, Amanda Gilde, said that you and Karan both were… wishing you had seen Deshna more.” Before she could say anything else, Ms. Chin was already talking.
“Is this what this is about? The fact that I told Amanda that Karan and I missed Deshna?” Ms. Chin shook her head. “God, that girl can really spin a story. Deshna had gotten sick, and when she’s sick, she’s really fussy whenever she’s away from Aditi, so we found it best to give up our time so Deshna would be comfortable. Did we wish we could see her? Yes. But were we about to barge in and demand to see her, when we both knew it was only going to upset her more.”
Officer Randall frowned. “Ms. Sharma has told us about how Deshna dislikes being away from her. Do you know what that is?”
“It’s…” Ms. Chin sighed. “It’s complicated. She was born after Aditi and Karan divorced. So she’s fully bonded to Aditi, but Karan… is a work in progress. As she gets older, she can spend more time with us. But it’s a strictly on her thing. We’re not going to push it.”
Officer Randall sighed. “And would Ms. Sharma be able to corroborate everything you’re saying?”
“Yes. Aditi, Karan., and I are all friends. We stick together. Deshna is our first priority. Maybe Karan and Aditi are no longer in love, but that doesn’t matter. Maybe I was late to the party and I’m just getting used to helping out, but that doesn’t matter. Deshna is the only thing that matters.”
Officer Hoffman nodded. “We’ll talk to her, okay? Just sit tight. If you’ve done nothing wrong, it’ll be okay.”
Ms. Chin nodded, wiping at her eyes. “Okay. Okay. She’ll tell you everything.”
“Do you want Officer Randall to stay with you?”
Ms. Chin nodded. “Please.”
“Then I will.” Officer Randall smiled reassuringly.
“Thank you… thank you…”
Officer Hoffman quietly left the room, trying not to let her feelings her ahead of the facts. She had seen criminals who spun emotional tales like that. She had believed criminals who had spun emotional tales like that. She needed to stay neutral until Ms. Sharma looked her in the eye and told her that Ms. Chin was a friend and that everything she said was true.
Officer Hoffman walked to her desk, sitting down. She dialed Ms. Sharma’s number, tapping her fingers against the desk.
Officer Hoffman walked to her desk, sitting down. She dialed Ms. Sharma’s number, tapping her fingers against the desk. She answered almost immediately.
”Hello? What officer am I speaking to?”
”Hello, Ms. Sharma! This is Officer Hoffman. I just need to ask a few questions, if that’s alright.”
“Oh, that’s alright. If it’ll help you find Deshna.”
”It really will. You see, we’ve gotten some information regarding Mr. Chatterjee and Ms. Chin and we just want to run it by you. We figured you’re our most trustworthy source.”
”Oh, alright. Just let me sit down.” There was a pause on the other line. “There we are. Ask away.”
“Alright, Ms. Sharma. Can you tell me about the nature of your relationship with Karan after you divorce? Was it amicable? Do you two get along?”
“Oh dear. Well, Karan and I didn’t divorce because of fighting or infidelity or anything like that. We divorced because… we never really married for love. We needed to let each other go. It was what was best. So, we never had any hatred for each other because of it. When Deshna was born, we dedicated our whole relationship to making it work for her. Just because we never loved each other doesn’t mean we didn’t love her.”
Officer Hoffman nodded. That seemed to clear Mr. Chatterjee’s name. At least for now. “Has he ever introduced you to a woman named Xi-wang Chin?”
Ms. Sharma laughed. “Ah, yes. Xi-wang. She’s a sweet girl. Now that’s a woman Karan can marry for love. And she adores Deshna. When they get married; she’s someone Deshna can call Amma.”
Officer Hoffman smiled. It really was that simple. Their family was really just that fine and beautiful. “Thank you. That was incredibly helpful, Ms. Sharma. All I need to know.”
”Of course! I’m happy to help.”
”Try to eat something if you haven’t.”
”You’re too kind, officer.”
Officer Hoffman hung up, sighing. “There it is. She was telling the truth. Which means…” She rubbed her temples. “She’s not the one. Chatterjee’s not the one. Deshna is still out there and we have no idea where she is. I doubt Chatterjee’s family in Santa Fe swooped her away and arrived at home by eight the next morning. How did she just… vanish? Like she never even existed?”
Officer Hoffman stood up, walking back to the interrogation rooms. She was going to have a long night. She could feel it.
She opened the door to the Ms. Chin’s room. “Ms. Chin?”
She looked up from the table. The poor thing looked so exhausted, so beat down and worn out. “I just spoke with Ms. Sharma, and she corroborated with everyone you said. She adores you.”
Ms. Chin broke down sobbing, her head sinking down to the table. “Oh… that’s…” Her voice broke and she kept sobbing freely.
”It’s okay. It's okay. We’ll sort everything out.”
Ms. Chin nodded, sniffling.
“Tim? Can I speak with you outside?”
Tim nodded. “We’ll get someone to get you some water and a dinner, okay, Ms. Chin?”
”Thank you…”
Officer Randall stood up, walking out with Officer Hoffman. “What is it?"
“These aren’t our people, hotshot. We have no suspects. We have no leads. We have nothing. What are we supposed to do? We spent all day running around gathering intel on these two. From talking to Stevenson to do two social media deep-dives, to driving to talk to talk to that godawful social media star that sicced the media on us and tore Ms. Chin to shreds to…” She growled in frustration. “Deshna is missing! We have nothing! She could be dead by tomorrow morning and we have nothing to show for our search except for possibly ruining two innocent people’s lives because they got caught in a newscast hailstorm and-“
Officer Randall cut her off by hugging her tightly, pulling her close. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”
Officer Hoffman froze before she started sobbing, hugging him back. “If… If I can’t protect someone’s baby when I have the full resources of the police forces… how can I protect my own?”
Officer Randall just kept her close. “You protect your kids everyday. Everyday I watch you. The way you bandage Mira’s knee when she falls off her play set while being a ninja knight warrior dragon princess. The way you show up in uniform to parent teacher meetings when any of Cade’s teachers disrespects his IED. You don’t need guns or sirens or Stevenson to protect them. They just need you. And you are amazing at being you.”
Officer Hoffman nodded, her crying slowly down. “Thank… thank you, Tim…”
”Of course.”
”Idalia’s… a lucky woman…”
”So is Serilda. And Mira and Cade are the luckiest kids around.”
Officer Hoffman pulled away, pulling herself together. “Okay. Okay. I’m good. I’m fine now. We need to talk to Chatterjee. He might not be a suspect anymore, but he’s important to knowing who else might know Deshna.”
”Alrigjt then. You ready to face him?”
”I reached my breakdown quota for the day. I’ll be fine.”
“If it gets too much, just tell me. I’ll get you out of there.”
”Thank you. I don’t want to have to need it, but I’ll accept the offering.”
”Good. Come along then. It’s time to talk to our ex-suspect.”
Officer Randall opened the door. “Karan Chatterjee, correct?”
The man at the interrogation table looked up, nodding. “Yes. I’m Karan.”
”We spoke to your girlfriend, Xi-wang Chin.”
”Is she okay? She was pretty broken up when we arrived.”
”She’ll be okay. Despite the what the radio said, we don’t think you’re guilty. We didn’t send that broadcast out. Don’t worry.”
”Pretty hard not to worry when everyone in the state can hear it.” Mr. Chatterjee rubbed his temples. “But alright. What do you need from me then?”
”We just want to keep talking to you about Deshna. Who else knows her? Who else has taken an interest in her? Just basic questions to see who might’ve taken her. But you saying anyone’s name doesn’t mean you’re saying they did it. We just need a starting list, alright?”
Mr. Chatterjee sighed. “Well, for starters, my parents adore her. My mom took to being Dadee like fruit flies take to honey. I’ve never seen someone so content until I saw her holding Deshna in her arms.” He chuckled. “But she’s in Santa Fe. She barely gets to see her, so I get it. I’m driven half mad by how long I don’t get to see her too.”
Officer Randall took out his notepad and started. jotting bullet points down.
”And my dad. You know, when I was growing up, he always said he didn’t care whether or not I had kids, but let me tell you. Once her held Deshna in his arms.., it was all over for him. It's like the moon and stars realigned, and suddenly my dad was talking about how all along he wanted me to have kids. But that’s just how they are, you know? You just nod and smile because you see how much it's out of love and it’s really sweet.” He took a deep breath. “Wow, I’ve just been going on and on.”
Officer Hoffman shook her head. “No, please continue.”
”Well, there’s really only one person in my family that kind of worried me about how much he liked Deshna. Ramesh Singh, my cousin. He only met her one time during the holidays, when he decided to come with my parents to my house for Diwali. I didn’t really expect it, or invite him for the matter but he’s family either way. Not about to turn him away. So, he shows up at my door; and I have Deshna because my parents are there and that’s the only time she can see my parents because I can’t exactly take her to Santa Fe with me, so he locks eyes with her…” He frowned. “I can’t even describe it. He just wanted to hold her all day. He got into a staring contest with my mom over just carrying her around ,y house. And she was only five months or so at the time, so she was really little. Just a tiny thing. And even when would start crying, he just would not put her down. I almost had to threaten him just so he would let me change her diaper. You’re insane if you thought I would let him do that. Not with him acting like that.”
Officer Hoffman blinked. “That is... a lot to process.”
Mr. Chatterjee shrugged. “Sorry. When I get started with him I just… can’t stop. He… I can’t stand him. But he’s family, so what can you do?”
”Where does Mr. Singh live?”
”Oh, a couple of hours down state, near the coast. I never care to remember. But he dropped in a surprise visit the day before I left for my trip. He was… acting strangely the whole time. More timid. He didn’t say much, just grazed the whole time, switching from one topic to another. He never ended up saying much and left after twenty, maybe thirty minutes. It was just awkward, uncalled for, and frankly, just… a little offensive. For him to act like that with my daughter and then come into my house unannounced.” He scoffed. “God I could just…” He mimed strangling someone, which is something I frequently do when Life is in the room but not looking.
Sometimes when he is looking.
Or not in the room.
Pardon me.
Mr. Chatterjee sighed. “If anyone of my side of the family took her, I would say it was him. He looked… almost guilty the day he visited me. I thought he was finally going to apologize or something, but he just left after saying nothing at all. Maybe he thought she was with me and was trying to figure out where I kept, saw she wasn’t there, and left disappointed, the scum.”
”Does he know Ms. Sharma? Or her address?” Officer Randall frowned. “How would he have broken in?”
“Well, when Aditi and I got divorced, I gave her the house. We already had the nursery set up and she was already so far along, I didn't want her to worry about setting up a new nursery. It's not like I’m exactly wanting for money here.”
Officer Hoffman nodded. “Okay. Does he posses any athletic talent? Deshna’s bedroom is on the second floor: the break-in was through the window.”
”Well he was an athlete in high school. How much of that he actually kept, I couldn’t say. Besides, desperate sick men do desperate sick things. Who knows what he’s capable of?”
Officers Hoffman and Randall exchanged a glance before Hoffman tuners back to Mr. Chatterjee . “Any word of his current whereabouts?”
“Nope. Nothing I heard. He left my house and no one’s seen him sense. Honestly, he spends a lot of time off the family radar. Most people know the name of the city he lives in, but I’m not sure anyone actually knows his street address. Or his street." Mr. Chatterjee sighed. "He's a strange man. No knows about any current or ex-partners, schooling. Do I even know his job?" He narrowed his eyes, staring at the table. "Does he even have a job? He's got one right? Living in the city is expensive. You can't afford that with air and a broken tooth."
"So he's completely off any radar as far as you know?"
"As far as I know, he stops existing until the most inopportune time to exist perfectly in your face. Who's kid even is he? Is h like a second cousin... a third cousin?" He sighed. "I don't know. I don't even know how to begin to know. You mention Ramesh at any family gathering and they ask 'which one' and then you say 'that one' and then you just get story after story..." He shook his head. "But he's family, so it's not like they're not going to invite him. That would be like not inviting Uncle Jitesh, even if he's already drunk halfway down the road..."
Officer Randall had filled four whole sheets of notepad paper with information on this man, frowning as more just kept coming. Who was this guy? How wasn't he on some government watchlist? Was he on some government watchlist? That would make it easy to find him...
Officer Hoffman nodded. "That is... some information, sir. Is there anyone you've failed to mention?"
Mr. Chatterjee shook his head. "No. I don't think so. Well, other members of my family have met her. Aunt Mayanka, my second cousin Varun, Uncle Jadeja. But they just have the standard reactions, really. "Ooh, cute baby! She's going to grow up to marry a nice Indian man. Then they see my Chinese girlfriend and get very quiet." He sighed. "When I marry her, I don't know how that's going to go..." He shook his head. "But that's not relevant. If you need any more information regarding Deshna, please don't ever hesitate to call me. Even if I have to come in person. She is my daughter, light of my life. I am willing to do anything for her."
Officer Hoffman smiled. "I can tell you love your daughter very much. But right now, you need to get home and you need to eat something, and you need to sleep."
"Do you have children, Officer?"
Officer Hoffman nodded. "Two. A son and a daughter."
"Then you know I'm not going to sleep."
Officer Hoffman smiled, but she knew it was strained. "Yeah, I know. But staying awake is only going to make you suffer. It won't help them get back to you, and it won't help you be able to take care of them once they're back to you."
"I know." Mr. Chatterjee sighed. "But that's a lot to ask a simple man, isn't it? Sleep when the most precious thing in the world you have ever known could be suffering."
"But you're not a simple man. You're a father."
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