Do No Harm

The disappearance

Andi woke up in a cold sweat. The night had been anything but restful. She dreamed about death and doom all night. It was like everything evil was going to reveal itself and Andi wasn't ready to face that reality. Beatrice was hard to convince to go home and that everything was going to be alright, but Andi got her to go home in the end.

Andi needed time to decipher everything that had been happening here lately. For that, she needed to be alone to be able to sort everything out for herself. It was becoming hard to distinguish reality from dreams. Pushing the dreams from her mind, Andi went to make coffee that evening though there was a slight dread still vibrating in her head. She stood in front of the coffee pot memorized in watching the last few drops of the brewing process, trying to dislodge the doom of what she was sure to come. She reached up and opened the cabinet to grab one of the crystal coffee mugs and both of them were gone.

Andi shook her head. Was she still dreaming? She rubbed her eyes, thinking it would help clear her vision, but nothing. They were still gone. How does something disappear like that? It was like they never existed. Beatrice. Beatrice must have done something with them. There was no other explanation. Beatrice was the only person that had been in her house for days. It had to be her. Andi ran to get her phone.

"What's wrong?" came the abrupt answer.

"Did you take anything from my house yesterday?" Andi asked, cutting to the chase.

"No." Beatrice denied. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. What are you missing?"

"I must have just misplaced it," Andi said, dismissing the question as a loud booming was rattling at her front door.

"I got to go." "Wait. What's that? I'm on my way," Beatrice tried to get out before the line was disconnected.

Andi tossed her phone on the kitchen table as she passed while yelling "I'm coming", hoping to stop the rattling before whoever was on the other side rattled it right off its hinges. Andi threw open the door ready to demand answers that her caffeine-deprived brain would never deem efficient when she came face to face with two of Stilwell's finest. The shock and confusion on her face must have been evident by the way it took them a minute to recover also.

"Ms. Cole?" one of the officers asked.

"Umm... Yes?" Andi stumbled. "I'm Officer Finn and this is Officer Griffin," the same officer said, motioning to his partner, making Andi's glaze follow. Andi glanced over the obviously irritated Griffin and noticed his hand was red, making him the perpetrator of the unnecessary abuse of her door. His irritation made her irritated at him. She had more reason to be irritated than the gruff-looking Griffin.

"Ms. Cole," Officer Finn said drawing Andi's attention back to him. "When was the last time you saw Daivik Brown?"

"Umm... Yesterday," Andi said a bit confused.

"Night?" asked Officer Finn. "Day," Andi replied. "What is this about?"

"So, when we are able to access his security cameras, they won't show you one of them last night?" Officer Griffin said aggressively. Andi's irritated glare returned to the offending officer.

"He has been reported missing," Officer Finn said. We are trying to track down where he may be. Did he tell you where he might have gone or was he planning on going?"

"He didn't say anything at all the last time I saw him. He was sitting out by the road in his vehicle and never got out. I wasn't even planning on seeing him then or ever again," Andi blurted out, offering more than she intended.

The look on Finn's face made her instantly regret it. It gave her the feeling that she had just put herself in the spotlight. Not only did she not need to be in the spotlight right now, but she also couldn't recall what she did last night after Beatrice left. Matter of fact she didn't even recall Beatrice leaving.

"If you remember anything, then give us a call," Finn said, handing her his card like he knew she didn't remember last night.

Andi's eyes went blank for a moment at that thought before recovering and retrieving the card from Finn's outstretched hand, hoping it would trigger their departure. Both officers turned and strolled back to their car as Beatrice was pulling into Andi's driveway. It was a dumb habit knowing what Andi knows now, but she quickly put one hand behind her back, crossed her fingers, and hoped like hell that Beatrice's presents didn't delay the officer's departure longer. She couldn't wait until they left, and she was able to question Beatrice. She needed Beatrice to fill in some of the blanks for her. Maybe it will help retrieve the memories from the rest of her night. To Andi's relief, Beatrice waved at the officers, and they waved back before getting into their car and driving off.

"What was that about?" Beatrice asked as she neared Andi while both staring in the direction of the retreat.

"I'm not really sure to be honest. Let's get some coffee," she said, leading Beatrice inside to the kitchen.

Beatrice took a seat at the table while Andi retrieved two mugs out of the cabinet and quickly poured the coffee. When Andi sat the mug down in front of Beatrice, she got a puzzled look from her. Andi shrugged and took the seat across from her. Andi drank half of her mug before starting the needed conversation.

“First, I called because the crystal mugs are gone,” she started.

“How?” was the only reply Beatrice could come up with.

“I don’t know. I really can’t come up with anything from last night. Not even you leaving,” Andi paused. “I thought I did when I woke up. I thought I remembered convincing you I was fine and you didn’t have to stay, but the more I think about it the more I don’t remember anything.” Beatrice reached across the table, grabbing Andi’s hand and closed her eyes. Beatrice’s crescent moon lit up while Andi’s didn’t.

“I’m getting nothing,” Beatrice said. 'Your hand is cold, like there is a block. Do you remember anything from yesterday?"

“Just the morning, then nothing at all but waking up in my bed,” Andi replied with a puzzling look.

“It’s one of the things my grandmother taught me as a child. Whenever I couldn’t remember where I lost something, a toy or such, she would grab my hand and see where it was, along with what I did that day. It doesn’t always come in handy if you know what I mean. Some things just needed to stay lost sometimes so I wouldn’t get in trouble,” Beatrice explained. “Could you have had company after I left?”

“I wouldn’t think so since I had put the no-entry spell on the door,” Andi said as a matter of fact, bringing a raised eyebrow from Beatrice. “Things started getting weird around here and it made me feel somewhat in control of things, which apparently was a false feeling.”

“We will piece this together,” Beatrice promised while refilling their mugs. “What were the officers doing here when I pulled up?”

“They said Daivik was missing and wanted to know the last time I saw him,” Andi replied, bringing another raised eyebrow from Beatrice.

“And?” sparing another quick reply from Beatrice.

“Yesterday. I think. I really can’t remember,” Andi said, visibly shaking. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“I promise you, we are going to figure it out,” Beatrice vowed. “First, we are going to finish this coffee, then you can make us more while I run to my place and gather some things. I’m going to be staying until we get this sorted out.”

“But...” Andi tried to protest. “Nope. No buts,” Beatrice said sternly. “I’m not leaving you alone like this. Plus, if we are together, there is a greater chance of piecing together what is going on here, with you.”