VICTORIA

Four

Tapping my index finger continuously on my bag, I wait impatiently for her as her working staffs had told me she will be with me shortly.

“How may I help you?” She says as she walks down the stairs and I stand up.

“Thanks for agreeing to see me, ma’am.”  I say and she nods.

“My manager said it’s important, spill because I don’t have enough time to waste.” She says and I clutch my bag.

“Do you remember anyone with the name, Olivia?” I ask.

“There are so many Olivia s’, you have to be specific.” She replies.

“Olivia, the first wife of the CEO of Marcus & Oli.” I say and she can’t help the shock expression on her face.

“Why are you asking about a dead person?” She asks and I swallow hard.

I know my mom isn’t dead.

“It is because you were her best friend, I am not here to accuse you of killing her. I just need you to answer few questions.” I say and she hisses.

Lord…

“I am not answerable to you.” She replies and I take out my ID.

“Then talk with me, I am the investigator resolving this case.” I say and she bites her bottom lip as she reads my name on my ID.

“Victoria?” She asks.

“Yes, that’s me. Answer my questions please.” I say.

“Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you. You are so grown and beautiful, ask me all the questions you need to ask.” She says with a smile and move to sit on the sofa in front of me.

“Thank you, I am not really here as a detective. I am here as the daughter of your long gone best friend, tell me more about my mom.” I say.

“Your mom and I became friends in high school, when she defended me from the bullies of my class as at that time. You mom was a peaceful, but strict person. You could call her a badass, but she is actually really cool.” She says and I smile a bit.

“As you two grew up together, did you by any chance know if she suffered depression? When was the last time you saw my mother?” I ask and I watch her closely.

“Your mom was never depressed. I saw her two days before she disappeared.” She replies, but I can tell she is lying.

“Do you know if she had a fight with someone?” I ask.

“No, but your mom and step mom weren’t on good terms then.” She replies.

“Okay?”

“There was also a man who was constantly calling her months before she disappeared.” She says as she stares blankly at the tiled floor.

“Were they threat calls?” I ask.

“Victoria, your mom didn’t tell me that. I asked her so many times, but she kept avoiding that discussion. The only thing I can tell you now is that you should go back to your mom’s house. Also, keep me safe… don’t let anyone know you met me today.” She says and I can detect fear in a voice.

There is something she’s scared to tell me…

“Thank you for your time, Mrs. Smith.” I say and stand up.

“I’m sorry, I can’t speak.” She whispers and I nod in understanding.

 I walk out of her large apartment as I call Niall.

“I met up with one, something is off. Can we go to my mom’s apartment from twelve years ago together?” I ask and he sighs.

“I have some cases I need to resolve, I am sorry. You can call Nana or any other person.” He says and I nod as if he can see me.

“It’s fine.” I reply and end the call as sit in my car.

I dial Cara’s number and just as if she is always with her phone, she picks my call at the first ring.

“Victoria.” She says.

“Are you busy?” I ask.

“No.” She replies.

“Can we meet up, I will send you the address?” I ask.

“Sure.” She answers.

“Thank you.” I say and end the call.

I text the address to her and drive out with a heavy heart.

***

“Thanks for agreeing to meet up.” I say as I try finding the right key to open the gates.

“Any time.” She replies as I open the gate.

“Can you please join me to push the gates, no one has been here in years, it is kind of difficult to push.” I say and she nods.

We push the gates together and she holds it still as I move to drive in. Locking the gates back, I get off my car and give her a weak smile.

“You are not scared? This place looks haunted, aren’t you scared of the fact that you might die in there?” I ask.

“You are not going to kill me. If you wanted to kill me, you wouldn’t have told me just now.” She replies and I smile as I bend down to raise the wet welcome carpet at the door.

I take out the key and open the door.

“It seems like the owner of this house haven’t been here in years.” She says as she looks at everywhere.

“Right.” I reply as memories from my childhood plays in my head.

“You look pale, are you okay?” She asks as she pulls down my collar to look at my neck.

“I’m fine.” I reply.

“Okay. The white cloths used in covering the sofa, tables and TVs shows that the owner isn’t interested in this house anymore, probably dead?” She says and I turn to look at her.

“This was the house I grew up in, I lived here with my mom until she disappeared twelve years ago.” I say.

“Oh no. She must have been recorded dead by now.” She replies.

“Right, but that doesn’t mean she is dead.” I say as I feel my head ache.

“Right” She replies as I ascend the stairs.

I walk into my mom’s room and tears slip down my face. I wipe it off before Cara notices and walk towards the safe as she looks around. I sit in front of the safe as I try to remember the code.

“6787…” I mumble as I try it, but it makes a beep sound signifying that I had pressed an incorrect code.

I try more numbers as my head continues to ache. The smile my mom had on as she sang my favorite song with me replays in my memories and I place my palms on the floor as I feel the pain radiate all over my body.

“I see you trust me a lot, just I have trusted right from the evening we met at the crime scene of the murder case.” She says and I force a smile to my lips as I stand up.

“I am glad, I found a friend.” I reply as she continues to search all over the place with me.

Leaving her in my mom’s room, I walk into my room and search through my drawers. My fairytale books are now covered  in dust and I shake my head as I open it. A clean paper falls from it and I bend down to pick it up.

Dear daughter, I am sorry I couldn’t tell you all because you are young and still happy. I do not want to ruin your mood, there’s nothing you could do then. There’s a phone underneath the bed, I changed the password, it is..

There are lots of pen dots and the paper is quite ruffled at the end… making me feel like she was in a hurry to write and something happened that she couldn’t complete writing.

I run out of my room to meet Cara holding my mom’s phone.

“Where did you see this?” I ask as I collect the phone from her.

“It was under the bed. It seems like it is dead and has it must have been so long. I think we would need to get a charger and a new battery, let’s drop by the phone store first.” She says and I nod.

“Turn off the lights please.” I say and she does as I turn on my flashlight.

I check every wall for a dirt print, but there is none.

“An investigation would have been carried out here few years ago…” Cara says.

“Right, but I do not think it was a thorough one… they could have found the phone if they really carried out the investigations.” I reply.

“The phone wasn’t easy to find, it wasn’t just underneath the bed. It was tucked into the clothes of the bed, right on the foam. You will know it was kept there on purpose because it was in a nylon.” She tells me and I turn to look at her.

“Let’s leave. We need to turn on this phone.” I say and cover the bed and sofas back, before walking down the stairs with Cara.

I give her my car key and she hesitates before collecting it. I open the gates and lock it after she parks outside. I feel my head ache more as I sit shot g*n and place all the papers in my bag. I rest my head and feel myself go distant as darkness clouds my vision.