|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 2:55 pm
The sunlight was fading and Detective Mercer found himself heading towards the beach. It rankled him that he had yet to find anything concrete, to find something that would give him a clue what had happened to the three teenagers.
One could only tell a worried parent that it was being looked into so many times before you started to feel hollow and useless saying it. Especially when there were no concrete leads, just hearsay, and the rumors ...
He had clocked out a while ago, on his own time as he was heading towards one of the spots where flowers had been left. He had not actually been home, still in his long-sleeved shirt, vest, and tie from his work attire. For a moment he thought about loosening the tie but went against it. Best not, especially if he ran into a Park Ranger wondering why he was possibly in places he was not suppose to be. This place was closed for a reason after certain hours (Derouen's words about sudden storms and rip currents came to mind) even if this was part of his investigation.
His shoes crunched into the sand finally, fingers raking briefly through his hair before he spied the flowers in the distance and started to make his way towards them. At this point he was not even sure why he was out here. Chasing a gut feeling? Who knew but they had been out there and he had not yet.
It couldn't hurt.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 3:15 pm
As Jeremiah approached the bench where a bouquet of calla lilies was laid out, it became more obvious that the bench was not unoccupied. Sunny stubbed out her cigarette on the old wood and looked up at the new arrival. "Wow," she said. "S'pretty odd to see humans that old, y'know? Hi." She smiled, all teeth, too many to fit inside a human mouth but there they were, each pearly white and glittering in the fading light of the sun. "I'm Sunny Shore," she said, lighting another cigarette with a snap of her fingers. "And you're not supposed to be here."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 3:31 pm
For a moment, he was sure it had just been flowers - just flowers - on the bench but, no. It was not. There was a young woman there as well. Bordering on rude as well. Jeremiah's face shifted into something blank, something more not really amused. His first response to the old comment was lost, especially when he caught sight of her teeth and then ... Where was the lighter? "Detective Jeremiah Mercer," he replied, "... and you're not supposed to be here far more than I am." His eyes cut to the calla lilies and for a moment he thought of his mother, of her talking about the language of flowers. What had they been? It was lost in a moment as he glanced back towards Sunny. "I'm investigating the disappearances of three local teens that were seen out here."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 3:52 pm
"Oh yeah?" Sunny lost interest, looking out over the bloody water. "I brought Heliodora's book back to the store. I don't think she needs it anymore. S'only right." They shouldn't have asked so many questions. "You're not from around here, are you, Jer-bear?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 4:09 pm
THAT got his attention. The mentioned book and the name and that meant it was back with Algie and did not need it anymore - " Excuse me?" His accent came out thick, a little more posh English than he usually sounded. Except that she had just called him, of all things, Jer-bear. His stare was harder, blue-green eyes darker. "No, I am not from around here, but neither are you." Years of residency in Ashdown, Jeremiah knew most of the faces - and just faces because names were things that implied friends, close friends - of residents. His gaze shifted, only briefly, to follow her's and see what she was looking at. He blinked, his body turning towards the water and less towards the young woman. Did it look different? It did. Between the nickname and the water, he was briefly distracted from possible information at his finger tips.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 4:52 pm
Oh, now she was offended!... not that it really showed. Sunny's posture shifted just a tic, shoulders angling back, eyebrows climbing up beneath the scraggly, damp hair that stuck to her forehead. But that was it. "Been here a very, very long time," she said. " Long before you. I'll be here long after you, too." She watched the plume of smoke that she exhaled. It smelled of sage and burnt offerings, like old and crusty blood. She watched it like she saw something unspeakable within it. "Why d'you want to find them so bad?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 5:35 pm
The smoke had him rubbing at his nose, made his stomach turn just a bit. Something old, like blood that had dried and was left behind. It made Jeremiah shift on his feet, shoulders back and his eyes focused on the young woman. This entire thing was niggling at his senses, warning bells that this was not right. Her statement about being here did not help. Thinking about the rumors around town did not help either. "... they're children." Even if they were teenagers, they were still children. "Possibly lost. Maybe in trouble." A breath and he was adding because he was, if anything, honest. "They may need help." It was more than it was his job, obviously. If it was just his job he would not have been out here after sunset. No, this was because something in his gut told him that he needed to do this. To find out what happened to them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 5:39 pm
"What will you do if they're beyond helping?" Her accent, the strange elided consonants, had changed to mimic Jeremiah's crisp enunciation. "What if there's nothing that can be done?" Sunny stood up. She was smallish, compared to Jeremiah; among a group of women, she would've blended in. "They asked too many questions," she said, reflectively. "What if you have to share their fate to save them?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 5:53 pm
Without realizing it, with her shift in speech and her moving to stand, Jeremiah took a small step back to give her room. Even if she was smaller, there was something off. The smell of the smoke, the teeth (her mouth was too full of them), and just the entire situation. It was all off. A little too surreal. "I do what I can. Regardless." His tone was firm, the look in his eyes matching. This was a man who said what he meant and would back it up, everything else be damned. "If I have to share their fate to save them, then I suppose I would have to start asking questions, wouldn't I?" Sunny was treated to a rare sight, Jeremiah's lips twitching upwards into something of a smile. It was more smirk really, but it was cavalier and devil-may-care and, strangely enough, did not look out of place on the taller man's face. Most might have been worried to see it. "Starting with what do you know about the missing teens?" As Sunny clearly knew things that no one else he had talked to did.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 5:54 pm
"What'll you give me for what I know," she said, smiling back at him. "Haven't you heard the rumors? The witch on the beach'll tell your fortune for a pack of smokes and a favor. I'll waive the smokes, but I want a promise from you still."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 6:00 pm
That he had not been expecting but he had heard the rumors all the same. His fingers twitched, eyes narrowing as he focused on Sunny. It was a hard, studying stare; trying to figure just what she was getting at. "Quid pro quo?" This for that. Not surprising. Also not even sure the young woman in front of him was a witch but he was use to having to make exchanges for information. Promises, on the other hand, were a big deal. "... name your promise and," because he was ornery, "I'll remember the smokes next time."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 6:02 pm
"Promise me that no matter what you find out, no matter what I tell you, no matter what you see... you'll bring them home. It's not too late yet." Sunny's eyes had taken on a queer light. She extended her right hand, palm up. "And remember I take payment for broken promises in blood."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 6:14 pm
Jeremiah blinked. That ... was not the kind of promise he expected but also the kind of promise he had no problem making. "I can promise those things. I do promise those things." There was no hesitation as he reached out for her hand, clasping it with the back of his hand upwards to the sky (no weird handshake for her). Probably should have hesitated or thought about it as her eyes did not look quite right anymore (that was more worrisome than the broken promises and blood because Jeremiah handled his promises seriously as well). "It's what I'm trying to do but you have to tell me what you know."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 6:26 pm
Sunny laughed, a light little giggle at odds with her decidedly foreboding appearance. "Then it's agreed. You bring them home, or you pay in blood." She looked to the calla lilies. "They say if you walk the town enough, you'll step into another place, a place where it's always raining. That's where they went. Heliodora and Adoelle and Michael. They wanted to know, so I showed them."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 6:45 pm
The giggle was more off-putting than her appearance. The things that made Jeremiah pause were strange in themselves. His gaze followed hers to the flowers and he remembered suddenly. Beauty was one way to look at the calla lily but they were also purity. Transition. It was an unsettling thought that went with what she was saying. His hand was still clasped with hers, some part of him not letting go first. As if it was a test of will. "The rumors? You're telling me they're true?" His tone, surprisingly, was even and not incredulous. Even if was starting to sound like Sunny might be responsible. "So where's this other place you showed them then?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
