Perfect

Talks

"You don't speak much," his calm voice spoke just as Alexander continued strolling on the streets of Seattle; just ahead of the park they were in. Her eyes were fixed on the pavement with the hands in the pockets of her jean pockets, her mind was wandering down the grey lanes of her past. The tears were gone; the face was no longer blotchy.

"I don't like talking."

"Antisocial?"

She smiled, "Pretty much."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why did you choose the army? Specifically?"

"Hmm," Alexander brainstormed for a real reason. She had asked herself the very same thing multiple times but never bothered to answer it herself. "In my second foster home, my foster father - Frank - wanted a son that he could enroll in the army. But his wife - Leila - the lady who took me home foiled all his plans. But as time continued, he noticed I was too...guy-ish to be a girl. He asked me, I said yes."

"Foster parents. What happened to your parents?"

"It's a long, tragic story."

"Am I allowed to ask for it? I promise not to cry."

She smiled and Perfect's stiff shoulders relaxed, he strolled with an ease now.

"I lost my mother when I was five. Since then, I lived through foster families. Don't ask about my father now."

Perfect wore a sad smile, "I won't. Which families did you live with? Did you like them?"

Alexander suddenly chuckled, "You do like asking many questions, don't you?"

"I have anything but questions for you. You appear too...closed to read."

"No one asks."

"Do you mind if I ask?" Did she? She wondered, the only person that irritated bits off her with questions was Astor - her foster brother- who lived in Georgia with his adoptive mother, Rose. He was autistic and definitely asked buckets of questions whenever she visited. She pondered whether she would get a chance to see him soon.

"I don't actually. After Mother died, I lived in an orphanage for...four years until the Deris family took me in. Danny and Rosy were the parents, it was a stable family. We lived on a ranch in Hampton. They had an autistic son, Astor, my brother. He too used to ask ridiculous questions but he was...sweet. When, the family had a financial instability; I decided to move out...reduce the burden of one mouth extra. Rosy cried a lot but eventually gave in. After few months, Leila showed up at the orphanage; another mother seeking a child-love. She found me and took me home...etcetera."

They crossed the street passing an ice-cream parlor. Perfect decided on another question; at a very personal level.

"When did you meet Kaleb?" Alexander heard the resistance in Perfect voice; for a second she felt like diverting the topic by talking about something else like ice-creams but then she was too close to spilling.

"School. He was a year ahead."

"Hmm."

"Now my turn. Apart from running into me and roaming around at odd hours and interrogating, what do you do?"

Perfect grinned. "My parents are quite alive. I'm on vacation as you know. No girlfriends that I know of."

Alexander nodded; noting it all down in her head.

------------------

Perfect still hung around when Alexander talked on the phone with Frank; who gave a good update on the missing girls and fire incident. Alexander observed Perfect as he stood erect as a pole ahead one, waiting for her to finish. He appeared lost; focusing intently on something. She observed that he was nothing like the usual teens she came across. He appeared like those rare angelic ones that never got in trouble and if they wished to rebel against something would be something like sneaking out of the house for alone time. She suppressed her laugh. Soon she hung the call and went to the silent kid.

"Now you're quiet. Whose murder are you plotting here?"

Perfect smiled sadly, "Many people's. What was Frank saying?"

She turned to him, "How did you know it was him?"

"I heard you say his name twice."

"Hmm. Well those girls are found, thanks to you and regarding the Church. Three of the founding families did not die. And dear Jesus has found another address."

Perfect frowned, "Three founding families?"

"There were five. Two died and three managed to escape before the sermon ended. I guess, they got bored."

Perfect seemed distracted but still managed to smile.

The two decided to finally sit at an open café where Alexander refused any beverage and asked for a milkshake instead.

"Confusing part is; how did a few candles manage to burn the entire building?"

Alexander muttered sipping on her cold drink. Perfect sat staring at the artificial rose that sat in the narrow glass vase on their glass table on the sidewalks. His brows and ears perked. "The drapes caught fire, didn't they?"

She shook her head. "I inspected the hall, Perfect. Hundred candles and ceiling to floor drapes. I get that. But what about the collapse of the entire Church? Many rainstorms have passed and apart from other structures, that Church refused to budge. And now, a small scale fire escalated beyond measures and crushed the entire infrastructure like a sandcastle."

Perfect's crease appeared; "It was windy."

"The doors were closed. The windows were like slits." She shook her head, "Frank  told me that the survivors where surprised as well. It was simply impossible for fire to grow just like that."

"Maybe someone left the door open and no one really noticed."

Alexander typed to Frank on her phone her suspicion, Perfect stared at her.

"Could be. But just in case, it's better to just...be sure."

When she was done, she caught him looking.

"What?"

His frown deepened, "You're an efficient officer."

"Are you complimenting or are you restating it?"

He smiled, "Both."

"Thanks. We come across strange cases like that at a regular basis, I guess I have quite the practice."

He leaned forward, "So suppose the incident was a pre planned conspiracy. What could the motive be?"

She leaned back in her chair, drumming her fingers on the rim of the table.

"First, it could be an inside thing; like one of the founding families did it either to be the one receiving the insurance assuming everyone died or for revenge. Maybe the other members did something in spite of them and they carried out this...plan."

"Secondly?"

"Its just someone part of the crowd, angry or crazy. There are couple of people that do things to grab attention or they do it simply because the Church has done something to hurt them. A personal grudge."

As if he heard some news, Perfect's eyes shot at her face in surprise. He wondered whether she had just resolved the case by just chilling at a café outside, sipping on milkshake. Then he frowned.

"So, do you think that it could be done by one of the surviving founding families?"

She shrugged. "I'll have to get my ass working if I want to know. But right now, I'm enjoying my moment finishing milkshakes and distracted by a wandering spirit like you."

He blinked again in news, then melted from stiffness when she winked.