The Forest

Chapter Three

Tilia woke up to the sound of knocking. She looked at her phone – s**t, it was noon already, and she had about a dozen missed calls from her mom. For a brief moment, yesterday seemed like a bad dream to her but then reality punched in the face like an angry boxer. She dragged herself out of the bed and opened the door.

There was a lot of noise coming from outside.

` What the hell happened? Are you okay? ` asked Maria as soon as she entered the room. ` There`s so many reporters down there. f*****g vultures. `

` What? ` asked Tilia, getting her hair out of her face and looking through the window. ` Oh God, what is this? ` she yelled, closed the window all the way and pulled the curtains. That cancelled out the noise. It was close enough.

` The whole town is talking about it. `

` No doubt. ` she walked from one end of the room to the other, peeking through the curtains just to take a good look at how bad her situation was. ` Do you want some coffee or tea? ` she asked.

`Relax honey, I don`t need anything. Make yourself some coffee and sit down. Let`s talk about this. Tell me what happened. ` she said. Tilia walked over to the kitchen and leaned on the counter, starting her story.

Maria listened, wide-eyed, leaning over the table and raising her eyebrow at every detail. Tilia`s cracked her knuckles while talking.

That goblin Mrs. Caddie was staring at Tilia`s window so intensely, as if she was draining information just by looking. Who knows what story she will make up for her gossip party.

` … And he was just laying there, bleeding. ` she said. s**t, the key. It was in her pocket in the jeans which were thrown over a chair next to Maria. Tilia looked away, searching for something in the cabinet.

Maybe she should tell her. It`s just a stupid key. And what was that thing he said about a book? Maria would know what to do. Maria always knew what to do. Tilia sometimes envied her on her personality.

She could hardly breathe, her whole body was rejecting and denying this situation. She didn`t like the attention even when it was good, and especially not now when everyone accused her of murder.

She wished he didn`t give her that key. She had to find the damn book now. And how exactly was she supposed to do that?

She put a steaming cup of tea in front of Maria and occupied the chair where her jeans were. Then she lit a cigarette, breathing in the smoke and releasing it into the air. She followed the smoke as it rose towards the ceiling. Her temples were pulsing and the smell of coffee sneaking around her nostrils helped to calm it down.

` He gave me something. ` she said.

Maria`s eyes widened. ` What? `

` A key. ` she turned around and pulled it out of her pocket. ` And he told me to find a book. `

Maria took it and looked at it carefully, playing with ornate parts. Her eyes narrowed as if to try and deduct what it`s purpose was.

` A book? ` she crinkled her nose. ` Well what a lovely thing to say to a librarian. What book? `

` I don`t know. ` she shrugged. ` I mean, the man was dying. Maybe he wanted me to find a book he came for, who knows. `

` Maybe he wanted you to find a book of his lovers and burn it. That would be amusing. ` she clapped her hands.

` Stop it. ` said Tilia looking down on her phone. She should really call her mom. I`m fine, don`t worry. Call you later. , she typed and hit send.

Cigarette smoke surrounded them when someone knocked on the door. They looked at each other. Tilia squinted at the door, biting her lip. She stood up and approached the door.

` Who is it? ` she asked.

` It`s Steve. `

Maria raised her eyebrows, mouthing the name with a big question mark on her face. Tilia smiled and let him in.

` Hey. ` she said. ` Come in. `

Without his uniform, he looked much better and less like a caricature. He brought in the cold, smell of a manly perfume and gasoline. Shoulders on his brown leather jacket were wet. He scratched his neck and ran his fingers through his hair to dry it.

Then he looked at Maria. ` Oh, you have company. ` he said and introduced himself to her.

` Yeah, I know who you are, I just didn`t know you changed your name to Steve.` Maria said and giggled. She gave Tilia The Look.

` I just came by to see how you were doing. ` he said glancing at Tilia. As she tried to answer, Maria interrupted her.

` That`s great, because I have to go now. My break is over. And it will take me some time to get through that jungle. ` said Maria, subtly sliding the key off the table and into her purse. She hugged Tilia and winked at her before she left.

Tilia smiled and offered him some coffee.

` Yeah, sure. ` he accepted. `So how are you? `

He took Maria`s seat and looked around. Tilia was searching for a cup but she kept turning around, checking if something embarrassing was on display. There was stuff everywhere and all of her books were just stacked against the wall, some of them reaching the ceiling (to be fair, that wasn`t the highest ceiling in the world). When she established that there were no panties or bras out, she found a proper mug.

` I guess I`m fine, it depends… Are they going to arrest me? ` she asked.

` No, relax. The Bear may be a bit rude but he is not stupid. Besides, he wouldn`t send me to arrest you. ` They laughed as she poured him a big cup of black coffee. ` So how are you handling this? ` he asked, pointing at the window.

` I`m not. I don`t know what to do. I mean, they could be there because it happened in the library, right? `

` Yeah, that`s probably it. ` he said and bowed his head down. She tried to see what is happening down there and one of the reporters was looking up. She pulled away from the window.

`Are there any leads? ` she asked, sitting down.

` Nothing yet. They are searching for a proof that you weren`t the one who did it. But let me tell you, there are some crazy stories out there…` he started, but when he looked at her, he stopped himself and turned his head away.

` What are they saying? ` Tilia demanded to know. That was to be expected, people love to talk. Especially now. Murders don`t happen often in Linden and a murder of such prominent and well-known figure hasn`t happened yet.

` You don`t want to know. ` he said and waved his hand, taking a large sip of coffee.

` Tell me. ` she said, rising her voice just a bit. She had to face it sooner or later and it`s better to be prepared for what people are going to be asking her and telling her. Cigarette between her fingers trembled and she quickly took a puff before he continued.

` Well you know, a young girl and a rich old man… ` he tried to explain, hoping that he wouldn`t have to go on and that she will understand what he meant but her eyes were fixated on his and he couldn`t escape. He had to go on. ` It looks like you were his lover and you killed him. `

That took her breath away and tears started filling the corners of her eyes as she reached out and grabbed another cigarette. Her hand was shaking as she lit it and put it between her lips, taking a big puff.

` You see. ` he said, bowing his head. Then he leaned across the corner of the table and touched her restless hand, calming it down for a moment. Philip caught her eyes and lowered his voice. ` But it will pass. Trust me, the next time someone`s skirt flies up in the wind you will be old news. ` he said, making her laugh.

`I hope you are right. `

***

She spent the day hiding in her apartment and taking phone calls from her mom every five minutes. She asked many questions but every time she would ask her how she was doing or if there were any news. This situation didn`t just happen to Tilia but to her parents also. Their reputation will be ruined too.

Hell, it was already ruined. People probably whispered about them behind their back, in the store or at work. They didn`t get to hide, though, like she did.

She was mentioned on the news that morning, and on the news which aired in the afternoon. No one ever said her name, but a librarian from Linden was specific enough.

Through the window she could see reporters from all over the country gathering to catch a glimpse of her. They looked like baby chickens, rallying under the light bulb to absorb some heat. The rain didn`t stop them. A strong wind didn`t stop them even though it gave its best, slapping them in the face and all but taking their coats off.

But by the end of the day, her corner was deserted. She turned on the light and opened the window to let some fresh air get in. There was no more noise. Sound of a car`s engine was far and getting even further. Forks and knives bumped against each other making that familiar symphony which meant that someone was setting the table and dinner is coming soon.

Thinking about dinner made her realize she didn`t eat anything that entire day. She looked through the window again and it was still empty. A quick walk to the bakery wouldn`t hurt. She would only have to see Mary, the woman who owned it and who baked the best pastries in the world. And she was always nice.

She put on her coat and left her apartment, stopping by the window to check again. When she reached her building door, she peeked out and it was as peaceful as it looked from upstairs.

Tilia stepped on the wet sidewalk and enjoyed the freedom. It was like nothing ever happened.

`Are you Tilia, the librarian? ` a woman approached her with a microphone and a man behind her carrying a camera. Her red lipstick was smudged just below a big mold. Tilia saw her often on TV, harassing many different people. Now she was the harassed one.

` W-what? ` Tilia narrowed her eyes and started mumbling excuses to leave.

` It`s her, start filming. `she gave an order to her little monkey who obediently pushed a button and pointed the camera at Tilia.

` What do you have to say about the murder of mayor Grimm? ` she asked.

`I… I don`t…`

` Did you kill mayor Grimm? `

` No! I would never… `

` Why did you kill him? People say you were having an affair. `

` I didn`t… please leave me alone… `

She tried to leave but wherever she turned there was a camera and the reporters wrinkled face with that mold, and the flash which hurt her eyes. The reporter kept asking her questions, so many of them.

` f**k OFF` she screamed at them finally, sick of them entering her personal space. The reporter stopped immediately. After all, Tilia was a suspect in a murder case. Not to be messed with.