Chapter 10
1307 Words
Melissa, Natalie and I have this weird vigil over the course of the day. After a couple of hours, I get another call from Bard. I excuse myself to answers it. As I close my bedroom door, I hit the received button.
“What the hell, ana? Are you ghosting me? You haven’t returned any of my calls or texts this weekend.”
“Hi Brad,” I tell him. I now my voice sounds off. I just don’t have the energy to sound happy. There is silence on the phone and then Brad clears his throat.
“What’s wrong?” He asks.
I pause and consider not telling him. But I decide by tomorrow if she doesn’t show up tonight, everyone will know, “My roommate is missing.”
“What?”
“I last saw her before we went out, Friday night. Her friends haven’t seen her since Friday either.”
“I am coming over.”
“No, Brad. Melissa and Natalie are here with me now and if Beth shows up it will be less embracing if there are less people here.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am sure. We already called campus police. There is nothing left to do but wait.”
“Okay. Call me later if you need me.”
“Thank You.” I hang up the phone and go back to the living room. First thing I see in the living room is Melissa and Natalie hunch over the table looking at a sheet of notebook paper. I walk over and look down at what they are staring at.
“It’s a timeline of where we were and about how long we were there,” Melissa states.
“That’s a good idea.” I tell her. She just nods and looks over the timeline again.
“We hate to ask this of you,” Natalie starts, and I turn to her. “But could you stay here in case Beth shows up? We want to drop this off at the police station and then we are going to go to all of our usual places and see if anyone has seen her.”
“Okay,” I tell them. “Could I take a picture of the timeline, in case you need it after you leave it with the police?”
“Oh yes, that is a good idea.” Natalie tells me. I pull out my phone and take a picture of the timeline. Melissa and Natalie get up and move out the door.
Melissa grabs my hand before she leaves, “You will call if she shows up?”
I grasp her hand with both of my hands, “I promise.” With that she nods and follows Natalie out the door.
I don’t know long I paced the room or stared out the window, but I know I can’t just sit here and wait. I was raised to be a problem solver not a damsel in distress. I look at my photos on my phone and find a good one of Beth. I pull up my computer and create a folder with Beth name. I put the photo I have of Beth in it and the picture of the timeline I have. I then do the thing I hate doing and call my brother.
“Hi, sis. How’s stateside?”
“Um good, I think?”
“What’s wrong?” His voice is resigned.
“I need a favor?”
“Ugh, what?”
“How do you do a missing person investigation?”
“I hope this is for one of your classes?”
“Let’s just assume it is.”
“Nanurjuk, please tell me you are not in any trouble?”
“I am not.”
“Then why the question?”
I debate telling him, but I know ultimately, I will have too. “My roommate is missing. She is probably out partying or something, but I can’t sit here and wait.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Of course, I did, I am not stupid.”
“Then you do nothing. This is a human affair, you let the police handle it.”
“But she is not human?”
“What?! That is against protocol.”
“I do not think she told the university she is supernatural. She is masking herself somehow.”
“What? Why? Oh, never mind then you definitely do not need to be mixed up in this.”
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing.” We both sit in silence on the phone and finally I relent. “If you do not help me, I am going to scour the internet and figure it out myself.”
He groans loudly, “Fine, but you do not do anything dangerous.”
I do a happy dance, “I promise.”
“First, do you have anything that would have her DNA on it?”
I look around the room and see her hairbrush on her desk. “I have her hairbrush?”
“Great pull a few strands with the hair follicle and send them to me. I will try to figure out what she is.”
“Okay, and then?”
He groans again, “Make a list of all her friends and family. Anyone that is close to her. Then all the places she goes. If there is someone suspicious in her life.”
“Suspicious?”
“Someone you don’t get a good feeling about. Note them.”
“Her friends just left to check all their usual places to see if anyone has seen her.”
He hums on the phone. “If she is out partying then they will probably find someone who has seen her. But they should really let the police handle that. If something bad happened to her they could tip off the suspect and compromise the investigation.”
“So, we should all just sit back and do nothing?”
He groans loudly, “Yes! What you want to do and what they are doing is dangerous.”
“Okay, fine. After I make all the list, what do I do then?”
“You take the list to the police and then you do nothing.”
“Tulugaak, I thought you were going to help me.”
“This only has two outcomes. At best you get in the investigator’s way, at worst you ruin evidence or put yourself and others in danger.”
“Fine,” I breathe out. “I will put the hair in the mail tomorrow morning.”
“Good. What is the officer’s name who questioned you?”
“How did you know I was questioned?”
“You’re the roommate, of course you were question.”
“Officer Rider. He is with campus police. He is also a supernatural, shifter I think.”
“That makes this easier. I will call him as soon as I have the results and see if that helps.”
“You are going tell me the results as well?”
“Yes, because if I don’t you will hound me till I do. Text me his number.”
“I will. Also, Tulugaak.” I pause and hear him sigh.
“Yes”
“Thank You for doing this.”
He takes a deep breath. “It’s fine, Nanurjuk. But promise me you will stay out of this.”
“Talk to you later. Love you.” I hang up the phone before he pushes his request. The phone rings nearly immediately and I see it’s his number. I do not answer and after the fourth phone call I get a text from him telling me to be good and stay out of it.
- Writer
