Dark Pursuits

Episode - Mourning her

Let’s go through this one last time. The detective probably in his late thirties to early forties said rubbing his crimpled forehead his eyes focused on the papers in front of him. The ones he was scribbling on while he took Embers statement asking her to go through last night’s details a couple of times.

‘I think that’s all I remember for now’ Ember whispered. ‘Are we not done yet? Detective?’

The detective scanned his papers in silence before lifting his eyes, looking at her with concealed sympathy and an emotion that Ember could not identify.

He looked like he was not satisfied with the probing. However, when she pulled the hems of her cardigan, wiping her tears only to have more flowing down her red cheeks, he put the papers down next to the glasses that revealed his curious green eyes when he took them off earlier.

‘You are free to go Miss Logan, we will contact you as soon as we have new information and when the fragments of your memories regroup here’s my number contact me immediately.

We need to deal solve this case ASAP. My gut tells me there’s more to this than meets the eyes’ he said sliding a card across the table.’ I don’t think I need to remind you how important it is for you to remember what really happened last night.’ With that he stood, straightening his jacket.

‘Hey…we can go’ Coals voice pulled her out of her trance, squeezing her hand that he had been holding since she pleaded with the detective that she wanted him in the dim room where she was being investigated.

In truth, she had forgotten about his presence, she was numb. Even the hand he kept squeezing throughout the session could not penetrate the numbness she felt at that moment. Mia was her only best friend and childhood friend. She did not remember an important phase of her life where she was not part of it.

They had started being friends in primary school. She recalled very well the day she stood up for her to a group of girls that had been bullying her for quite some time.

What amazed her the most was the bold and stubborn spirit that was trapped in such a small body that their opponents could have easily crushed with just a snap of fingers. Even in their adulthood, Mia remained a rebellious, loud woman with a small body that her fellow runway models often envied. A woman whose tongue remained unfiltered.

Ember found humour in the fact that she displayed tactical intelligence in how she would use words to settle her battles in a way that they would not escalate to physical fights. And she knew, that her best friend would not make it if it ended in such drastic resolutions.

When they stepped out the police station the morning rush had filled the city with the kind of frenzy that Ember could not tolerate.

‘Hey come here’ Coal swept her to another lengthened hug. ‘I am so sorry Em’ his voice was strained; Ember could tell that he was deeply anguished as she was. But he wanted to be strong for her. When he looked at her face again, almost like he was searching for something.

He spoke again.’ I will drive you home with your car’.

‘No I’m fine Coal, I am not paralysed I’m only hurting’ she snapped.

There was silence between them.

When she looked at him again, he was not hurt but pained. He knew she was hurting and he did not know how to reach out to her.’ I am sorry Coal, I shouldn’t have. It’s just...’

More tears fell from her face as she hugged her body shivering despite the warmth the sun omitted.

‘No Em, no need to apologise, please. Just let me drive you home’. He pleaded.

‘And what about your car?’

‘Il come back with a cab to fetch it’

She stood there avoiding his gaze before she threw him her keys quickly walking the passenger seat.

As they drove to the quieter side of the town the silence in the car grew thicker, Ember had been staring out her window occasionally wiping her flushed face. Coal cleared his voice before he spoke, ‘Have you spoken to your father?’. He asked.

‘No’ she replied, her eyes still on the window. ‘Please, he can’t know about this yet’.

Coal ran his hand through his hair the other still on the steering wheel. ‘He knows’.

‘ You told him? Why? You know how my father is, why would you do that!!’. Ember yelled louder than she had planned.

‘Why not? Tried calling you a couple of times before you finally picked up. I didn’t know where you were and if you were okay. I was the first person the cops called when they found my number on Mias’ speedial. What did you expect me to do?’.

Ember kept her gaze on the window.

‘I was worried about you’. He added, almost in a whisper.

Ember kept quiet. Coal was right. But she did not have the energy to keep apologizing for her raging emotions. She was overwhelmed. She was not ready for a conversation with her father, not especially at that moment. At times she wondered how life could have turned out of her mother was still alive, if her father would be as strict and protective as he was. The only reason he allowed her to work in another city, away from his sight was only because Mia and Coal were in the same town. Coal had been a family friend for as long as she could remember. On the low-key, she knew that her father trusted Coal with her life more than he trusted her.

Of course he would be the first person that Coal would contact if he was concerned with her wellbeing. All she could hope for was he would not send her packing home to work in one of his companies like he initially wanted.

With Mias’ death, it would be impossible to convince him otherwise. Ember wanted to be her own woman, earn her way up, not inherit daddy’s wealth without breaking a single sweat. Now this would give him solid grounds to lure her back home.

‘You were on her speedial?’. She asked.

‘It’s not what you think’. He said.

She turned to look at him to raise an eyebrow.

‘You both knew she never drove herself to weekend nights out, and with those ugly mini fights with Luke I would be her ride back home. Regular, unpaid personal cab driver’. Coal smirked.

Ember released a tight-lipped smile, recalling how crazy her friend really was, and how Coal spoke of her in past tense seared her soul. She still felt like this was all nightmare that she would wake up from any second.

When Coal drove up her drive way securely parking the car in the small garage of her small townhouse she got out the car extracting her keys from her back pocket.

‘If you need some company, I could stay’. Coal offered hesitantly.

He had known Ember all of her life. But for the first time he felt like he did not know her. The last time he saw her this crushed was when her mother died when she was fifteen. He could not imagine what she was going through at that moment.

Ember forced a smile that he knew was not genuine.’ No its okay, I think I need to rest a bit’.

‘Il check up on you later alright?’.

She nodded.

And just before she closed her door behind her he called out to her.’ Please talk to him. Your father, He’s really worried about you’. She remained silent and gently closed the door behind her.

When she walked into her living room, she saw two wine glasses on the small glass table. And the half bottle of red wine that Mia said was just to warm up the mood before they left for the club the previous night. She picked up the one with red-lip stain from Mia, putting it back down before she sunk to the couch next to it grabbing a cushion and covering her mouth with the other hand before she released loud sobs. Out of all the nights she was able to resist Mia’s pressure to go out she had to give in yesterday.

Her newly found position at work was the reason they went out to celebrate. Perhaps if she did not get the promotion she had been working hard to get at work Mia would still be alive. She spotted the gift box Mia had given to her to celebrate her achievement.

Ember reached out and grabbed it, her eyes blurry from her tears that kept falling to the wrap paper as the carefully teared it apart.

When she opened she was greeted by a gold bracelet with a price tag that showed the handsome cost of the gift, next to it was an old picture they took sitting next to a pool. When she flipped the picture at the back it was written Did not mind the price tag because with your next salary will be able to refund me and a smiley face next to it with a wagging tongue.

Ember laughed silently more tears coming out.

She picked her phone and dialled. It only rang once before her father picked up.

‘Oh, baby’ His gruff and anxious voice pierced her ears.

‘Daddy’. Her voice quivered.’ It…’. She exhaled painfully.

‘It hurts daddy. It hurts so much’. She cried loudly.

‘I know baby I know, I know. I am so so sorry’.

She continued crying.

‘I know how much she meant to you. She was not just your friend but I took Mia like my second daughter.’

Her father said, she could tell he was hurting.’ Listen baby, I just have a few things to wrap up at work then I will come down to Mitte. But in the meantime I think you should come home. You are not safe there and here we have enough security to protect you’.

‘Dad please. I’ve a job here. I can’t just leave everything. I called you because I needed someone to talk to. Perhaps I made a mistake’.

‘Baby, don’t get me wrong. You know I am always here to listen but I don’t think you being alone after this is a good idea, it’s not safe and I’ve always had a bad feeling about you working very far from home’.

‘Dad not now please! This is not about me, it’s about Mia’.

‘After what happened to her am I wrong to be concerned about you?’ Mr Green raised His voice.

‘You will never get me will you? Me and you can never have a normal father daughter relationship, with a healthy level of communication. That’s why you were not even the first person I told that I got that promotion we’ve spoken about, you would have reminded me that I could have made a better CEO in one of your shipping companies…’Ember sobbed. She could feel her anger mounting.

‘Ember baby listen I’m...’. Mr Logan replied apologetically.

‘No father, I am done listening to you’. she whispered and dropped the called before laying on the couch, tears falling on her cushion.