The Tears Devourer

XXXI

     Detectives Brendan Mondy and Elijah Hunt were already outside the Sweet home by the time Officer Garb's patrol reached the entrance. Hunt instructed Garb to take the girl for a little walk into the living room, turn on the television and keep her entertained, while Mondy and Hunt spoke privately with Hallie, Rachel's mother.

       They led her into the main dining room, a small room beautifully decorated with a couple of family portraits and potted flowers in every corner. They sat her in the head chair of the main table, which had a beautiful cream tablecloth on top but it was not placed, since in the center there was only a glass vase with two plastic daisies that smiled at each guest in special moments. This one, obviously, was not special.

       Mondy leaned against the arch that separated the dining room and the second-floor stairs, listening to the conversation his companion was about to have with the lady, and keeping an eye on Garb so that he would not cause any trouble with the little girl. Hunt, well versed in the matter, sat on Hallie's right side, positioning his chair at an angle, facing her at all times.

       "Mrs. Sweet," Hunt began, his voice smooth and clear, calm enough to convey that sentiment to the people around him. "The reason the department has included two detectives in the search for your youngest daughter is because of the suspicion of our superiors in her case. You see..."

       "Has my Chely been kidnapped?" Hallie interrupted, putting both hands to her mouth, and drawing her lashes to her brows.

       "We're not entirely sure yet. Uh…” The detective was overcome by a sigh. "We are not referring to abduction, Mrs. Sweet..."

       "Hallie," suggested the appointee. "Call me Hallie, please,” she asked, also glancing at Brendan Mondy behind Hunt.

       "It's okay, Hallie... As I mentioned when I came in, my name is Elijah Hunt, and both myself and my partner here; Brendan Mondy; we specialize in a special type of case."

       "Could you please, officers, stop all the talk and tell me what's wrong with my daughter..." Hallie lowered her head between her thighs, rubbing the back of her neck with both palms, further tousling her brown hair.

       "I'm sorry, Hallie. And there is no simple way to say it." Hunt took a deep breath and after a second sighed, he felt ready. "Your daughter's case, it's believed, may be associated with a dangerous man, a... murderer who escaped from Brooklyn and who has been inactive for a while."

       The single word 'murderer' pierced Hallie Sweet's chest. It pierced her so deep, so deep, that suddenly her blood pressure dropped drastically and she began to see stars on the floor, the ceiling, the walls... She felt nausea, panic, migraine, and fear. Mondy made to move closer when he noticed Mrs. Sweet fall out of her chair, but Hunt was closer to successfully support her.

       "Brendan, bring her a glass of water, please." Detective Hunt asked his partner, who without being asked, was already on his way. "Mrs. Sweet, I understand that you're not feeling well at all right now, but I need you strong. Please, Hallie, I need you strong."

       Rachel's mother wasn't listening very well to what the detective was saying close to her ear. Everyone was spinning her, everyone was causing her pain. Basically, her whole world was falling apart knowing that her little Rachel was in the hands of a criminal, and above all, one who killed his victims.

       "My daughter…" Hallie managed, still in a trance.

       "Yes. I'm going to bring her back. But for that, I need you. I need all the support you can give me. Please don't fall down now."

       "What do you need?" Hallie answered. Mondy came over and handed the glass to the sick woman. Hallie took a small sip, refraining from gagging herself.

       "We need your full cooperation with the police department. We have an advantage that we have never had before. Your daughter has been missing for only about eight hours. This guy's behavior..."

       "Only eight hours?" Hallie's chest swelled headlong, a clear sign of frustration and helplessness. "Do you think it's a short period of time that she has disappeared eight hours ago?"

       "Subject takes months to..." Mondy spoke but stopped to think better of the words he was going to use. "It takes months to take the life of the victim."

       "Am I supposed to be calmer knowing that?" The crying was loading, and suddenly Hallie's eyelids cracked in a sea of melancholy that silenced the detectives for a few long minutes.

       "Mrs. Sweet... Hallie. You need to understand that no previous victim had a chance equal to that of your daughter.” Detective Hunt picked up the thread of the conversation.

       "How do you know he took her?" Hallie asked, wiping her tears in an attempt to wipe the mascara from her eyes.

       "Your daughter meets certain patterns... Actually, with certain characteristics that our subject looks for in a victim."

       "But my daughter... My girl is only fifteen! What can such a guy look for in a fifteen-year-old girl?!" Innocence and denial won over Mrs. Sweet by asking that question.

       "Well..." Mondy tried to intervene, but Hallie shook her head and both hands outstretched, begging him not to answer.

       "We'll bring her back, Hallie. We will do everything in our power to find her."

       "I want to go with my mom!" It was heard from the other room. That high-pitched voice grew louder as he approached the dining room.

       Julie entered the room and ran into her mother's arms. She gave a small sob and hugged with all her strength and love, her mother who was crying without any consolation, whose anguish grew stronger when she felt those tiny arms around her neck. Mondy shot Garb a disappointed look, who only managed to apologize.

       "I'm sorry... She's a girl, I couldn't control her anymore. She wants to be with her mother." He excused himself. "By the way Hunt. Alex called."

       "What's going on?" Elija replied, keeping his gaze on that tender embrace.

       "She didn't want to call you because she didn't mean to interrupt, but since everything is interrupted..."

       "What happened Garb?" This time he did turn his face toward the officer, rushing the message.

       "She says they have a witness."

       "Is there already a witness?" Mondy repeated. Suddenly Hallie's ruddy face stopped kissing her little girl's cheeks and rose to the officer's voice.

       "Yes," Jarred smiled. "A cyclist claims to have seen Rachel near 1402. Dressed in sportswear and somewhat pale. Says she looked lost."

       "Did she mention if she was accompanied? Or if someone else approached her?"

       "I don't know. Rocha only said that they already have a witness and are waiting for you both in the station to take her statement."

       The atmosphere suddenly changed for the better. Rachel's mother was crying with joy now, although it was not the good news she expected, at least it was a grain of sand that helped in the balance.

       "Are you accompanying us?" Hunt offered as he rose from his chair and adjusted his jacket.

       "Let me go get a coat for my Julie."

       "Don't worry," Garb warned. "I'll go get it."

       Mondy was the first to go out to warm up the car's engine. Julie jumped to meet her overcoat while Garb was already following her with the coat in hand. When Hunt pretended to leave the home, a warm, moist hand took his. It was Hallie Sweet, with a huge smile on her face, but still teary-eyed.

       "Thanks." She whispered to the detective.

       "It's a big step, I admit," he replied, trying to show the same warmth. "But don't thank me yet. Do it when I hand over your daughter and put her in your arms."