SEEKERS -- EPISODE 5a: TIES THAT BIND

EPISODE 5a: TIES THAT BIND

 

“Still working on that?” Luke asked Andrew as soon as he entered . The latter was slouched on a chair staring at the computer screen as if it were speaking to him. He looked confused. Luke took off his jacket and dropped it on the table. They were at Andrew’s office. He was a Bluecorp detective.

“It doesn’t make any sense. Brandon’s statement has no correlation with the reconstruction scene we created.” The detective said, throwing a paper plane into the trash can by the cabinet. It landed on the floor, few inches from its supposed destination just as the other paper planes had. The trash can remained empty, undaunted feeling very pleased.

“He didn’t see anyone come in. He was masked and Chrissa had made a phone call to Sophia-that was all he knew.

“So how do we explain the murder? I mean someone else must have been in the house at the same time Chrissa was. Someone who knew she would be there; someone who wanted to protect Brandon.”

“From the extraction?” Luke edged a brow.

“Not really, the extraction couldn’t have been stopped. You tried to stop it and see what happened. Hannah said the commander called her himself. So maybe it wasn’t to stop the extraction, it’s possible he is a friend to Brandon or he may just have been trying to create a distraction.” Andrea gulped down the bottle of water he had brought along.

“You think the person is a he?” Luke inquired reaching across Andrea’s arm; he tilted the keyboard in his direction and pressed some keys. “Take a look at that” He pointed to the monitor screen. “This imprint was found after forensics searched the place. That’s a Bluecorp emblem. Now problem is, that imprint has been disused for a long time now.”

“You mean the person was an ex Bluecorp member?” Andrew was more impressed than baffled. Luke was practically teaching him his job. “Wow, I couldn’t have noticed that.”

“I’ve been shipped around Bluecorp branches many times, so I’m familiar with the designs. But this doesn’t tell us the gender.”

‘Yeah, we have to run some tests. Probably try to get a serial number and trace it to the archives.” Andrew said. “But how do we get access to the archives without letting the case explode? Besides it’s going to be very hard trying to get a good ID on it. The design is old… I’m not even sure we have the equipment anymore.”

“Well, that’s why you are the detective.” Luke teased. “You should be able to figure it out and we need to be fast. We don’t know for sure if Chrissa’s killer is a friend or not.”

“Have you heard anything from her yet?” Andrew asked his friend, who had been glancing constantly at his phone

“Sophia? No.” He said with a sigh. “She’s not returning my calls and I can’t get her on the trackphone. I may have to check her apartment later today.” He bounced on the couch and stretched his legs.

“Well, her ex-boyfriend just got extracted, You should give her space.”

“He got extracted, he is not dead. All they did was take a piece that wasn’t needed. He would be back to normal in no time with no recollection of the incident. Everybody is happy- ”

“Sophia isn’t.” The detective said as a matter-of-factly. “The extraction wiped away most of their best moments together, he would wake up with little or no memory of their relationship. That sucks.”

“It’s for the better, Sophia doesn’t deserve someone like him, he was reckless… he is reckless and insecure.”

Andrew chuckled lightly; Luke was starting to sound really jealous.  “Reckless or not, she still loved him or loves him… you have to admit, there is something about him that made her crazy all these while. He must have had some good which was… good enough for her.” He said frankly.

Luke glared at him. Andrew was better off behind the computer screen.

 

 

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Areya alighted from the grey Audi A5. Sita rolled down the side glass. “I’m really glad you are taking this step of going back to work. You would be great.”

“Thanks” She replied brusquely and started to turn towards the building.

“Areya” Sita called softly, “Look I’m sorry for everything. I know you are still mad at me. You have to believe what I said that I was trying to protect you. It would have been selfish of me to start bombarding you with wedding plans and all when you are just recovering from a severe accident. I’m really so-”

“It’s fine.” Reya raised a hand to stop her. I understand. We’ve talked about this already, I over reacted. Damon seems like a nice person and I’m  happy for you two.” She smiled awkwardly. “Anyway have a safe trip and bring some Austin fries when coming.”

Sita kicked start the engine and veered the car around. “Bye” She waved as she drove off. With a little anxiety, Reya walked into Pharmacorp. It was one of the biggest pharmaceutical outlets in their town. Before the accident, she was the marketing director of the company. She worked alongside Demi Aries- a French born brunette. Although she had lived away from home for a long time, she still had a way of incorporating an accent into everything. Reya was surprised she could even remember her. The mind is odd in a way. She wondered where her friend and colleague was now, she hadn’t heard from her since her last visit 2 weeks before she was discharged from the hospital.

   She stepped off the escalator that took her up the second floor. The receptionist at the lounge greeted her warmly and stared at her longer than usual. Reya couldn’t say for sure if she heard about the accident or if she was just in a good mood. It was after all the beginning of November and bonuses were coming soon. She read through the tour guide she had picked downstairs and walked through the hallway. The marketing department section was very conspicuous and she didn’t have trouble finding her office-or what used to be her office. She unlocked it and pushed the door open. For a moment, she stood still and tried to take in the appearance of the blue blinds and white walls. She remembered every bit of it. Perhaps she was getting better. She took off her coat and turned on the heater. Her desk was almost as she left it. She scanned the office for anything different, it was a little bigger and there was a small switch on the wall. Curious, she came closer and pressed it. Immediately she did that, the wall caved in and separated to reveal another office similar to hers. Reya nearly fainted in shock. Some things were different afterall. She walked stealthily into the smaller office. It smelled of lavender and the walls were white with flower patterns round its edges. She pulled up the blinds and it revealed a vast land of grass. Hmm, the construction site! There was a cup of coffee on the desk and it was still steaming. The owner was probably close by.

“Fabuleux isn’t it? A too-high-for-a-lady’s voice said from behind, startling her. She turned around immediately and met the eyes of a young lady with brown eyes. She had wavy curls and a small frame. She was staring at Areya with raised brows.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to pry. It’s my first day back and I just pushed this switch and-”

“Yeah Sourpuss got that installed months ago but you wouldn’t remember since…well, the accident…” She said     

  Areya stared at her. Wasn’t this Demi? Her hair color was different than the normal brown she was used to.

“You do remember me right?” She stared at Reya with puppy eyes.

“Yeah… Demi! its good to see you.” She embraced her friend. “What did you do with your hair?”

“I just decided to tone it down a little bit…and I did the nose surgery.” She touched her nose and Reya laughed.

“So why the separation, the walls and the whole technology thing?” Reya asked walking back to her own office. Demi followed her.

“Nothing really, Sourpuss thought they could use a little more space at that end and when they were done, it didn’t look too good as an office so they just decided to separate it. You were upset about it when they did it…it was few months before the accident…maybe that’s why you don’t remember it. But it’s kind of fun watching the walls cave in and out. I think it’s beautiful.” She jumped on the sofa near the wall and curled herself there.

“Okay… well I’m supposed to see the manager. I don’t remember him, I think my brain is selective.” Reya sat on a chair and spinned it round, glancing once more at the marble tiles that glistened.

“Yeah, you have to see Sourpuss. He was even the one who told me you were coming today. I know I haven’t called you in a while, I’ve just been backed up with a lot of things.”

“It’s okay… wait, Sourpuss?”

“Yeah, that’s what we call him.” She said with a chuckle. “Common, let me take you to his office.” Demi pressed down the knob and the wall closed up.

“Who gave him that ridiculous name?” Reya was amused. She turned the lights off and waited for Demi to come out before locking the door.

“Oh, you did.”

 

 

SOME MINUTES LATER …

“How did it go?” Demi was grinning from ear to ear when her friend came to join her at the office canteen.

“Good… he just talked about the details of my job and I convinced him that I still knew what marketing was all about. He is nothing like “Sourpuss” and I’m sure I didn’t give him that name.” She narrowed her eyes at her.

“Of course you didn’t” Demi laughed as she ate the final portion of her salad. Reya glared at her.”Anyway, so you are back for real?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I’m glad I remember you, had it been otherwise, working with you would have been difficult.”

“Hmmm…” Demi smiled wryly. “Let’s see how much you remember… what is my favorite food?”

Reya stared at her slack-jawed, “Are you for real?”

“Yes, I have to be sure you are not an impersonator.” She sipped her juice.

“Demi I have a lot of questions to ask you, this is totally unnecessary-”

“Just answer the question.” Her friend insisted.

“Look, you don’t have a favorite food okay? … now can we get on to- ”

“What’s my favorite color?” Demi interrupted.

Reya rolled her eyes “Beige”

“What’s my apartment number?”

“23b”

“The color?”

“Of the number?” Reya thought Demi was going crazy.

“Duh…the house” She teased.

“Err…brown and cream…with yellow front porch.”

“Impressive.” She smiled at Reya even though the latter wasn’t smiling back. “Okay, so just one more question and I’ll be totally convinced.”

“Of course.” She chewed on a steak.

“What is my real name?” Demi asked with gleaming eyes.

“Damaries. Your Spanish tutor in high school had trouble pronouncing the name and she decided to call you Demi… and I don’t blame her, how would anyone bear the name “Damaries Aries”?

 

 

 

 

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A very exhausted Areya pressed the door bell of Sita’s house. Cataleya opened it.

“Wow, tough first day?” she asked noticing the look of exhaustion

Reya brushed past her and went up the stairs. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to Cataleya.

“What, so you are just going to keep ignoring me?”

“No…” Reya replied when she reached the top of the stairs. “I’m going to act like you don’t exist.”

Even though Reya knew she was being mean to the therapist, she felt she deserved it. It was a long time ago but each time she looked at her, the image of her dead cousin just flashes through her mind.

  It was just a normal windy day and she and Isobel, her favorite cousin were strolling down the latter’s street. She had gone to spend Easter break with them but her parents had travelled out of town on the night she arrived. They had stopped at an eatery to get some snacks and on their way back, they decided to take Pelican road. Suddenly, they were ambushed by some armed people, they wore masks and gloves. They robbed them of their belongings and just when they thought it was over, the only lady among them turned round and shot Isobel. She died on the spot.

Cataleya pushed the door open gently, it wasn’t locked. She walked in and sat on a folded chair near the dressing mirror. Reya had done a little rearranging to the room.

“What do you want?” Reya asked irately emerging from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her.

“I need to talk to you.” Her voice was gentle.

“If this is the part where you apologize and tell me it’s not your fault, then forget it. I’m not interested.” She moved over to her wardrobe and brought out a moisturizer.

“It wasn’t my fault that your cousin was killed instead of me. You both were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They miscalculated, they missed the target.”

“You saw us walking into that street, you knew they were after you and your friend. You used us as bait. You used delay tactics by conversing with us. If I had enough evidence, I would have said, you planned it all along, From the eatery to the ice cream shop. You wanted someone to cover your tracks and you used an innocent life in the process.”

“Reya, please…it’s more complicated than that, we didn’t know you would be at the eatery, we didn’t know you would decide to take pelican road- ”

“But you knew you were being marked, that someone wanted to kill you and your friend. You and Isobel have very similar facial features. It’s too much of a coincidence that we just happened to be passing at the same time you were supposed to be marked. It doesn’t make any sense. How could they even miss the target, the lady who shot, didn’t flinch. She aimed directly for her head. It was a clean shot and a lot of blood. She was my cousin and the only child of her parents, you took away everything so no, it’s your fault.”

“I’m sorry; I didn’t know we would ever meet again. I didn’t kill her, it was a one in a million type of situation.” Cataleya shifted in her seat.

“I forgive you. Really I do, but nothing, absolutely nothing would make me change the way I feel about you. Wait…” Reya paused suddenly realizing something. “That is not why you’ve been stalking me. I mean… is this what you wanted to talk to me about?” She slipped on her night robe.

“No” Her voice was gentle but firm. “Do you remember anything about the accident?”

Reya was thrown off balance by the question. “J-j-ust bits. Why?”

“You need to be careful. When is your next appointment with Dr. Charles?”

“Saturday, what do you mean?” Reya shot a baffled look at the therapist.

“Don’t go back to him.” Cataleya got up from the chair. “If you want things to get better.” She added.

 

AUTHOR-ABBY

Image source- dreamstime.com