Unravel // Van McCann

6. Someone's Here

I looked out the window waiting for my supervisor to tell me he was ready to see me. It was time for our one-on-one meeting, and I came on time, but he was busy taking care of something that he asked for a few minutes. I didn't feel like going back to my desk so I decided to wait in the break room.

"What are you doing here?" I heard Theo ask.

He reached into the fridge to grab an iced tea, opened it, and took several gulps. I held back my disgust. It brought me back to the first time I ordered tea in the States. I was expecting hot tea but was given iced tea instead—which I tried once—and once was enough to know I'm never trying it again even if my life depends on it. I tried showing Theo Yorkshire tea but he didn't like it. He's mad.

"Ahh...that hit the spot," Theo continued when I didn't answer.

"How can you drink that shit?" I questioned. "Tastes like piss."

Theo and I often went back and forth if we disagreed on something. At first, our arguments were serious but then we quickly realized how fun it was to take a jab at one another. Now we try to find any opportunity to argue.

"This tastes great. I don't know what you're talking about," he countered, enjoying this conversation. "Yorkshire tea tastes like piss."

"You should see a doctor about your loss of taste. Also have them check your noggin 'cause summat's not right." Theo burst into laughter.

"You're right! My head's not right."

Theo walked out of the break room forgetting that I never answered his question in the first place. I turned my attention back to the window and watched cars pile up at a red light. I heard someone knock at the entry, prompting me to turn around.

"Hi Van, I'm ready. Sorry for the delay," Cam apologized, beckoning for me to follow him. I followed him into his office and took a seat across from him.

I remember my first one-on-one meeting with him; I was a nervous wreck not knowing what to expect but he turned out to be understanding and helpful. He was looking for an update but I had no update for him. Georgia went back to California three weeks ago and the girl hasn't been seen since. I was starting to think she got scared off for good. Cam shuffled some papers around and found the one he was looking for.

"Are you still waiting?" Cam questioned and I nodded my head.

"Georgia left three weeks ago and there is still no sign of her," I elaborated.

"Do you think she'll come back?"

At this point, I didn't know anymore. Some part of me wanted to say yes but I had to be realistic. I shrugged my shoulders.

"It's hard to say. I hope she does but there's no way to know for sure." I scratched the back of my head. "D'you think I should get another case?"

I have done everything I possibly could to move this case forward but have long since run out of things to look into. I spent most of my time twiddling my thumbs. Doing nothing was nice at first but I knew I couldn't carry on like this forever. It's not uncommon for us to handle two cases at once. It's not recommended but I've seen it happen a handful of times. Perhaps this case was one of them. I looked up to meet Cam's eyes. He was definitely considering it and then he leafed through some files, no doubt looking at the available cases.

"Unfortunately I don't have anything easy at the moment. Why don't we wait two more weeks?" he suggested.

"Sound," I replied in a quiet voice. He seemed sure something was going to happen. I don't know why he's so hesitant about giving me another case to work on while I'm waiting.