Memories of a Life That Never Happened

Chapter 1 - Deception

Detective Wando Haus never claimed to be the smartest man in town. He doubted he was even the smartest man in his family. Nevertheless, Wando always took great pride in his talent to uncover rubbish. This was quite useful in his line of work. It allowed him to perceive when someone was lying and, most importantly, it had never failed. That is why, when the radar inside him beeped on that stormy afternoon, Wando chose to pay attention.  

"She is a liar," it whispered. Wando scrutinized the black-haired girl sitting opposite his desk. "Don't trust a single word coming out of those pouty lips," his inner lie detector ordered.  

For a moment, the detective allowed his attention to focus on her mouth, but only because no words were coming out of it. His suspicions found irrefutable evidence in this girl's auburn skin. It made him think of warm, inviting places, and Wando's hypothesis began to take shape.  

"Are you sure you were alone?" the man demanded for the third time. 

"Yes." 

"Didn't see nobody else?" he asked, again repeating himself. 

Impatience parted her lips in the form of a gust of air. Her body shifted on the unstable seat. 

"Like I said, there was on-ly-the-girl."  

She was clearly losing her cool, Detective Wando thought. Just as he expected.  

"I saw no one else," the girl maintained.  

The man stared down at a notepad where he scribbled random notes to conceal his satisfaction. As she watched him flip through the paperwork, an idea flashed past her mind. It was quick but inconvenient, as a black cat crossing the sidewalk. What if she told him what really happened? Would he help her?  

Uninvited, the memories from the event came back to her. The jungle enmeshed her legs and arms, obstructing the way. Every now and then, sunbeams pierced through tree canopies, forcing her eyes to squint. At that point, visual acuity was unnecessary to realize her pursuers were closing in by the minute. Her nails bit off the flesh of her palms when she squeezed her hands into fists. She drew up her forearms as shields against the whipping twigs. The sound of her panting was muffled by her own heartbeats dancing the samba.  

She felt stuck in a bad dream, where as much as you command your legs to run, you end up hardly moving. Yet, she forced her burning limbs to keep scrambling. Standing still would equal a death sentence. Her shirt was pinched and she felt a stinging pain in her scalp. Fingers closed in the air trying to seize her, but all they accomplished was to pull out a few strands of her hair.  

A thunder roared outside and brought the girl back with a jerk. Another rather unwelcome result, at least for her, was that Wando's attention turned back to his witness. Rodent eyes fixed on her green irises once more.  

It might have been just a trick of her imagination, but the girl could swear she saw a couple of wrinkles hatch on his nose bridge. It seemed as though this man was trying to sniff the truth out of her. Afraid that the detective could somehow read her mind, the girl tucked away her memories and resumed acting bored.  

He could not help her, she decided. The circle of influence of her enemies was much greater than the city borders. Not even the mayor would stand a chance against Nicholas Chuster, even if he would dare to stand against him. Death could be out of sight right now, but it still lurked around the corner. The last thing she needed was to stick a finger into that hive.  

"Mi-ca-e-la Or-tiz." The detective licked each syllable as they came out of his mouth. "That's not your birth name, is it?" 

"What does that have to do with-?" 

"Just answer the question." Wando needed, every now and then, to reinforce the power entitled to him by law. He always preferred to do so against the least menacing members of the community, to put them in their place. This sort of preventive measure, he believed, was what kept everyone safe.  

"No. After my dad left, mom and Escobar got married. He adopted me and I took his name."  

"That's right. Your dad left you and your mom. It must've been hard, being rejected like that. Abandoned. Guess you've got a need for attention, don't you?" Wando crossed his arms and the chair creaked when his body slouched against it. 

"No. I was too young to remember it." 

"Ah! But I see here," a sheet of paper flapped in his hand. Her file, a summary of the most interesting events of her life. It was as a flimsy butterfly pressed between his thick fingers.  

"You've been involved in other two-accidents-lately. Isn't that true?" 

"Yes-well, not really. I wasn't involved in them. I didn't see a thing." 

"Right. That seems to be your answer for most of my questions," the man snorted. "I didn't see this; I didn't see that." Wando mimicked her with a childish voice and made a funny face that made him to look even more like a rat.  

"But I did not! I'm telling you the truth." 

"That's very convenient. Who were you with, again, on the night of the first incident?" 

"With a couple of friends." 

"Hmmm" the man nodded, jumbling his papers. "That's something you didn't tell me last time you were here. How come a penniless girl such as yourself ends up being friends with the Chusters?" Wando asked, perhaps considering using her success formula for his own benefit. 

The detective gave her too much credit. Theo was the only one in that family who had positive feelings toward her. As for the rest, they all hated her, especially his parents. They were her greatest enemies.  

"I knew who they were before I even met them. Because of the papers and magazines, you know. But I only met them at the party." 

Micaela had a drawer full of clips with photos and articles she collected about the family, but since that sounded a little stalkerish.  

"Which party?" 

"The party," she cast him a vexed look. This was an unnecessary question by definition. Anyone who lived within a hundred miles of Buriti knew about the party. 

"Oh," detective Wando conceded. "You mean that party. Ok. Well, why don't you tell me how you got invited?" 

The girl stared at him, but her thoughts travelled past the detective, back to the very beginning of this story.