Wild Stories 2- Unexplained Happenings

Chapter Fifteen: Soliloquy and Solutions

Till and Jack walked into the hotel lobby. She asked the receptionist, Wilfred Flower, for the location of Mr. Flower.

"Pardon? Oh father, yes. He's um... I don't know where he's gone. What's this about?"

Till and Jack glanced at each other. Jack nodded. Till turned back to the Wilfred. "Well, it's about Mary's murder. We were going to ask him about new evidence that might prove Ms. Clemmon's innocence but if we can't find him..."

He gulped and looked away, before letting out a shuddering sigh. "I think he's gone to the woods. Near the lighthouse." He said, eyes squeezed shut.

"Thank you." Till said sincerely. She nodded at Jack who followed her out the door.

They returned to the car and Till huffed in the driver's seat. "I hope we catch him." She mumbled, turning the key.

Jack hummed in agreement as they drove off.

They made the journey in silence.

Till pulled into the parking lot. "Jack, have you got your gun?" Jack patted his pocket and she sighed before nodding once and reaching for the car door.

"Right."

They walked down the path to the lighthouse again, tension pulled across the air in a way that it wasn't the last time. They eventually came across Mr. Flower standing at the balcony of the lighthouse.

Till walked over to the lighthouse, her shoes crunching over the grass that was dewy with evening mist.

She quietly made her way through the first door, up the steps, and through the second door. She walked around one side of the lighthouse while Jack approached from the other side.

"Mr. Flower. Can I talk to you?" She asked.

He looked over at her and nodded once.

She looked up at the lighthouse, its light brightly spinning around. "You found Mary's letter to your son.

She asked him to meet her here."

A drop drip, drip, dripped from a leaf. His fists clenched and his nails dug deep into the palms of his hands.

"You knew what she was going to tell him. About his father."

"I am his father." He said quietly.

She nodded. "You took the letter instead. You met her here. The premeditated meeting gave you time to plan, so you brought a syringe full of bleach, to inject her with. That could let you blame Susie.

You brought your glowing... suit sort of thing. That could let you blame 'aliens'.

You pushed her off of the top of her favourite place in the world. You could blame freak accident.

You did too much, and it all led us back to you.

And you're limping. Mary stabbed you with her pocket knife, didn't she?"

He swallowed and looked down.

"It's not like I wanted to kill her. I didn't. She was just a kid. But she threatened my family, my business. In a way it was self- defence. Why couldn't she leave well enough alone? Why couldn't she just mind her business?

I didn't want to kill her I... I had no choice."

The waves threw themselves against the rocks.

"There's always a choice, Mr. Flower."

He shook his head before turning to look at her. "No. There wasn't. You wouldn't know. You're young like her. Why must you put yourselves in danger?"

"Mr. Flower, the world is dangerous. We might as well try to make it less so. Also, this is my job."