Getting back to "Normal" | Rhekker

Chapter 63- Find Me

"There's no mines in Chicago, are there?" Connor thought out loud.
"Maybe she's not in Chicago?" Kevin suggested. "We're next to a lot of state borders"
Connor pressed his eyes shut tight at the thought.
"The phone registered only sent calls within Illinois, so she was still in state a few days ago" Jay reminds him.
"Okey so mabye it's not mines, we could have gotten that clue wrong, but this is Ava, it has to be"
"How are you so certain?" Adam asked.
Jay paused to look at Connor, "you're just going to have to trust us, we know"
Adam gave him a sceptical look.
"C'mon man, you know if haliey came to you with something like that you'd believe her, no questions asked"
"That's different man, it's Haliey"
"I know she ain't here, but your going to have to trust me, it's her. And we own it to her and her family to bring her home. She's one of us!" Jay raised his voice.
Adam sighed on defeated, "I'll make a call"
Adam left the room, leaving Connor wondering who he may call.

*

Two hourss later Connor was still at his mask shift office in the station, noise buried deep in papers and books about Capetown.

Connor heard footsteps steps coming up the stairs, the second set always follows by a third thump. Adam helped the elderly women with her walking stick to the top of the stairs.
"This is Lesedi, a South Africa national, she works as a translator for us from time to time. Also makes a mean vetkoek" Adam turned to the elderly women who waved to the group.
"Lesedi, we have a message from a South African we need you to translate, we don't know what she's going trying tell us but we can't get this section"
Adam pointed to the words, what I would say you would say different, written across the board.
Lesedi read them under her breath, touching her chin.
"Where is your African from?" The women turned to Adam, who looked to Connor.
"Born in Johannesburg, raised in Capetown" Connor replied.
The women inhaled a breath, "Capetown, haven't heard that one in years. Had some good times in those parts, and some bad" she shrugged, moving to a desk nearby.

"Well lest get started then? But before we do, why is your South Africa not able to speak freely?"
"You know I can't tell you that sweetheart" Adam told her.
"Ah," she waved her hand, "always the same"
The women ruffled through her bag she pulled out flash cards with different imagines.
She laid her cards out in neat rows, lining them on the desk.
"First, we assess, what she says compared to what you say" she gestured to the room.
"Then we remove" she huffed, writing in a marked under some of the English card names.
Connor read the cards, Avocado -> Avo, Sneakers -> Takkies, Cookies -> biscuit,
truck -> boot.
Connor glanced away after reading the last card, retreating to the break room to get a coffee. The door opened a few moments after him.
"You okey man?" Jay asked, waiting for him to set down the coffee jug.
"Yeah" Connor rubbed his eyes, leaning back against the counter.
"How often does this actually lead to Somthing?"
"She's good," Jay put a hand on his back, "Adams trusts her so I trust her"
"I told you we'd get her back"
"You and I both know we shouldn't make promises, especially not in our jobs" Connor chuckled bitterly.

Jay agreed with him and left the room shortly after with a coffee. He leads back against his desk, studying the board Lesedi had made. He heard some light shuffling and three thuds as the women and her walking stick came to stand with him.
Connor emerged from the room shortly after, making his way to a different part of the bull pen.
"She is his, no?" She women said gently, nodding towards Connor.
"Yeah" Jay sighed, looking at Connor from across the room. "She is"

*

"Nothing?"
"Nothing" Jay comfiemed, dropping the books he'd been looking through.
"We can't keep her here any longer, it's been hours. She don't work for the station or the police, we shouldn't have let her in here to begin with" Hank told them.
"Hey" Adam got defensive, "you know she's helped before"
"She has, we just got unlucky this time"
"But we will keep trying to find her" he assured Connor.