A Danger That Lurks In The Darkness | A TPQ AU |

V | Reliving A Nightmare

MINI
The minute she reached home, she felt nausea roil inside her. Stumbling to her bathroom, she barely made it until she'd started vomiting. Coughing and wheezing, she clutched the bowl, her mouth filling with the rancid taste, until she rinsed it out with cold water, sweat trickling down the nape of her neck, till she collapsed in bed.

She didn't sleep at all. That night, she merely stared at her phone screen, her gaze transfixed on Aru's text: I reached. Wbu?

Her eyes had begun to burn with the exposure to the pale blue light of the screen, but she continued staring, till her daily alarm at 6 A.M. rang.

The piercing sound made her head pound, especially with the no sleep she'd gotten, and the amount she'd drank the previous night.

Clutching her head, she swiped the alarm, and slid into her chair at the dining table. The hair on the nape of her neck rose, and she glanced up in alarm, her skin crawling.

But there was nothing. Nobody, just her, alone.

Her hands trembled, as she tried to make sense of what had happened the night before. Her memories came back in blips, faded and spotted like an old photograph.

She'd met Aru at their local bar... they'd spoken, and at around 12 A.M., she'd ordered Aru a cab, which had dropped her off. She'd begun to walk home, and just as she'd entered the lane...

This part came back as a vivid recollection. The second pair of footsteps. That stopped when she stopped.

She shivered, despite the warmth.

The shadow that had disappeared.

Deep breaths.

There was probably a reasonable explanation for this. She was already drunk, so... couldn't she have imagined the footsteps? A culmination of sleep-deprivation and her being drunk?

She rubbed her arms, trying to summon up some faith in her thoughts.

Yeah! That's probably it!

But it was hard to believe in herself.

————

Rudy was already at the precinct when she arrived.

"H—"

"I need coffee," she groaned.

"And good morning to you too,"

"Sorry. Good morning. Yeah. I need coffee. I think I'm gonna collapse."

He offered her his own cup. "I've not drunk from it, and... you look like you're half-dead,"

She accepted it, with a muttered 'thank you', but when she took a sip, she nearly spat it out. Swallowing it, though, she said, weakly, "Is this just melted sugar?"

He looked affronted. "No? It's perfectly normal coffee!"

She checked the cup. "Three pumps of vanilla? Three? Why not just eat plain sugar?"

He snatched the coffee cup from her, and sniffed, "First of all, I'd got it for myself. Second of all, how do you like your coffee, then?"

"Two shots of espresso, like a normal person."

"Gross," he said, feigning disgust.

"Ouch," she said, clutching her head. "The arguing is making my head spin,"

"What were you and Aru even doing last night?"

"Drinking. Talking." Suddenly, panic seized her. "How do you know I was with Aru?"

"I was talking to Aiden. He'd called up, asking me about the song choices, and told me."

"Why was Aiden asking you for song choices?" she asked, switching on her computer.

He smirked, and jabbed both of his thumbs in his own direction. "You're looking at the deejay of Aru and Aiden's reception,"

"Really? You deejay?"

"Don't sound so surprised. Yes, I deejay. And yes, I'm pretty good at it. Give me one of your favourite songs, and I can whip up a playlist you'll love,"

"I might have to take you up on that offer." she joked.

"Please do," he said, his smirk fading into a gentle, lighthearted smile.

Her heart fluttered again. DAMN IT.

————

"We're going to visit Patricia's family?" Mini asked, when they were driving in Rudy's car.

"Yep. They answered to our call late last night, so I figured the first thing we'd do in the morning is talk to them, see what they know,"

She nodded, quietly, and resigned to staring out the window.

Ten minutes later, they were outside an apartment complex, and Rudy led her up the elevator to a first-floor apartment, its door decorated with slightly chipped paintings of flowers and vines around the doorframe.

Mini knocked, and moments later, the door was opened, by a man who looked like he was nearing his late-fifties.

His eyes were bloodshot.

Rudy held up his badge, and said, "Sir, we're from—"

"The police department, right?" His eyes lit up with faint hope. "My wife and I received your call?"

"Yes, sir. ...Actually, we wanted to know if you knew anything about her disappearance."

His shoulders slumped, as he said, "Of course. Come on in,"

He opened the door wider, as the both of them entered the quaint house, greeting the woman sitting on the couch.

Her eyes were sunken, like she hadn't slept, and her eyes were bloodshot, too."

Rudy extended his hand for her to shake, and she accepted, saying, weakly, "It's good to see you, detectives,"

Moments later, both Rudy and Mini were sitting on the couch, opposite to the older, grieving couple.

"Do you have any news about our daughter?"

They'd both decided that for obvious reasons, they wouldn't tell Mr. and Mrs. Lawton about the note. That would make them more upset, and wouldn't help anybody.

"Um..." Rudy cleared his throat, and said, "Could we have a list of all your daughters' friends? The people at her workplace told us about them, but we wondered if there were any names they might have missed out."

Mini picked up where he left his sentence. "Anybody, really. Any person your daughter spoke to, daily, if they might know where she could have gone."

Mr. Lawton sighed, and said, "In the last month or so, we weren't in contact with Patricia much." Tears filled his eyes, as Mrs. Lawton continued, sniffling loudly, "We regret that so much,"

Rudy's eyes widened, as he said, "It's okay, sir. It's— it's okay, ma'am. Um, if you have anything that could help—"

"Anything at all," Mini emphasised. "Anything at all, please tell us,"

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Lawton said, her voice quivering. "It's just— we're reliving this nightmare again."

"...Again?" Mini asked, incredulously, until Rudy elbowed her in the ribs. She instantly regretted her words, but Mrs. Lawton continued.

"Yes. Our older daughter. She was kidnapped and murdered."

And at this, Mr. Lawton fully burst into tears, and Mrs. Lawton put a comforting arm around his shoulder.