THE HARBOUR [EDITING]

Everything Everywhere All At Once

It's the early morning of AUGUST 26TH, Detective Bateman stands on the ocean's shore, where the gentle waves lap at his feet. The salty breeze of the ocean tousles his hair teasingly as he sips from his coffee cup. He watches as a team of paramedics hauls the body of a child on a stretcher into the back of an ambulance, with a woman in hysterics following closing behind them.

His gaze is directed towards the pier's boardwalk- lined with cafés, bakeries, and a vibrant array of stores. Their captivating signs contrast the vastness of the otherwise lonely ocean- the shipping and fishing boats had been cleared out after the body's discovery, leaving the ocean bare and naked.

The distant merry chatter of store/ café patrons and their customers, and the waves of the ocean crashing against each other, drown out the voices of concerned onlookers- all but one. The chatter does not seem to drown out the high-pitched voice of a news anchor. He wonders how someone with such an irritating-sounding voice ever got into journalism.

"You done with that?" His partner Alice asks, "Yes, I guess" he responds, pouring the contents of his cup onto the sand. She takes the cup from him and holds on to it.

"Man," she starts, "We haven't been here 24 hours, and there's another body,"

He simply nods in response.

"Do you suspect foul play?" She asks, "It's unusual that the child's body was found carefully wrapped him fishing reigns,"

"It didn't look like an accident, no, but we'll have to wait for the coroner's report." he says, "in the meantime," he points towards a man flanked by two uniformed police officers.

"He called it in," he says, "you should question him," he says. He might as well take this opportunity to test her skills, he thinks.

They walk towards the man, Alice hands him the cup she took from him only a moment ago and takes out her notepad.

"Hello, my name is Detective Alice Pines," she states, "And this is my partner, Detective Philip Bateman."

"I know your family," the man says to her, "Good people" he adds.

"Yes," Alice says through her teeth, and Bateman senses her irritation. "You're the one who found the body?" She asks.

"Yes, my name is Tomas Greer" he says

When he and his partner say nothing in return, the man continues: "I don't usually sleep here," he says, "in my boat, I mean"

"Mmmh" Alice murmurs.

"I was just a little drunk from last night and didn't make it out of my boat," he says, "last night was my wife, and I's' anniversary, bless her soul" he says, taking off his hat.

"Tell us what happened, Mr. Greer" Alice says, flatly.

"I was woken up at about 7:30 AM by a noise. It sounded like a knock," he makes clicking sounds with his tongue, trying to imitate what he heard.

"I thought it was a seagull or a pelican, so I ignored it- but it wouldn't stop. It got louder and more annoying" he says, with a grimace.

"So I got up and decided to check it out. I got out onto the deck, and when I looked out, I noticed something knocking against my Maxine" he points towards his boat.

"When I took a closer look, I saw these tiny hands" he says, stretching out his hands.

"They were gripping a little stuffed bear," he pauses, shaking his head, "I couldn't look at it again or go near it. So I called the police immediately." He says as he runs a hand down his face.

"Do you think someone killed him?" He asks.

"We will find out soon enough," Alice says, "thank you for your time, sir. If you remember anything else, you come down to the station, ok?"