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Chapter 3

An audible sound was heard through the diner's silence as cloth brushed against a wooden table. Trinity rubbed antibacterial spray in slow smooth circles grumbling as her eyes flicked to the clock every few seconds at 10:30. Her shift wasn't yet over; she still needed to clean some more tables and help in the back, like taking out the trash that was now overflowing in a corner of the kitchen. She cracked her neck and walked over to the counter, a steaming pot of coffee tempting her. "Trinity can you please lock up when you're done?'' her coworker Bella asked. Trinity wanted to groan loudly but resisted as she knew she was getting paid overtime for this so it was worth it for those few extra dollars.

Her boss Alex came out of the double doors carrying a case of bottles. He handed it to Trinity "make sure you take those out with that bag of trash" he said his tone was tired and short like he wasn't in the mood to argue with her. He just simply handed her the box before turning on his heels and walking back into the kitchen with his grease-stained apron flapping slightly. Collecting the bag from the trashcan,Trinity hauled the bag over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes leaving the case on the table for later. Carrying it outside she threw it into the nearby dumpster just around the corner she was dressed in a red shirt and black jeans. Her cobalt hair was tied up in a bun, the tie worn and frizzing. She collected the case and placed it next to the dumpster. The highway next to the diner was quiet with the occasional family car driving past.

She could feel the summer wind on her skin goosebumps appearing "you should have brought a jacket" she thought. With a thump she closed the lid of the dumpster before dusting her hands as she made her way back into the diner fishing her keys out of her pocket. She sighed as she remembered she also needed to pick up that package from the post office. She turned off the lights, Alex said a hasty goodbye, his sneakers squeaking against the floor as he walked through the door, the bell dinging as the glass door shut behind him. Bella soon followed, removing her apron and hanging it up on the hooks in the kitchen handing Trinity the keys to the front door.

She looked up at the busted old Tv that had been there longer than her. A serious-looking news reporter was sitting at a desk, her blazer seemingly freshly pressed and cleaned. She held a stack of paper in her hand, the paper clip in the corner coming loose "good evening everyone tonight's news is..." Trinity tuned the rest out, her interests diverted to the grease stain on her pants. Her mind went into autopilot as she scurried around cleaning out the coffee pots and making sure that everything was ready in the morning she knew her coworker Sal was going to be in tomorrow.

"Murder in Raven Brooks-" Trinity's head shot up the rag in her hand and fell to the floor. She grabbed the remote from a nearby table and turned up the volume. All her attention focused on the tiny screen. "On Wednesday the 5th of September a local man was found dead. The police were able to identify from the man's wallet and car registration that he was Sam Finsch" Trinity recognized that name, her mind desperately searching for where she had heard it, Sam...Sam...SAM! She suddenly remembered she had gone to high school with her. They had been decently close before he had decided to move away and start a new life mystery-solving or something like that after graduating high school. Although she heard from his parents when she bumped into them that he had gotten into a law enforcement school and now spends his days running around the city catching robbers.

The News reporter had now brightened up her voice becoming more animated and upbeat. She was talking to the weather man about the rain clouds coming overhead and that this was caused by something to do with humidity. Trinity finished turning off all the equipment and lights. The moon was streaming through the windows making the floor shine. Trinity walked out of the diner undoing her messy bun before climbing into her car, her head resting back against the headrest of her seat, clicking the belt into place. She pulled out of the old parking lot and drove off into the night, the old battered radio pouring bland tunes into the car.

She arrived at the post office at just over 11:00. She was so happy it was still open "Good evening" the man said as she entered her hair covering her eyes she walked to the front desk "I...Im here to pick up a package". The man laughed, "We are a post office, we specialise in parcels, what's the name?" Trinity nodded and smiled "I-uh it's Trinity Bales" she said. The man smiled and turned around searching through a draw "here you are" he said handing her a small brown parcel "Thankyou" she said signing for the package before exiting the store climbing back into the car and driving off home.

The neighbourhood she lived in was decent, the people were nice and sometimes kids would play in the streets and have water gun fights when the weather was warm enough. Her house was a typical cookie-cutter house. A gravel driveway with a few little white windows and two patches of grass next to it. The house was a light yellow she liked it but some Karen across the street had decided that it was a "eYE SoRe" She had brushed the complaint off and decided that it was her house she would do what the hell she wanted with it.

Throwing off her shoes she sat down on the couch placing the package next to her. The worn material creaked underneath her opening the paper box, pulling out the new compass she had wanted to buy for a camping trip she was going to go on. She went to the fridge and got herself a Coke popping the top with her finger a loud FIZZ eliciting from it. She placed it on the coaster next to her and turned on the Tv flicking through all the channels the coloured glow on her face.

The news was back on talking more about that murder going on about when they think he was killed and by what (a gun) and talked about the bog the body was dumped in. Trinity felt her stomach churn as they showed the car the cracked windshield being carefully removed as several detectives searched inside the car for anything the murderer could have been left behind like fingerprints or maybe a note.

Trinity quickly turned off the Tv rubbing her eyes tiredly and stared at the photos on her wall blankly; her mum and dad were in one and Matize, herself and Luci in another. There was one of Enzo and Nicky as well. She still remembered the fight they had before she moved away. They had been screaming and fighting Enzo calling Nicky "insane" and that he "needed to be put in a mental hospital!" Because Nicky had decided to go out and try and find Aaron that only resulted in them getting into even deeper shit with the police who had deemed them "good for nothing snooping kids" and had them all on house arrest. She had wanted to find Aaron too but she didn't have the balls back then. She just wished now she had stayed in Raven Brooks and helped. But no she had run away like a coward.

Trinity took another swig of her coke staring at the ceiling "I can't stay in this house" she said out loud. Standing up she made her way outside sitting down on the damp grass staring at the stars her neighbours fire rising into the air. The stars were so beautiful "What happened to you Sam?" she asked herself.