CASUAL ✷ chappell roan

OO1 .. kaleidoscope

Papers were strewn across the desk, swallowing the entire table. Every newspaper clipping, every police transcript, every folklore book opened to the same page. Chappell's eyes could not stop jumping between the inky words drenching the table. For the first time, she believed that there was too much evidence, too many conflicting perspectives that hid the truth from her. She rested her face on her hands, rubbing her fingertips against her temples.

The first mention of strange happenings on the beach came from 20 years ago. A fisherman from the port town 30 minutes down the road. The waves had returned what was left of him, an arm of tattoos. After a few more fishermen disappeared, the police assumed there was a local serial killer. Since then, five people had confessed to being the 'killer from the blue lagoon' (as local media has declared them). Not a single confession matched the other.

The main irregularities were how and why they killed. So far, seven people had been convicted for several murders each. In every case, many different theories had been proposed. One suggested they were all working together in a secret society. Others wanted to believe that they were inspired by one another. But all of this detective work was ineffective, in Chappell's eyes.

There was not a murderer. Well, not a human one.

Her eyes returned to the folklore book, moving between the several different aquatic monsters. She wanted to believe that she had found the one - the kelpie. Irish myth told her that this beautiful stallion rode off with its victims into the ocean, too deep for them to rise again. But she knew it was wrong. Too many small details would not match. Too different. Not close enough.

The chair to Chappell's right was drawn across the floor, hissing as it scraped on the wooden floorboards. The familiar shaking of metal key chains hit the floor. Elia's hand reached across to pull a police report towards her.

"You still in that fairy tale book?" she asked as Chappell finally looked up. There it was, that smile her best friend always wore. It dimmed when other people were around, but it shone brightly for Chappell's eyes only.

"It's the most similar thing. Besides, you tried to tell me last week that you thought that mechanic was the killer." That was true, Elia had been trying her hardest to prove that he was doing more than overcharging for her car's service. Yesterday, he disappeared.

"OK, but you believed me," Elia cocked her head, like a stand up comedian with a good setup. Chappell gave her a small grin back before her attention drew back to the papers. She had read and reread these articles to the point that she could recite it from memory.

'.. locals have been complaining of strange noises coming from Pony Beach during the night. Fishermen report a 'song-like wind' coning from the sandy bay. Police do not believe this is related to the many reports of missing persons or the biohazards washing up on the shore.'

Chappell began tapping on the table, eyes rushing up and down the length of the table. Why couldn't she figure it out? Nothing within this case made sense. There were too many unrelated tidbits of information. She had been researching this for so long now, and still she could not stop it. Soon, a part of the mechanic would wash up. Between twenty-four to seventy-two hours, that was when whatever was left of them returned.

"Hey, I think we should go home soon." Elia's voice rose up finally, demanding her attention. Looking around, she saw the librarian shutting down the library's scanning system.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go home." Chappell began piling papers, grouping them together before sliding them in paper wallets. The librarian let the duo keep them together under her desk. They rushed out the door together, the door being locked as soon as they were out of the door. Elia began to walk away, turning around.

"Text me when you wanna meet up again, I'm sure we've nearly solved it." Her hair began to float with the wind, the early evening light setting in. Chappell nodded and turned away, shaking her bike as she removed it from the wall.

"Yeah, see you soon."

── blue speaks !

[ 🐚 ] first chapter yippee!

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