In The Dark. We Pray

Chapter 2

Buzzzz.....Buzzzz....Buzzz-click

"Mm-Molly."

Christian ended up luckier than he'd thought he'd be. Instead of the hour of sleep the detective so desperately needed, he managed 3 and a half.

"We should talk."

A small voice whizzed into Molly's ear, causing him to press the phone harder into the side of his skull to make out the almost whispers on the other end.

"I'm sorry.. what's that? How'd you get this number?"

The small voice grew quiet.

Chris rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his free hand and set up on the edge of the bed. He pulled the phone back to look at the number on the screen and recognized the contact name, which brought him wide awake.

"Mrs. Morris?"

Alyssa's mother whizzed out another whisper.

"I know it's late, but I need to talk to you."

Molly reached for his pack of lucky strikes, noticing the old red light of the alarm clock on the stand.

1:14AM

With a sigh, he returned his attention to the call.

"It's alright, Mrs. Morris. I have time. Have you come across some additional information that would be useful to us?"

A silence lingered on the call for a moment, Christian used this opportunity to light his cigarette and take a long drag.

"I have something to give you; I'm concerned."

Molly paused, "What would you like to give me, Mrs. Morris?"

"Alyssa's journal."

The detective choked on his cigarette smoke and set the butt in the ash tray, taken by surprise.

"Mrs. Morris... Pam, I appreciate the willingness to help, but Alyssa would need a therapist to deal with this, I can't give you any sort of advice on how to deal with what she's feeling."

Pam stayed quiet, and Molly continued.

"Waking up to your friend missing is hard. I would suggest giving her space. Let her write out her feelings in private so she can heal."

There was a long silence. It was heavy.

Chris picked his cigarette back up and took another drag before it could die out in the tray. As he did so, Pam broke the silence, which made Chris choke on his smoke once again.

"She.."

Pam sobbed quietly under her breath. Molly reached for the empty bottle of blue ribbon on the stand and swished it around in the dark, feeling one loose, flat, swig inside and taking the old beer in to wet his throat

"She was awake."

Molly froze, "Awake?"

Mrs. Morris sobbed louder, trying to stifle her emotions. Clearly, she was at home.

Trying not to wake up her family.

"She was awake, Christian."

"Can you meet me at the precinct in the morning?"

"No, it's too far away... I have work in a few hours... can you meet me at the square?"

Chris raised an eyebrow, "by the old Eve theatre? Give me an hour."