A Touch of Life

3

Emmie and Seamus worked together on every murder case, with Emmie reviving each victim and Seamus interrogating them whilst Emmie watched the clock. Sometimes it didn't quite work out as planned, and Emmie had told Seamus numerous times that he was probably going to need therapy from all the things he had seen.

There had been times where the victims had gotten up and began running around, which was horrific to see since usually they were not completely intact. There were some who had been in the morgue for longer than others, and had chunks of skin dropping off of them along with rotting limbs and the odd missing eyeball.

There had even been a time where Emmie had tried to revive a severed head, but it only could communicate in gurgles, and Seamus had to play a very obscure game of twenty questions with it to try to get some answers.

Of course, there were times when the entire exercise of reviving the victim was futile, because far too often for Seamus' liking, they simply didn't know who killed them. Seamus asked what he could and solved it alone eventually, but it was so much easier when it took a simple minute to find the person that Seamus was looking for.

Regardless, Emmie eventually made enough money to buy his small bakery and begin his business, plus enough money to buy a slightly better flat that didn't have a leaking roof. He was comfortable in the life that he'd made for himself, even if it did mean reviving the dead almost every night.

Emmie was sat in his flat eating his less than appetising microwave meal for one, when the programme he had been watching finished and switched straight on to his local news. Emmie sighed and moved to switch the channel over. The news was never good, so Emmie tried to avoid it. He already had too much murder and crime in his life. Just before Emmie could change the channel, someone's face flashed up on the screen, and Emmie had an instant wave of nostalgia that was so strong it made him nauseous.

The girl had brown hair, hazel eyes, and the brightest smile, one that Emmie would recognise no matter where he was. Emmie quickly turned up the volume so that he could hear what the reporters were saying.

"Information from police state that the body found yesterday in an alleyway by Barter Street has been confirmed as twenty-three year old local, Fleur-De-Lis Clark."

"It's just Fleur," Emmie muttered pointlessly at the TV.

"She was found yesterday by a cyclist, and police say that her cause of death was multiple blows to his head and stomach, causing excessive internal bleeding. Police believe this to be a random act of gang violence that is unlikely to be repeated, but urge locals to be aware and try not to walk home alone, especially down these back roads and alleyways."

The news report finished and the reporter's pasted-on solemn faces quickly changed to their bright, corporate smiles as they moved on to the next story. But Emmie still sat there staring, his jaw slack and his eyes wide.

Fleur, that Fleur, his Fleur - Fleur Clark, was dead.

Emmie hadn't spoken nor seen her in years, but he remembered her so well. Ombre brown hair that was just a little bit too long so that it fell in her eyes, which were the most beautiful hazel that Emmie had ever seen, sparkling with the energy that she was always full of, no matter what. She had the brightest smile and was so friendly and loving and so full of life.

But that wasn't the case any more.

Emmie and Fleur had been friends, best friends, Emmie would like to think, a few years ago. They'd only ever met once, and mostly spoke via the internet, through Facebook messages and Tweets and hours and hours of Skype calls, but that was enough for Emmie to know that Fleur was the greatest friend he'd ever had. They could have been something more, a lot more, but Emmie was so young and they lived miles apart, in fact, Fleur had been living in France at the time, which was a whole 'nother in general, and no matter how much Emmie begged, his parents didn't approve of Emmie and Fleur meeting properly.

One day in October, Emmie had told his parents he was staying at a friends and he'd taken a long boat ride all the way from Brighton to Le Havre just to meet Fleur for a day. His parents found out eventually, and he got in so much trouble, but it was definitely worth it. Fleur's hugs were warm and exuberant, just like she was, and her laugh sounded even better in real life.

When she kissed Emmie's cheek as they said goodbye, Emmie's whole face tingled for hours afterwards, and he couldn't stop smiling.

Emmie never got to meet Fleur again. They only could speak through the internet, and eventually that died out because Fleur moved to university and Emmie started going to college and everything changed, meaning their cyber-friendship came to an accidental end. Emmie still regretted not talking to Fleur more often, even years later.

Now that Fleur had died, it hit Emmie like a punch in the gut that he would never get to speak to her again. Fleur had been the only person that Emmie had fallen utterly head over heels for, the only one he'd been completely infatuated with in all of the twenty-one years of his life, and you never really forgot someone who meant that much to you.

"Well you can speak to this Fleur again. Once more, at least," said Seamus nonchalantly when Emmie had poured his heart out to him over a cup of coffee in Emmie's bakery. He talked about Fleur and how much he missed her and how he regretted never speaking to her enough. Seamus had just raised an eyebrow, and then spoke in a neutral tone; he never was one for showing his emotions. His expression hardly ever changed, and it had taken a long time for Emmie to even vaguely work out what he was thinking.

"What do you mean?" asked Emmie with a frown.

"Fleur was murdered, beaten to death in an alley. Police say it was unprovoked but I think it would be best to ask her, don't you?" Seamus's mouth turned up ever so slightly into what should have been a smile, but seemed more of a sneer.

Emmie had a lump in his throat, and he rubbed his fists into his eyes and took a deep breath. Of all the people he'd woken up to interrogate with Seamus, none had been someone that Emmie knew, and none had been as important to him as Fleur was.

"Why would someone do that to her?" Emmie asked quietly. How could anyone ever do that to someone so bright and cheerful?

Seamus shrugged, then his eyebrows furrowed a little.

"You're okay with taking this one right? Because I've already said we would, and her parents are offering a substantial reward for information, so-"

Emmie cut Seamus off with a nod, and Seamus nodded shortly back, wordlessly heading out to his car. Emmie followed slowly, trying to stop his heart from pounding.