When Night Falls

viii

"Shit." Cali furiously waves her injured hand in the air before glaring daggers at the source of her pain.

She really shouldn't have attempted to slam the drawer shut.

After assessing the damage done to three of her now red throbbing fingers, she continues to rummage through the papers scattered about the large office table.

They were mostly contracts about deals that all failed to mention what they were specifically about as well as graphs with names and numbers that made no sense to her.

With a curse and a heavy sigh, she plops down on the comfortable leather spinning chair. She places both elbows on the arm rests tapping her nails all the while unconsciously moving the chair side to side.

Lucius was a business man and a successful one at that. But what kind of business, Cali had no idea. He could be selling guns – worse case, people – and Cali wouldn't have an inkling of an idea about it.

She nibbles on her bottom lip before scanning the dark cherry wood table. She opened every drawer finding nothing but more papers and folders that made even less sense to her. What she still fails to understand though is why the rectangular drawer in the middle was locked.

And why it was empty after she picked said lock.

Using her feet, she drags the rolling chair forwards and reaches inside with both hands feeling for something, anything. Nothing.

With slumped shoulders, she chances a glance at the grandfather clock in the corner to see that it was half past two in the afternoon.

She had been so busy going through all of Lucius' belongings in his office, even going as far as checking every single book in the shelves lining the left wall. The only things warranting her suspicion were the locked but empty drawer and the lamp in the corner of the table that didn't turn on regardless of the damned thing already plugged in.

Callista blows a raspberry before resting her cheek on one hand whilst flicking the useless lamp on and off again. She does this about a dozen more times rapidly before blowing a strand of silver away from her face.

She freezes in her place and plants both socked feet flat on the ground feeling light vibrations on the soles of her feet, the minimal rattling of the lamp on her right. A pale hand reaches up to turn the volume of her hearing aids to its highest.

There, the muted but prominent sound of something evidently heavy was thudding against wood.

Hastily abandoning the chair, she walks up to the right wall, sticking her ear closer and running her hands along the hard wood. With one foot in front of the other, she follows the slight tingling in her hands until Cali had to step and stand on the black leather sofa. She reaches her arms farther above her head.

Then it was all silent. No more sounds and no more vibrations.

Dropping her head against the wall, she realizes how crazy and neurotic she was being. She cinches her eyes closed.

There was nothing in that room. There was nothing knocking in that room.

But there was something. There has to be an explanation to everything that was happening.

Keeping her forehead attached to the cool wall she lazily opens her eyes barely taking notice of what looked to be a folded paper behind the seascape oil painting.

She inches her body closer and while gently lifting the corner, Cali watches a thick brown envelope slide down the wall before dropping on the couch.