Corner of the Hill

Chapter 13 - Dancing in the Rain

"You're breaking off your engagement with an Uther?!" Eve Black raised her voice.

"I need to focus on finding my sister for right now," Ala declared.

"What happened to your sister?" Eve White asked.

"We got separated," Ala responded quickly. "I wanted to look for her but my engagement didn't really allow for that to happen."

"I see," Dr. Talon remarked.

Pom walked over to Ala, sensing her despondency and held her hand. "It's going to be okay, I can help you."

Ala smiled at his gesture and gave his hand a small squeeze. "Thank you, Pom."

"We-" Dr. Talon started before Henry spoke over him.

"We'd be willing to help as well," Henry leaned into where Ala was sitting.

Dr. Talon shot Henry another nasty look before smiling at Ala and nodding. "What sort of private investigator were you looking for out here?" he asked.

"Um..." Ala flashed her eyes at Henry again, secretly asking for help.

"I told Ala that there weren't many private investigators in this region. Those that claim to be would be amateur at best," Henry answered for her.

"So why would you come out here searching for one?" Eve Black asked.

"I just needed to make sure that this stayed out of the news. I figured that the countryside wouldn't be as interested in the headlines as the people in the city."

"Henry has solved stuff before," Eve White chimed in again.

Henry smiled and shrugged. "Just little problems here and there around town."

"Plus he was in the army before, so I'm sure he could deal with your problem," Eve Black added.

"I've worked on cases before myself," Dr. Talon cleared his throat.

"Really, when?" Henry asked.

"Back when I lived in Xarc, many detectives sought out my expertise. Lawyers too."

"Well, when I need a fact check I'll let you know," Henry said a cynically.

"Is this a pissing contest? I'm pretty sure everyone in this room could help in some way, but not all of us are going to have the time for it. Henry has always been the errand monger, why can't he and Ala just investigate on their own?" Eve Black folded her arms.

Dr. Talon couldn't find many fallacies within that argument. "Alright, but no big moves without consulting me first. We still need to make sure that every action taken is in the best interest of the entire household," Dr. Talon ordered Henry and he nodded.

"So...." Eve White bit her lip. "Where did you see your sister last?"

"We were at a seafood festival in Mylford, we had just finished shopping for jewelry and clothes and we wanted to go to the beach. But a gun went off and we had to leave in a hurry...we got in an accident trying to go down the Maleok channel in a water car. I passed out. I haven't seen her since then."

"Where did you wake up?" Eve Black wondered.

"My fiance's place. When I asked about my sister...he wouldn't really listen," Ala hung her head. "He wouldn't let me look for her."

"The seafood festival in Mylford was about two months ago, I'm sure the Rhys would've sent someone looking for her by now," Eve White tried to comfort Ala.

"Yeah, what's the point of a private investigator?" Eve Black rolled her eyes. "I'm sure your rich family will be able to find her. They probably already have."