Saltwater & Ink

20. Sea & Stone *quis custodiet ipsos custodes?*

In the days following the incident on the beach, the whole city seemed to be on guard. A few detectives had come to visit the Gallery to ask the owners and other employees some questions. There hadn't been a murder like this in years, the reporters responding quickly to the fear and hysteria in the air like sharks to bloody water. The officials questioned Emma and Evan first, then Miranda- the three that had been closest to Dani. Inky noticed her former friends giving her poisonous glares from the hallways of the Gallery.
Thorn had come to visit Inky for a few days- traveling down from the dark building on the hillside. Inky was glad to have the company, as the strange noises she heard in the dark of her studio seemed to increase at night when she was alone. She sat at the desk in her office at the Gallery, Thorn quietly standing by the window as the detective in charge of the investigation listened to what Inky told him, carefully taking notes on a yellow legal notepad.
She explained that she'd been taking a break from her late-night project, going for a walk on the beach as she usually did. Her story involved a few vague details as to not mention the Red Void - for she knew the very mention of it would see her locked up in a psychiatric facility for the foreseeable future. Inky told the detective that she hadn't seen Dani socially since the Artist's Night, and that she'd seemed to have gone missing from her job at Tapestry sometime the previous Friday. After all, she and Dani had never been that close- more like casual acquaintances and almost-coworkers. Thorn listened to her wordlessly as the detective questioned her, dark eyes devoid of expression, face blank.
Once the detective seemed to be satisfied with the information he'd gotten from her, he turned to Thorn. "Sir, please state your full name, age, and occupation for the purposes of our investigation," the detective said, pouring himself another small cup of the Gallery's coffee. Thorn turned away from the window to face the detective.
"Thorn Keir, 27, painter and uhh... I guess art coordinator, though work has been pretty slow lately." He looked away again, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I did have to travel for a business trip last week, working on curating an art show out of town," he offered, dark eyes calm as he regarded the detective.
The policeman nodded, scribbling something on the legal pad. He finished up his questions, leaving to go down the street to Tapestry, muttering something about finding more information there. Inky quietly closed the door to her office behind him. Thorn was looking through the restoration paperwork on her desk, trying to organize the impartial notes she'd taken. Much of Inky's progress had been destroyed that night, and it had been very time-consuming piecing what was left together in some semblance of order.
Her dyslexia and constant anxieties didn't help, she thought she'd probably obsessively re-read the same fragments of paper, trying to make sense of it. "This needs to go here," Thorn said, pausing to arrange some of her notes together. Inky saw that he had methodically ordered the paperwork, adding a few notes to the missing pieces in his more precise and legible handwriting. "How did you see that?" she replied, immediately spotting the missing information in her work. "I've been trying to figure this out all damn week but it just blurs together," she admitted. "I'm good at finding patterns, I guess," he said, shrugging. He pasted the last of his notes to the torn page, looking up at Inky sheepishly.
"Looks like I owe you a drink or something," Inky replied, impressed and beyond grateful for his help. It would have definitely taken her at least a few more days to fill in the missing pieces of her project-puzzle, and Thorn had figured it out in mere minutes. He laughed, raising an eyebrow. "Or something." Inky's face grew hot when she realized what he was implying, and she turned around so he couldn't see the red blush creeping across her face and down her neck. He always seemed to have a way of saying exactly what he knew would provoke her, and sometimes it irritated her to no end that she knew he was right.
"Hey, I didn't hear any complaints about last time," Thorn added, a sly smile on his face. He appeared to be slightly enjoying Inky's reaction, a dark gleam in his eyes as she stared across the room past him in embarrassed contemplation. She threw a wadded-up paper ball at him in mock frustration. "Quit fucking with me and let me buy you a drink, damn it. I can't work like this-" she gestured at the mess of paperwork and notebooks surrounding them. "Is that a threat or a promise?" Thorn answered, quietly staring at Inky in amusement. She sighed in exasperation, rolling her eyes. "You're making it extremely difficult to focus on my job," she said halfheartedly, truthfully she wanted to leave the Gallery early today- especially since having Thorn here was a constant albeit pleasant distraction.
Inky absently fiddled with the metal nameplate on her desk. She'd covered the first part of it with a label that said INKY in bold capital letters, not wishing to be reminded that her parents had named her after a dead inventor. "Did you want me to leave? I can wait for you at Tapestry or something," Thorn said, sounding a bit disappointed. Inky shook her head. "It can wait until tomorrow- let's get out of here," she said in surrender, a small smile on her face as they exited her office.
They walked together down to the marina, deciding to forego the crowded atmosphere of Tapestry for a more secluded environment. Thorn pointed out a small, white building at the end of the pier. It appeared to be a small cafe of sorts, white lights strung outside in an inviting manner. A weathered wooden sign outside the cafe read 'Sea & Stone'. Inky followed him to the back of the building, where they sat down at a white metal table with an antique, rustic look. A server came out and took their order, two cups of strong Earl Grey tea. The afternoon sunlight shimmered in a golden radiance across the sea behind them, seeming almost surreal after all the darkness she'd encountered lately.
Inky lowered her eyes, staring into the depths of her teacup. She blinked back the tears that had unexpectedly started to form, not from sadness or pain, but the exquisite peace she'd found in this moment. "Are you all right?" Thorn asked, placing his hands over hers under the table. Inky nodded, feeling slightly self-conscious. "I'm fine. This is just-" she paused, searching for the words to say. How could she explain this emotion to him- she felt like she'd been hiding in the dark for most of her life, and was unsure what to think when the shadow had been torn away, leaving her innermost thoughts exposed in the light. Inky shifted awkwardly in her seat, the unspoken words hanging between them. Her tea had gone cold, and she was having a hard time finding the words that kept escaping her. "I- I think I love you, Thorn," she admitted softly, breaking the silence between them.