The Wishing Flower

Chapter 16

"Clarke, you think whoever is living in the house now would just let a random stranger inside their home. What would she even say? Hi, I used to live here. Can I stay for the night?"

"You're right, it wouldn't be as easy for her to get inside if it weren't uncle living there. Regardless, looks like our questions will soon get answers, we are here"

We hopped out of the far and came face to face with a worn down one-story that desperately needed a paint job. I walked up the and knocked on the door.

"Looks like the house is coming apart. I wondered why the people living here never renovated."

No one came to the door, so this time I knocked even louder, "Hi, my name is Detective Clarke and I'm with the-", before I could finish my sentence and eldlery gentleman called out to us from the street.

"You'll never get an answer no matter how hard you knock, missy."

"And why is that?"

"The house is empty, no one has lived in there for almost five years"

"Empty?" Julio looked at me, "This gives Sajal ever the more reason to come here"

"You think she knew it was empty?"

"Well let's find out. Maybe the door is unlocked, try the handle"

"That's stupid. Why would the door be unlock-" I turned the handle and the door swung open. "Well I guess we got lucky"

We stepped inside the house and were hit by a musty scent. The paint was chipping off the walls and the wood flooring was covered with dust.

"Wow, this palace needs a serious makeover" Julio cried.

"But the house looks completely empty to me", I said as we moved in between rooms. There was no clothes or furniture or any signs that anyone could have been here.

After an hour of searching, we really weren't able to find anything that suggested Sajal had been in the house.

"Let's go back out and check for any signs of forced entry" I told Julio, who was busy inspecting the counters.

Just as we were about to leave Julio stopped dead in his tracks, "Wait", he said, "What's that over there?"

We both moved closer and Julio picked up a tiny object from the floor. He put it up towards the light. "It's a pill".

"Looks like we found something after all", I said, thankful for my partner's sharp senses.

We rushed back and sent in the pill to the lab, and anxiously awaited the results. Finally, forensics came back with the results and I headed back to share the news with Julio.

"Please tell me something good", he begged.

"Lamotrigine. Used to treat seizures and depression in adults with bipolar disorder"

Julio's eyes grew bigger, "Does this mean they belong to Sajal?"

"Well, can't be sure yet. We're going to need to check Sajal's medical records to see if she was even taking any medication"

"Alright then Clarke, let's go doctor hunting!"

After obtaining Sajal's medical records, it turned out the girl was suffering from Bipolar depression and had been on the medication for the past four months. She had apparently kept her condition a secret from her sister. That must have been tough to keep such a big thing a secret put on a smile to hide her pain. Unfortunately, for Sajal I wouldn't be able to keep her secret hidden anymore. I had to speak to Zee and ask her where Sajal could have possibly gone after going to their uncle's house.

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The girl sat across me, looking even more weary than before.

"Ms. Tariq, we have reason to believe your sister had gone to your uncle's old house the day of the murder"

"Really? She did?", her tired eyes instantly came to life.

"Well, we actually found something that belonged to your sister at the old house. Did you know if the house was empty by any chance?"

"No I didn't know and I really don't care. But what did you find of Sajal's?" she asked anxiously.

"We found one of her pills lying on the floor"

"Her pills? What do you mean?"

"Your sister was suffering from depression and she has been on medication for the past four months"

The girl's face changed. She looked confused and angry.

"Four months? H-how could she have hid this from me? I didn't even notice. What's wrong with me?, her voice quivered.

I felt guilty, I let out the news too bluntly. I didn't realize how fragile she was.

"Zee. This is not your fault, your sister did not want you to know. She didn't want you to worry, so she tried her best to keep everything hidden from you"

"Still, it must've been soo tough. She would have to pretend like everything to be happy, when her heart must have been crumbling on the inside. I'm so selfish, I am always so caught up in my own problems, that I never stopped to see if the people around me were suffering. Now she's gone, so I can't even help her"

"No, Zee you can still help your sister" I quickly said "And I want to help you, help her"

"W-what do you want me to do?", she asked wiping her tears on her sweater sleeve.

"I need you to think really hard. Where's a place Sajal would go to find comfort? Perhaps a place that reminds her of your parents?"

Zee thought for a moment, and looked up at me "I think I know where she could have gone"