Ulterior Motives

Drunk Old Man

The ringing of the old phone sounded through the office, alerting Cheryl of the incoming call. She picked it up immediately, eager to find out the results of the key tracing.

'Hello, Texas Police Department, Officer Blossom speaking,' Cheryl said into the phone, rushing her words.

'Hi Miss Blossom, I'm calling with the results of the key tracing,' a woman informed, Cheryl recognised her as the woman whom she had dealt with last time, 'so we were only able to trace the key to the general city that it is from, and it is from Austin, Texas.'

Cheryl's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why did Toni have a key to somewhere in a different city? She wasn't old enough to have bought her own property.

'Okay, thank you ma'am,' the redhead said, placing the phone down.

Still confused, she decided to look through all of the evidence that she'd gathered so far to see if any links could be made. Shaking the brown folder, she gathered up all of the A4 pictures that she had printed off of the young girl's room and belongings.

The first piece of evidence found was a picture of a red rose that had gone missing from Toni's room. Cheryl presumed that she had taken it with her when she left, but why? Why not one of the other hundreds of polaroids on her wall - what was the significance of the rose?

Moving on, the next piece of evidence was the fingerprints. Toni had closed the window from the outside which, to Cheryl, made it seem as if she had left voluntarily.

Next was the crossword. The cop looked at the photo of the half completed puzzle, trying to figure out what the only almost legible word said. It was a six letter word and some of-

It all snapped into place then and there for Cheryl. Of course - how had nobody figured it out yet?

AUSTIN!

That is what the crossword said, it fit with all of the letters that could be read and it was where the key led to! This was great, Cheryl was raised in Austin and still lives there, so she should know the area like the back of her hand.

Deciding to see if Toni had any previous connections to the town, she phoned the other girl's parents.

'Hello, it's Cher - sorry - Officer Blossom,' she corrected herself.

'Hello Miss Blossom, have you got some news on our Toni?' Mrs Topaz asked, before calling her husband to the phone.

'I have, and I was hoping that you could help me figure out what it means,' she said.

'We can try our best, we want nothing more than to bring our baby home,' the older woman promised. Cheryl pitied them, they seemed to be getting more and more desperate everyday, never loosing hope though.

'Well I was able to trace the key that was found underneath your daughter's desk to Austin, Texas. This also lines up with the crossword, so i was wondering if you or your family has any connections to this city?' She asked, hoping, praying, that they'd have something for Cheryl to follow up on. She was struggling to stay optimistic at this point. It had been about a week since the disappearance, and most people aren't found after 24 hours.

'She does have an uncle who lives in Austin, but she doesn't know him very well, he hasn't been a part of her life since she was quite young,' Mrs Topaz admitted, her voice becoming harsh.

'Okay, I will head to his house and speak to him, the police station is in Austin, so it shouldn't take me too long,' Cheryl decided, grabbing a pen and paper to write his address down.

'Cheryl,' Toni's mom began, lowering her voice, 'as much as I hate to admit it, my brother is a heavy drinker and can be quite violent, make sure to bring backup with you.'

'I will, can I get his address please?' She asked, barely fazed by the knowledge that this could be dangerous.

After receiving his address, Cheryl hung up and stood up to head into Officer Davis' room to ask him for assistance.

The pair were soon in Cheryl's police cruiser, driving the fifteen minute drive to his place, which appeared to be a small apartment when they pulled up outside. With the side of the block of apartments covered in graffiti, it soon became apparent to the young officer how much of a run down part of the city this was.

She pushed the button outside of the main entrance that read 'Antony Topaz', as she has been directed to do by Toni's parents.

'Who is it?' A grumpy, raspy voice slurred through the radio system, startling Cheryl.

'My name is Officer Blossom, I'm here from the Austin Police Department to speak to you about your niece, Antoinette Topaz,' Cheryl explained, the sound of Toni's full name surprising her, she didn't use it often.

'I'll come to you, stay there,' he ordered, sounding a little less angry than he did before. The redhead tried not to worry for her safety, Officer Davis was only in the car so she could radio for him if she needed to.

A middle aged man appeared at the front entrance to the apartment complex. He had a weathered face and greasy brown hair, he was also clearly drunk.

'You want t' talk about Toni?' He asked, Cheryl nodded, 'I 'aven't seen 'er in years, i don't allow dykes in my life.'

'Dykes?' Cheryl repeated, confused.

'She was datin' some girl, so i stopped speaking to 'er and 'er family,' he clarified, slurring his words again.

Cheryl realised at this point that she wasn't going to get much useful information from the older man, but she just wanted to try the key in his door.

'May i come and try this key in your door?' She questioned politely, just wanting to to her job.

'Ya can if ya want, but it won't fit, if it does she's just a stalker and even more messed up in the 'ead than I thought,' he said, letting the cop inside.

The apartment complex was quite small, it had no more than 10 rooms and they all seemed to be carbon cutouts of each other. He lead her to the apartment at the back of the building on the first floor, number 12.

Cheryl inserted the key, hoping against hope that it would open the door, that this hadn't all been for nothing. She twisted it to the right... nothing... and to the left... also nothing.

'Damn it,' she muttered under her breath, not loud enough for the drunken man to hear her, 'thank you for your time,' she told him, before leaving.

~~~

Author's Notes:

Thoughts on the key? Where abouts in Austin could it lead to?
Do you think Cheryl will figure it out?
Hope you enjoyed, please vote and comment!! 💛💛