Through the Dark

Chapter 28

As soon as we entered the school on Friday, all of us were exhilarated by the brouhaha over the tournament. Everyone seemed to be engaged in their own work and it was nothing but a bustling area. Cheerleaders were roaming all around in groups and prefects were inspecting every detail of everything around to make sure each article was impeccable. People from different classes were putting up posters and banners all around the school while other groups of boisterous teenagers hung at every nook and cranny. Even the teachers were exuberant. There was a certain lively ambiance present the entire time.

"This was probably the fastest week I had to go through in my entire life," Nathan said as we were leaving the school premises on Friday.
"I agree," I said.
"I second it," Aiden chuckled.

The whole week was gone by at the fastest speed possible. With all our time devoted to basketball we could not fathom how swiftly the time had gone.

"I cannot wrap my head around the fact that only two days are left since the tournament," Thea said and beamed as she looked around the decorated walls while we walked. 

"None of the classes were held properly today," Addison stated as she joined us all walking out of the school.
"We might as well could have stayed home or visited my dad in the morning instead of in the evening," Finn added with remorse.

"You are visiting your dad today?" Nathan asked Finn which immediately caught my attention.
"Yep. He said that it was not necessary but it has already been more than a week since I met him last time," Finn added.

"Are you going to the police station?" I asked rather to excitedly.
"Yeah," Finn brushed off.

"Can I accompany you?" I asked again which made Finn look at me with dubious eyes.
"Why would you want to go to the police station again?" Addison chuckled.

"I just wanted to go to support Finn," I articulated even though that was not the whole truth. I just wanted to go to see if I could gather any more information on Reese

"Thanks Vianna, but it's fine I can manage it," Finn smiled at me as if to express his gratitude.

I was in such a dilemma at that moment; I could not say the actual objective and if I did not find a better excuse Finn would not let me accompany him. If it was any other place I would have gone by myself but it was the police station and I could not simply go there and loiter about.

"I also wanted to get familiar with the environment there cause it's something that I never got to experience," I stated with a bold tone. As I replayed the statement inside my head I felt like an idiot. It was probably one of the worst excuses that I came up with.

"Are you planning on getting arrested or what? Why do you need to get familiar with that environment?" Nathan mocked and began to laugh.

"If you insist you can come Vee. There's no problem if you come along with me," Finn added. I grinned while looking at Finn in a manner to say thank you.

"At what time are you going?" I inquired Finn.
"I'll pick you up at six," he stated.
"Okay I'll be ready by then," I said.

After I went home I took a long bath to release some of the stress. It always made me wonder how a bath could be of such immense aid at times.

Long before the clock struck six, I was all prepared and was waiting for Finn. He came just in time and I got inside his car without any delay.

"Hey," he greeted.
"Hi. You nervous?" I asked.
"No it's not like I'm seeing him for the first time inside of prison," Finn joked.

"Can I ask you something?" Finn once inquired while we were on our way.
"Yeah what?"
"Why did you actually want to come with me to the station?" he asked.

I was contemplating whether I should tell him about it or not. Nevertheless, I thought that it would be best to not spill anything as I, myself, was not sure about it.

"I want to get to know that area better," I answered. It was not a complete lie because I was actually going to look around. Finn seemed to be satisfied with that answer and did not question about it any further because we reached the station within a while. 

It was just like the previous time; I was told to sit in the waiting room while Finn was escorted by another officer to meet his father.

As soon as Finn was out of sight I got up and began to dawdle around. For instance, I went near the magazine counter and pretended to search for something to read while in actuality I was glancing though the whole area to see if I could find the thing I was looking for.

Last time I just happened to face an unparalleled coincidence. I knew that the probability of finding something was close to none but it was worth a try.

After lingering near the magazine corner for a prolonged time I took one of the magazines and went to sit on the chair before others were initiating to get suspicious.

I gave in and was sitting there idle occasionally turning the pages of the magazine that I had in my hand. People were coming and going and I noticed each and every one of them until someone caught my eye.

In the distance there was a middle aged lady sitting in front of an officer's desk. I could easily perceive what they were saying and as soon as I heard it a fantastic idea popped inside my mind.

The lady was talking about some problem about her family and was looking for a detective for her case.

That's it!

I knew the name of the detective who had held the box of the case. If I could manage to get along with that detective then there was a high chance that I could find something useful. Maybe he could even tell me the whole background story about it.

The lady took another minute before she went. I immediately rushed to that officer's desk.

"Hello, how can I help you?" the officer asked politely.
"Hi, I was wondering if I could get any contact information about detective Mark," I said. I tried to remain calm and spoke with my most formal voice.

"Sorry but personal contact is confidential," he said.
"Can I have a meeting with detective Mark?" I asked again.
"Can you tell me the reason for your meeting?" the man interrogated.

"He... Ummm... Actually solved one of the cases that I was related to and I just need to get a few information from him," I added. My heart was racing at that time. If only my mouth was a little bigger then my heart would have come out of it.

"Which case?" he asked.
"122000-03-Hudson-Aus," I said confidently but inside me I was on fire.
The officer seemed to believe me and he asked for my contact number.

"Mark has a tight schedule but I'll tell detective Mark to give you a call as soon as he can," the officer said dismissing me. Promptly, I went and sat down again. For one, I did not want to attract more attention by the officer by standing in odd places. Secondly, I needed to catch my breath. 

I had done it all in the spur of the moment. Was it worth it though?

I had to no idea if I was just being foolish or not. The only thing I was sure of that being ignorant was not the solution and I was only endeavoring to get the answer to a question that had been burning my mind since the first time I saw it.

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