Offbeat

I was out with my friends at the Grell Music Hall to support a local band we knew. The show was 18 and up but since we had connections to the place they allowed our high school clique in. Most of my close friends were tied into the local music scene in some sense. A lot of them were part of street teams or aspiring musicians but I was content just being a fan and connoisseur. My true talent was in the martial arts and although my friends knew of it, I didn't discuss it much as it was a more personal endeavor for me. My mom insisted that it was important to learn how to defend myself and my dad agreed so I was put into kickboxing classes at a very young age. Neither suspected it would become my main passion though. I played other sports such as softball, volleyball, and basketball growing up but martial arts was always most important to me. The more I learned, the more fascinated I became with not only the art of kickboxing but other styles as well. I started reading books about the history of fighting styles as well as specifics in the techniques. By the time I reached high school I was a walking encyclopedia of martial art knowledge but didn't have anyone to talk to about it. Even my classmates weren't as into it as I. I wasn't comfortable embracing that side of me around friends and especially boys either. I just felt so different from other girls and at that age I wasn't completely comfortable with whom I was as a martial artist geek. Going out to concerts was the most enjoyable time for me and I had been looking forward to this night for a while.

I was chanting the chorus with the band when I felt someone grab my arm. I turned surprised to see two detectives flash their badge and say "Laurel, you need to come with us." They had to be loud to get over the music and I followed them outside without really getting a chance to say bye to my friends.

"What's going on? Is Dad okay?" I asked fearing the worst as my dad was a detective himself.

"Your parents are fine but someone broke into your mom's house while your mom was still in there. We are not sure what they were after but your mom somehow fended them off. Do you know of anyone that would want to harm her?" the first one said.

We were in the car now as they were taking me home.

"No one off the top that comes to mind, but considering my dad is a policeman I imagine there are plenty of people out there with a grudge against us," I added.

The second cop chimed in. "The thing is Miss Lance, since your parents are separated now; we believe this may have more to do with your mom than dad. It's possible but not typical for someone with a vendetta to attack an ex-wife. We are keeping all options opened but think it's a better idea to focus on enemies your mom may have. Anyone that she has been involved with that has had a conflict with her?" he asked.

"Not, that I know of," I said. I had lived with my dad my whole life and didn't really know of the people in her life. She ran a flower shop. I couldn't imagine her being a target out of some conflict; more likely an easy target for a cowardly criminal. I dismissed the crime as not being personal.

Despite the awful circumstances it was interesting to see my dad comforting my mom. They separated when I was very young and instead of fighting for custody my mom agreed to have me live with my father. I never truly understood the reasoning; all I knew was that they agreed that it was best for me. My dad would later on have another daughter that split time between my dad and her mother.

My mom seemed way too calm about the whole ordeal. She informed us not to worry and I got the impression there was something she wasn't letting us in on. I couldn't put my finger in on it yet but something was off. She didn't seem like a victim or even someone in denial of being a victim. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I've always felt something was off about her. She seems completely normal when conversing with her and I get a strong sense she loves me but was so comfortable keeping a more distant relationship with me. It became bigger than just this case; I really wanted to understand the psychology of my mom.

I sought out some of my friends in the technology side of the music world and it led me to a guy named JT that worked and lived in Platinum Flatts, a city about 30 miles from Starling that was the capital of the world in high-tech equipment. I asked him if he could help me keep tabs on my mom. I made it sound like this was for my own piece of mind and her protection, but I knew deep down I also wanted to see if there were things going on with her that she was hiding that might be putting her in danger. He gave me a tracker and recommended that I put it in her cell phone since it is likely she will keep it on her but never open up the battery part. As I was about to leave he stopped me.

"Wait Laurel, I don't condone or understand why you are doing this but if you really want to uncover information we should be thorough about this. Knowing where she goes and who she is meeting with is one thing but it may not be enough to learn what you want to know. I don't want you to run the risk of stealing her phone twice so let's do this. I'll show you how to install this so you can bug her phone and listen to the conversation. This way you will find out what you need much faster," he said.

"Thanks, I owe you big time," I said after we were done. I visited my mom the next day under the guise of normal concern but when she was in the shower I dug out her phone and planted the tracker in it.

I uncovered way more than I ever imagined.