I sincerely apologize for the delay. This story is like cheese, it only gets better with time. Also the lesser of two evils if you had to choose between old cheese and a rotten egg :)
Chapter 3
She slowly opened her eyes. The room was dark, the only light shone through the slightly open door. She tried sitting up, but immediately felt a hand against her shoulder, pushing her back.
"Lie back down, you're still weak."
"Where am I?"
She heard no answer, only felt her body responding to the pull of sleep.
Detective John Doe walked towards the precinct. He pulled his coat tighter, the first snow that fell a few nights ago, melted into grey puddles, making the city look depressing and cold. He missed the simplicity of his childhood home. The country summer air and the thick snow blankets around Christmas. Here, the festive season was just a hollow echo, replacing the gory Halloween decorations with fake pine trees and annoying jingle bell songs.
He was just about to step into the building when the loud roar of a motorcycle made him jump back. The bike pulled up beside him. A long black braid fell over her shoulder as she pulled the helmet free.
"Made you jump, Doe?" Detective Aubrey Lark smirked.
"Normal people use the subway. Or the bus. Not this hellish piece of metal you call transportation."
"Oh, have some fun John. You're so dry." She kicked out her bike stand and looked at him, his face looking suspiciously sulky, "Aww, having a blue Monday?"
He sniffed, "As a matter of fact, Aubrey, I have a cold." He rubbed his hands together, "Now, are we going to stand here and wait for your biker gang to show up, or can we go inside?"
She smirked and opened the precinct's door.
They walked towards their desks. A few of their colleagues greeted them, but kept out of their way.
"You know, Lark, half of the people working here thinks you're supposed to be in some kind of modelling magazine," Doe pointed at her black leather jacket and boots, "and the other half thinks you belong in jail."
"Your superior detective skills Doe?" She made a show of taking off her jacket.
"No, just the men-women gossiping ratio in the coffee room."
"If only you knew what the ladies think of you…"
Doe paused and glared at her, "I'm not falling for that again, Lark. I made an utter fool of myself after asking Jenny out on a date- "
"You did what?!" Lark's face contorted as she tried not to laugh.
"You said she liked me, what you didn't say," he pulled a stack of files closer, "was that she's married."
She burst out laughing, "Call it the revenge of the Haunted Woods."
He opened a file, "Have your laugh, I'll solve the case. Just like my Friday nights. Alone."
Lark wiped tears from her eyes, "I'll always be your partner, Doe. Even with your grumpy cold."
"Yeah well, you're an awful wingwoman."
"Ben Cogswell, open up." Lark banged on the door. They stood outside a small colonial type house on the outskirts of a town east of the city. The address for Lucien Cote turned out to be an empty flat, abandoned for more than a month.
Lark was just about to bang on the door again when it opened. A short, round man in a brown jacket looked up at them. He had a small mustache and a middle part and looked very confused. "Yes?"
"Mr. Cogswell, may we come in?" Lark flashed her badge.
"Yes, yes. Of course." He opened the door and stepped aside. He led them to a sitting room.
"Mr. Cogswell, we have reason to suspect that you were on the scene of a crime involving the disappearance of Annabelle Edison." Doe showed him a picture of Annabelle.
Ben took the photo, "Belle? Is she missing? When?"
"Almost seven weeks now, she – "
"I'm sorry, seven?" Ben shook his head, "That's impossible, I saw her about a month ago. Except for being a little sick, she was fine."
Doe and Lark looked at each other. Doe sat a bit forward in his chair. "Mr. Cogswell -Ben- how did you meet Annabelle?"
Sunlight steamed through the window. She's only been awake for a few minutes when someone knocked on the door. It was a funny little man. He smiled at her and took her blood pressure. He took out a stethoscope and pressed it against her chest. "Breath in. And out. Again."
He took out a small pen light, checked her eyes and throat, made a note and smiled at her again.
"You're looking much better. Your breakfast will be here soon. I'll check up on you again tonight, in the meanwhile, try to rest." He squeezed her hand and left.
Ben Cogswell poured three cups of tea and placed sugar and cream in front of them.
"I studied medicine at Oxford and a few months after graduating, came to live here. I had a practice, received my citizenship and had a fairly satisfying life." Ben sat and stirred his tea, "A few years ago, I was approached by a company. More like a charity, really. They saw an opportunity in the student community for students in need, the students who fall on hard times and find themselves in a bad position without funds or family close by." He took a sip and continued, "Their services range from legal counsel, to – in my case – medical aid."
Doe shook his head, took out a handkerchief, and wiped his nose, "This all seems really noble, but what do they want from students?"
"Once they graduate, they become part of a larger community. They have a whole network to make use of. Job and career opportunities. In turn, they offer their services and a portion of their income."
Lark placed her cup on the table and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "It sounds too good to be true."
Ben shrugged, "What's the difference between that and a bursary or apprenticeship? That's how I met Belle. We received an anonymous tip. She was unconscious and suffering from hypothermia when my colleague and I found her."
"Lucien Cote?"
"Yes. I nursed her for about two weeks before she regained all her strength. When she was better, I left for my next patient."
Doe leaned forward, "Were you aware that Miss Edison was reported missing after the night you found her?"
"That's impossible. I was told that her next of kin, university and roommate was notified of her whereabouts."
Lark crossed her arms and stared at Ben. Doe pulled out a note book, "Apparently not. I need you to tell me everything you know about this…charity. Names, addresses, and where you treated Miss Edison. Who gave you her information?"
Ben nervously looked at Lark and cleared his throat, "It's on a need to know basis only. Patient confidentiality and all that."
"Need I remind you, Doctor, that this is an open police investigation, and so far, you were the last person to see Annabelle Edison. Do you realise how this will look for you if she's found dead?" Doe's voice turned cold.
"You have a choice to make, Cogswell." Lark's eyes narrowed.
Ben gulped and took a breath, "I last saw her in Village Boulevard – "
Ben Cogswell stopped mid-sentence as a large window shattered. Doe pushed Lark to the ground, trying to cover their exposed heads from the raining glass, then pulled away and sprinted towards the window.
Lark crawled towards Ben, "Doe, he's been shot! I'm calling for backup -"
As Doe ran into the street, a car sped past him. Still running, he pulled out his weapon and fired. The car swerved as one of its rear tires blew apart, heading straight for a large sycamore tree where it came to a sudden, crumpled stop.
She didn't know how long she's been there. It could be days, weeks even. The only concept of time was her meals. Extraordinary dishes served by a tall, thin man with a rather long nose. He kept her company while she ate and after finding out about her studies, conversed with her in French.
Lucien, together with Dr Cogswell, cared for her, fed her, and helped her to the bathroom. They were obviously not in charge, only pawns in the game. Servants.
So, she waited. Rested, and gathered her strength.
Doe slumped at his desk. After the adrenaline rush of the afternoon and all the paperwork, he looked bad, and he felt worse. The bandage over the cut on his forehead, where a piece of glass was removed, throbbed with his headache. At least Lark only had slight bruising on her arms. Probably because he pushed her too hard. Another lovely thought to add to the others.
He mentally kicked himself. If only he acted quicker, ran faster, maybe had a better shot –
"Stop it." Lark plopped down across from him, "It wasn't your fault. You had no idea this would happen."
"You do realize our lead suspect killed our only source of information and I," he gave an incredulous laugh, "killed him?"
"You didn't, it was his own stupidity and a tree. You just happened to blow his tire. That led him to the tree"
She gave a small smile and he shook his head, "You really have no tact, whatsoever."
"As for Ben, there was nothing we could do. His body couldn't handle the shock. At least we know who the assassin was." Lark pulled a photo out of her jacket, "Lucien Cote. Ben's so called colleague. I did some digging. You'll never guess where he worked."
Doe sneezed, sniffed indifferently and took the photo, "A pharmacy, I hope."
Lark smiled, "A hotel, on the corner of 22nd and Village Boulevard."
Finally! You think, dear reader. Finally, some action! A murder!
And then you realize who the characters were…
Again, I sincerely apologize.