Four
What the...Is that...? It can't be? It's that girl again!
Sven looked up from the fountain and over to the park bench where Eve sat. She had her head bowed and her shoulders slumped.
Why is she here? Jenos should have arranged for her to go with her father or at last to a carer's house! She shouldn't be running around town alone.
Sven approached her with a growing sense of dread. Every time he looked into the little girl's eyes he remembered that chilling scream and the unforgettable, haunting expression she wore when she found her mother's body.
Sven hesitated before sitting down next to her. She sat up straight but kept her gaze on a small group of pigeons feeding only a few feet away.
"You like birds huh?" Sven asked curiously.
Eve nodded. "They're strange little creatures. It must be fun to be able to fly. I wonder what it's like?"
Sven sighed deeply. "So, did my friend sort out where you're going to stay?"
"He wanted me to live with my dad. I said no but he wouldn't listen so I..." She trailed off.
"You ran away?" Eve nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. "Come on, no tears. You've got to be strong now."
Eve sniffed and wiped her eyes.
"Now...Are you sure there are no relatives you know? There must be someone?" Eve shook her head. "Well then...We'll have to contact child services. They will find a nice family to take care of you-"
"No." Eve interjected. "I don't want to live with strangers. I don't want a new family. I want my mum back."
Sven found himself lost for words. This girl was affecting him far more than he had ever anticipated. He was unable to concentrate on his job because his mind was always drifting to the situation of this bright young child with a grim future. He wanted desperately to find her a good home so that he could hurry and catch the killer, but it seemed that job would be harder than it seemed.
Eve would not agree to go anywhere. There was nothing he could do...He could drop her off at the child welfare office and then make a run for it, casting everything from his mind and getting back to work, but that seemed utterly heartless. As strange as it was to admit, Sven realised that the little organ was still there in his chest.
"Well what are we going to do then Eve? We don't have much choice. I can't just abandon you."
Eve bowed her head. For a moment it seemed as if she was about to break down into tears again, but she was instead trying to hide her bright red cheeks. "You really care about me?"
Sven was taken by surprise but he managed to answer. "Of course I am. There aren't many decent people in this world anymore, but rest assured I'm one of them."
Eve fell silent for a while. When it passed beyond unusual Sven leaned forward to try and see her face. She gazed back at him timidly. "Eve...Are you alright?"
"Um...Would you...Mind if I...Um...Stayed with you?"
For a moment Sven seemed unaffected by the question but then his eyes widened. "What? Why me?"
"You tried to save my mother...You've tried so hard to help me...Such kindness...I want to stay with you." Eve smiled weakly and Sven felt his heart sink.
He knew refusal wasn't an option. What little semblance of his humanity remained urged him to take in the poor orphaned girl. He still hesitated, struggling to understand the thoughts running through Eve's head, but it was a complex puzzle even the greatest minds would never have been able to solve, let alone a small town detective.
Sven sighed. "I guess so...But my work is very dangerous. I want you to be especially careful from now on and I need you to promise me that."
Eve smiled. "I promise."
"Alright then. Let's go home then." Sven couldn't believe what he was saying. Never in his life had he been expecting to say such a thing to a child. He had gotten divorced long ago when he disagreed on raising a family. It was one of the many nails in the relationship's coffin. Yet now he was walking a homeless child back to his home to raise as if she were his own. It made no sense. Why was he agreeing to such a thing?
By the time he realised the answer was too unclear, he was already outside his- no their home. As he was unlocking the front door Eve tugged on his sleeve.
"Yes?"
"Excuse me mister...I never learned your name?"
Sven chuckled heartily. "Oh right. I guess that's important now that I'm your guardian. My name is Sven. Pleased to meet you!"
Eve giggled. "It's nice to meet you too Sven."
The two shared a laugh before entering the house. The lights reacted slowly so they stood in semi-darkness for a few seconds before the bulbs snapped into action and illuminated the front room. Eve looked around in a state of awe.
"You get comfy; I'll go get us dinner." Sven grabbed his car keys and headed out the door. "If the phone rings just tell them I'll ring back. Be good!" Sven leaned against the front door and let out a deep groan. He had no idea what to do. This was all too new for him. Trying to solve a string of grisly murders while also tending to a child. It was one too many burdens for him to bear...But for the sake of his humanity, he had to try his best to make it work.
He went to get pizza, relishing in the thirty minute wait. It was ample time to think things through, though he'd been doing that an awful lot lately. It was stressing him out. He'd be losing sleep no doubt...But no surprises there...
Sven slid back against the wall, sighing as the cold hard wall gave him a surprisingly comfortable rest. He almost fell asleep but the thirty minutes was over faster than he expected and he begrudgingly rose to retrieve his dinner.
"Enjoy your nap sir?" the young man at the counter joked.
Sven grumbled an inaudible curse under his breath as he snatched the pizzas and staggered out to the car. The engine rumbled like a waking dragon and slowly rolled off down the road until it gained speed. He lost himself in thought while driving and barely noticed his mobile ringing. When he finally noticed it, it came as such a shock he nearly rammed the car in front of him, but somehow managed to keep his cool.
"Hello?"
Jenos answered. "Sven, I finally got hold of you. I rang the house and someone else answered. I never knew you had a grand-daughter."
"I'm not that old you moron!" Sven snapped. "It's...Um..."
"Well it can't be your kid. That was why you and Rinslett divorced wasn't it?"
"Don't talk about that. It's a dark chapter of my past."
Jenos chuckled. "Well, this new chapter is gonna get pretty damn dark. That little girl from the crime scene...You said she was the victim's daughter...She ran away."
Sven forced himself to gasp. "What? You idiot! How could you-"
"Don't bother. We're already scanning the town for her. She has nowhere to go so we should be able to track her really fast. But anyway, I know you're not in a good mood right now, but I thought you might want to know..." Jenos trailed off.
Sven waited for the news but none came. "Jenos? What is it? Why did you ring me?"
"Well...We have a lead for the case now."
Sven slammed on the breaks and threw himself forward in his seat. He almost choked on the very air he breathed as if it had suddenly turned to poison. "W-what?"
"We ruled out the boyfriend of the first victim. His name was Leon. He's a bit of a rough sort. Has a short criminal history, only a few fights and shoplifting. He had a close relationship with her but they had to split up because Alicia's parents found out he was a criminal. He's clear. No motive, so no suspect."
"That isn't a lead. Don't play games with me Jenos!"
"It's all important. Anyway, the parent's interviews weren't too resourceful, except there was a similarity between both girls. Apparently, both of them had been present at the assassination three years ago."
"Assassination?" Sven recalled the fated event three years ago. There was a mayoral election and a reformed mobster, Lib tyrant was ahead in the votes. On the day he was elected he was assassinated, shot dead by three bullets. All witnesses say they only heard one gunshot, raising a whole bunch of questions. The mysterious assassin was never seen and no-one knew where he had fired from. It was a complete mystery that the police were still investigating.
"Yeah. Both girls had apparently witnessed it. This means someone involved with the assassination is methodically hunting down the witnesses!"
"Female witnesses." Sven corrected. "But I see your point...So...What do we do?"
"Well, there were a few witnesses who never gave their testimonies to police. We've already spoken to a few of them...And this is where it get's interesting." Jenos trailed off again.
"Stop playing around dammit! Who is this guy?" Sven roared into the phone.
"We don't have the name yet, but the nickname came up in conversation with three witnesses and also...It was carved into the second victim's back."
Sven's jaw dropped. "So the connection is..."
"Exactly, this guy was seen by witnesses. He wants them to keep quiet and the best way to keep 'em quiet is to silence them permanently. Apparently some of them overheard a group of men dressed all in black talking about 'Black Cat finishing his mission'." Jenos explained.
"Black Cat...And the claw marks, the veterinarian...It all relates! Jenos! This is amazing! We've actually made a breakthrough in this case!"
"But it ain't all good news. The message on Becky's back read 'The Black Cat's claws are sharper than ever.' You know what that means don't you?" He did his stupid dramatic pause again. "The murders aren't going to stop any time soon. We've seen it first hand. Two victims in one day, barely half a day apart."
"Shit! Each day we waste leaves another two innocents dead." Sven cursed. "Look, I'll see what I can do tomorrow but I have plans tonight."
"You're out dating again? You sly fox." Jenos' mood suddenly shifted. Such a feat could only be managed by steel-skinned police officers. Only one who had become acclimatised to death could shift between light and dark with such natural ease. "Play it safe buddy!" Jenos chuckled.
Sven felt bile rise in his throat. "For fuck's sake she's only a little girl!"
Jenos' reaction was an abrupt cough. Followed by a high pitched, "What?"
There was no way around it now. He had to explain...But then again, the smell of fresh pizza was really getting to him now...It was a difficult decision.
"I'll explain later." Sven hung up just as Jenos started to protest. He then resumed his drive home. He found Eve sitting on the couch, looking unusually comfortable. She was curled up, reading a book on forensic science.
Sven approached her and dropped the pizza on the coffee table. "I don't think kids should read that kind of stuff." He cringed inside as the next part flowed from his mouth without warning. "You'll have nightmares." He wanted to punch himself in the face for such an idiotic and patronising statement.
Eve took little notice and placed the book down on top of another book on homicide. She smiled sweetly and put her feet off of the couch. "You have lots of books."
"Yeah. I have to pretend to be smart otherwise I'd lose my job." Sven replied sarcastically. Eve's laughter was heart-warming and he almost made the same noise people make when a furry little animal performs a trick. The soft hum with a rising inflection. He stopped himself just in time and dropped like a bag of stones in front of the TV.
"You are smart." Eve whispered before taking a small bite out of her processed dinner.
Sven's mouth was too full to thank her so he just nodded while flicking through channels of endless static. He was about to start a fight with the lifeless machine when he finally found a mindless game show. He leaned back into his relaxation position and sighed.
He continually found himself intermittently switching his attention over to Eve, becoming overcome with a child-like fascination. There was something strange about her. She was so incredibly smart, as sweet as sugar and...She was the first kid Sven had ever let into the house. Usually he hated the dirty little creatures, but Eve had a level of sophistication that even most adults lacked. Maybe that was why he could tolerate her company...Maybe that was why he wanted to protect her...
Eve caught Sven staring at her and she turned to him with a slight frown.
Sven was about to say something sentimental and clichéd but he bit his tongue in time and grinned like a complete fool instead. "Do you like it here?"
Eve nodded curtly. "This place feels like home."
Sven chuckled. "That's good. I want you to know, you can stay as long as you want. But don't think you can't leave either. If you have any friends-"
"I don't want to leave." Eve cut him off. "I-I..." She started to blush. "I want to stay with you...Always."
If Sven had his moth full then he surely would have choked. Instead, his eyes narrowed and his jaw dropped of its own accord. What Eve said next was like a rusted knife to the heart.
"Sven...You're my only friend...Can we be friends forever?" There was a hint of desperation in her eyes, as if she had to be re-assured. There was also a harrowing loneliness trapped within the big, glistening orbs of her eyes.
Sven placed a hand on her knee and gazed through the windows into her tortured soul. The words came out of his mouth before he could even think. He smiled warmly and nodded. "Of course. Friends forever."
I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I feel like I've really cracked onto something good in this one, but I guess the real judge of that is you, the readers. Please give me your honest opinion. If I'm lacking in something I can't fix it without knowing it first. If you like the story then your praise would be much appreciated. Either way, it can only help, so please, review.
