Music echoed through the old record player in the dark room, with its only source of carmine light coming from the red stained glass. The bedroom door was shut completely, welcoming no one.
She blew lightly onto her newly painted nails, while her other hand searched for the glass of wine on her bed stand. She sipped it thirsty, relishing the bitter fruits in her glass. Her short blonde hair was up to her shoulders, not quite bothered to do it up and she was still dressed in her white laced night-dress.
Agatha may have been classed as 'old' in age, but her spirit was still young. Young and fiery. She seen no reason at all on why she couldn't enjoy her self, let her feel free at times. Just because one grows old doesn't mean they have to quit everything they love in life, which in Agatha's case is drinking, smoking and listening to music. She listened to the song, Dominique, playing through the room and hummed quietly to the tune. She liked this. Being on her own, decking herself up, having some quiet time with her thoughts and best of all, her husband not in her sight.
Gracefully, she stood up and twirled around with her hands in the air, fitting with the music's tune, and walked towards the coffee table and picked up her phone. She quickly dialed a number and waited for the receiver to answer her call.
"Hello?" came out a soft woman's voice.
Agatha smiled and settled back down on her bed, feet up, "Misty, it's me Agatha. I wanted to call you to see how you're doing."
A gush of laughter came through the phones speaker "Agatha! It's been too long since we've last talked to each other and yes I'm fine, what about you, honey?" Misty asked, genuinely happy.
"Good, good." she paused as she fiddled to grab her lighter from the drawer and lighted the cigarette which was tightly gripped in her mouth, "I've just missed you, Misty. From the past few days I'm not feeling well." she exhaled deeply of the cigarette and slowly let it out. Sweet, sweet relief.
Agatha never befriended anybody without it benefiting her of course. She knew well enough that Misty had a nephew who was Poppy's age and he was also from a respectable family. Even better, she knew how much Misty loved her ass and was willing and prepared to do anything she demanded. She felt herself scoffing to herself from the thought of how naïve her 'friend' truly was. Agatha truly believed trust was nothing in the world, just a word with no real action. It was dead to her. From a young age she had to reach the top on her own. She was never born in a wealthy family, quite the opposite. Doing anything which thrown at her, no matter how disgusting and degrading the job was, she done it to survive and get the life she thought she deserved. She fought for everything she's got right at that very moment and no one could ever dare to snatch it away from her.
"So you see, it's just the stress from my daughter's marriage. I want to make sure she gets married into a suitable family. Therefore, naturally I asked you, since you're the first person who comes up to my mind when I think of family." lied Agatha, as she took another puff of the cigarette.
There was no surprise to Agatha when she heard Misty whoosh into a ball of happiness and how it was finally time where their two families would connect and become as one. Agatha simply replied with 'yes' and 'oh of course' just to please her and seal the deal.
She threw her phone on the end of the bed and got up. She slipped her feet into a pair of heels and strolled out of the room, "Hannah? Hannah, where are you?" she shouted sternly.
Helen came running in, "Ma'am? Did you meant to call for me?" she asked, head down.
Agatha laughed at her, "Well is your name not Hannah?"
Biting her lip, she shook her head "My name is Helen, ma'am. Helen Pine." she reminded Agatha, again.
Rolling her eyes, she quickly replied with "Listen, Helen Melon, I honestly could not care less, darling. Now listen, my friend is coming to visit today and I want you to send her upstairs to my private room. Just make sure no one sees her, okay?" And with that, Agatha walked forward, cigarette still in her hand.
Helen let out a sigh, her tight posture relaxed again. Obviously, she felt annoyed that her own boss didn't feel the need to remember her name, but this was the same woman who disliked her daughter-in-law and even her son hated her. She shook her head in scepticism that it was all true, no matter how shocking it sounded.
All four young adults were sitting around the table, taking their time eating breakfast. However, Nina and Fabian had fell into a quiet conversation between themselves, mainly about how they should focus on not saying anything which aggravate Mara again.
Unfortunately, Fabian still hadn't believed Nina. Obviously, he didn't say that straight to her face, he needed her to believe that she wasn't suffering on her own and that he was with her at all times, but Fabian couldn't make himself agree how it was out of all people, but Mara creating trouble for everyone. It simply made so sense. It was out of shape, too bizarre to even think about it and even try to consider that it was Mara behind it all. No. Mara looked like a normal and average woman to Fabian. There was no complications which would have made him think otherwise. She was perfectly out of the puzzle.
Strong smell of smoke quickly flooded the air as Agatha wandered her way to the courtyard, taking no notice of the youthful group. She was far too engrossed in the thought of preparing her daughter's marriage. Fabian looked up at her and quickly placed his eyesight down, embarrassed on what she was wearing. He took in her relationship with her family, it wasn't the best, but he didn't see any of the family members objecting to her decisions. Was it fright? Public display on how well-mannered the family was? He didn't care and most importantly, he didn't see a reason why she would interfere and cause chaos. She looked like a smart witted woman, maybe a bit too smart. So maybe she did have a role in the mistreatment in the Clarke household.
He moved his sight to Mara. He couldn't help noticing how he knew nothing about her. Even when he was writing down in his journal, he couldn't complete the part on her childhood and home life. Although, there was no chance on him simply blurting out questions to her. He needed to act professional, but they were running out time. How long was he going to waste rambling in that house, he needed to take action.
Sliding his hand to Nina's lap, he tapped her leg twice to get her attention "I've got an idea." he whispered in a low voice.
Without turning her head towards him, he kept still and replied softly, "What is it?"
"Meet me back in our house." and with that he excused himself from the table.
Feeling vulnerable and anxious on being on her own, she quickly made up a reason to follow Fabian, without looking suspicious.
Rushing, Nina quickly made her way to her house, "Fabian, where are you?" she asked, voice out of breath from her hasty running.
She felt a tug on her shoulders and she forced herself to keep her scream inside. Swiftly turning around her spiked spine fell to it's normal form, "Fabian, you scared me half to death." She looked up to him and he rubbed his eyes, "Are you okay, baby?"
He found himself smiling to that, "I was just thinking, but I think it'll benefit us if we travel to Leeds. We'll learn more about Mara."
Nina frowned, "Why would we go to Leeds?" she asked.
"It's where Mara was born." he replied.
She found herself shaking her head, "No, it'll be a waste of time, what could we possibly find out?"
Fabian turned around and began walking to their bedroom. He reached above the top of the wardrobe and lifted the suitcase down. "We should start packing now, I think it's best if we leave tonight." he muttered, as he unzipped the suitcase open. "I should call for a taxi, yes?"
Nina chocked a laugh, "How is this going to help anyone? Leeds is hours away from Berkshire!" she explained.
Quickly, Fabian turned around and gripped her shoulders, "What do you want me to do then? Would you rather want me to go up to her and ask her all sort of personal questions?" He peered her eyes into hers, "If you're right about Mara not being her real self, we have to be more careful. I'm not going to do anything which can put me and most importantly, you, in any harm."
Yet, she still kept struggling to find a counter argument, "Yeah, but...we can't just go now. What if they realise we're gone?" she mumbled.
He leaned forward and left a firm kiss on her forehead, "You're still afraid of what happened to you, but this will be good for you and the case. Trust me, Nina." he pleaded.
She closed her eyes to the feeling of his heavy touch and she nodded. Part of her wanted to rip out of his grip and hide somewhere far away, but she knew something was wrong and it was up to them to be brave, so they can fix everything. "Fine. We'll go." she quietly murmured.
Fabian let out a deep breath, "Good." he nodded.
Jerome cursed at his phone and whipped it back into his coat pocket. His eyebrows burrowed and he stormed inside his house, his grandma looked up from her book and asked, "Sweety are you okay? You look troubled?" However, Jerome wasn't listening. He marched into his room and looked around, finally noticing Mara sitting on the window sill and staring tirelessly into the night.
His shoulders sulked down and her shook his head in disbelief, "Why weren't you answering your phone, Mara?" he asked. When Mara didn't reply, he became less patience, "Mara! We both told each other that we'll go somewhere tonight, so I was waiting for you outside in the cold for 20 whole minutes! So, naturally I decided to call you and what do I get, no answer."
Mara didn't flinch at his tone, but after a few moments she blinked and her posture reversed back to herself, "Oh. I'm sorry...my phone was on charger...I can't believe I had forgot." she replied.
He shook his head and pushed his hand through his hair, "No. It's fine. I'm mostly worried about you, you seem a bit off." Jerome pointed out.
Tensely, Mara got up, her head down, placed her hair behind her ear and mumbled, "I'm just tired I think." Jerome rolling his eyes, walked towards her "You think? Now I'm sure you're not well." He took her hand and let her sit on the bed, "You can rest, I'll leave you alone for a bit so you can fully relax."
"Stay with me." she asked, smiling.
"Yes. Yes, that'll be fine. Thank you. We'll reach about 11 o'clock." Fabian said to his phone. "That's done." he turned to Nina, "I booked our place to stay and the taxi will be here in a couple of minutes, you ready?" he asked.
Nina turned around, dressed warmly, "I'm ready. You?" She sat on the armchair and fiddled with her bag's strap, trying to pass the time.
He scooped the bag from Nina's lap and held it around his shoulders, "Of course I am." With his other hand he gestured for Nina to follow him to the front door, "If you think about it, you look at this as a holiday."
She laughed in return, "I don't really see Leeds as the best holiday attraction for me to go to, but a getaway, yes." she replied. They both walked out of the house and the black cab drove past, parking nearby. She locked the door and followed Fabian, who was settling the luggage inside the taxi.
He let out a sigh, "That's done. Now we sit."
Nina stepped inside the cab and sat beside him, "So what are going to do first there?" she asked, getting a more an idea on what sort of things they'll be doing.
Sliding his glasses onto his head, he dug inside his small bag and lifted out his notebook, "We'll go to the hospital she was born in, find some information on who her parents were and see if they have any medical reports that we should know. From that, we'll see what school she was placed in and we can access her school reports." he answered, already an expert on such things as if they were formalities for him.
Slowly, she started to nod, "Right, then how will this help us in your investigation?" Nina took the notebook out of his hands and scanned it to reveal that they were going to be very busy when they reach Leeds.
He turned to Nina, "It'll help us because we'll know what her childhood was like. It'll give us an insight on how she was raised, what she liked, what she disliked, who she was friends with, what sort of parents she had and all of this will give us an indication if it could be her behind everything."
She stared at Fabian on his full working mode, he wasn't taking any break from the case and she was slightly worried. Nina didn't want him to have any strains of the stress from the case, but even Nina couldn't deny that she also wanted to quickly find out if it was Mara behind it or just her imagination.
As the cab shook as it drove over the speed bump, Nina rested her head on the leather seat, "Hopefully we don't have to stay there for too long." Then she remembered about Berkshire and if anyone knows where they were going, "Did you tell anyone where we're going?" she asked.
"Of course not. I just said that I have a friend who needs some help and we're going to him to give a hand. Nothing more. I've got this Nina." Fabian swiftly replied. He then faced down and picked up the notebook. Turning the pages, he peered down to them, "Oh for God's sake, where are my glasses?" He turned and tossed to see if he had clumsily dropped them anywhere.
Nina stifled a chuckle, "You're so smart, but you're always forgetting where you've placed your glasses." She rose hand to slightly cover her mouth, "Maybe you have forgotten them home?"
He thought for a moment, "Maybe, but I remember wearing them there. I swear my glasses just wander off." he moaned, still searching around him in the dim light. "If I don't find them in the next minute, we're heading back home." Obviously he was lying, but at that moment he was far too annoyed to care.
It was too much for Nina to hold and she started laughing, "I can't, I'm sorry." Her eyes were closed, her smile large and there lines forming, "This is too much." she gasped for some air, but then began laughing again.
Fabian stared angrily at Nina, "What?" He was just about to comment again, but his wife's face was looking all free and gay and he just couldn't break it apart. "You should laugh more often." he smiled.
She rolled her eyes, "Oh you softie." she scoffed.
"Can't help it, you look lovely when you're happy and I want to know what made you this way." he twirled a strand of her hair in his finger, "So what was it?"
Nina bit her lip and chuckled one more time, she grabbed the pair of glasses from the top of his head. Fabian started to moan in annoyance, "You've got to be kidding me. I had it with me all that time."
"It was so funny, like let us label you forget-me-not." she giggled.
He sighed, "Wow, even you know that wasn't funny."
"Oh shut up, forget-me-not."
I know, I know. There is so many line breaks, but whatever. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading. Means a lot. :)
Oh and, Happy Holidays! xxx
