Chapter 21. –Things to do
I keep myself busy with things to do, but every time I pause, I still think of you.
~Author unknown
Beck's POV
I stood up. "Ma, I'm going back to the station." I just couldn't sit here and do nothing anymore. I probably wasn't going to be of any help, but I at least needed to feel like I was doing everything possible. Luckily, my ma understood. She always did.
She only nodded, and I left the house. I got into my car, and grabbed my keys to start it. My eyes suddenly fell on my keychain. It was a cheap, little heart, with the letter J written on it. I had bought it at the shop of the first gas station I had ever refueled my very own car.
Jade had been with me, and she already found it stupid that I wanted to buy a souvenir. But she nearly gagged when I decided to choose the heart. But she secretly loved it whenever I did those things, even though she would never admit it.
As I turned onto the road, I entered the phone number of Mr. Vega. Squirrel! My brakes squeaked just in time. Stupid little animal. Well… and I shouldn't be on the phone while driving of course. And then I realized that I was actually calling to a police officer. I almost smiled at the thought.
"Hello, Beck." Mr. Vega answered the phone. "Hi Mr. Vega, are you still at the police station?" I turned the wheel with my right hand. "Yeah, I am." He sounded tired. "I'm on my way there right now. Is that all right?"
"Yes, of course it is." He said. I sighed. "I know there's probably nothing I can do, but… I'd feel better anyway." I just needed to be somewhere, where I could at least feel like I wasn't completely useless. "I understand. Tori and Mrs. West are still here, but they're both asleep."
That did kind of surprise me. Why would they still be there? "Okay. Well, anyway, I'm there in like five minutes." At least in LA, everything was close.
If he did kept her here, she would be close too right now.
…
I knocked on the door, but didn't wait for an answer to open it. "Hi Mr. Vega." He looked up from his desk. "O, hi Beck." I walked in to the room. "I take there's really nothing I can do?" I began hopefully. He looked apologizing. "I'm sorry, but, no."
"That's all right, I kind of expected that already." But it wasn't all right. I needed distraction. "Did Tori wake up yet?" I asked. "No she hasn't. And neither has Mrs. West." Wait, Mrs. West had fainted. Was she still unconscious?
"Mrs. West still hasn't woken up?" I asked a little worried. "No, but that's really normal. She was just exhausted." He reassured me. "Okay." I didn't know what else to say, really. I only came because I secretly hoped I could get some kind of a distraction. But, obviously, I wasn't going to find one here.
But then I got an idea. "Would it be possible for me to see through his record?" That would be a good distraction, and I would still feel like I was doing something for Jade. And maybe, just maybe, I really would find something.
Luckily, Mr. Vega understood. "I don't think I'm legally allowed to show you that, but… as long as you won't say anything, I suppose I can make an exception." He smiled. "I have a computer for you in the other room. Want me to show you?" I nodded. He walked me there, and I waited for him to power up the file.
"So, here you go." Mr. Vega stepped aside, so I could reach the computer. "Thanks." I said. "If you need anything, I'm in my office." he said before turning around, and leaving the room.
I was pretty surprised at how much information there was in front of me. I had no idea what I was looking for, so I just decided to begin reading at page number one. "Name: Ronald Scott, age: 47."
Apparently, he worked at some factory, named 'textile manufactory'. I don't know why that struck me, but the company seemed somehow familiar to me. I tried googling the name, but I still didn't know what I was supposed to remember about it. Maybe it would be me to mind later.