The Hunter and The Butterfly
Chapter 28
"No, this is the best part!" Bradley insisted as his wife, his daughter, and her boss sat at a dinner table next to a window in the Ledbury. It was a surprisingly steady night in the restaurant, with a few patrons here and there, but it was a relatively quiet night with a peaceful atmosphere. They had ordered pricey food from the menu, but thanks to James's surprise Mastercard, all four of them had gotten a free meal. Sandy and Bradley had been surprise by how amazing the food was, and after they had finished their meals, they spent the remainder of their evening sharing personal stories from their pasts. James told them one about his time when he had received his father's watch as a present for his birthday, fonding over how important it was to keep a part of his memory with him everywhere he went.
"What was the best part?" he asked as he drank more wine.
"Well, after Lorna and her mother had finished their swim, I decided to do three more laps to get a good workout in. Once I climbed out of the pool, Lorna immediately sprinted into the house and Sandy screamed in horror. At first, I was confused, but when I looked in the pool…my swim trunks were floating in the water."
Lorna almost choked on her drink and Sandy laughed out loud, although James did not really find the story as funny as they did. He did, however, grin slightly when he noticed Lorna was having a good time. He felt a feeling deep inside that he hadn't felt in a long time: what it was meant to be around family. He began to remember about how his parents would take him out to his favorite café even after he had gotten older. He would order the same meal every time they went: sirloin steak with a side of mashed potatoes and peas. Zilpha would laugh every time James held food to his face so it would look like he had a different mouth and eyes, but Horace and Anna would always chide him not to play with his food. He made a mental note that he would need to call his half-sister as soon as possible and make plans to go see his mom before he was finished with Solomon Coop's case.
As the meal went on, the sudden buzzing of a cellphone interrupted the spirited atmosphere. Lorna and her parents' voices died down as they turned to James, who noticed the screen of his iPhone was lit up with the call screen. Digging it out, he noticed Godfrey's name flash across. He ignored the call and shoved it back into his pocket, but immediately as the call was rejected, it started up again. Growing irritated with the ringing, he saw Godfrey's name once again and turned to the family before him. He apologized and decided it was best to get it over with, excusing himself from the table with another apologetic nod and walking outside. Lorna watched him leave before turning to her parents, whose glances suddenly changed. They had unsurprised looks, meaning they knew the secret she had been hiding.
"What?"
"Look, sweetheart…we know," Bradley finally admitted.
"Know about what?" Lorna was confused.
"About you and James, pumpkin. You don't even have to tell us," Sandy backed up her husband. Lorna's smile faded and there was a thick silence.
"I…I'm sorry. I wanted…I wanted to tell you…when the time was right. He really has changed for the better, mum, and…he's not a bad guy."
"I know hon, I understand, and I know I can't stop you from dating him. I just want you to be careful around him. He doesn't seem like the troubled kind, but he is mysterious and unpredictable, not that that's bad."
"James is something, isn't he?" Lorna looked out the door and noticed he was still talking on the phone. Bradley opened his mouth to speak, but they noticed James hurry back inside towards their table. Lorna noticed his pupils were wide and he seemed perturbed, and straightaway knew something bad had happened. "James, what's the matter?"
"I have to go," James went to grab his jacket, but Lorna grasped his sleeve to stop him.
"Why, what's wrong?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. James turned to her parents and gritted his teeth. "It's Pearl…she's in the hospital."
Lorna's eyes doubled in size and the whole restaurant was in silence. Sandy and Bradley glanced at one another, realizing something had gone terribly wrong. Explaining he would tell her more in the car, James showed no hesitation on urging her on to get to the hospital. Lorna nodded in understanding and joined him from the table, apologizing to her parents that she needed to attend to a friend in need. Before they knew it, their tab had been hastily paid and they all were packed into one vehicle heading for the hospital.
Pearl sat on a bed in a hospital gown as a doctor shined a flashlight in her eyes, noticing how severely reddened they had become. The red liquid that had pooled through her bloodstream had taken its affect, and she had the same blank stare since the motorist dropped her off. Turning to her left, she saw the same woman talking to two detectives who were both writing things down on notepads.
"And I saw her wandering around and her clothes were all torn up…" she was telling them her story. The interrogation was interrupted when they noticed three more faces enter the room. Pearl saw James, Lorna, Godfrey and Helga running into the room. The woman, along with the two detectives, stared at them before one of the officers pocketed his notebook to usher them out.
"Listen, you three, I need you to back out," he told them with arms open.
"Officer, we know this woman. She's one of my employees," James firmly stated.
"James? What are you all doing here?" Pearl stood up from the bed. Helga hurried past the officers straight towards her, wrapping arms around her and sobbing her name while holding on. Looking confused, Pearl slowly wrapped her arms around her midsection before the moment was interrupted by the other officer.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we're in the middle of an investigation," he told her.
"Please don't make us leave. Pearl's a dear friend of ours and if we could stay in the room, we would like to check on our friend." Godfrey insisted.
"Yes, we need to see her," Lorna urgently pleaded.
"Officers…please," Pearl meekly got their attention. After a few minutes, both policemen agreed to let the four inside, and while they continued to question the woman, the others immediately took a seat next to her. Looking towards the chair, they noticed her clothes were dirtied to the point where the pink was fading and the black was turning brown and gray, along with torn pantyhose and shoes. The disturbing part was Pearl's appearance. She appeared disheveled and malnourished, her face covered in bruises and scratches, along with her hands. She had some scrapes going down her calves, which only furthered questioned them on what really happened with her. Her eyes appeared glassy, almost entirely blank, like she had been through hell and back.
"Thank you for your time, ma'am," the woman nodded and the two officers directed their attention back to Pearl. "Ms. Pearl, we'll be back in tomorrow for further questions. If you remember anything helpful on the night you were found, we would appreciate it."
Pearl nodded lightly as the policemen left the room, leaving the group with the motorist who picked her up. Turning around, she walked towards them. "I'm sorry about this. I called the cops immediately after I found her along the roadside, it was just…something looked very unsettling."
"Well, thanks to you, Pearl would've probably never been found sooner," James said, though he winced at his own words.
"My name is Raven, by the way," the woman shook a grateful Helga's hand before deciding to depart. "If there's anything I can help you all with, don't be afraid to call me. Here's my number."
James took a card from her and nodded. "We'll need it sooner than you think."
"Wait a minute…" Raven pointed a finger at him. "You're James Delaney. I've heard stories about you and your father in the local newspaper. Apparently, you're quite a popular lawyer here in London."
"He gets that a lot," Godfrey agreed.
"If I knew anyone who's a lawyer, it certainly is this man. Well, I must be going now. I hope you get better, young lady."
Raven exited the room after she had said her goodbyes, leaving the five alone to themselves. Pearl shuffled back onto her hospital bed, covered herself up with a blanket, and stared down at the floor. Turning towards her, Lorna walked towards the side and put an arm on her shoulder, causing her to flinch.
"I'm sorry…does it hurt?"
Pearl only shook her head and continued to look down. James crossed his arms as they observed her for a few more moments before Lorna turned back towards him. Something was definitely off with her, and if her intuition was right, things were worse than they appeared.
"Pearl…how…how are you feeling?" Helga came to the opposite side.
"I'm…I'm not sure. My body's sore and I'm covered in bruises, which scares me because I don't know how I got them," Pearl's voice was shaky.
"Do you remember how you got here? I know this isn't a good time to ask questions, but if you know anything about it, Pearl…the sooner this is out of the way, the sooner you can recover." James walked up to the bed.
"James!" Godfrey scolded, but Pearl stopped him.
"I want to know what happened too. Everything's a blur except waking up in the grass and a woman taking you to the hospital. I…I…" she closed her eyes and began to think. "I remember…my car…no, wait! I'm lost in the woods!"
"Ok, that's enough," James immediately halted questioning. "No need to rush things. You need to sleep, Pearl. You've been through a lot."
"I know. You're right," Pearl laid back in the bed. "I'm going to bed now. If I remember anything, I'll let you all know. Just…just give me some time to clear my head."
"We don't care how long it takes," Lorna rubbed her shoulder. "I know we'll get answers, but right now your health is more important. We'll do everything we can to help you."
Pearl smiled gratefully and they said their goodbyes, leaving her to get some sleep. As they exited the elevator, Helga said her goodbyes and quickly headed home, while Godfrey stayed behind with James and Lorna. Shivering, he felt a slight breeze in the air and noticed it was unusually chillier than it was supposed to be for tonight.
"This is crazy," he shook his head. "First George, now Pearl. What does this all mean?"
"I don't know," Lorna crossed her arms. "All we have to go by is a picture and a name by Brent Woods. We have things to start with, but of all the endless searches we did, nothing is still coming up. It's like we're hitting road blocks."
"You're right, we need to get more creative. Don't you think, James?" Godfrey and Lorna turned towards him, but they noticed he was walking in the opposite direction towards the benches. Hurrying over, they noticed his eyes were wide and his teeth were gritting together, so much so that he was clenching his pipe white knuckled. Underneath the pressure, the wood began to crack until there was a split going down its sides.
"Why…" he asked in short breaths. "Does this keep happening to my employees? My workers? My family?"
"James…" Lorna tried to comfort him, but he let out a frustrated yell and slammed his fist down in a pumping motion, causing his pipe to fly and smack on the ground, audible cracking heard through the air. It had completely shattered under the pressure of his hands.
"Why does the world have to punish us like this? George and Pearl are good people, and yet the ones I care about are getting hurt wherever I go."
"James," Lorna rubbed his shoulders. "You can't blame yourself for this."
"Why shouldn't I? My father died because of me, George lost part of his memory, and now Pearl's having trouble remembering things and she's hurt. It seems like the world would be a much better place if I just…disappeared."
THWACK! The palm of a hand connected with James's face, and Lora turned stunned to see an angry Godfrey slapping James. For a moment, her boss stumbled backwards, wincing as he felt his stinging cheek. There was a visible red mark and James felt the tender skin, causing him to look up at Godfrey with wide eyes. "What was that for, Godfrey?!"
"Listen to yourself!" he angrily commanded. "You need to pull yourself together and stop feeling sorry for yourself. We understand you're still going through emotions after your father's passing, but now is definitely a terrible time to feel like shite. You need to pull your head out of your arse and work through things, because if you don't, you'll never get anywhere and you'll lose even more people you consider family."
The nighttime air was thick with heavy silence as James and Godfrey were now staring at each other head on. Lorna was right in the middle, wondering if she should diffuse the situation, but she saw James roll back his shoulders and sigh, nodding in agreement. If they did not hurry and do something, Pearl would be a loss and the search for their man would end up in failure. James thanked Godfrey and turned back to Lorna, requesting that she take him home. Godfrey quickly said his goodbyes before heading home himself. It was going to be and arduous night, and if they were going to get any sleep, they needed to slumber knowing they were going to get justice for both their loved ones.
Walking into the mansion, James realized he had spent almost another day in the presence of Lorna and her family. He mentally noted to himself that while his time with her was precious, he needn't forget that there was work to be done. Brace had once again gone to bed for the evening, leaving a note that there was leftover lasagna for him to enjoy to his heart's content. Looking around, he saw that one of the hallway lights had been left on, and he was internally grateful that Brace still took the time he came into the house safely. Kicking off his shoes and setting his bag down, he took off his jacket and hung it up before heading upstairs towards his bedroom. He unlocked the door and drug his exhausted feet inside, flinging his dirty clothes to the floor and changing into a long nightshirt and black pajama bottoms. After a quick brush of teeth and flossing, he pulled the covers over himself and stared up at the ceiling.
Overlooking the day's events, he began to remember the time he had spent with Lorna's family. He was well aware that they knew the extent of him and Lorna's relationship, and they were not surprised one bit. In truth, he was a rather unexpected match, one they never thought they would see their daughter going after. It was endearing knowing that he had a romantic partner to turn to in case he was in need of comfort, yet right now things were different. He sought out a different kind of comfort, one you did not get from a partner or friends, but the one you got from family.
Rolling on her back, Zilpha sleep as she felt Thorne's arm around her waist. It had been some time since their return home from visiting Anna, but they did not jump back into their normal routine yet. Thorne had taken some extra time off to spend with his family, and Zilpha got her hours changed so she and her husband could plan more outings for just the two of them. Robert and Thorne were back to their father-son bond, the bond she had missed ever since he was a little boy. Overall, things were starting to look out for them, and she could not be happier with the final results. Her family meant the world to her, and if she needed to start from scratch to repair it all, then she would do it all over again.
About a few hours into the evening rest, the blaring sound of a phone suddenly echoed through the master bedroom. At first, the pair did not seem to realize it and assumed they were dreaming, but when the ringing did not stop, they knew life had snapped back into reality. Running a hand through her messy black locks, Zilpha kicked her feet over the bed and noticed it was her phone that was going off the look. Half awake, she exited the bedroom and walked downstairs into the dark living room, flipping on a hall light so she could see her way to the couch. Without even looking at the screen, she pressed the phone to her ear with a loud yawn.
"Hello?"
"Zilpha…are…are you awake?"
"Uh, who is this, and how do you know my name?" Zilpha rubbed her tired eyes as her tone started to wake up.
"Zilpha…it's me."
Her heart almost stopped when she heard that voice: the voice she thought would never answer her calls or emails, the voice she thought would be forever silent, the voice that she had desperately tried to reach out to! As soon as the other line went silent, tears formed in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Zilpha stood in the hallway for some time before heading towards the couch, now on high alert and in shock. Could it truly be James? Was it even him, or was she hearing things? Clearing her throat, she slowly put the phone back to her hear.
"James…is this truly you?"
"Heh, mother asked me the same thing when I called her," James's amused tone peaked.
"Oh my lord, it is you," Zilpha's voice cracked with emotion as she rubbed tears from her eyes. "Where the hell have you been?!"
"Zilpha, I…" James tried to talk.
"Out of all the times to call, you contact me now?! I've been trying to get in touch for over a year now and there was no word from you?! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOU WORRIED ME, JAMES?! I THOUGHT SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPEN TO YOU!"
Zilpha's voice rose into a high pitch scream, causing both Thorne and Robert to walk down stairs and see what was going on. They saw her walking around the living room in the dark, rambling on about how her marriage almost fell apart because of him, how she almost lost a relationship with her son, how she spent every waking hour hoping and praying her family would get back together. This went on for several minutes, but they did not budge from position. Zilpha raged on and on until she felt her throat grow hoarse and sore from all the screaming, before it finally gave out and she had to lower her voice. Calming down, she tried to clear her throat, but groaned at how much it hurt. Still, she had no intention of hanging up as she rubbed her now aching, swollen vocal chords. "James…are you still there?"
"Yes and I'm deaf,"
"You deserve it for putting me through all this hell," Zilpha's voice was a lot calmer yet severely raspy. "Out of all the times to call, you contact me pass midnight?"
"I'm sorry, sister, but I needed…I felt like I needed the comfort. Hearing your voice for the first time in what feels like a century…I missed it so much," James's tone cracked over the line.
"Then why did you disappear all this time?" Zilpha helplessly asked. "Why didn't you stay in contact at least with Robert?"
Another heavy silence followed before James answered. "I…I wish I knew. Father's passing, it…it changed me. You have no idea. The guilt, the anger…I…I never realized how terrible it had to be for you. My…my feelings back then…I wanted to isolate myself from everyone. I wanted to be alone, I never wanted the attention like I do now. But…but that changed when…I started working through things."
Zilpha stayed silent with a hand on her hip.
"Zilpha, I'm not asking for forgiveness," James stated melancholily. "I just wanted to call and tell you I'm still thinking about you. If this is the last call you decide to take from me, then I accept it. I accept it all. If you want to, then Give Robert and Thorne my love and I wish them the very best. I'll never stop loving you like the little half-sister you were once before."
"Stop it," Zilpha shook her head. "You sound as if I'll never speak to you again. This…I need to think about it."
To Be Continued
And this is where I stop the chapter. Hope you all enjoyed!
Thanks for the viewcount, etc. etc.! Welcomed words are appreciated!
See you next chapter!
