Sealed with a Kiss

by stress

You should listen to your heart, and not the voices in your head. [MURDER!MYSTERY] Layna Kotliar is a girl with a secret so big that she doesn't even know it herself. But Kisses does. And Kisses doesn't like David. [DAVID LOVE STORY]

3. III NICOLAS

Title: Sealed with a Kiss

Author: Stress

Summary: Layna Kotliar is a girl with a secret so big that she doesn't even know it herself. Will she be able to trust David with it or will she continue to rely on the only friend she's ever known, a simple leather-bound journal?

The translations: As you will see as the fiction begins (and continues), Layna is a French immigrant. Therefore, much of what she says is in French. When the dialogue called for it I tried to include a translation but not always. However, I will include translations at the bottom. Hopefully it will add to the experience of the story.

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III. NICOLAS

Waitin' on the day you walk back in my life
Like a newborn child, you made me smile…

14 August 1899

Mon journal,

Amis, I have friends. And they were all so very sweet to me. A group of the girls here let me accompany them when they sold their journaux and I found it was le fait de libérer très to earn money for myself…

"So, Secrets, how do you like being a newsie so far?" asked Stress. She held the door to the Bottle Alley Home open, and watched as the three other girls entered. Each, including Stress, retrieved a nickel from their pockets and placed it on Mrs. Cook's desk before signing in at the ledger. The elderly matron smiled at each of the girls before the group embarked up the stairs, heading towards the bunkroom.

Once inside, Secrets answered Stress with a shy smile. "C'était bon, Stress. I had a great time with you girls, peddling the newspapers. But, I couldn't help but worry about you – are you sure that Jack didn't mind you being with me?"

Stress's cheeks colored when she heard all the two other girls laughing at Secrets' comment. It was not an off-handed one; Secrets had spent the entire morning listening to Gypsy and Iris poke fun at Jack's parting words to Stress at the distribution center. "Have fun working without me, Stress," he had said, pouring faux emotion behind his chocolate brown eyes. The smirk he wore when he concluded his goodbye indicated that he was less than serious. "Cause you know that I won't."

Tunes, who had been sitting on her bunk, reading one of the newspapers, looked up at their entry. "Hey, girls. What's so funny?"

Before anyone could answer, Stress cut in. "You know, Secrets, maybe I should be asking you the same thing about Dave," she threw back, glaring over her head to stare at Gip and Iris. Both girls paled under the glare and stopped laughing – but not for long. They had a new target to antagonize.

"Yeah, Secrets," added Iris, now adopting a smirk, near identical to the one Spot Conlon of Brooklyn, usually wore. "Did you see the look on David's face when we stole you to come and sell with us?

It was Secrets' turn to blush; at Iris' words, she felt her face heat up and she lowered her head in order to hide behind her long black hair. "Oh, non, you're just saying that," she murmured. She walked ahead of the others and sank down on her bunk.

Gip's dark blue eyes seemed to dance in amusement. "I don't know how you didn't notice it, Secrets, but the boy's got it for you and bad," she said, her slight Southern accent slipping in and out of her speech.

Tunes, by now, seemed to have gotten the gist of just what the other girls were discussing. She got up from her bunk and walked down to the end where Secrets was sitting. Joining the quiet girl on the bed, she smiled. "Don't listen to them. Whenever one of the boys gets it in their head that they like a girl, these jokers make it their point to tease the poor girl. That's just how they get their kicks," she added as she rested her hand on Secrets' shoulder. The gesture was meant as a show of support.

As soon as she felt Tunes' touch, Secrets jerked back and covered her head with her hands. The pain was starting again. The memories were coming back.

"No," she yelled out as she merged from her hiding spot. She needed to be able to save the police officer from Eddie's knife even if she couldn't save her parents. Especially because she couldn't save her parents.

Eddie missed his target. Surprised by her sudden appearance, he had turned his head to see the young girl coming out from her hiding place iwthin the alley. "There you are, precious," he said, and held his hand out for her. Unfortunately for him, he extended the hand that still held the knife.

In the precious few seconds that Eddie was facing her instead of his new adversary, the police officer drew his billy club from his belt and knocked him over the head.

He slumped to the dirt, immediately unconscious, as was the cop's goal. Layna continued to run forward, and she ran directly into the arms of the police officer. If there was one piece of advice that Layna remembered from her late parents, it was that a policeman could always help you when you're in trouble.

Once the police officer had scooped her up, Layna began to sob. " Je suis désolé. I'm so sorry," she wailed, holding on tight to the dark-haired officer.

The police officer carried her to a nearby street lamp and set her down. She refused to loosen her grip on his arms. "Shhh, there, child. What's the matter?" he asked, soothingly.

Layna sniffled and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her faded blue dress. She pulled back far enough so that she could look up into his face. He seemed a lot more trustworthy than the other man. "Il a tué la Maman et le Père," she rushed out and began to hiccup between fresh sobs.

The cop patted her on the head. "I'm sorry, dear, but I can't understand that. Can you tell me that in English, maybe?"

She nodded and tried to control her breathing. When she was able to, she began to tell her story again – this time in English. "I was waiting for Papa to come out of the house and that man," she said, and pointed fearfully towards the unconscious criminal, "tried to drag me away. Papa and Mama came out from the house and he hurt them." And, with that, the sobs began again.

The police officer drew a sharp breath. He was not expecting such an answer from the small child. "What's your name?"

"La-La—Layna," she finally managed to choke out.

"Well, Layna. Do you know where your parents are, now?"

" Ciel."

The police officer rubbed her back while flagging down an approaching colleague, out on his nightly patrol with the paddy wagon. "Hey Johnson," he called, waving his arms in a signal to stop, "that man over there just tried to stab me and I hear that he may have killed this little girl's parents. I'd appreciate it if you would pick him up and than meet me at- where do you live, Layna?" he asked her.

"Me and Mama and Papa live at the big building on the corner of 56th street," she whispered. The tears had stopped coming now. Even for one so young, she was beyond grief at that moment.

He smiled sadly down at the top of her head. "Did you hear that, Johnson? Meet me at the apartment building on the corner of 56th street. I'd recommend bringing help in case we do find something there."

Officer Johnson nodded and led his horse over to where Eddie lay.

The first police officer turned back to face Layna. "Layna, my name is Officer Murphy. Right now, we're going to go to your house and see what happened to your parents. Is that alright?"

Layna trembled slightly, but still nodded. "Yes sir, Officer Murphy."

"Secrets? Are you okay?" Tunes cried out as she shook her gently.

Secrets reluctantly opened her eyes and saw the worried expressions on the faces of Stress, Gip, and Iris. "What happened?" she whispered as her headache began to fade. Her hands, she saw, where resting at her side. She picked up her right hand and rubbed that eye. There seemed to be a faint throbbing on that side of her head.

"You fa-" began Tunes. But, before she could finish the word, Iris ran up behind her and covered her mouth with her hand.

"You must have just fallen asleep right quick, Secrets. You looked tired," Iris improvised. For some reason, she didn't want to make a big deal out of Secrets' fainting. At least, not now.

"Oh, well in that case, I think I better go outside and get a bit of fresh air." Secrets fumbled around the head of her bunk for a moment before her hand met with something underneath her pillow. She shoved it in her bag before any of the girls could see what it was. "Excusez-moi," she said and slipped off of the bunk, quietly making her way past the others before exiting the bunkroom.

"I wonder what that was about?" asked Gip out loud to no one in particular. But that was alright. None of the other girls had anything to say in response.

- - -

That same day, in the Newsboys' Lodging House on Duane Street, David Jacobs sat with Jack, Skittery and Race in the boys' bunkroom. He rubbed the top of his curly-haired head and let out a heavy breathe. "Hey, Jack? How exactly did you know that Stress was the one for you?" he asked, dropping his hand and pulling his legs up. He hugged them against his chest as he thought of Secrets. There was just something about the French girl. He couldn't get her blue eyes and demure smile out of his mind.

Ignoring Skittery's smirk and Racetrack's snickers, Jack tried his best to answer David's question. "It's just something you feel in here," he replied, tapping himself on the chest.

David nodded once and faced Skittery. Maybe the resident pessimist would be able to shed some light on this whole "love" situation. If there was anyone in the lodging house who would be able to talk him out of his new feelings, it would be Skitts. "What about you, Skittery? Was it the same for you and Tunes?"

Skittery scowled. David was right; he wasn't the kind of guy who liked to talk about his feelings with the other boys.

Race playfully slapped Skittery on the face. "Hey, Skitts. Can't you see the boy is looking for some advice? Help him out."

"I don't see you talking about your feelings for good old Moneybags, do I?" Skittery acknowledged, skillfully evading the subject.

"True, true," Race said and he laughed. When he was done, he brought the edge of a stolen cigar to his lips. "Davey, listen to Jack. He does know what he's talking about when it comes to matters of the heart, eh, Cowboy?"

Jack continued to ignore the comments from the other two boys. He rested his hand on David's shoulder. The younger boy looked up, his blue eyes appearing doubtful. "Dave, let me ask you a question. Do you think that you're getting some feeling for Secrets?" Jack swallowed a smirk when he saw that David turned bright red, but did not respond. "You do know that she's only been here for one day, eh, Dave?"

David, his blush continuing to deepen, nodded. "I don't know what it is Jack, but there is something special about her. I just- I just can't get her out of my mind, you know."

Jack patted David on the back. "I know, Dave, I know."

- - -

That night, after all the other girls of the lodging house had gone to bed, Secrets pulled out her journal. She had not had the chance to write in her worn book when she went for a breath of air earlier. Then, after she returned to the bunkroom, there were too many girls about for her to chance bringing the book out without any of them asking questions. It was only now, when she was the last awake, that she dared to write down her thoughts.

But, of course, there was already a message waiting for her.

Mon cher, Layna,

So, amis are they? How many times have I told you that we don't need any friends? Don't you remember what happens to friends? Friends are just enemies with an inside scoop, Layna. Remember what happened to Nicolas?

Secrets put down the journal for a moment and stared ahead, her eyes fixated on the flickering flame of the candle she was reading by. She did remember.

Twelve-year-old Layna ran up to the orphanage, surprised to see a policeman's horse tethered in front of the building. "Je me demande qu'est-ce qui continue?" she murmured before entering the orphanage and heading through the lobby, towards the stairs that led to the girls' bunkroom.

"Miss Layna," called Madame Pearson, "would you come here please?"

Layna stopped and turned towards the headmistress' office. "Oui, Madame Pearson, of course."

Upon stepping inside the office, Layna found herself facing Officer Murphy. "Hello, Officer – I mean, Sergeant Murphy. Pleasure seeing you on this side of the City." She was tickled to see her old friend; she hadn't seen him in over a year since he got promoted to sergeant and was given an office.

"How are you, dear child? I'm here on dismal business, I'm afraid." Sergeant Murphy took off his hat and bent down to look in Layna's eyes. "I hear you were friends with a Nicolas Malloy. Is that true?"

Layna smiled as she nodded. Nicolas was the only real friend she had – after Kisses, of course. He was the only one who knew about her fainting spells and, to her glee, didn't look down on her because of them. "Yes, Sergeant Murphy. I can definitely say that I'm friends with Nicolas."

Sergeant Murphy took Layna's hand in his own and sighed. His brown eyes were saddened and, in the five years that passes since they fist met, his dark hair had become sprinkled with grey. The job was certainly taking a toll on the cop. "We found Nicolas today," he said, and he sounded a lot older than he looked.

Layna looked up at the older gentleman and appeared confused. "Was he lost? I only talked to him yesterday afternoon, but I didn't know that he went missing after that."

Sergeant Murphy sighed again and shared a look with Madame Pearson over Layna's head. "What I mean, Layna, is that we found your friend on a side street, two blocks away from this orphanage, this morning. Someone had administered a fatal stab to his chest."

Layna backed away from the police officer directly into the arms of Madame Pearson. "Non, cela ne peut pas être. Nicolas ne peut pas être mort." In her shock, as was her normal reaction, her first instinct was to revert back to French.

Madame Pearson, completely accustomed to Layna's French outbursts, tried her best to calm the girl. "I'm sorry, Layna, but Sergeant Murphy is right. Nicolas left last night and failed to return before curfew. I was on my way to inform the police when Sergeant Murphy stopped by and asked if I had any missing children from the orphanage. The officer who found your friend assumed he might be one of my boys since it was so close to the orphanage and I identified him. They say that Nicolas was killed sometime between last night and this morning. I wanted you to know since the two of you were so close."

Were. The word echoed in Layna's mind as she turned away from Madame Pearson. She couldn't listen to the adults any more so she turned and ran from the office.

" Il est parti. My only friend is gone," she sobbed into her pillow much later that night. Hastily wiping her tears before fresh ones began to form, Layna removed her journal from underneath her pillow. Maybe if she could write her feelings down, she would feel better. Or, if she was lucky, maybe there would be advice from Kisses. She would know what to do.

Mon cher, Layna,

It's alright, amour. I know how much losing Nicolas must hurt you but you'll pull through. You have me, after all. And I'll always be here for you. Toujours

Kisses

Kisses was right. She always was. Shaking her head, removing the memory of Nicolas from it, Layna replaced her journal and went to sleep.

Nicolas. She hadn't thought about him since the day he had been found murdered. Yet, now that Kisses had written his name in the journal, the memories all came rushing back. Nicolas.

Secrets let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding as she pictured the face of her mischievous childhood pal. "They never did find out who murdered Nick," she murmured, all caught up in her past.

As she sat, the bunkroom bathed in the moonlight, Secrets jumped when a stray breeze came through the open window and blew out the candle's flame. She pulled out a match from the night table next to her bunk and relit the candle on her nightstand. With the light glowing brightly, Secrets returned her eyes to the journal page and finished the entry.

Remember what happened to Nicolas? I thought you would. And what would you do if that happened to any of your new friends? I wonder.

Kisses

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Translations:

Amis – Friends
Journaux – Newspapers
Le fait de libérer très – Very liberating
C'était bon – It was good
Oh, non – Oh, no
Je suis désolé – I'm sorry
Il a tué la Maman et le Père - He killed Mama and Papa
Ciel – Heaven
Excusez-moi – Excuse me
Je me demande qu'est-ce qui continue - I wonder what's going on
Non, cela ne peut pas être. Nicolas ne peut pas être mort. - No, that can't be. Nicolas can't be dead.
Il est parti – He is gone
Amour - Love
Toujours - Always