Chapter 1

Maya was sitting in her office at the end of a 24-hour shift. Their last call had been a three-alarm fire and had taken all night to get under control. B-shift was already on, but the captain had to complete the most necessary paperwork before she could go home. It was already past 9 am, it was Carina's day off today and Maya looked forward going home and spending a relaxing day with her girlfriend after this horrendously exhausting shift.
She had just texted Carina that she would be home later but hopefully within the hour. A few minutes passed in which Maya desperately tried to concentrate on the file in front of her when her cell phone rang. She let out an annoyed groan but then her mood brightened when she saw that the caller was Carina: "Hey Car, I'm sorry that I'm so late but this shift was crazy. I can't wait to get home to you."

There was an eerie silence.

"Carina, are you there? Are you okay?"
"Maya, I don't know. Someone from the police just arrived here and they are asking for you. I don't know what it's about but it they seem serious and asked me to call you."

"I'm on my way.", Maya replied and immediately hung up before storming out of the fire station. The paperwork would have to wait.
"The police, what do they want? Is something wrong?" The first person that came to mind was Mason, followed by her mother and father. She hadn't heard anything from Mason lately and she hadn't seen him in over a year. Maya had often worried about him especially during the pandemic. "Where was he? Did he accept help? Was he healthy? Alive?"

She had stopped talking to her father and had blocked his number, she needed space from him. She hadn't really spoken to her mother either; Maya was still ashamed about what she had said to her in her office and then the pandemic had hit..."

Her mind kept going over these questions and thoughts over and over again before she realised that she had arrived at their apartment, seemingly having driven on autopilot.

Before Maya could unlock the door, Carina opened it, looking worried.

Carina led her into the living room, a man and a woman in suits were getting up from their couch, introducing themselves as detectives Smith and Bush with solemn faces.

They sat down again, the couple opposite from them with the usual 6 feet apart before the male detective Smith spoke:
"Ms. Bishop, I'm sorry to deliver this news to you but we found the dead body of your brother Mason."

"What... how?", Maya stuttered, not able to comprehend what the detective had told her.

"We haven't closed the investigation yet, but everything points to him having committed suicide. We are very sorry.", detective Bush explained.

Maya felt paralysed, her brain registered the words but couldn't quite understand what they meant as if the words were spoken in a foreign language.

Carina reached to grab her hand; Maya flinched but then felt her body reconnecting with her brain. She still felt numb, no emotions, just blank.

"Could you give us any information about him? Did he struggle with his mental health when you last spoke? Did he mention anything?", detective Smith asked.
"I... I don't know. I haven't seen him in over a year. He is homeless... was. He ... struggled with addiction. I don't know... how did he...", Maya couldn't finish the sentence.
"We are working under the hypothesis that he jumped from a bridge."
Maya let out a shaky breath, her mind creating pictures of her brothers last moments.
Carina tried to be there for Maya but she was overwhelmed herself, the situation reminding her of her own brother's recent death. When Maya remained silent, Carina asked: "What is the process now?"

"We will probably close the investigation within the next few days if there are no signs of external influence. So far everything points towards suicide. We will be in contact with you again and then we will be able to release his body.", Smith said, nodding at Maya, who was still in shock.

To Maya everything was like a blur. Carina showed the detectives outside, Maya remained seated, frozen in place.