Did Fiona Glenanne mention that she hated waiting around? Well she does. It's kind of ironic that had Michael gone off to see a mobster or a gang leader, she would actually have been calmer than she was now.
"What's wrong Fiona?" Charlie asked.
"They're taking their sweet time." Fiona muttered in reply.
Charlie had not seen his aunt quite so agitated before.
"That's it." Fiona announced. "We're going to visit your teacher's house."
"But she's not going to be home." Charlie replied.
"Oh, trust me. We won't need a key." She replied.
Of course having a child with you does complicate break-ins but this child was a Westen after all. Shouldn't be too much trouble.
"Why are we going to Ms Richards house? And how do you even know where Ms Richards lives?" Charlie asked in the car.
It was almost midnight so there was nothing stopping Fiona from driving like a maniac.
"Your friend Finlay has involved Michael in a case that he knows nothing about. The police will have a lot of questions for him, we'd better find some answers for him to give." Fiona replied.
"Haven't they already been through her stuff?" Charlie asked.
"Yeah but we haven't," said Fiona. "We don't know what they know and we need to start knowing something."
"Why are you so worried?" Charlie asked bewildered at the panic that was evident in Fiona's actions and in her words.
"Because Michael, never does half a job. If he takes it on, he will see it all the way to the end. And even though his skills are still lethal to ordinary citizens. He hasn't had to fight entire organisations for a while now."
"What organisations? Ms Richards wasn't killed by the mafia, was she?" Charlie asked, starting to panic himself.
"Gangs and mafias aren't the only organised groups. When we were in America, Michael took on the CIA. Everyone thinks that they're wonderful - out there saving people like what you see in action films but in reality they're just as bad as the people they're fighting. Except that they're on 'our' side. Like that matters when they can just turn around and destroy you." Fiona was talking much too fast for Charlie to follow and she was more or less lost in her own thoughts. Charlie would've asked for her to explain but he couldn't make head nor tail of what she was talking about so he didn't know where to begin his questions.
"Er... you don't like Michael getting involved with the police." Charlie guessed.
"I don't like that he's getting involved. Period." Fiona replied.
"Don't you want to know what happened to Ms Richards?" Charlie asked.
"The police will work that out. They don't need our help." Fiona replied.
"I still don't get it. What kind of help are you talking about? Uncle Mike and Finlay are just going to answer some questions." Said Charlie.
Before Fiona could answer, Charlie's phone went off.
"Hello?"
"Where is Fiona and what is she doing?" Michael asked, sounding agitated.
"She's... we're driving to er..." Charlie stammered.
Fiona took the phone off Charlie. "What?"
"If you're anywhere near Ms Richards's house. Make a u-turn and stay the hell away from there." Michael replied.
"Why?" Fiona asked in surprise.
"Because criminals are likely to return to the scene of the crime and that's just what the cops are waiting for." Said Michael.
"Wait, tell me what's going on." Fiona replied. "What did the police tell you?"
"Ms Richards adopted a daughter. We think she's still alive but she's missing." Said Michael.
"Wait, you think she's been kidnapped?" Fiona asked.
"How many kidnappers do you know kill the parent of the child they kidnapped and leave the child alive?" Said Michael.
"You sure the killer wasn't a relative? Maybe they never intended to kill the girl." Fiona suggested.
"Her daughter was an international adoption. I doubt her relatives would come to New Zealand to commit murder. If they wanted her that much, they should never have put her up for adoption." Said Michael.
"So what is it then if it's not a kidnapping?" Fiona asked.
"That's what we're trying to figure out." Michael replied.
"Where are you anyway? Said Fiona.
"We're in the car park. My interview just finished up. Thank God, or it would have been too late to call you." Michael replied.
"You did well in there." Michael said to Finlay once they got back in the car. "What did you learn from the interview?"
"He seemed to be more interested in us than he was in Ms Richards. Most of the questions he asked us had almost nothing to do with Ms Richards."
"Good. I'm glad you noticed." Michael laughed.
"What did you notice?" Finlay asked.
"I don't think they found the body this morning like he said. It would have been found much earlier than that." Michael said with certainty.
"How can you tell?" Finlay asked.
"From the autopsy photo. Which I'm glad you didn't have to see it by the way." Michael replied.
"What about it?" Finlay enquired with interest.
"You sure you wanna know?" Michael hesitated.
"If you're worried about scaring me, don't bother. I've read horror stories before going to bed. They didn't affect me at all." Said Finlay.
"I guess, I've seen way too many bodies before. If she had really been found five days after her death, decomposition would have already started but in the photo there was minimal decomposition suggesting that she would have been found much earlier." Michael explained.
"Why would they wait until now to call us?" Finlay asked.
"I have no idea," Michael replied.
A/N: Er yeah, sorry about the extended delay between updates. And a warning, there will probably be another delay again :)