Chapter 3 - Trashed
Emmy opened her eyes drowsily that morning to find an arm wrapped around her waist. She turned around to find the professor laying next to her, still fully clothed, snoring. Her heart sank. She knew right away that he had been out until late looking for Alfendi and that his efforts had been fruitless. She sighed heavily. She looked at his exhausted form and kissed his forehead. She felt him stir and his grip on her tighten.
"Emmy..."
"Hershel? Sorry, did I wake you?"
"No, darling..." he rubbed his eyes. "Do you feel any better?"
"Yes, thank you. I take it you didn't find anything last night?"
The professor shook his head sadly. "I tried everything I could think of, but found nothing."
Emmy rubbed his arm. "What time did you get in?"
"About six."
Emmy looked at the clock. It was eight thirty now.
"Well, that's it. I'm bringing you a cup of tea and some breakfast and you're staying in bed today."
"Emmy, I can't... I need to find him..."
"And you looked for near enough twenty-four hours straight, and now it's my turn," Emmy said sternly, getting out of bed.
"My dear, you need to rest, you've just had a baby..."
"And as soon as I find him again, I'll do just that." Emmy pulled on her dressing gown and headed for the door. "I'm not the only one who needs looking after now. You're having just as hard a time as I am." she left.
The professor sighed and sat up. "I'd better get up and help her," he thought. "I don't want her to overdo it..."
A few hours later, however, there was a knock on the door. When Bronev answered, he was bombarded by a mass of people. Press reporters, photographers, all kinds of media people rushed in and asked a million questions at once. Celeste and Emmy emerged from the kitchen to see what the commotion was all about, and as soon as she saw what it was, Celeste pushed Emmy back into the kitchen and slammed the door shut. She stopped, awestruck by the scene before her.
"DO SOMETHING! HELP ME GET THEM ALL OUT OF HERE!" Bronev roared.
Celeste sprang into action, going straight to the cupboard under the stairs. She grabbed a fire extinguisher and fired carbon dioxide at the crowd. They all started yelling at this and ran out of the house. However, as they all left, two figured pushed their way back in and slammed the front door shut.
"Good work, Celeste," Bronev panted as Emmy came back out into the hall. She frowned.
"Dean Delmona? Rosa?"
At this, Rosa ran forward and scooped Emmy up in a huge hug.
"Oh my God, this is simply awful, that horrible woman, and the press, I can't believe them..."
Dean Delmona stepped forward and shook Bronev's hand. "I'm truly sorry for your trouble, my good man. If there is anything, and I mean anything I can do to help..."
"Thank you," Bronev nodded.
"And I'm afraid that's not all," Rosa said as she let go of Emmy. "I went in first thing this morning to tidy up the professor's office, you know, get it done and out of the way for when he comes back to work, but when I got there..." she trailed off.
"Well, Emmy, the door was ajar and the whole place had been turned upside-down," Dean Delmona finished. "It's truly shocking, Emmy. Someone was obviously searching for something..."
"I need to go."
The professor had come downstairs to see what all the commotion was about. He grabbed his jacket.
"I'm coming too," Emmy said, reaching for her yellow trench coat, but the professor stopped her.
"My dear, you need to rest, you-"
"I know, I know, I've just had a baby, and the press could beat me up, and blah blah blah, but just sitting here is driving me crazy, Hershel!" Emmy snapped. "I know you're worried about me, but I can't just sit back and let you run around like a headless chicken. We need to work together in order to find Alfendi." She grabbed her coat and threw it on. "Let's slip out the back door. C'mon." She grabbed the professor's hand and lead the way.
The professor sighed and ran with her, knowing when to admit defeat. "Oh, Emmy... I just hope that you will be alright..."
It was indeed just as Dean Delmona had said. The professor's office had been trashed. Every drawer had been pulled out of it's chest and emptied out on the floor, every cupboard had been emptied and everything on his desk had been tampered with. The floor was covered with pieces of paper, books and broken artefacts. The professor, Emmy, Rosa and the dean stood at the door in silence, shocked at the state of the professor's office. The professor let out a shaky sigh.
"Hershel..." Emmy wrapped her arms around him.
"My dear man, do you have any idea who could be responsible for this?" the dean asked. "A student, perhaps?"
"More like the same one who took your little boy," Rosa corrected, folding her arms.
"I think you're right," Emmy nodded, stepping into the office and kneeling down to examine the mess.
"Do you know if there's anything missing, Emmy?" the dean asked as he and Rosa joined her.
"I'm not sure..."
Rosa peered around cautiously, trying to spot if anything was out of place. "Well, I know the professor's office like the back of my hand, every little trinket and it's proper place, so I of all people should know if something's gone..." she continued to look around.
The professor went to his desk and rummaged through the items surrounding it. "They're gone."
"Huh? What's missing?" Emmy asked, hurrying over to stand beside him and being careful not to trip.
"My photographs."
"What photographs?" the dean asked.
"Of us. Emmy and myself on our wedding day, a family picture of me, Emmy and Flora, Alfendi's scan picture... All of my personal photos are gone."
"And what's this?" Emmy picked up a piece of yellow paper. "You only ever use white paper for your notes, Hershel..." She read it aloud:
"I'm losing everything, my life is falling apart.
I've lost my love, my family, and now I've lost my heart.
Now I have no reason to stay.
They were my life, which now faded away.
I have no chance to live through it all.
Some say it will get better, but my hopes are small.
I've lost my morals and my dignity, so true.
So just let me go, I know that I failed you.
Don't hate me, because my secrets were wrong.
I regret everything, which I have felt for so long.
I keep it all inside me, so nobody has to see.
What all the messed up things are, the world has done to me.
I should have just let go, a long time ago.
Then nobody would have to see, all the things that have shown.
It's okay to point your finger, for all the things I've done.
I know I've made mistakes, but I'm not the only one.
So now I just see dark, ahead there is no light.
I feel no heartbeat, my body is pale and white.
So now the world turns cold, and nobody is around.
This is the one day, that all I've lost is never found.
Word's to describe your life, Emmeline Altava, for this is how you will feel.
When you realise your situation is very much real.
Your child is gone now, with your husband soon to follow.
And then you will learn the true meaning of sorrow."
Emmy finished reading and looked up, confused. "What is all of that even supposed to mean?"
"The poem is about losing everything," the professor said slowly.
"So, is it about me?" Emmy asked. "'Your child is gone now, with your husband soon to follow,"... Alfendi... What does she mean by gone? Hershel?" Emmy looked terrified.
"I'm not sure, Emmy," the professor said. He was at a loss. The first thing that came to his mind when he heard hose words was 'dead', but he kept this thought to himself. "Well... Maybe we ought to show this to Celeste. She's good at reading between the lines, knowing what other people are thinking. Maybe if we get into the same mindset as Andrea is, it might help us know what it is that she wants."
Emmy frowned. "I don't want to know what she's thinking, Hershel. I want my baby back."
"I know, Emmy, but this is a start. A lead. If we know what it is that she wants, we may be able to reason with her."
"There is no reasoning with scumbags like her," Emmy said coldly.
The professor sighed, getting agitated, and wrapped his arms around Emmy. "Please, darling. Please trust me," he whispered. "When have I ever given you a reason to mistrust me? When have I ever let you down?"
"You haven't... That's not what I'm saying Hershel..." Emmy hugged him back. "And I'm not making light of your efforts either, but I just don't see how mulling over some stupid poem is going to get us any closer to finding our baby."
"Well, I've already tried searching the streets all night, and that didn't get us anywhere either," the professor pointed out. "She's probably too far away to be able to track her on foot. But someone might have seen something, someone I haven't asked yet..." He trailed off, remembering Grosky's suggestion the previous night.
"What?" Emmy asked.
"Superintendent Grosky made a suggestion last night, and I think we may be wise to follow it."
"What is it?"
"He wants us to go to the press and make a public appeal for help to find Alfendi?"
Emmy gave him a funny look. "And you think this will help?"
"Well, what harm can it do, Emmy?" Rosa cut in, making both the professor and Emmy jump. They forgot that she and Dean Delmona were still standing there at the door, listening to them. "Getting this woman's face out there, making sure people know exactly who she is and what she has done... It can only help you, if it makes any effect at all, Emmy."
"But Andrea has taken off with our child, so she'll probably be in hiding. I doubt she'll be taking Alfendi out to the park, or getting nappies and food and things... She probably has an accomplice for all that stuff... Someone we don't know." She sighed.
"My dear, look at me." the professor took her shoulders and looked into her eyes. She stared back at him, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "I promise you that we will find Alfendi. The pieces of the puzzle are out there; all we have to do is put them together."
Emmy shook her head. "Only you could think of puzzles at a time like this, Hershel."
"Fine. There are clues out there, all we have to do is look. Whatever way you wish to phrase it, my dear, all hope is not yet lost. I promise you." He kissed her forehead. "But I need you to keep it together and help me. I can't do this all on my own."
"I don't expect you to..."
"With this situation being so difficult for both of us, I'm not sure if I'm going to see the answers to our questions at first... So I need you to help me see it. I need you at my side, as my assistant and my wife."
Emmy gave him a watery smile. "Of course."
"Together, you and I, we will find our boy. I promise you."