9 A Plan

"What exactly is going on here?" The question startled the two ladies and forced them to look away from each other.

It was Abim.

He was standing there with the others, looking pale and exhausted.

"Nothing." Paris forced herself to sound casual, not that she really cared if anyone thought she had been arguing with the Detective. "We were just admiring Da Vincci's paintings. I think they are very beautiful or don't you think so Abim?"

Abim shrugged but did not believe she was telling the truth. "I don't believe you. I saw you two arguing when I...."

"Oh Da Vinci!" Doris cried out, interrupting Abim. She ran to where one of the paintings hung and rain her fingers across the surface. "James loved Da Vincci's paintings. In fact he was obssessed with them. I always thought it weird how connected he was to them. Oh Poor James." She said, sniffing dryly.

"And how do you know these, Doris?" Judith asked. "Because neither of his brothers told me about that before." She looked suspiciously at Max and Abim.

"She has been my girlfriend for well over a year. She visits often. I'm not surprised she knows." Abim spoke in Doris's defence.

"And she is right." Max supplied. "The only reason we even have Da Vinci paintings in our home is because of James. I told you he was weird..."

"Loving Da Vinci paintings doesn't make anyone weird." Judith chipped in.

Max paid deaf ears to her words and continued, "As I was saying, he was a wei... well not very much like other kids and was not very drawn to things expected of him. He was very childish but at the same time had a very big mind. He loved paintings. He painted also and had an enormous crush on Da Vinci."

"The way you speak of your brother in the past tense baffles me, Max. It's like you are convinced beyond doubt that he is truly dead." David said scratching his whiskers.

"He is." Paris said.

"I wasn't talking to you!" David retorted.

"What were the two of you arguing about when we walked in?" Abim directed at the two external ladies. "I met you two staring at each other like predators."

"I already told you nothing!" Paris hissed sharply at him. "Your brother asked to meet you all in private. What have you all decided? I'm tired of having to look at all your lying faces already."

Grumbles filled the room briefly.

Max sighed heavily and took a seat on one of the sofas. He crossed his legs and began, "The thought of my brother dead burdens us heavily. Me especially because it was me who was in charge of taking care of him. As you all know, my parents are dead. So..."

"Pardon me but are there no other family members?" It was Judith. "Uncles? Aunts? Grandmothers? Grandfathers? Cousins? Absolutely no one?"

Max looked at her in a way that suggested that her interrupting him was getting on his nerves already. "Well, both our parents were only children. So that cancels out aunts and uncles as well as cousins. All four grandparents are dead. There are grand uncles and distant relatives but none of which we have seen in years. Some we have never even met. We do not think it is necessary to involve them in our family now when they have never been involved or cared to be involved."

"Sounds like a tale from a movie." Paris scoffed. "Please continue with what you were saying Max."

"I was saying... and please nobody should interrupt me again... I was saying that the thought of those bones found at the forest which are now in police custody, having anything to do with my brother sickens me. I don't not want to believe my once lively introverted brother has now been reduced to nothing but rotting bones. But if that's the case which I pray it doesn't turn out to be, it is very obvious there is foul play here. Someone lured James out of this house, murdered him and found a way to make his body decompose fast. Then instead of burying him decently at least, he instead broke him into pieces and packed him inside a bag without his head, and threw him inside the forest. The thought of this alone makes me want to puke, but what even sickens me is the motive. What could be the reason why anyone would do this to a 16-year old? So yes, I agree every one involved has to be investigated. Me, Abim, my friends, James's school, just anything that will provide answers." At this point a tear dropped from his eyes, but he didn't wipe it away.

"Can I speak now?" Judith asked.

"Sure." replied Max in a broken voice.

"First of all, we need to establish that the bag of bones has anything to do with James. That would determine the direction of the case. I'm already feeling the pressure to make arrest. People are already talking and soon enough this might be on the local news. You are an influential family after all. If there is a connection, we will investigate the case as a murder case and our goal will be to find his killer and bring him or her to justice. If that isn't the case, we will continue to look for your brother as well as the person responsible for his disappearance. But then we would still have to unravel the mystery of the bones. So establishing a link first is very important. I would need your DNA samples Abim and Max. A strand of hair or your blood at least should do the job for a sibling DNA test. This will be tested against residues from the bones. Since your father is no longer alive, it's all we got." Judith stopped to catch her breath.

David cleared his throat, "This may sound incredulous but what if, just what if James is behind all this? What if he ran away and created that scene to look as though he was kidnapped? What if he even committed suicide?"

"Oh my God David!" Abim turned fiercely towards his friend. "How can you even think this way?! Oh my God!"

"I don't know what to think!" David cried back. "We are all just really stressed by all of this and I know deeply that none of us here has anything to do with James's disappearance. So what else could I think of?! I don't know forgive me!" He was screaming and crying at the same time.

"That sounds really stupid." Jessy Paris remarked. "But like they say, there is always a bit of sense in every nonsense." She smiled.

"So how long will this take? I mean establishing the link between the bones and James?" Max asked Judith.

"At least one week."

"One week?!" Doris blurted out.

Judith stared shortly at her with obvious irritation. "Yes one week. The lab here in town is closed. So we will have to use the one in the next town. And if we send it over tomorrow, it would be added to a list of other tests waiting to be done because they are understaffed there. So we will have to wait until ours is done. We just have to send all samples. My guess is a week's time. Could take longer or shorter."

"Surely there has to be a way to fasten the process." Paris said with a sly smirk.

"If you are suggesting corruption, then perhaps you can go down yourself to do that because I'm not corrupt. And oh, you have to present your badge too before they attend to you." Judith's reply hinted sarcasm and Paris caught it.

"You've got a badge in hypocrisy too?" Paris raised her brows.

Abim groaned. "You ladies are adults. What ever the clash of interest is, just put it aside until either of you find a way to get to the bottom of this mystery."

"I think we can handle about a week of suspense," Max said nibbling at his fingers. "But if nothing turns up, I may decide to close the case or you may as well arrest anyone because I'm just really tired of us going round and round in circles."

"I will get to the end of this Max. The very end, I promise." Judith smiled reassuringly at the frustrated young man.

Paris rolled her eyes, "Well, I am not here to find your brother." She said. "Because he is dead. I am here to uncover who perpetrated his abduction and murder. And although I know I'm very close to finding an answer, I guess I will just have to wait until the results come out even though the suspense would most likely drive me mad before then. Meanwhile, David..."

Paris pronounced the name slowly. "Are you sorry James is missing? Really?"

David looked at her contemptuously and mumbled a yes.

"David?" She called again.

"Yes."

"I am sorry I scared you the other night. You see, I just don't love Aloe Vera."

David looked away embarrassed.

"What night is she talking about David?" Doris inquired.

"Shut up." Paris said sharply. "It's no business of yours Doris."