Deep in the Rabbit Hole

Jorge and Miles were on the road heading for the tavern to check where Miles experienced the glitch. Jorge saw the Palindrome bridge's arch were a month ago; the police barricaded the area to respond to a vehicular accident.

After they approached the entrance of the stone bridge, Jorge decided to stop at its middle. The Palindrome bridge was an old masonic structure assembled by the Spanish colonies in the 1870s, which is quite a marvel in its heyday as it connected the entrance of a town at the edge of the mountain.

'Why are we stopping? Miles Sanchez asked.

Jorge went out and inspected the destroyed bridge railing.

"A car once fell from here."

A wooden warning sign was used to patch the broken rail, but it was not yet repaired.

'The driver is probably a drunkard?"' Miles said from the inside of the car. He had no clue as he was not involved with the case. He unlocked the car door and walked near the bridge to look down. The water in the river was raging. It was windy that day, and one wrong step can send him to a watery death below.

'That's quite a long dive there."

"It is. Down below is where we found the body of a forty-year-old man. He's a known drunkard, alright."

"Guess he killed himself?"

"No. He was murdered. There were lots of stab wounds on his neck area. The killer probably drove the car past that covered railing to hide the tracks."

"This place is so distant. No one could see the crime."

"Yes, you are right. This is the perfect place to dump the body."

"But who is the victim?"

Jorge looked at Miles.

"Edgar Mayce. Would you believe he was once a case of a missing person more than two decades ago? Edgar Mayce was declared missing by her partner when he did not come back after a meeting with a friend of his."

"Huh? You mean he appeared 20 years later and dead all of a sudden?"

Jorge took a heave of a sigh. "There's a lot of things happening in this city we didn't know much about. But when it does happen-every case seems so f_cked up."

"Did you handle the case?"

"Yes and No. Colonel Riva and I first handled the case. The military took over when the HQ learned it was the Edgar Mayce case from twenty years ago. I don't know why they had shown great interest in that man? I was not able to dig deep in the case."

"No question allowed?"

"Yes, no question ask."

"Maybe he got some secret with him? Or he got the answer to the most recent case we have right now?'

"I was thinking the same. I don't know how to tie them in."

"Maybe it's the same killer?"

"Could be. Too early to tell. We need to discuss this thoroughly when we get back."

Jorge went back to the car and put on his seat belt. Miles followed him and continued their conversation inside the car. The two drove past the bridge and towards the foot of the mountain. They are nearing the location of the tavern.

"There's something really odd, though, when he was found."

'What?" Miles curiously asked.

Jorge cleared his throat.

'Edgar Mayce should be around 60 years old.'

"What do you mean?" Miles asked.

"The crime doc at the lab had a weird assessment of his age."

"Hmm...right... if he's gone for 20 years, shouldn't he be an old man by the time he resurfaces?"

"That's right. The crime laboratory checked his hair color and even his dental age, and although his face was bloated- they placed the age of 40 as an approximation of Edgar Mayce's true physical age. And another interesting aspect of the case is the...car.'

'What about it?'

'Except for the damage, it's color... looks new.'

Miles laughed.

"That's one f_cked up report!"

"The HQ did not believe the crime lab report after they reviewed it."

"I wonder where he hid during the last twenty years?"

"Why would he do that?"

"I don't know. What if he's running away?"

"That's an angle... but from whom? Anyway, the military confiscated the content of his bag found inside the car."

"What's inside the bag?"

"Big bottles filled with clear fluid."

"Any clue what it is?"

"No. Even if we do get it checked, it's difficult to request content analysis and have it analyzed at the HQ without prior approval from them." Jorge checked the gas. It's nearing empty.

"More like liquid narcotics to me."

"Could be."

"So after they found the body, where did they hand the bag?"

"The colonel said he gave the bag to the men from HQ."

"Colonel Riva?"

"Yes, our absentee boss...Colonel Riva."

"I counted the bag's content, and there were 6 bottles in it. The HQ said they received only 4."

Miles Sanchez's eyes widened.

"The colonel... took it then?"

"I cannot be sure. Anyway, that's disrespectful."

"Do you think there's something we didn't know that the Colonel knew already? Why is he away most of the time anyway? I know he is on medical leave but shouldn't he be reporting at least once in a while? Where did he go?"

Jorge saw the tall signage of a gas station after he traversed the curve.

"There's the gas station. We need to fill the tank. It's almost empty."

Jorge went inside the convenience store, and Miles was left alone to help fill the tank. He then asked for the tavern's direction at the gas attendant- an older man who probably lived all his life in the area.

"Tavern?" he asked. Thinking. "That's about 5 kilometers from here. Hummer's?"

"Yes," Miles responded.

"Ooh...know him?" the gas attendant asked.

Miles nodded his head. The gas attendant looked as if he had seen a ghost.

Then immediately left without saying a word. Jorge carried some groceries with him when he showed up.

"Let's go, Miles," Jorge said, but Miles just stood there. "What's wrong?"

Miles shook his head.

"Nothing. Let's go."

Inside the car, Miles could see the older man talking to the cashier inside the convenience store. Perhaps curious about the destination they are going to. They were about to leave when the cashier knocked on Jorge's window.

"Hello, sorry for interrupting you on your journey. I am Hummer's niece. My name is Cindy. I heard you are going to the tavern?"

Miles and Jorge looked at each other.

"Yes, Cindy, it is a police matter."

"Would you like me to help you? I know the place."

"Sure, hop in." Jorge unlocked the door at the back seat.

Cindy is around 28 years old, around five feet three in height, with a chiseled nose, light brown eye color, and shoulder-length auburn colored hair.

As they traveled up ahead, Cindy cannot help but ask some more questions.

"How did you know my uncle Hummer?"

Miles briefly glanced at her. "Jolly guy. He offered me food and his phone. I can't recall much of what we talked about, but he is a nice host."

"When did you last talk with him?"

MIles again looked at Cindy. She had her left palm covering her mouth.

"I talked to him two days ago."

Cindy suddenly burst into tears. Not saying a word. She tried to control her sobbing.

"Why? Something wrong?" Miles asked.

Cindy raised her arms, then shouted, "Stopped here. Yes, here!"

Jorge stopped at the side of the road. There's a couple of faded road signs that read "The Tavern" and another for "To Palindrome Drive."

Miles was not prepared to accept what he just saw. He told himself this cannot be. A remnant of an old burned down structure stood before them. It was so old that trees and tall grasses began to grow inside, covering burned woodpiles and dark stone slabs. The faded entrance sign that welcomes the guest is barely noticeable. Miles seemed confused as he climbed out of the car. The wind was kind of chilly that day, and it intensified the cringe Miles felt in his skin. Jorge followed him to check the inside of the burned house. He concluded something extraordinary was happening. Cindy walked near the entrance, her face buried in her palm as she sobbed.

Miles is panting hard, and his face flushed.

"Where is Hummer?" Miles asked.

"That's why I want to come with you. To know exactly why you come here at the tavern. Maybe I was wrong too. But my uncle died in the fire ten years ago!"

Miles cupped his mouth in disbelief. He instantly fell after losing control of both his knees. Jorge touched his forehead, confused with everything. There's got to be a rational explanation for all of this weirdness. But within himself, he could feel being sucked deep inside a rabbit hole, and he can't think of ways to pull himself out of its loophole.