6. Dottie Palmwater

Elfrida

Looking through the recorded statements of everyone Dottie came in contact with within the week before she went missing, I noticed they all said the same thing. She didn't act strange whatsoever, she was fine, and didn't really see anyone strange with her who could have been that mystery boyfriend, but they were quite sure she had one. The only anomalies were the Palmwaters, and Zuri.

Which doesn't make sense at all-

A soft knock on my office door had me raising my head in that direction, as the door pushed open, revealing Rhett's smiley face. "Busy?"

I returned the smile softly. "Uh no, not really."

He nodded, coming into the office. "Kai told me about what happened yesterday. He said you had a small accident just outside of the Bane woods? Are you okay?"

I tried to make sure my smile wasn't strained. "I'm okay, it was a small accident, nothing serious at all."

"If you need a break, you can head home early--"

"No no, it's fine, really. I'm all good. Strong enough to live through the hours." I chuckled.

I've seen and faced worse.

He gave a sigh of relief. "Okay, if that's the case, I'm glad you're fine." He smiled.

"Thank you."

"No thanks needed. I'll leave you to continue whatever it was you were doing."

I maintained my smile, wondering if I should tell him about my doubts about the Dottie Palmwater's case.

He was about to head out when he turned back. "Uh, one more thing Elfrida."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I got word that you've been asking questions around town about the Dottie Palmwater case."

I paused, my brows raised. That was fast. "Oh... Well. It was amongst the files you asked me to give to Courtney. I noticed something weird about the case, and I had some doubts, and I just wanted to confirm."

He nodded thoughtfully before speaking. "Dottie's case was a really sensitive one for this town. If word really gets out to the public that the new deputy sheriff is asking questions, I'm afraid that would be you raising up hopes and keeping the whole town on edge. I suggest you leave it be." He said, the stern look in his eyes making me question a whole lot of things. "After all, there are some cases that are better left unsolved."

I frowned at this.

Then he smiled again. "Don't stress too much." He said, before walking out of my office, and closing the door gently behind him.

If anything, his little warning only had me more curious, and only confirmed my suspicions about Dottie's case being more than it was painted out to be.

I rested my hand on my chin, my mind trying to connect the invisible dots.

"What really happened to you, Dottie." I whispered to myself and the silent office.

* * *

Even as I sat at the Bane Cave waiting for Sasha and Owens, my mind wouldn't stop trying to pin a valid and more reasonable cause to Dottie's disappearance.

I don't know why I'm so bothered about this, but I guess it comes with the NYPD instincts still rushing through my veins. There's always something more to cases like this.

Rhett's warning fueled my interest in this case.

Did he know something? Does he know where Dottie is?

The questions just keep piling up.

Where did she go? And why was her car found right outside Bane woods? Did the police department know the real truth? Are these statements fake and just for front? Was someone trying to cover up the case?

I sighed, looking around the busy restaurant, just in time to see Sasha and her boyfriend, Owens, coming towards my direction.

Owens was a normal cool looking guy, with glasses over his dark eyes, full brows and short hair. He had a polite smile on his face when they reached the booth I sat in.

I smiled, getting to my feet and going into Sasha's open arms. "Hey, you're early."

"Didn't want to keep you waiting alone." Sasha smiled, pulling away from the hug. "Elfrida, officially meet Owens, Owens, my best friend Elfrida, the one that I will never shut up about."

I grinned in a chuckle, accepting Owens' gentle handshake. "Nice to meet you, Owens."

"Nice to meet you too. It is great to finally put a face to the name."

I smiled. "I can say the same as well."

We all settled in the booth and ordered our dinner. It was beginning to seem like a cool evening, and the thoughts of Dottie had subsided a little.

"I heard you were at Westbane High today." Sasha said, as she chewed.

I nodded. "Yeah, I was for a little bit."

"Oh, and you were there for?"

I shrugged. "I wanted to ask Zuri Brooke some questions about Dottie."

"Is the case reopening?" Owens asked, his eyes wide.

I shook my head. "No no, nothing like that. I just had some doubts about it all, and I wanted to confirm some things."

His shoulders sulked. "That's a shame, Dottie was such a nice kid. For her to go missing so suddenly, is shady. The police should have done something more about it. Settling for some sick excuse of her running off with a boy is neither satisfactory nor professional."

Sasha's eyes widened. "Owens! Don't talk like that about the station. They did their best."

I furrowed my brows. "Did you know her?" I directed my question to Owens.

He nodded. "There wasn't a day Dottie wouldn't stop by Speedy fingers. She was an excellent gamer."

"Oh... Did you ever give your statement?"

"Yes of course I did." He answered.

"That's strange... I didn't see it."

He frowned. "See, shady. I spoke the absolute truth. Dottie loved speedy fingers, and sometimes she'd bring over cookies and help the young kids with games that were hard for them to understand. Although there was this one time she came in with a boy I had never seen before in town."

"Owens, you promised not to say anything!" Sasha whisper yelled.

"It was all in the statement I gave, babe." He said.

"So there was really a boyfriend?" I asked, my interest piquing.

Sasha sighed. "We're not entirely sure." She said. "When she went missing, no one knew what happened, there was no body found, no belongings or trail in Bane woods. Just her car parked at the side of the road. When the rumor came up about her running off with her secret boyfriend, my mind went off to the day I spotted her sneaking out during school hours. She got into this cool motorcycle with some guy and they drove off. It was the same day Owens told me she went to speedy fingers with a strange guy who didn't look like he was from Westbane."

"He had a sort of rough look to him." Owens added. "I wasn't comfortable with him being in the store with her, and I called her to a corner and asked who he was... She told me he was a friend of hers who also adored gaming. Not to pry and make her uncomfortable, I let her be... Few weeks later, she went missing."

I relaxed back in the booth. "Why didn't you guys say anything? That guy could have been tracked down."

"How? We don't know his name or where he lived. Although I made a statement about it, hoping something could be done. But it never yielded any kind of result."

I bit my lower lip. "From the looks of it, either she really did run off with that boy or he kidnapped her."

"I'm thinking, most likely the latter." Owens said.

"Why?"

"The Dottie I know wouldn't just run off with some boy, even if he was her secret boyfriend. She adored Westbane and she couldn't leave her parents all by themselves. She was the only child. A real good kid."

"But we can't tell, can we? He might have filled her head with all kinds of love talk, and Dottie is pretty naive." Sasha spoke.

Owens nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

I sighed. "I hope she's okay and happy wherever she is, and that she isn't hurt... Or worse."

They both nodded solemnly.

A sudden rush swirled through me, goosebumps rising on my skin, my gaze snapped to the entrance of the restaurant, just in time to see Kai bidding goodbye to a middle aged man, the smile on his face ever dashing and compelling.

Within a blink of an eye, he was out of the restaurant.

I caught myself. "Uh... Excuse me, I'll be right back." I said, already standing and rushing towards the entrance.

Thankfully, he hadn't gone very far.

"Kai!" I called just as I jogged up to him.

He turned immediately, a smile appearing on his face as he saw me. "Elfie, fancy seeing you here."

I furrowed my brows, the smile on my face still there. "What? Elfie? My name's El-"

"Elfrida, I know. Elfie is shorter, and it suits you." He gave a polite smile. "Are you out here alone?"

"No, I'm not, just with some friends. I saw you leaving and I just had to stop and thank you for yesterday. The car works perfectly and it's like nothing ever hit it."

"Oh, pssh, you don't have to thank me. It was my pleasure. Hope you're better now? No concussion?"

His concern had warmth flowing to my cheeks, my heart thumping gently but aware in my chest.

"None, none at all."

"Great. That's a-" his phone beeped on his grip. "Oh, excuse me for a sec."

His weird eyes, still their weird color, perused through the message he just received.

A frown pulled down his brows immediately.

It was like his face morphed into someone else. The frown fit him perfectly, almost like that was his normal facial expression. The smile that was there a second ago completely gone, had me lost in this side of him. Dark eyes rereading the text, hard lines of his face collecting the shadows of the night like it was meant for him, his jaw clenched and set, had my heart going wild in my chest without warning.

Immediately, he looked up. "You okay?" He asked, his face still hard, his voice deeper and even more... dominating?

"Y-yeah... Although I should be asking you that. You seem quite um- different."

"Do I now?" He grinned, and it was feral, not at all friendly. I swear I saw a glimpse of his sharp canines at the corners of his mouth, but I knew that was normal, I had noticed it yesterday since he smiled a lot. But today, they looked sharper and sort of-- different?

I managed a small nod. "Yeah... But is everything okay?"

He tilted his head, studying me for a bit, probably wondering why I still stood there, talking to him while he looked like someone who was about to rip whoever texted him into pieces.

His expression did scare me, but my feet were pinned to the ground, my heart thumping hard against my chest. I wanted-- no no... That's not it... It felt like I needed to know if he was okay, before I took my leave.

"I'm okay." He said. "Just some family issues I gotta take care of. I'm sorry to cut this short, Elfie."

I nodded, feeling like I could move again. "Sure, it's no problem, you should go take care of whatever it is."

With a curt nod, he walked away, his strides fast and large, as he got into his truck, driving away furiously.

I just stood there, dumbstruck, and even more.... Intrigued?

But still... What the hell just happened?

* * *

Unable to sleep, I tossed and turned in bed, my mind working through Dottie's case and Kai's strange behavior... Most of all, Kai's strange behavior. Something serious must have happened with his family.

You would think a cheerful person like that wouldn't look good with a frown. In fact, you would think that kind of frown had no place on the face of a person like that.

But that was wrong. It suited him. It made his cheerful aura seem like a cover up for that deadly aura I saw on him today. It freaked me out, yet at the same time, it didn't. All I cared about at that moment, was his well being.

But isn't that a bit strange? I don't even know the guy. Why was I so concerned about him? Why do I feel strange, different, and somehow safe around him?

I had sensed his presence. I was most definitely sure of it. The rush was like a propelling force, making a huge arrow, pointing to where he was, but I didn't want to think much about it.

I was curious to know what really happened with his family... Was it something truly serious? Is anyone hurt?

I groaned, my eyes snapping open for the thousandth time.

A notification sound from my phone, had me reaching for it.

It was a text from an unknown number.

:

Elfrida, it's Kai. Sorry about earlier today, family sometimes can be a pain. But it's all sorted out now. I got your number from Rhett, in case you were wondering. Have a nice night.

I sat up, rereading the text.

The sudden rush flowing through me, had my gaze snapping to my window. The thumping in my chest increased as I got off the bed, walking over to my window, and pulling the curtains aside to be met with a dark starless night.

I looked down, not sure what I was looking for. It was quiet outside, no one around.

But...

Why the hell does it feel like someone was just outside?