Death of a Nightingale

CHAPTER 14: GONE

It's so tense, that you could cut the air in the kitchen with a knife. Matt, Ness' bewildered boss, sits across from me and goes over the story again. The police officers follow his every word.

"She came in like she always did, a little off though."

"What was off about her?" One of the younger cops asks.

"She seemed anxious. Very anxious. One of her regular callers Zoomed in and she passed it on to me and the new hire."

Matt's eyes widen. This means nothing to the officers so I clarify.

"Ness is very by the book, she would never pass on a client she cares about."

They nod and note it down.

"Then she asked me for a cigarette and said she needed fresh air."

There are a few more blank stares from the officers until Matt continues.

"She doesn't smoke. But I gave her my lighter and a cigarette and that's the last time I saw her."

My shoulders slump forward. There is a rational explanation for this, I know that. She's gonna come in laughing here any second. But there is dread building deep within me.

The officer sees it too.

"You're the boyfriend?"

I nod.

"He's more like a son-in-law." I smile but it's lopsided.

"Where were you this evening?"

I blink.

"What?"

"It's routine."

Suddenly I'm wide awake. This hits like a cold shower.

"I was in my lab. We had an emergency." I state.

"An emergency? With the fish?"

I could not care less for the tone and his implications. But I stay calm.

"Yes, in fact. We had an emergency with the fish. Someone dumped buckets of blood into the shark tank and started a feeding frenzy. We closed the entire aquarium."

Matt's eyes grow even wider.

"Human blood?"

I hadn't even thought of that.

"I don't think so. I don't know."

There is a pause and I go over the possibility of this being a lot more sinister.

"So you haven't seen her since she left the aquarium this morning?"

"I haven't."

One of them walks over to the living room and starts calling someone. His colleague looks at me, explaining.

"He has to check your story. Rule things out."

I know they're just doing their job, but this still feels foul. On top of missing my girlfriend, and not knowing what's happened to her, now I have to prove that I am in fact not connected to her disappearance.