Detective Gray looked the same as ever—silver highlights, bald patches, and wrinkly, rubber skin, his figure overfilling the obviously expensive navy tux he wore. It had been a long day, and Tamsin was in no mood to deal with the infuriating man today. While he shuffled his papers and sipped his disgusting black coffee, Tamsin's mind drifted back to this morning, when it had all started.
Lauren had been in tears at breakfast, not unusual given the outburst of Violet's a few days before. Lauren was embarrassed and blubbery about her sexuality, and they hadn't seen her for days. Today was the day she finally decided to join them again, which put Tamsin—and everybody else—on eggshells. Lauren was blatantly ignoring the presence of Violet, who turned red every time Lauren voiced a depressive thought. Then came Blake's comforting back-pats and soft murmurs, assuring her it would be all over soon. She wouldn't feel this way forever.
Tamsin tried to hide the fact she was walking on air. It was obvious that Brett was doing the same thing for the sake of their other friends. It wouldn't be fair of them to officially declare themselves a couple on such an awkward, not to mention sad, day.
Much as they tried to hide it, Tamsin felt like it was as obvious as if someone had written on her forehead: I am in a relationship with the man sitting next to me! She giggled at the thought, prompting another grin from Brett, who of course had his arm around her. Brett shuffled his chair a little closer to hers, the fabric of their jeans touching. Tamsin blushed suddenly, not really sure why.
She felt as if she didn't know herself at all lately. It wasn't like her to break down crying all the time, like she'd done yesterday over her brother's situation, and she was confused about the actions she was taking, who was her friend, who wasn't. And then Brett seemed to add to her list of complications, but it was a nice addition. He was somewhat of a distraction from the rest of her less-than-envious life.
That part of the day had been good, at least. Apart from Lauren's tears and the awkward conversation, breakfast's usual drama-fest was non-existent. But it was when piano class rolled around that things began to get ugly.
First, Mr. Pearson had lectured Tamsin—in front of the entire class—for not getting a start on her assignment. She could have listed another ten, maybe fifteen other peers who had also neglected their work, but kept her lips sealed. Mr. Pearson was right, in a way. The man was odd and eccentric and obviously had different sides to his multi-personality, but he was the educated one, not her. She should've started her assignment last week when it had been given.
After blindly accepting his insulting little spiel, Tamsin had got to work with Angus. She didn't know why—didn't know much about anything lately—but whenever she spoke to him, or even looked at him, the memory of Angus cradling her in his arms that day at the pond continued to resurface. She didn't know what they were—friends, acquaintances, whatever, but whatever odd relationship that might have been sprouting between them was long dead. Angus was cold and unhelpful when it came to the assignment. Tamsin had sighed countless times, trying to include him, trying for his opinion, but he just kept shutting her out, locked away in his own mind.
It had taken all of her patience to get past that.
After piano class, it was her lunch break, and so she'd headed to the cafeteria, expecting to see her friends there. She could have slapped herself for forgetting that Lina and Brett and all the others had different schedules. Their lunch was an hour away.
That left Tamsin only a few options: Eliza, Violet, Rachel or Angus.
She could easily rule out Rachel and Angus, since, a) Rachel hated her guts, and, b) Angus obviously didn't want to even talk to her. Besides, he was already off with his other group of guy friends and she didn't want to be the unexpected, awkward outsider who didn't fit in with the group but only sat there to gain some kind of social recognition. She didn't need any more social recognition than what she had.
That left her with Eliza or with Violet.
Eliza was a bitch, sure, but the girl was fun to be around sometimes and she could be really sweet. She hid her dark side behind those blue eyes and strawberry blonde curls easily. Tamsin felt like a breath of fresh air, a little fun, but that would leave Violet on her own, since she and Eliza were still on the outs. Then again, she knew Rachel would be with Eliza and didn't want to risk causing a scene. What was a girl to do?
A girl was to sit on her own, away from her maybe-friends, apparently.
One agonisingly boring hour later, the bell rang for a class switch. Thankfully, Tamsin was finished for the day, and so she headed back up to her dorm—only to find that an appointment with Detective Gray had been made and she was expected to meet him in the common room in half an hour. Geez. What a lucky girl she was today.
She snapped back into the present and Detective Gray sighed, waiting expectantly. Tamsin frowned. 'Did you say something?'
'You were daydreaming,' he huffed, but like he didn't expect anything else. 'Did I not make myself clear last time? This is serious—'
'You made that abundantly clear.' Tamsin gritted her teeth at the annoying man.
He blinked. 'Well. Let's get on with it, then, assuming you're finished with whatever reverie you managed to dredge up?'
Tamsin glared at him. 'Yes, let's.'
He pursed his lips. 'Miss Gilbert, I'd prefer this not be a repeat of last time.'
'It won't be.'
'Are you sure?'
She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. 'Just get on with it, Detective Gray.'
'I'm going to ask you the same questions as before and this time, I want detailed and thoughtful answers. Is that understood?' His piercing blue eyes stabbed into her.
'Yes.'
'Good. Let's begin with the first question—what happened on the night of March 25?'
'That's a very generalised question.'
'Humour me.' He replied bluntly.
'Well, that day was the same as any other. I went to breakfast, went to classes, and then later that night, I came back to the dorm. I fell asleep and then afterwards I woke up again. I thought I'd heard a noise.'
'Can you specify this noise?'
'It was just like a...a thud. Or something. Yeah. I don't really remember.'
He jotted something down. 'Go on.'
'So, I got up to check it out. I was nervous. It wasn't the first time I'd heard a noise.'
Suddenly, Detective Gray's pen slipped from his grasp and onto the floor. His brows raised. He didn't bother picking up the pen, just retrieved a new one from his briefcase. 'Oh? Tell me more.'
'About the noises? The first few times I'd assumed it was just sounds from the refrigerator or something. The first time I heard it, I was in the shower and I heard a smash. The second time I was sleeping and I heard another thud. And then the last time, well, you know.'
'Right. So what did you do when you woke up?'
'I walked across the room and I seemed to bump into someone,' she bit her lip nervously. 'They had long hair. I could feel their shoulders—it was definitely a girl. A tall, skinny girl. I pulled their hair and tried to do something, I don't really remember considering I was half-asleep, and then I was clocked in the head. That's all I know.'
'You say they had long hair...' he jotted something else down. 'And you think it was a female.'
'It was definitely a girl,' she said firmly. 'I'm 100% positive.'
'Yes, well, as you said, you were half asleep. It could have been a very slim male with long hair. Men are not subjected to crew cuts, Miss Gilbert.' His tone was sour.
She pressed her lips together, ignoring his jibe.
'Was there anything else...especially unique about this person? Something that would leave them easily identifiable?'
'It pains me to say it, but no. Just the long hair and thin body.'
Detective Gray nodded grimly. 'I thought as much.' He flipped his notebook closed. 'Alright, well, there isn't much more I can do. I'll try and monitor the surveillance cameras for any more information, but until something more inspiring arises, I'm afraid we must leave this alone.'
'You mean, you can't do anything else at all?'
'If that's all you remember, no.'
Her eyes closed and she sighed. 'Okay. Thanks, I guess.' There was a drawn out pause before he spoke again.
'Miss Gilbert, at the risk of sounding obnoxious and obscenely conceited, I am the most sought-after, highly paid detective in the state. If this person is out there, I'm going to find them.'
And, in an odd way, she sort of loved the man for saying that to her. She managed a small smile. 'If you say so, Detective. If you say so.'
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