Casper Hardwin, 13 weeks after the accident
Jay's head is hanging over the bed, as she eyes me pacing back and forth her tiny bedroom.
"Would you just sit down," She rolls onto her belly, "we'll figure it out."
"That's what we've been saying for weeks! 13 weeks since everyone saw her last. 13 weeks wasted on making stupid plans to find her." I stress.
"Listen, I saw Clark like. . . 2 weeks ago, acting a little shady. I don't trust him, but Miller seems to trust him so. . . There is nothing we can do about it.
"What did you see, the night you called me, I mean."
"It was the day you were at the station, that night I saw him walking around town and since I just got off my shift, I walked past your parents' house. He was walking on the opposite end and stopped for a second, just looking at it. It gave me an eerie feeling."
"We might have to follow him. He says he's from around here but I have no idea where he lives."
"I don't think any of us do. Okay, so we know he works in the hospital in the city – we could start asking around there?"
"Hmm, I don't think they will give two teenagers private info."
"You know Yentl, what if you just tell a little lie to get her to you where he lives?"
"Like what?" I sighed.
"Tell him you want to personally deliver flowers to him to thank him for looking after your parents so well."
"That's suspicious, though."
"No, he's suspicious – he definitely knows something we don't." Jailah stated.
"Okay, so a plan. Maybe we should ask Miller to help us out here."
"His hands are tied, I think. It's best we go it alone. We can just follow him and check out where he lives. If Miller gets involved, and we're there, we can't just wave it off with an excuse."
"Tonight then, we will go to the hospital and see if he's working a shift. If not, we'll ask Yentl the address."
~~
There's something about hospitals I dislike with every bone in my body. Sure, doctors and nurses are working hard to help everyone get better and safe lives, but this is also the place my parents died in and my sister never reached.
After walking around for about fifteen minutes, Jay and I have come to the conclusion that Clark was either not working, or not on this floor. Luckily for me, Yentl was.
"And why do you need his address?" Yentl absentmindedly asked us while running her hands through some papers.
I eye Jailah, waiting for her to come up with a convincing lie.
"It's just that, my friend here, Casper. . . He'd like to personally thank doctor Clark for the good care. He hadn't. . . Had the chance."
Yentl looks up, straight into our pleading eyes. God, I just hope she cooperates.
"But, doctor Clark wasn't taking care of your parents – you must've mistaken him with doctor Brown."
Shit.
"It's not just that, Yentl. It's just that he's been. . . er, so involved in looking for my missing sister, Juliet. In passing, he always asked if he could do something for me and he was actively keeping his eyes and ears open, that's why I need to thank him. . . And discuss. . . Discuss with him that the case will be closing."
"Oh."
"Yeah," Jailah added, "we really want to talk to him about that. Juliet's case closing is surprisingly early for all of us, but since doctor Clark is such a. . . supporting pillar through all of this, we'd like to go and talk to him."
"I'm sorry to hear the police can't do more. You could still try hanging up flyers, or better – post on social media."
"Been there, done that, Yentl. It's been 13 weeks and detective Miller is done."
"But we aren't here to talk about that, can you tell us where Clark resides?" Jay pushes.
Yentl shrugs. "I don't know where he lives. He keeps to himself a lot."
"Are you serious?" I groaned.
"All I know is – he lives in between your town and the city, that's the direction I always see him driving in. So possibly along the road. . . of the, eh-"
"Of the crash. Okay, got it. Thanks Yentl." I drum my hands on the counter and turn around to start towards the elevator.
Now it all adds up. If he really did take my sister, like Jay and I suspect, then it would make sense he was first at the scene because he lives so close.
"So, are we going to check it out?"
"Dead or alive, by his hands or not – I want justice for my sister and I won't stop until I have answers. We're going, tonight."
Jay and I have successfully traced his home, it really is in the middle of the woods, but close by the road between the city and town. It's a dark night, and only the contours of the house are visible through the moonlight. This man probably doesn't like to be seen – hence there is no outdoor lighting.
Jay and I move in closer, trying to check if our number one suspect is home. The house seems empty, and upon taking a closer look, we realize no one is home. I suggest to Jay that I want to break in and check things out, but she violently shakes her head.
"Bad idea." She whispered, "Law's on his side if we do that."
"Fuck the law." I snapped.
"Shh, be quiet. You can't just break and enter; you never know where someone might be lurking around here. We're going to get the truth out, but we're going to do it with Miller."
Jay squeezes my hand, drawing my eyes up to hers.
"Miller will take ages, we have to take measures into our own hands."
"There is a line to be drawn, Cas. If you get arrested, no one will look for Juliet."
I hate that Jay says things like that, but I suppose she is right. The people in town are useless and search parties have long been suspended.
"We're going to return here, okay?" I proposed to Jay, "on a night he is home. Until then, we can just check him out from a distance."
Jailah nods in agreement, the place spooking her out. She doesn't hesitate to get up and leave,this eerie looking house in woods is not exactly a place I want to stay at either. We decide to head home and follow along with the just proposed plan.
Jay walks to the driver's side of the car so I know where I belong. I sit down and sigh. Creeping around like we have done for the last weeks never gets old, I always feel nervous doing it and I know Jay hates it, yet she always tags along. She has strong gut feelings she devotes her energy to, nothing coms in between those.
"Are you feeling okay?" She broke the silence.
"I still don't know where my sister is, and at this point I don't even know if I will ever see her again."
"I know, it's been a long time since we last saw her, but we've come so far, we can't quit now. I think we have a strong lead here."
"I'm not sure," I sighed and shifted in my seat, "This Clark guy is weird, maybe even suspicious but I don't know if it will be enough."
"If detective Miller doesn't want to help us out anymore, we can always go after him ourselves."
"Wow, funny hearing that come out of your mouth, since you're such a goody-two-shoes."
"Hey, just because my dad is a cop doesn't mean I am always an angel." Jay laughs.
I laugh along and pause for a second. "I really love you, Jailah Webster."
Her eyes are glued to the road out in front of us. I see a recognizable glister in her eye. She presses her full lips together while I adoringly study her face.
"I love you too, I'm always here for you."
Short chapter, but we're almost at the end. A few chapters to go to find out the fate of Juliet, Casper and Evan. Are you all excited? What do you think will happen? Anything you would really like to read involving these characters?
I hope you liked this chapter!