You couldn't turn on a radio or tv without hearing about ‘The mysterious murder of Evelyn Mitchells’ the mother of two, found butchered in her home. Reporters harassed police for weeks as they tried to pry for any and all info, that they could get their grubby little hands on. Fear spread among the citizens and created a wave of paranoid parents, rich folk renewing their security plans, and people side-eying each as they passed each other.
On the news, everyone from the host themselves, to random neighbors they interviewed gave their own theories as to what happened. “It was a scorned lover.” Said one neighbor who had a thick Scottish accent. Another neighbor tied it to a conservative talking points about crime and homelessness, demanding a police crackdown on all vagrants in the area.
Of course, a few people suspected a correlation between her death and the women found on the road, but the police had yet to even solve that mystery, so it was a tenuous connection at best. The Millers, next door neighbors of the Mitchell’s family, claimed they were home during the attack but saw no one enter or leave the house outside of Chris, who they said left in a rage. Some speculated suicide but those who knew Evelyn, even a little, knew she wasn’t the type.
It was definitely the talk of the town. Yet, for as much as a interest as people had in postulating over the culprit, very little concern was shown for her now orphaned children. That wasn’t to say there weren’t people who offered their condolences, but no one really seemed to care outside of that first week. The two were relocated to a hotel for the time being, paid and provided for by Chris’s least favorite cop.
Chris did what he could to keep his mind busy by finding any and every distraction he could; walks, solo hockey practice, listening to aggressive punk music at every waking moment, and keeping the hotel room clean; he even didn’t mind cleaning up after Liah, for once she had an excuse.
Liah barely ate, slept or talked. Most days were spent under a blanket burying her face into a pillow, or staring at the wall absentmindedly as if the lights were on but no one was home. Every now and again, she’d pull herself out of bed for a shower that lasted at least two hours and involved more crying than taking care of her hygiene. Neither tv nor Anna’s company couldn’t give her reprieve from the horror of that night.
Chris hadn’t the slightest clue as to how to talk to her. Every time he tried, the convo was short and filled with awkward small talk that never went anywhere. Both avoided the subject of Evelyn like the plague.
Every knock of the door sent shivers down Chris’s spine, even though he knew that it could only be one of two people, the cleaning service, or that dastardly officer and it was the latter. She’d come by every few days to check on them and bring things from the house like clothes or other important mementos from the house, once they were clear as evidence of course. This time, she had brought some groceries, nothing fancy, just some easy food they could store in their hotel mini fridge, microwave dinners, cereal and the sorts.
No attempt to greet or make small talk with the officer was made by either of them, Chris was actively ignoring her, and Liah was stuck so far in her own mind to even pay her any attention. Officer Freeland placed the groceries on top of the fridge and proceeded to wait as they got ready for school. It was their first day back since the incident and neither were looking forward to it, and their presentation made that clear, especially Liah who was wearing an obviously dirty gray shirt.
An offer to drive them to school was made, but Chris was quick to decline in a blatant display of contempt; the more she tried to help, the more he made it a point to show her it was unwelcomed. Liah accepted without a word as she walked to the cop’s car, head hung low and having forgotten her backpack along the way. The idea of her taking a ride from the cop filled Chris with unease, and yet, he couldn’t form the words to tell her no, so instead, he just silently headed off to school in the late November weather.
Once at school, he was bombarded with more ‘sympathies’ that to him felt faker than a reality show. I know they are all trying to be kind, but cheap politeness isn’t gonna make me feel better.
The only other thing that happened beyond that was the introduction of a new classmate but he was his mind was preoccupied with just getting through the day, so he barely paid her any mind, instead just hung his head low and counted down the hours until class ended; he didn’t even remember her name, or even look at her face.
Throughout the day he kept an eye out for Liah to see how she was doing. Between the first and second period, and during lunch, he spotted her. It didn’t take a degree in psychology to tell she was having a rough time, but at least she was with Anna and safe.
However, between the third and fourth period she was nowhere to be seen. Maybe I just missed her, or she headed straight for her next class? Then he saw Anna, on her own, frantically roaming the halls. She almost jumped out of her shoes when Chris tapped her on the shoulder, in turn, he also startled himself. “Is everything alright?” Chris asked, still trying to catch his breath.
“No, Liah had a breakdown last period and ran out of class?” Anna continued to explain that it was sudden and without warning. When he asked her why she didn’t chase after her then, Anna told him the teacher wouldn’t let her leave class.
Well this is just great, the last thing I need right now. He suggested looking for her together, but Anna stated that her parents would ground her if they ever found out she skipped a class. So, she gave him her number before heading out. He continued to run up and down the halls looking for Liah, checking every stairwell and hidden crevice, even taking his search just outside of the school.
When it came to checking the bathrooms, he asked various girls who were entering to check for her, most complied, either out of kindness or understanding of the situation, or a mixture of both. When all else failed he reported to the office, who sent out an announcement for anyone to report to them if they saw her or knew anything.
By the end of the school day there was still no sight of her. Chris and Anna met back up at the front foyer to discuss a strategy. Apparently, a fellow classmate from Anna’s from 4th period saw Liah leave the building through one of the back stairwells, but that was it. The two agreed to split up and search for her, Anna was going to check all their favorite spots and Chris agreed to check the back stairwell exit where she was last seen.
In truth Chris had little idea what he should even be looking for. Her scent? Foot tracks? A lock of her hair? A professional tracker he was not, but he did manage to find part of her keychain; specifically, a small figure of some spiky-haired blond kid with a silly orange jumpsuit that she hung on it; It was part of her b-day from Evelyn last year, alongside some manga. Did she take this off on purpose? A quick look showed that the string used to hang it off the keychain had snapped. Surely, she could have fixed it, right?
The snow was light, and the wind had been blowing something fierce, so whatever tracks might have been there were now gone. But as he looked up, he spotted his first lead in the form of two boys walking in the distance, specifically, the shaggy haired kid who ran out of his house and the jean jacketed punk kid who were at his house during the time of the murder.
Everything happened so fast after he saw the body, and the shock of it all lead him to forget about them since that night. For a moment, he reasoned that if they were involved in any significant way, they would have been arrested. But then again if the police in this town are anything like Freeland, can I really trust them? All he knew was the boys were going to soon be out of his view, so he did the only rational thing one could, and followed them.
