[2022 Wattys shortlisted story]
A missing family. A twenty year old murder. An old ghost story. And a private detective from London. But what do they all have in common? It's the job of DCI Neo Denzel to figure it all out.
In the quiet town of Mart...
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Neo felt bone tired by the time he turned his front door key, feeling a simple pleasure as the lock disengaged. He pulled the door open and dumped his stuff straight in the doorway.
'I'm home,' he called.
'In here, Dad,' Dante shouted from the kitchen.
Neo padded down the hallway in just his socks, placing his shoes in the rack as he went passed. He rocked back on his heels when he saw Charlie standing at the island, chopping up a bunch of green looking leaves.
'Hey Chief, thought since I was causing you so much trouble I may as well cook you dinner to make up for it.' Charlie lifted her head and smiled at him.
'And it smells delicious, Dad,' Dante exclaimed, inching forward to linger over the saucepan with a dreamy expression.
'How was work, Dad? Charlie said you may have had a hard day.'
Neo turned to his daughter, who was still looking pale but much better than when he'd left her that morning.
'It was challenging,' he answered drily, noting the smirk that covered Charlie's face.
Challenging was putting it mildly, and both he and Charlie knew it. But there was no need to worry his children.
Dante didn't seem to notice anything amiss, but Willow watched him like a hawk. Even hungover, she was still hyper aware of other people.
'So what's cooking?' Neo headed towards the stove and watched the pasta boiling in the water.
'Pasta carbonara. We need some sustenance after today,' Charlie replied.
'Anything I can do to help?' It felt weird to have someone else in his house cooking him food.
'I've already got one chou chef.' Charlie pointed to Dante, who was hovering around her like a little puppy waiting for scraps.
'Right. Well, would you like a drink? I have red, white, or a few ciders? Or we could stick to non-alcoholic.' Neo frowned. After the day he had, he really wanted a crisp white wine to go with his pasta.
'White would go well,' Charlie said.
Neo collected the glasses whilst Dante drained the pasta. He popped the cork just as Charlie cracked a few eggs into the pan and covered the pasta with cheese.
She finished with a bit of parsley and dished it out into four large bowls.
'Think I'll eat mine in the living room. You coming, Dante?' Willow headed out. Dante, his mouth already stuffed with pasta, followed her without a glance at his dad.
'Well, I think I've been dismissed,' Neo said, making Charlie laugh.
They took a seat opposite each other and dug into the food. Neo moaned with appreciation as the tangy, cheesy pasta hit his tongue.
