[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 spent the rest of the afternoon, after leaving the Phillips' house, lost in thought. There were just so many parts to what was happening that bothered him. The unexplained disappearance of the Bennett's, Jane Bennett's connection to a twenty-year-old murder case that happened at the exact place she and her family disappeared, the coverup by Palmer and her associates, and now a glass decanter that had seemingly vanished.
The case unsettled him, an experience he wasn't used to feeling. He'd agonised over what little the reports had to say, but the investigation had been flawed from the start. Palmer's involvement only added to the issue.
Neo flipped his pad over and stared at the cover. It was boring and grey, nothing fancy and nothing that could distract him from his thoughts.
His kids had left an hour ago with Samira, and that had left him out of sorts. The doorbell ringing brought him back to the now, and he placed his pad on a neat pile of other items related to the case. He'd take them back to his study later.
Charlie stood on his doorstep, a brown paper bag dangling from her fingers.
'You sure it's okay to leave my car here? You're already in enough trouble with Rosy as it is.' She inclined her head towards her beat up jeep.
Neo waved off her concerns and opened the door wider to let her in.
'My neighbours left for Tenerife yesterday, so there's no one to tell her unless someone drives by the road.' And considering Neo and his kids lived in a dead-end street, that seemed unlikely.
Charlie shrugged off her coat and placed her trainers by the door.
'Well I got the Chinese so let's get this pity party started.' She smiled to make a joke out of her words, but Neo could tell she'd been crying. It left a nagging pain in his stomach to see her so much more diminished compared to the woman he'd grown to know as Charlotte Hoggins.
'You don't like to show you're hurting, do you?' Neo asked, taking the food bag from her, his fingers grazing her own for a fraction of a second longer than he should have.
Charlie's eyes flashed to his, and he watched as she swallowed.
'Let's just say I never saw the point. Crying and moaning won't do anything. It won't bring them back or give me answers. I should focus on the things I can change, not on ghosts.'
She rendered Neo speechless. He'd been around numerous victims in his time with the force, but he'd never met one quite like Charlie, and something told him he never would. She was brave, clever, and undeniably a force to be reckoned with, which only made this much sadder side harder to bear.
'Let's eat this in the living room. Good takeout should always be eaten on your lap, anyway,' Neo said in response, not sure what else he could say. Nothing would take away her pain. But there had to be a way for him to ease it.
