Chapter 2
After the girl was sent into another room, Adeline went home and Maya stayed by her sister side just like what her sister did for her in past. The inspector came half an hour later because he got lost in the hospital.
“How is she doing?” The inspector asked Maya while he looked at the girl. Maya took a glance of her sister.
“She’s fine on the outside but not in her mind. The incident before just increase the trauma she had before. The doctors gave her sleeping pills and will check on her later again.” Maya softly pushed her sister’s hair away from her face. The inspector gave a small smile and leaned his back on the nearest wall.
“At least there is someone taking care of her. Anyway have you ever known a man named John Thomson?” The inspector looked at Maya and Maya took a while to think about it. Maya couldn’t think of anyone she knew named John Thomson. Maya shook her head and looked at the inspector peculiarly. “I’m sorry but it’s because this man had paid all of your sister’s hospital bill including buying a wheel chair. He said he was an acquaintance of your sister but all the evidence we have, shown no connection of him to her at all. We thought we could ask your sister for the answer but you can see why we can’t.” The inspector took a glance of the girl and looked at Maya again.
“Sorry to disappoint you but I haven’t seen or contacted my family for so long. I don’t really know who they have met these past few years. But inspector please don’t ask her when she’s still unstable I’m afraid it would make it worse.” Maya looked depressed while she thought of all those years she had missed from being with her family.
“I can’t make any promises but I’ll try on making it happen.” Maya gave a weak smile and the inspector accepted it as a thank you. The inspector took a chair and sat on it. “In the past did anyone you remember hated your family or even had a revenge with any of you?”
He looked even more serious after he finished asking.
“No, no one hated our family. We never really did anything bad. Mom and dad were always busy with their work and charity events. They even rarely come back home. We get to talk with each sometimes but usually when we follow to them to all the boring occasions. But that time it seemed as if everything was fine.” Maya held one of her sister’s hands and looked as if she was going to burst to tears.
“It seems as if most of your childhood had only sister if excluding the butlers and maids.” Maya gave a nod and looked even more depress than before. “One last question, did you have any connection with the mass murder that happened during the 29th of February?” The inspector asked Maya with a calm and serious tone.
Maya was surprise and disgusted of the question the inspector had asked. “No. I didn’t have any connection at all to the mass murder that happen that day. In any case at all why should I do that? My mother and father were killed, my sister is traumatized and my old friends are dead. I didn’t have time to ask for their forgiveness.” Tears fell down from Maya’s eyes while she said all that to the inspector. She never thought she would be a suspect of the murder of her own mother and father.
“I am extremely sorry but I had to ask. Since this is one of my jobs as the inspector and to me right now almost everyone who was there before, during and after the murder are suspects.” The inspector explained the reason and stopped asking because he knew what he needed, for now.
“It’s okay.” Maya wiped her tears and looked at her sister, remembering the promise she made with her. She thought in her mind “I’ll never break that promise like in the past. I can’t stand seeing her suffer so much.”
After 3 hours went away Maya fell a sleep by her sister side. The inspector stayed awake by bringing a book and being too worried to sleep. Someone knocked the door, the inspector opened to see Adeline. “Adeline.” Adeline gave a nod and asked for permission to come in. The inspector lets her in. “I’m going to visit Jake while I do that, you should take care of them.”
Adeline gave a nod and asked “Have the doctor came to check her condition?”
“Yes he had but he seems as if he wasn’t to happy of what had happen.” The inspector looked to the side as he felt bad for her situation, Adeline also gave the same reaction. The inspector went out of the room. Maya woke up and gave a smile to Adeline. She rubbed her eyes and went to the bathroom to wash her face. The girl waked up suddenly looking pale and terrified.
“Where’s Maya?” She asked franticly, looking around the room. Adeline sat by her side and tried to comfort her.
“She went to wash her face in the bathroom. There’s nothing to worry about she’ll be fine.” Adeline massaged the girls back softly. “She’ll come back soon.” Adeline held her hand. The girl leaned on her shoulder. Maya walked in and quickly went to her sister side. Adeline let’s go of the girl and back away giving Maya space with her sister. Maya wiped away the sweat on the girl’s face with a small towel she brought in her handbag. The girl smiled sweetly feeling relief seeing her sister was safe and still there. Maya held her close and tried her best to make her sister feel comfortable.
In Jake’s room
Jake was busy finding more information in his laptop when the inspector came in. “Hello inspector.” Jake greeted politely.
“Hi Jake.” The inspector took a chair and sat down. “How are you doing?” The inspector sounded a bit concerned.
Jake smiled and answered with a “Well I’m alive luckily the bullet didn’t kill me.”
“That’s good to hear but don’t you think it’s a bit peculiar that you got shot in the stomach rather than straight to the head.” The inspector leaned back on the chair. Jake frowned when he thought of it again.
“Yeah I thought it was weird too. A professional sniper could have easily shot me on the head rather than to my stomach. It seems as if it was done purposely. It could’ve been to give a warning to us or the girl.” James looked angry and sickened of it.
“Maybe but we couldn’t be too sure since there is no evidence to back it up. We don’t have the sniper since he killed himself.” James looked shock. “Didn’t Adeline tell you?” The inspector wondered why Adeline didn’t tell Jake what happen.
“No. I haven’t seen her at all ever since I woke up. She didn’t come at all. I thought it was because she was too busy taking care of Maya and the girl. She didn’t even tell me or even gave me a call.” Jake didn’t believe his own partner could do this to him. The inspector was wondering why too but it was not as important as breaking the case.
“What happened before you got shot?” The inspector changed the subject back to the case.
“A nurse came in with the girls medicine and she bringing a letter. After the nurse left, Maya came out the door soon after. Maya told us her sister asked her to go out of the room. That moment all three us had a bad feeling and burst into the door. When we came in we saw the girl hysterically asking for something to stop. I saw a white paper with something written on it. It looked like it was written by blood so I picked it up then I got shot. The girl wanted to stop me but by that time I was already shot and lying on the floor.” Jake showed the place he got shot to the inspector.
“Thanks for the information. I got to leave now. Get some rest and have a good night’s sleep.
We need you to be back on your feet as soon as possible.” The inspector ruffled Jakes hair and walked towards the door.
Just when he was in front of the door Jake said “Bye dad.” The inspector made a small smile and opened the door, going out of the room.
The next day, in the morning Maya wasn’t there in the room because she needed to get some clothes for her and her sister to wear. The girl was being taken care by Adeline until Maya comes back. Adeline was busy investigating on the murder and finding out the person who shot Jake. The girl was bored since she already ate her breakfast and there is nothing else she could do. She called for a nurse to help her get on the wheelchair so that she could move. The nurse wanted to help her move but she wanted to do it by herself, not wanting to trouble any one. She slowly got the hang of it and went out to the garden that the hospital had. She was enjoying the nice shade under the willow tree while she watched little kids playing at playground. Jake saw her and walked towards her. Jake touch her shoulder and she flitch.
“Who’s that?” She turned around to see Jake. Jake gave a smile and she relaxes. “Oh…it’s you Jake.” She put her hand on her chest and exhales feeling relief.
“Hi. How are you doing?” Jake asked sitting on the garden bench next to her wheelchair.
“Well I am feeling much better than yesterday.” The girl looked at the children and gave a small smile. Then she looked Jake and asked “How about you? It’s not very common to see people taking a walk just a day after a surgery.” She asked with a mocking tone. Jake didn’t feel angry at all it is true that not many people do that but he just had to do something rather than sit in his room.
“Yeah that’s true but you don’t have to worry.” The girl looked as if confuse at what he said. “I know you’re actually worried of me.” The girl looked away and Jake smiled.
“I’m sorry.” The girl was looking down at her feet, not smiling or frowning. Jake saw it and felt a bit guilty for teasing her. “If all of this never happened you wouldn’t have gotten shot, Adeline and Maya wouldn’t have been so tired having to take care of me. I’m such a troublesome person aren’t I?” Tears escaped from her eyes as she puts all the faults on herself.
“It’s not your fault. You didn’t plan for this to happen. You can’t stop something that is destine to happen from happening. In everything bad that happens there always a good thing in it just like the proverb every cloud has a silver lining. It’s just that you have to find it for yourself.” Jake lean his back on the bench and took a glance of the girl.
The girl wiped the tears away and smiled at Jake. “Thanks for the motivation.”
“You’re welcome.” Jake answered.
Then a little boy came walking to the girl bringing a flower. The boy gave it to her and said “Please don’t cry pretty lady.” The girl took it and gave a sweet smile to the little boy.
“I will and thank you. What’s your name little boy?” She patted him softly on the head and the boy gave her a cute smile.
“My name is Jake.” The girl and Jake snickered. “Did guys you laugh at my name?” The boy puffed out his cheeks in anger.
“No it’s not because of that. It’s just your name is the same with this man over here. His name is also Jake.” The girl explained smiling beautifully to the boy. The little boy blushed and looked at the man next to her.
“Is he your boyfriend?” The little boy asked the girl. Jake was shocked over the question and waited for the girl’s answer.
“Yes he is.” Jake was stunned of her answer. The boy looked a bit annoyed hearing that. Then the girl continued with “He is a friend and a boy so he is a boyfriend.” The girl said it innocently to the little boy. Jake sighed in relief and the little boy was cheering in joy. The girl watched the little boy feeling amused of his actions.
“Jake Thomson where are you?” A woman’s voice sounding worried.
“I’m here mom.” The little boy came running to her hugging her tightly. “Mommy I met someone with the same name as I do.” The woman smiled and gave a nod to her son. “He is just right over there with the pretty lady.” The little boy pointed at them. The woman looked their way and waved, smiling. Jake and the girl waved back.
“That was interesting.” Jake looked up to the sky. The girl wondered what he meant but it was interesting indeed.
“What’s so interesting?” The girl was softly touching the petals of the flower.
“That woman, she resembled my mother when she was alive. It looked like me from the past.” Jake closed his eyes and remembered every single moment he had with his mother. The girl took a glance of Jake and knew how he felt.
“We should really get back to our rooms. I don’t want my sister to start worrying.” The girl wanted to change the subject. She slowly moved the wheelchair backwards and change courses. She was stopped by Jake.
“I should help take you back there. Anyway I need to know your new room if I am going to be back on duty.” The girl shakes her head a bit being dumbfound of his optimism.
In the girl’s room
“Long time no see Maya.” The person said smiling.
“Well the same goes to you.” Maya gave him a hug and he hugged back. “I’m happy you’re here. I hope your presence could help my sister to recover from the trauma.” Maya let go off him and sat on a chair. Maya asked him to join and sit down on the other chair.
“I hope I could help her too.” The guy looked around and saw no one but them in the room. “Where is she?” He asked sounding concern.
“A nurse said she went out to the garden to get some fresh air.” Maya looked at her watch. “She should be back soon.” Maya gave him a smile and asked “Anyway to pass the time, can you tell me the things that I missed these past few years. Well being her best friend and all, I thought you would know a lot.”
“Where should I start?” The guy looked around the room for an idea then an idea came to appear. “The first time….” Before he could say anything more the girl and Jake came in laughing with joy. Until the girl saw the guy, she froze in fear.
“Sis aren’t you happy to see your best friend?” Maya asked because she felt strange of her sister’s unusual reaction.
The guy walked to her and Jake. He bends down to her ear and whispered softly. “Act normal or someone’s going to pay for it dearly.” The guy stands up and gave a smile to Jake.
The girl was shivering for a while, Jake felt something wasn’t right. “Are you alright?” Jake wanted to look at her but he was hesitant to do so.
In the snap of the finger she stopped shivering and looked back at him with a reassuring smile. “I’m alright. Why do you ask?” Jake took a step back being too surprise of her sudden change of emotion. Jake shakes his head and looked at the girl. For some reason he didn’t believe in the smile she gave him.
“Thanks for bringing her here” The guy took the handle of the girl’s wheel chair ignoring Jake. Jake let go of the wheel chair and let the guy push her into the room. He turned his face to face Jake and asked “Don’t you want to come in for a while?”
“No, not really I have other things to do.” Jake said that because he felt uneasy and didn’t want any trouble. “Anyway good bye and remember give that flower enough water.” Jake smiled and walked away.
“I will.” The girl whispered and had a small smile on her face.
“Good bye Jake, thanks for taking care of her.” Maya waved to him and walked to her sister. “Beside that where’s the flower? I’ll help you put it in a vase and give it water.” The girl gave the flower to Maya. “It’s a Calla Lily. Do you know that the flower gives a meaning of a majestic beauty?” Maya was smirking at her sister. The girl didn’t really get what Maya meant by it.
Suddenly the guy intrudes and said “But sadly it also can be a dangerous flower if ingested. The calla lily contains calcium oxalate crystals that cause intense burning and irritation to the mouth, lips and tongue. It can also cause vomiting and difficulty swallowing.” Maya and the girl looked at him with a surprise expression. “I’m sorry to ruin the mood but I got carried away when it comes to flowers.” The guy bowed his head in shame while he gave a weak laugh.
“It’s okay.” Maya gave him a smile and walked to her traveling bag. She took out a box and opened it, bringing out a clear vase. ‘Luckily I bought this just on my way back.” She fills it up with water and drops in a few quarters. She put in the Calla Lily and she was done. “Where should I put it sis?” The girl looked around the room and pointed at the drawers next to her bed. Maya agreed with her and put it there. “I wonder why the flower also means purity and birth. Can you tell me why?” Maya looked at the guy. He looked around for anyone else but he knew it was him and sighed. He told the story to Maya and she heard it the whole way. She felt it was interesting and started to ask about other flowers. The girl sat on her bed and looked at the lily. It was beautiful indeed but when she heard that it was quite dangerous, she wasn’t sure if it was worth the trouble to grow it. The girl however smiled remembering how she got it in the first place. She tried to forget about the guy who she thought was her best friend but killed her mother and father not including the others that were there. She had to act as normal as she could or not someone else would pay the price.
Before lunch time
“Sorry but I have to leave. I don’t want to worry my parents.” The guy was just in front of the door.
“It’s alright.” Maya gave him a smile. “Maybe next time you can come to visit us at my house and tell us more stories.”
“Sure, next time I’ll tell you more.” The guy gave a charming smile to Maya and the girl. The girl was happy that he was leaving but she had to show a sad face. “Maya can I talk to her for a while privately?” Maya gave a nod and left the room immediately.
“Why are you here?” It was the first question that came through her mouth spitefully.
“You should really control your tone. You don’t want your sister to misunderstand. Besides that I’m here to make sure of something.” The guy smirked at the girl. She was sickened of his presence and moved the wheelchair back.
“Since you’re here, take this along with you.” The girl shoved the letter to him. The guy took it and gave a smug smile. “I don’t need another warning. I remembered the first one quite clearly. You didn’t have to shoot Jake and ask one of your men to kill himself.” The girl looked as if she was at the edge of crying.
“Okay I get it. I’ll leave you alone but I still have to act as if I’m your best friend so get use to it. Just remember say a word to anyone what happened that day I promise you someone will die in your place every time.” The guy walked to the door and opened it. He smiled to Maya and left saying good bye to them.
“What did you guys talk about?” Maya asked feeling excited and giddy. The girl moved her wheelchair to her bed. She climb on to her bed and sat facing Maya.
“Nothing really just some stuff about school.” The girl shrugged her shoulders and smiled at Maya.
Maya wasn’t satisfied of her answer “Oh really then if that’s true why did he have to talk with you privately.” Maya crossed her hand in front of her chest and raised an eyebrow. The girl wasn’t really in the mood so she just shrugged her shoulders again and lied on the bed. “Why are you so gloomy? Do you miss him already?” Maya tried to tease her sister.
“Miss who?” The girl sat up and glared at her sister. Maya ignored the glare and started pretending as if she couldn’t hear. The girl climb on to her wheelchair and went out of the room, not telling Maya where she was going. She just replied “I just have something to do. I promise I won’t be long.” Maya tried to follow her but she forced Maya stay.
