Mimi’s house is on fire?
‘Huh?’
‘Just hurry!’ Ani grabs my hand and leads me round the block.
‘Oh my gosh!’ I shriek.
Ani scrutinises the crowd watching the house burn as firefighters battle the blaze. Most of it already looks burnt down. Included in the crowds are photographers and journalists, their phones and cameras aimed at the house like the hoses. Ani mentioned on the drive from Leeds that she imagined the press sensationalising how crimeless Castlewick is quickly becoming West Yorkshire’s crime centre.
‘Police Constable Margaret Ribar, is that you?’ Ani says in a sinisterly pleasant manner, prompting someone in police uniform to turn. ‘Oh, it is! How are you? I still think about our little conversation in the interrogation room almost a month ago.’
‘Ani,’ PC Ribar curtly replies. ‘I thought you were staying out of the way.’
‘Good joke. Care to tell me what we have here?’
PC Ribar sets her thin lips in an even thinner line. ‘I will, if it means you won’t stick your nose in official police business.’
Ani nods her head. I know her mentality – if she doesn’t say it verbally, then the lie doesn’t count. Not that lying keeps Ani up at night. Unlike me.
‘Someone set the house on fire two days ago.’ I do a quick calculation in my head – two days ago was twenty-eight days since the murder, twenty days since the TUSC investigation launched and thirteen days since Dad got arrested. ‘Terrible sight. And now it’s reignited. Apparently that can happen with the hot weather, oxygen or chemical reactions.’
I gasp and cover my mouth. ‘Oh no.’
‘That’s horrible,’ Ani adds. ‘How’s Mimi doing? PC Ribar, that’s her nickname, by the way. She prefers to be called Mimi.’
PC Ribar shakes her head. ‘We don’t have any information about Miss Bloodworth’s whereabouts at the time of the first fire or since. But we haven’t finished searching for remains. She’s officially a missing person. Now run along. Go on and play like kids do.’
Ani groans and walks off, past whatever’s left of Mimi’s house. It seems like we’re both in a state of shock and disbelief that Mimi could be dead but just have different ways of showing it. A small group of people’s overlapping conversations are audible and Ani heads off in their direction. She’s gonna get us in trouble yet again. I huff and try to stay where I am but let’s face it, I have to follow her.
Me and Ani go unnoticed by this group as we linger on the outskirts. About twelve people are talking about Mimi’s house burning down. Ani looks at me and puts a finger on her lips, telling me to be quiet.
And that’s when we overhear it. Someone says, ‘Firefighters stumbled on a necklace that they expect will match the description of the one the homeowner always wore. That’s all that’s left of her.’ I tiptoe to see who he’s speaking to, but I can’t see over the others. Is it someone genuine? ‘She’s legally dead.’
My heart shatters louder than a vase that slips out of someone’s grip. A numb glance at the bodyless ambulance, police cars and fire engine imply that they’re trying to salvage something, anything. Someone.
Mimi is dead.
I look at Ani, lost for words. She asks me in a low tone, ‘How much do you wanna bet the necklace they found is Mimi’s? The amethyst one she never takes off.’ Ani has a point, and I see her try to withhold her emotions; her nostrils flare as she stares at me.
We hear someone say, ‘At least Abderrazzak, bless him, isn’t being blamed for the housefire. He’s lucky his anklet showed him being at the flat when it started.’ My heartbeat quickens, but with relief. Maybe Dad forgot to tell us about that when we reunited.
Ani’s face is a steeled mask of emotions and she’s off in a flash. My feet start moving, steps in sync with her before I know it. I glance around and, away from the crowd, there’s Rodolfo. He’s staring at me, like a haunting shadow.
I catch up to Ani. Rodolfo’s disappeared but I still feel watched. And I know that death happens everywhere all the time – even in California – but it’s never been so personal.
‘Derek’s injured, Mimi dead. We need to find the murderer. Now or never, SIT.’
‘Girls, you’re going to have to say something,’ Dr Chandra says. ‘It’s been half an hour. We’re at halftime in this session.’
Dr Chandra’s joke doesn’t get a laugh or even a smile out of either of us.
‘OK, let’s be serious for a second. I can use all my experience to fill the silence like I have for the past half-hour but that’s pointless if I don’t know what’s on the tip of your tongues. You’re both strong girls who’ve had a tragic summer that keeps on getting worse. Just as you’ve come to terms with your first bout of grief, you’re hit with more. I’m sorry about that. Riri, obviously you didn’t know Mimi well, but it still hurts. How does hurting make you feel?’
‘Sad. It’s upsetting that we’re losing so many people.’
‘Very good. Anything else?’
‘I-I don’t feel safe in Castlewick with a murderer on the loose.’
‘You’re not the only one. That’s why the Castlewick Police has issued these leaflets to all educators, healthcare professionals and businesses.’
I take the leaflet and flick through it. I learn about some basic ways to deal with grief and see steps to take if there’s anyone suspicious around. Rodolfo comes to mind.
‘Wonderful honesty there, Riri. Ani, is there anything you’d like to say?’
Ani sighs and for at least three minutes that’s the only sound that comes out of her. I’m uncomfortable in this kind of silence because it reminds me of a standoff. There are no winners or losers in therapy but Ani clearly disagrees.
‘Would you like Riri to wait outside?’ Dr Chandra gently asks Ani.
Ani does a funny shaking-her-head-and-shrugging motion. ‘I’m done with words.’ As if to express that actions speak louder than words, Ani pretends to cry and pulls out a tissue from her sleeve. Her eyes are watering. She’s faking, I know it. If Dr Chandra can see through Ani’s act she doesn’t say or do anything other than console her.
‘Your mom told me you’re trying to free your dad,’ Dr Chandra tells Ani. ‘That’s brave. Care to share anything? What’s said in my office stays in my office.’
‘Our investigation’s classified,’ Ani utters but the real answer is that we don’t know. We don’t know if Fred is still around. We don’t know if Dad will be officially cleared.
‘OK. You’ve had a lot of changes this summer. Let’s discuss that. What do I always say? Even if you think you don’t need to talk about it, you do. So, let it all out.’
‘I’m fine.’
‘Ani, come on. Let it out. Only then can you let it go.’
‘What if I don’t want to let it go?’
‘Then it’ll eat you alive. Remember what I told you about the Dolichogenidea Xenomorph wasps? They inject you and eat you from the inside out. Grief is like that. Unless you cover yourself with your words as a shield.’
Ani’s unfazed but the thought of wasps is making me feeling tingly and itchy.
‘Ani, stop biting the insides of your cheeks,’ Dr Chandra scolds. ‘It means you’re anxious about something.’ Ani doesn’t rush to confirm or deny what she’s hearing. ‘Your tablets – are you still taking them every day?’
Ani nods.
‘Excellent. Any problems or side-effects?’
Ani shakes her head.
‘No words? OK, I know what’ll make you talk. Let’s circle back to the TUSC. You said it was confidential. Is that supersleuth code for you being at a standstill?’
Ani works her jaw. To me, that confirms it.
‘Well, with The Case of the Ripped Trousers, do you remember what I told you?’
‘No, I don’t. That was one of my first cases, years ago.’
‘More times than not, you’ll find what you seek by taking a deep breath and looking around with fresh eyes. What you truly seek was right under your nose the whole time.’
‘We’ll remember that.’ Ani smiles, sweetly.
Dr Chandra wraps up the session. A knock on the door shows us that Mom is here, on the dot, to collect us.
‘Everything all right? Any concerns I should have?’ Mom looks nervous.
‘All I can say is that we had a productive session.’
As we get ready to leave, Mom starts chatting to Dr Chandra about NovaStarr Labs’s medicines and trials.
Dr Chandra asks, ‘Will I be seeing you at the vigil?’ At our confused expressions, she explains that there’ll be a vigil for Mrs Kostas and Mimi.
We’ll definitely be there.
Director Tariq’s official statement
Life thought it had broken me down. But now I’m out of my faraway safehouse, back on the clean but crime-ridden streets of Castlewick. My time away allowed the dust to settle.
But then, Mimi died. In the worst way as well – her house was on fire, her body burnt to a crisp. No – she got murdered.
Police Sergeant Chloe Li of the Castlewick Police, a TUSC ally, has confirmed in a press conference that her team are treating the tragic death of Mimi as a murder.
Everyone thought I’d be done for, hopelessly demotivated. I don’t blame them.
But actually I’m hopefully motivated.
You see, with my experience, it would be stupid for me to allow the possibility of the murders and attempted murder being linked to not be considered. The TUSC is doing what we can to either prove or disprove this.
Think about it: a crimeless town suddenly has two murders and an attempted one? All three victims are linked. We know that Mrs
Kostas/Dimas wasn’t who she said she was –
And well, we still don’t know a lot about her.
For this investigation to move forward, I must learn more about the Mrs Kostas/Dimas’s backstory.
I need to go into Mrs K’s flat and see if I can find something that’ll link the murders and reveal the murderer.
Director Ani Tariq of the TUSC is BACK and here to stay.
TO-DO LIST
– Sneak into Mrs Kostas/Dimas’s flat to see if there are any clues about the murderer.
The best time to sneak into the flat is when most of Castlewick is in one place to not catch me. AKA the night of the vigil.
UNANSWERABLES
– Was she really planning to run away?
– Or was the murderer setting it up that way?
– Maybe the police missed something?
– Who killed Mrs Kostas/Dimas???