Chapter Eight

Two Fred free-days down, a day to his funeral.

Raven sighed and tossed the magazine she hadn’t really been reading onto the coffee table. It was a painful reality, really, how out of sorts she was without Fred across the hall.

The house wasn’t as big as the mansion-even at that, it felt empty.

She was reliving the pain she felt when he died initially, it felt worse this time. The cameras weren’t around to distract her. Louisiana hadn’t said a word to her after the incident. She was always locked up in her room, It troubled Raven. She was crestfallen.

Tessa on the other hand was all over the place, her grief was different and Raven feared it was slowly eating her up. Veronica rarely went out, she did a good job handling the press and preparing the burial ceremony. Deciding to start the investigation on her father’s death, only two people came to mind. 

There was Mr. Handel, the pervert. What were they on about before she badged into Fred’s mini office? Disrupting their argument—right before the day he was died, it was suspicious. 

Her other suspect, the man her father had mentioned in between his heated argument with Veronica. Perhaps her lover? Lost in the stream of thoughts, the knock on the door startled her. 

“Come in.”  It was weird since anyone barely came to her room.

A brown head came in view. Widening her eyes in shock, Raven got off the edge of her bed, running over to her friend. She couldn’t recall their last meeting—last she heard, she was in Singapore.

“Eleanor!”  She exclaimed, embracing her tightly.

“In the flesh.” Returning her hug, Eleanor wiped off the tears forming on her face. She was an emotional wreck.

“I thought you left for Singapore?” Raven asked, still trying to recall their last conversation.

“I never told you that.” Eleanor said, squinting her eyes. Raven’s heart raced faster. Her memory was failing her. 

“Yes, you did.” Raven replied firmly, keeping her head still. There was no way Eleanor was questioning her any further.

Trying to avoid unnecessary argument, Eleanor went on. 

“Yeah I was supposed to leave. I planned to give you the news today but...” she  muttered and took a brief pause, her eyes appeared worried. Immediately, Raven knew her next words.

“After hearing about your father. I couldn’t possibly leave. I know how much you adored him.”

Raven cocked her head at Eleanor 

“Thank you.” 

Her mind reflected on everything she missed after fleeing to stardom, right after the immediate death of her father, she knew it was cowardly-a whole part of her refused to admit the bitter truth. 

A flash of her father’s lifeless body flickered in her mind, he was laying there, his mouth open. The right side of his face was a ruinous pool of skin, and his good left eye was opaque, like a marble that the light of candles failed to penetrate. The spark his eyes was gone, as though his old valor was struggling to come to life, to surface, to fight the fate that conquered him, but the light flashed like a fish in a murky pond. 

“I  need to find the wretch that killed my father.” Gritting her teeth, the rims of her eyes tinged red, her plum lips forming into a frown.

Eleanor watched Raven in horror, she wasn’t the sweet and bashful girl she knew. The person in front of her was different, she was prepared for revenge-ready to take anyone down.

“You’re not a cop Rave. How can you possibly catch the killer? 

Starring at the clock hanging on the wall. Truly, she was an amateur—barely knew where to start from. But the mysterious voice brought her into this, it must have been sure she would crack the case, since the cops were incompetent. Thinking of the possible ways to investigate the case, she was positive it was going to be strenuous. She had zero strings, zero equipments, zero connections. Zoning out of her thoughts she muttered. 

“Remember that time you went to jail for drunk driving?” 

Recalling her wild life in college, Eleanor raised her eyebrows waiting patiently for her next words.

“The cop that bailed you out? He could help update us on the progress of the investigation.” 

Eleanor studied her friend closely, she was different no doubt. She feared her father’s death was messing with her—she needed therapy.

“You helping or what?” 

Snapping out of her thoughts. Eleanor gave a faint smile. 

“Not sure of who you are anymore, but I’m postponing that trip.”

Smirking mischievously. Raven muttered a thank you.

****

No one showed up for lunch—eating silently with Eleanor, Raven felt pathetic. The disunity troubled her. His death was supposed to strengthen them, she longed for a happy family but things were far from normal. Mrs. Potts appeared with some juice. The middle aged woman looked a lot fragile than the previous day, her eye bags were bigger, she looked like she barely got any sleep, there were layers of skin under her chin, and shadows and fine lines under her eyes. And her eyes, once beautiful, limpid, were now gloomy and heavy.

Fred’s death was a big hit on the head. 

Holding unto Mrs. Potts deep gaze—it seemed her eyes were trying to tell her something, her mouth opened but suddenly went shut as though she had seen someone or something. Raven couldn’t unravel the mystery. 

Taking a mental note to speak to her later. She shoved the last portion of potatoes into her mouth.

“I’ll be back.” She said, titling her head towards Elenor. 

In reply, she gave a small nod. Watching as Raven strode across the hallway. 

Raven was yet to explore the house—despite that, Veronica’s room was no secret to her.

The door wasn’t locked—she entered, not bothering to knock. The room had a neglected air, an atmosphere of bad aura. Staring blankly at the walls, the wooden floor gave a small crack. 

Keeping still, Raven brushed some little strands of hair off her face. There she was, her mother—in the dark end of the room. Finally revealing her face, Raven felt sorry for her—finding her mother in a vulnerable state was new. Her clear skin was painted with dark circles. Trying to conceal her trembling hands she uttered firmly.

“What do you want?”

“What triggered the dispute between you and dad?” She asked straight to the point.

Veronica remained mute, fixing her gaze on the wall. 

“Answer me!” She half yelled. Coming close to her mother.

“He found out about Tony.” She replied sharply—her eyes watering up. 

Waving off her irritation, Raven shut her eyes tightly, voicing out her speculation. “Was he in the house the day father was murdered?”

Veronica sat still—trembling. She didn’t want to reason the possibility—it ached her heart.

“I can tell from your silence...” 

“Now look here dear mother. If your lover was responsible for father’s death in any way. I promise you. You’ll end up behind bars—right there with him!”

Storming out of the room in rage, Raven struggled her way to the living room, Eleanor was there—awaiting her arrival.

“Come on Eleanor.” Raven spat, reaching for her bag. It complimented her blazer and leather trousers.

“To where?”

“Shopping.” 

Plodding out of the room. The two made their way to the car. 

“And when do you plan on becoming a model? Just look at you. You’ll make it big.” Eleanor remarked, staring closely at Raven, she was the definition of a proper model. She envied her long legs and tiny waist.

“Sometime in the future.” 

The journey to the mall began. The two went through memory lane—reliving old times. Eleanor was one hell of a party girl—extremely hyper. She wondered why they stopped communicating in reality. She knew it was all her fault, she made a lot of mistakes.

“Remember Jace Stark? Your ex.” Pouting her lips, Raven pondered on why she was bringing him up. The relationship didn’t end so well.

“The jerk.”

“Yes, the jerk.” Eleanor chuckled and then continued. “Heard he’s in town.” 

“You think he heard about my father?” 

“Probably.” 

The journey to the mall wasn’t as long as she expected. She realized how much she missed the simple life in Riverside. Elenor pulled over to a side along the street—unfortunately, the parking lot was filled up.

The street was glorious in its inception. The sidewalks were smooth grey stones, joined with such precision that the joins were almost invisible. The walls were concrete, but not like a villa in rural Spain; they were more akin to the construction of a modernist skyscraper, all sharp edges and corners. The buildings were nothing short of monoliths, the bastions of the city's pride, stamping its arrival on the map of financially significant places to trade with. Enjoying the street view would mean taking your eye off your shoes. She was starting to get used to being a normal citizen—with zero paparazzi following her from behind. Instead of feeling secure, Raven could bet she was being watched at that moment.

Suddenly, her eyes fell on him—there he was again. Right in front of her.

“Are you stalking me!?” She jabbed rudely.

“ So Feisty. I love that.” Simeon replied slowly.

“Not interested in whatever you have to say.” Eleanor stayed mute, next to her friend. She didn’t understand what was going on.

“I’m leaving for Los Angeles soon. I need to confirm your answer. You were made for this darling. Think about it.” He said handing over his card. He was a stubborn one, she knew better than to collect it—to let him off her back for some time at least. Snatching the card off his hand, she walked past him hurriedly.

*****

Who do you think murdered Fred?