We slowly made our way towards Bill. I hated to admit it but he scared me. He didn’t exactly seem like the type one could realistically reason with, without him freaking out on you. But on the other hand I did have an actual officer with me this time. Hopefully that meant he wouldn’t do anything too drastic. Him and his group of friends had taken place at the bar and were currently giving Victor their orders. When we got close Bill must’ve somehow spotted us.

  He turned around and shot us that fucking toothless smile. He spread out his arms as though he was about to give us a massive hug.

  “Well if it isn’t the pretty girl from a few nights ago. And you brought a friend I see. must’ve really missed me. Couldn’t help but notice you blocked my number. What gives?”

  I wanted to respond but before I could say anything Mei pulled out her police badge.

  “NYPD, detective Cavilot. I would like everyone but this man to step away. We need to speak with him in private.”

  Bill’s friends stared at each other for a second before moving further back into the bar, close to the little pool table we had. Victor also left, going into the small break room behind the bar.

  “The hell you want with me?” Bill sneered.

  “We have a few questions for you regarding an ongoing investigation, Bill.” Mei said, pulling out chairs for both of us.

  “How do you know my name?” Bill asked, a confused look forming on his face.

  “That doesn’t matter. We have more important matters to take care of. For example, where were you on the date, October 5th 2025?” Mei said, pulling out a notebook and a pen from the small bag she had brought with her.

  “I ain’t telling you shit before I know what’s going on.” He said leaning forward, his stinky breath once again filling my lungs. Mei and I gave each other a look. Julia’s death was to be kept a secret until further notice.

  “Erm you see it’s kind of complicated and…” Mei stutteret. I had no idea what was going on. I was so used to her having control in every situation she was in that it was weird seeing her stutter like this.

  “Bill, the truth is your friend Julia has been missing for almost 50 hours. This isn’t us accusing you of anything, we are simply trying to find your old friend.” I said. This was technically true. Well other than the fact that I knew exactly where Julia was currently being held and that he was definitely a suspect.

  “I don’t know anyone by the name Julia.” Bill responded, catching me off guard. The fuck did he mean about ‘not knowing her’? Mei must’ve thought the same thing as me considering the next thing out of her mouth was my exact thought.

  “The hell do you mean about ‘not knowing her’?”

  “Never heard the name before. Now am I free to go officer?”

  “No. You’re lying to us.” I tried. I wasn’t just gonna let him go with a bullshit lie.

  “Oh am I? And where is your proof if I may ask?” He said with a grin.

  “Don’t bullshit me!.” I was yelling now. People started staring, and even Victor stuck out his head.

  “Look lady, I can't help it if you don’t believe me, but until you get any proof I don’t have to tell you anything.” He shrugged.

  “Enough both of you. He’s right Claire. Without any concrete proof he doesn’t have to tell us anything. And even then he can choose to plead the fifth which would mean getting a lawyer involved, and that is simply not something we have time for right now.” Mei said, resting her hand on my shoulder. I took a deep breath. I hated to admit it but she was right. There was nothing I could do against this disgusting basement dweller of a groomer. I took a deep breath.

  “Fine.” I said turning around. “We’ll get some fucking proof.”

  I grabbed Mei and dragged her away. I was about to leave before Victor called my name.

  “Claire. You still have a shift to finish in case you don’t remember.”

  “Jesus Christ.” I muttered. “Sorry, but gotta finish this shift.” I said, turning towards Mei.

  “When do you get off?” She said, raising an eyebrow.

  “At about 4 am. Why?”

  “Alright.” She said, taking out a page from her notebook and handed it to me. “Meet me at this address as soon as you're done.” I took the note and before I could ask any more questions she left through the door, leaving me with Bill and Victor.

  I swore silently as I made my way back to the bar.

  It was the first day of middle school. The assembly had just finished and our new teacher was walking us towards our new classroom. There were a few new kids among the group who were already making friends with some of the others from my class. As always I had missed my chance at making any new friends. We made it into the classroom and lined up in front of our new teacher. He had a brown suit on, brown hair formed in a bowl cut and a pair of small square glasses placed finely on his crooked nose.

  “Please take a seat wherever you want to.” He said in a high pitched, shaky voice. I took a seat as far back in the classroom as I could. I assumed it would be like the last few years where no one wanted to sit next to me. But instead a boy came over. He had short trimmed, blond hair and he reminded me of myself. Quiet, loser and no friends. He didn’t say anything when he sat down, nor did he look at me. I tried to read his eyes. They looked tired. I wondered how much sleep he had gotten.

  A clap from the front of the class and everyone went quiet. The teacher had written something on the board.

  ‘Class of 91, first day of school. Teacher: Mr. Conners’

  “Welcome to your first day of middle school class.” He said with a smile. “My name is Tom Conners, but you refer to me only as ‘Mr. Conners. Is that understood?”

  “Yes Mr. Conners.” The class said in unison.

  “Good.” Mr. Conners said with a smile. “There won’t be much on today’s schedule. It is the first day of school afterall. All I want you to do is for you to get to know your table partner. That means if you know your partner already you’ll have to find someone else and…”

  Mr Conners went on but I had stopped listening. I felt that cold feeling of being watched flow through my body. I slowly turned around and almost jumped up. The kid next to me was staring intensely into my eyes, his brown eyes looking straight into my soul. And then suddenly he smiled and reached out his hand.

  “My name is Bill. What’s yours?” He asked me. I blinked, unsure of how to answer. It had been a while since someone from school had actually talked with me.

  “I…I’m Julia.” I hesitated. What if this was just some trick? It wouldn’t be the first time I had fallen for something like that.

  “Julia.” He said, like he was tasting the name. “I like that name.” He forced me to shake his hand. That was my first interaction with Bill.

  It had been a week since we started school. I was walking through the hallway on the way to Mr. Conners’ class. Suddenly I heard running behind me and I prepared for the worst. Instead of the usual mean girls it was just Bill however.

  “Hey Julia. How are you?” He asked, a giant grin forming on his face. Always with the grin. He stared at me, clearly waiting for a response. I titled my head a bit. I still didn’t fully trust his kindness but on the other hand he was the closest thing I had to a friend.

  “I’m fine thanks Bill. How are you?”

  “I’m good, I’m good. I actually made something for you.” He said, somehow smiling even wider now.

  “Made something for me?” I asked curiously. Bill reached his hand down his pocket and closed his hands around something. He slowly lifted it and revealed a small wristband, with Julia 1991 carved into it. It seemed to be made of fake black leather. He took my hand. I didn’t fight it. This felt like him showing that I could actually trust him and that he wasn’t just manipulating me like everyone else. He placed it around my wrist and took a step back.

  “So how does it feel?” He asked me. It was a perfect fit. I smiled at him.

  “Thanks Bill. It’s perfect.”

  Looking back on it there were a few weird things with Bill. He knew the exact size of my wrist and had made a bff bracelet after only a week of us knowing each other. Furthermore I had the feeling I had been followed ever since I met him.

  But I didn’t pay much attention to it. I was just happy to have a friend.

  One blink

  Two blinks

  Three blinks

  Holy shit there was a lot to unpack with that one. First of all there was no longer any doubt in my mind. The Bill currently sitting in the bar was the same Billy that Julia knew. I’m not sure how I knew, but I just did. Good to know he seemed to have been a creep since he was a kid. Or maybe that just made it worse. Second of all we got a year. Finally some kind of clue for a potential time line. Finally the name Tom Conners. My Dad’s, father who just so happens to have been a middle school teacher before his death. I hadn’t seen a picture of him in a while but it could very well be him. One thing at a time though. Confronting the dude.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Luckily he had just ordered a beer. I went over to his table where he was once again laughing loudly with his buddies. Suddenly, I froze. What if this guy really was the killer? He was denying the fact that he knew Julia after all. Would I be in danger? Maybe I should just wait for Mei and then we can figure this out together? No. No, I don't know when we will get another chance. I took a deep breath and continued my walk towards Bill.

  “Excuse me Bill.” I said putting on a fake smile. “Could I have a moment of your time?”

  “I already said I didn’t want to talk with you bitch. So why don’t you just give me my beer and get the hell out of here?” He answered, shooting me the middle finger meanwhile. I just barely managed to keep it together before I did anything stupid.

  “middleschool, class of 1991, Mr. Conners’ classroom. This was the first time you met Julia. About a week later you give her a wristband. It’s black and engraved in it, it says, Julia 1991. Many years later, some time in the early 2000s, you join her and her future husband for dinner, to celebrate them buying a small farm. And yet now you deny that you know her?”

  I didn’t hesitate. I placed all my cards on the table. Gambled with my own safety. The ultimate price.

  “Are you stupid? I already told you I don’t know anyone named Julia. So stop asking me!” He said, raising his voice.

  “Oh I believe you do. And I even suspect you have something to do with her disappearance:” I answered, also raising my voice. I was fine with everyone else hearing me argue with an actual groomer who came straight out of the big Lebowski.

  “Just give me my beer and leave you whore. I am done talking with you. You’re not Sherlock Holmes and you are not the cops. I don’t have to tell you shit.”

  I was done with him. He was lying to me and I knew it. He had touched me without consent, harassed me and threatened me. I felt my hand tighten around the beer he had ordered.

  “Fine. Have you fucking beer.” I said. I walked over next to him, and dumped the sticky liquid over him. First it hit his thin long hair, slowly gliding down his face until reaching his clothing. He screamed and before I could react I felt a fist connect with my face. Blood appeared on the floor. I looked around, trying to find the source, until I finally realized it was coming from me. A kick. I managed to only scream inside as the shoe made contact with my thigh. He kept kicking. One kick, two kicks, three kicks. He kicked me to a point where I could barely feel it. Sirens. It seemed like someone had finally called the cops. I heard the door open and a bunch of yelling.

  …

  “Are you even listening?” A familiar voice said. I slowly opened my eyes, my head resting against the backseat window. I slowly sat up, as my vision slowly returned, like going from 360p-4K on a youtube video.

  “Where am I?” I asked. My nose felt weird. I took my hand up to touch it and pain shot through my entire body. That’s right. I had been beaten up.

  “Fucking hell Claire. You’re in my car after going up to a suspect without me being there and then you got the shit beaten out of you by him. Honestly, what did you expect would happen?” She asked, looking back at me, while we were waiting for a green light.

  “1991.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” She said, turning the car left up a small road.

  “Julia and Bill. They met in 1991, the first day of middle school. Seems like they became friends pretty fast. Furthermore their teacher was my grandpa.” I said trying to hold my head still while driving so it didn’t hurt too much.

  “Hmmm interesting. This means we should be able to piece together a timeline right? And it also means that to a certain extent your family is involved with Julia.”

  “Sounds about right. Where are we going by the way? This isn’t the way to my home from the bar.” I said, once again looking out the window. The lights were blurry and it was a struggle to keep my eyes open.

  “You’ll be living for me until this case is done. That was the compromise for my colleagues not taking you back to the station. Your important stuff, including your cat, is already there.” She said finally parking the car in front of a small apartment building. She opened her door, stepped out, walked to the back side and helped me out. That made me feel pretty useless. I couldn't even get out of the car by myself. Then I suddenly remembered something she had told me earlier.

  “What about your partner? Are you sure there’s enough room for all of us in that small apartment?”

  “My partner is travelling right now. There’s plenty of space.” She answered coldly, opening the front door. She helped me up the stairs to the third floor and opened the door to the left. She tried to take my shoes off of me but I pushed her away and told her something about not needing her help. Her apartment was more messy than expected. A bunch of paper and folders everywhere, and a giant board in the middle of a room, a picture of Julia in the middle. On the couch my sweet, sweet Carl was sleeping. I ran over him and woke him up with a massive hug, something he did not seem all too happy with.

  “We’ll have to share a bed for now, until we get a new one. We should get some rest before we start piecing together some sort of time line. The bathroom and…Are you ok?” She looked at me tilting her head.

  It must’ve been very obvious how much I was blushing at this statement. My head probably looked like a swollen tomato.

  ‘Sharing…A bed…With another…Woman?’ My brain thought. Not that I liked Mei but I couldn’t deny that she looked good. Curse pretty women and gay feelings.

  “I uhm…The sofa will be fine.” I managed to get out. “That’s what me and Carl are used to anyways. Carl doesn’t like change.”

  “Seriously?” She gave me a judgemental look. “You’d rather sleep on a couch that is as hard as concrete, than you would sleep next to me for one night?”

  I nodded and she responded with a big sigh.

  “Suit yourself I guess. But don’t complain to me if your back hurts tomorrow.”

  And with that I slept on the hard couch, Carl being with Mei all night.

  I was watching my children play on the small playground close to the farm. Philip was once again out. The kids were playing pirate versus marine, a play that had made themselves.

  “MOM LOOK!” One of them yelled. He was about to go down the slide head first. He had always been the daring one out of the two.

  “Be careful honey!” I yelled back. He nodded and then he went for it. The next few moments were a blur. Blood flowing from one child and tears of fear from the other. I called the ambulance, while trying to stop the bleeding. I cried and begged that the gods would have mercy on my son. His head had smashed right into a massive rock. Who the fuck placed a rock on a playground. I tried to call Philip multiple times but it went to voice mail each time. Finally the ambulance came. My son was still completely out of it. I tried to wake him up. Nothing. His pulse was dropping fast and his blood was all over my clothing. They rushed him into the ambulance. I got in with my other son who was still crying, but I couldn’t really leave him on the playground so I had to take him with me.

  I woke up, instantly placing my hand on my head. Then I remembered it hadn’t even been Julia bleeding so why would I be bleeding? Also Bill had only punched my nose, not my head. I slowly stood up while stretching my arms and legs. The smell of bacon filled my nose, and I could hear Mei singing for herself. Her voice wasn’t anything super impressive but it had a charm to it. I was about to take on my clothes but when I reached over to grab it, it was gone.

  “Miss detective, have you seen my clothes?” I yelled.

  “They smelled like shit so I put them in the washing machine. There’s a pair you can borrow in the bathroom. And while you’re there, please shower.” She called back. I complained a bit before I stood up, but when I looked down I could kinda see what she meant. Other than the marks I had gotten from Bill kicking me I was also covered in dust. I rolled my eyes and slowly made my way towards the bathroom, taking a shower, the hot water washing away all the dust, like a vacuum cleaner. I stepped out and dried myself with a towel she had placed for me.

  I ?? lesbian girls, it said. ‘Very funny Mei.’ I thought. I grabbed the clothing she had put for me. Some black underwear, a pair of baggy jeans and a black t-shirt. I put it on and went to eat. We didn’t say much while eating. My parents had always told me that it was rude to speak while eating so I kept quiet.

  After cleaning up, Mei clapped.

  “Alright let’s get to work.”

  “Work?”

  “Yeah. We have a timeline to make.” She pulled out the board with the picture of Julia. papers with written years on it. “I’ll go through it and you tell me if I’m wrong on anything ok?”

  I nodded and sat down on a chair.

  “So for now the oldest memory we have is from 1991, where she first enrolled in middle school and met Bill and your grandpa. After that we presumably jump to the early 2000s some time when ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ was still popular. Here she meets Philip and has a one night stand with him. 4 months later Philip texts Julia and they meet up a week after, though Philip is acting a bit strange. About 4 months later they bought a farm and celebrated it. At this point Julia was also pregnant. This was when Philip met Bill and it seems from what you told me that they hadn’t seen each other for quite a while. Now is when the time line gets a bit messy. We know that they were living happily together for a while until Julia accidentally gives their kids food poisoning. Julia starts drinking more and moves to the couch like a certain person in this room. Then presumably a while after Philip assaults a high schooler and the police go to question Julia. And finally we know she died in 2026 in the apartment of Claire Manshire. Does this all fit?” She gestured for me to look at the time line she had set up. I went to look at it and slowly nodded.

  “I had a vision tonight. It happened some time before the police questioned Julia. One of the kids got hurt, and Philip was nowhere to be found. Moreover his phone went straight to voice mail. “

  Mei nodded and added a paper to the board.

  “I’ll make a digital version sometime today so we can both report whatever we find. When speaking with people it is important to get it on recording if this ever goes to court. Remember that.”

  “What do you mean speaking to people?” I asked.

  “Well the killer won’t find himself will he? And since I have a job you’ll have to do research on your own at certain times.” She smiled and closed my now open mouth by pushing up my chin. “Don’t worry you’ll do great. You’re a master of annoying people till they speak.”

  Murder board:

  Timeline:

  1991: Julia enrolled in middle school. Here she meets Bill and Mr Tom Conners.

  Early 2000s: She meets Philip and they have a one night stay. A few months after they go on a date. Finally they buy a small farm when Julia is about four months pregnant.

  ?: Julia and Philip are living happily on their farm until they start fighting. One of Julia’s kids hurts themselves and Philip is nowhere to be found. Philip assaults a high schooler and the police question Julia.

  2026: Julia is murdered by stab wounds.

  Claire’s super cool and awesome suspect list to prove her innocence:

  Bill:

  Possible motive: Jealousy?

  Relationship with Julia: Childhood friend and creep.

  Philip:

  Possible motive: ?

  Relationship with Julia: Husband and father of her children

  We had just finished getting everything in order, when I got a text message. Fuck. It was from Helena.

  We arrive tonight. Come eat dinner with us.

  “Fuck.” I whispered.

  “What is it?” Mei asked me, peaking over my shoulder, a bit too close to someone wearing a ‘I ?? Lesbian girls’ shirt in my opinion.

  “It’s my annoying ass family. They’re asking me to have dinner with me tonight. Haven’t seen any of them in years though.”

  “How come?”

  “You haven’t earned that information yet.” I said coldly. It might’ve been a bit rude but god knows that I was not sharing my family issues.

  Mei seemed to study me for a bit. Maybe she was trying to figure out what had happened between me and my family, or maybe it was something completely different. I could never figure out what this woman was thinking.

  “It’s settled then. You are going to the dinner party.” She said, smiling at me. I was at a loss for words. She couldn’t just decide that. She had no right to decide that.

  “I know what you’re going to say but hear me out. We learned that your family has some kind of connection to both Bill and Julia through your grandpa. We could get some information here.”

  “My grandpa is dead though. Can’t really do much with a dead guy.” I answered quietly. I wanted to do anything that wasn’t this.

  “Maybe he told your parents about his work before he passed on though. Look, I have work tonight. I’ll also look into this whole case, but I really need you to do this. We’ll use today to do some more research and then tonight you are going to a family dinner.” She grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look her in the eyes. “I need you for this case Claire.”

  I broke free from her grasp and looked down.

  “Fine. I’ll do it. But you owe me big time.”

  “Good. Let’s prepare some questions in that case.”

  …

  A few hours later I was standing in front of Sushi mania, the restaurant my mom had told me we were all meeting at. I was still wearing the clothing that Mei had given me, something my mom would not appreciate. I had a card with the questions Mei and I had prepared in my pocket. My heart went from beating faster than it should, to completely stopping and then beating again. I had spotted Helena’s car in the parking lot. They were inside.

  I took a deep breath and entered the restaurant.