Scar The Detective Arc Part Two

 The Apprentice

"So, when was the last time you saw her?" Asked Detective Jen.

Why are they asking? They should know. Are they dumb?

Be easy, this is just a formality.

"I was about to go to school." She said, her voice high pitched and alien to her.

Just get this over with and don't cry. Crying will do you no good. So try not to. 

"Is there anybody who saw-"

"The neighbors. You can ask them. Mum liked to go to Mrs Milly next door."

She nodded as she looked closely at the pale girl, who, even though she tried to hide it, was on the verge of crying again. Yet there were several questions in those young eyes too. It was all too clear that she too was trying to figure out who could be behind this and there seemed to be a possible answer, yet she was unsure of it.

"Tell me, c-could I help you?" She asked.

"Yes,by being truthful."

"Not what I meant. I want to help you do this. I want to investigate too."

She let out a laugh.

"Maybe when you're a bit older."

Her eyes rolled.

"Why do people keep saying that? I want to do what you do now."

"But you're not old enough. I know that you want answers, but-"

"Tell me, is there a law against a girl of my age becoming a detective too?"

"Yes there is but I'll look into ways that you could help." She said as she led the girl out.

She then climbed into a car.

"Where are we going now?"

"A safe house." She replied.

She soon drove to a moderate house that had two floors and had rooms on either end. 

She climbed out and was greeted by a slightly but not morbidly obeice middle aged woman with brunette hair and kind but stern light blue eyes.

"Here, this is Jill Gardener. She'll look after you."

She nodded, looking at her with suspicion.

"Right, I will look into how I can help you. Not as a police detective but as a private one. If I can, I will join you." She said, taking off her back pack. "And another thing, that attic, the doors there do lead to other worlds. I thought you needed to know. Mainly just in the case that people went up there."

She frowned and tried not to laugh mockingly. She nodded, pretending to take her words seriously. However the moment that she looked in the girls eyes she saw that she was not lying but taking it seriously. She would have thought that she was insane if it was not something about those haunting scarlet eyes. Even though they were young, there was something ancient about them. Part of her knew almost instinctively that there was something more about this girl that met the eye. 

Maybe that was why she had already decided, that even though she was young, too young that she would make this child a detective. Even if she would have to break a law or two. 

She also knew that she had to look into the girl's past. After all, she knew that those eyes and her personality could not have developed in a normal household.

"I will take that on board."

She looked at Jill, giving her the keep-a-close-eye-on-her look. She nodded before she left.

"Come on Scarborough!"

"Scar."

"Come on Scar!"

"See you tomorrow!" The girl called, almost as if she knew that she would see the detective the following day. "And thank you!"

"Don't mention it!" She said, feeling slightly unnerved.

She then turned around and walked back to her car as fast as she could. She then returned to the crime scene. She looked at the detective in charge.

"Back already?"

"Yeah. There's something I want to check out in the attic."

"Why did the girl say anything?"

"Yes. She said something strange." She said, walking in.

"What was it?"

"There are worlds beyond each door of the attic." She said, reaching the stairs.

The detective chuckled.

"Well there have been many disappearances over the entire time since the house was built." He said, following her up to the attic. "But it still doesn't mean that you should take her seriously. She is a child after all!"

Then they were faced with a room with fifty doors on the walls. Twelve on the far end of the wall and the wall next to the entrance and thirteen on the left and right walls. 

"Okay! What-"

Before he could finish, Detective Jen walked to the door to the left. Her eyes met a land with scarlet ruby grass and a bright royal purple sky with an orange sun.

"What?" 

He reached down and plucked a blade of the grass and felt the cold breeze coming in. He then looked at it and tasted it. To his surprise it tasted like tangy strawberries.

"She was right!"

"How! How is this even possible?"

"Just what is this place?" She exclaimed.

"I don't know but I have a feeling that that kid should be here, living in this house."

"Me too…" She shook her head.

"But I don't think that it matters in this case. The dust tells me that none have been in here in two months at least,even the door looks as if it has been opened only two months ago. No more, no less."

"By the way,could you do me a favour, could you look into the girl's past for me! Meanwhile I-" She asked as her mind flicked to Scar. "-will be looking into something."

*

Meanwhile Scar was on the computer that Jill had let her borrow while she was staying in the safe house. She had done her homework quickly, which helped distract her mind a little. She wanted to return to looking into detective work. Yet all she found were child custody links. Yet she then looked at all the rules and laws in place. She found that in order to be a police detective she needed to be eighteen or nineteen but she could not find anything on being a private detective.

Part of her thought that regardless of what Detective Jen had said, she knew that she would not take her seriously. So there would be little chance of her actually looking into it. 

"Scar, what are you doing?"

"Looking into what I need to do in order to become a detective. Do you have Detective Jen's number?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I need to talk to her."

"Dear…"

"After tea of course."

"And homework?"

"Done!"

"You do realize she is a very busy woman?"

"Yes but I have to talk to her."

She was about to open her mouth but then she looked at the girl's eyes. There was something about her eyes and the look in them that all efforts to refute her would be futile. So she took out her phone and dialled the number.

"Hello?"

"Yes, Scar wants to talk to you."

"Right, I'll be there. My gut is telling me that this should be a topic better spoken in person." 

"She's coming here. Now you ought to have your tea."

She refrained from smiling. After all, part of her was concerned that they would be giving her a sugar pill. However she walked to the table nevertheless.

"Thank you. And thank you for dinner."

Jill smiled as she nodded. She then sat down and ate. She straightened her back and looked at the Sunday lunch and apdug in. She ate slowly. She did not want to eat too fast as she forced her mind to focus on the taste of the carrots and dwell upon how sweet they tasted.

Not as good as mum….looks like I'll never have that again.

No focus on eating the broccoli.

She finished her carrots and then moved on.

She's better than…no, just continue eating.

She continued to eat. Then she ate the lamb.

Mum made it juicier. Never have that again. Never gonna see her smile again. Never gonna talk to her again. Never.

Then she broke down half way through the lamb when she just felt the tears fall. Almost like the breaking of a dam, she could no longer focus upon holding back the water within her. She did not realize that she had dropped the fork in the gravy. She was completely blinded by her tears that stung her eyes like wasps. 

Then Detective Jen walked in as Jill placed a hand on her back and calmed her down. The moment that she saw her she dried her tears, but try as she might,she could feel them falling.

"You wanted me?"

"Y-yeah. I-I've been looking into being a detective. Although I'm far too young to be a police detective, I could find nothing about being a private detective."

"Scar…"

She let out a deep breath.

"No. I know what you are about to say. Yet I also knew that you would not look into it so I did."

She was about to open her mouth.

"Yes. I know that there are tests that I need to pass. I just wanted to ask you that, during the time that you are on this case, that you could teach me."

Suddenly she could not respond to that. All that she could think about was that the girl had thought about everything.

"Either way I am going to be on this case."

"You little brat!" She said, trying to mask just how impressed she was but failing.

She raised her eyebrow.

"So will you help me?"

She looked at her, part of her told her not to, but another was becoming more predominant, could not say no.

"Yes, but I would like you to tell me, what is up with that attic?"

So she told her everything that happened and all she knew.

Yes, she will make a good detective.