"What do you mean by I'm hiding something?" Ryner asked awkwardly.
"Drop the act. I'm an officer, so I know when someone's lying. You're holding out on some key information, Ryner," Charlotte replied, her tone sharp but not unkind. "I don't understand your logic or your reasoning for doing so, but if you want my help on this case, then we have to trust each other. I dug through files that were confidential and relayed them to a civilian, putting my job and my position at risk. Isn't that enough proof that I care about Rita and want her to get the justice she deserves? I want to help you. But if you keep secrets from me, I won't know the next step to take."
"Charlotte..." Rita mumbled under her breath. Relief washed over her face, and tears of joy welled in her eyes.
Ryner sighed. "I guess there's nothing that gets past the trained mind of an officer," he mumbled to himself. "Yes, you're right, Charlotte. I've been keeping information from you. But I have my reasons. Still, if sharing it will help us get on the same page and strengthen our coordination, then I guess I have no choice."
He looked her in the eye.
"Rita Holt… she was a student at Martin's Technical High. Everyone thought she died five years ago. The scene had bloodstained clothes—hers—but no body. Just the corpse of a young man. That's what you know so far. But let me ask you this, Charlotte… do you believe in ghosts?"
Ryner's tone grew stern.
"Of course not. As I said to you the first time we've met, ghosts are just superstitions made up by people," Charlotte replied, frowning. "When Rita mysteriously died, I was only twelve years old. Just a kid. How could I know so much about her disappearance—let alone more than I already told you?"
"What do you mean, 'know more'?" Charlotte asked, surprised.
"A couple weeks back," Ryner began, lowering his voice, "I found her bag in the abandoned school building… and a love letter she wrote to Charley was in it."
"What? A love letter in her bag?" Charlotte said, shocked. "I thought all the evidence was taken from the crime scene. Why would her bag still be there?"
"Maybe the investigators overlooked it. Or maybe it was placed there after the investigation was done. Who's to say?" Ryner shrugged. "I photocopied and printed out the letter she wrote for him in April of 2018. Five years ago."
"Ryner, no! You can't make her read that!" Rita exclaimed as she blushed and floated over to Charlotte, trying to snatch the paper from his hand.
But Ryner held her fading hands firm.
"Can it. This is really important, Rita. Don't you want to go back to normal?" he asked, sincerity and concern clear in his eyes.
Rita's heart skipped a beat, and she started blushing. She floated back slightly, flustered, her translucent hands clutching her cheeks as if that could hide the red tint blooming across her face.
Why am I even blushing? I'm practically dead... she thought, flustered and embarrassed. But still... the way he said that. The way he's looking at me…
"I don't know why Ryner is acting so cool all of a sudden. It won't get you any points with me, that's for sure," said Thomas as he whistled and floated lazily in the air.
"As if I wanted to earn any of your stupid points," Ryner snapped, irritated.
Shimoya watched Charlotte and Ryner converse from a slight distance, eyes narrowed slightly as her mind worked through the situation.
I'm not sure what's happening here, but it seems like Ryner is trying to gather intel from a good source. I mean, she's an officer. But then again, he views Charley as suspicious... and Charley is her cousin, Shimoya thought, her expression tense. Can she be trusted? Based on what I'm seeing, yes... but for some reason, I don't feel like this is the right call.
"It's true. This really is Rita's handwriting," Charlotte said, surprised. "Five years ago…"
"And that's not all," Ryner added. He paused, then looked her in the eye again. "But before I go into all the other details, let me ask you again… do you not believe in ghosts?"
"Ryner, enough with the ghost stories. If you're trying to tell me something, just say it clearly. What's really going on?" Asked Charlotte, her voice a mix of frustration and confusion.