The entire night had gone by well without that nightmare I had the first time, and I was thoroughly glad for the unexpectedly peaceful sleep that I got. Now that I'm here, I couldn't help but wonder what would become of all my possessions in my past life.
My parents live far away, I wonder if they heard news about their daughter yet. Since I have no children of my own, all my life insurance will surely go to them. At least, I can help pay off some debt in this way.
By the time I went out of my room and had a simple breakfast with Jayus, the aggressive man still tried persuading me to take a break for the day which I promptly refused. I'd be stuck in this room doing nothing if I had accepted!
Besides that, I'm to live in this world for a while until I figure things out for myself, I best get used to my surroundings first.
Also, if the previous Isolde ever comes back, I don't want to cause her trouble by having her work pile up on her because of a sick leave. I wouldn't want that for myself so why would another me want it?
So that brings us back to where we had left of the previous day. Sitting at Ms. Keinsley's table.
"So...may I ask where Fin Keinsley might be?" Jayus asked, cutting through the awkward tension in the air that only Ms. Keinsley seemed unaffected by as she smiled with her plump, red lips. Her hands never once stopped from knitting the blanket that now puddled at her feet. She hummed in thought, "I'm not sure, Mr. Detective. By the time I woke up, Finny was already out of bed and gone. If I'd known he'd sneak out, I would have gave him a scolding!"
So there was that. The second those words escaped her lips, I turned to Jayus but with his eyes already on me, I assume we both immediately came to the same conclusion.
As we walked out of the apartment building of this deserted side of town, I kicked away a stray pebble in my way.
"This can't be a coincidence," Jayus remarked, a sense of dread lingering at the back of his throat as he chewed the nail of his thumb in frustration.
"Do you think Fin Keinsley could have been at the crime scene the day we found new evidence?" I asked. Based on the notebook, Isolde had managed to interrogate Fin Keinsley with Jayus before. However, it seems only recently did Fin Keinsley actively avoided us. Did something change in the last few days for Fin Keinsley?
Jayus shook his head, "That can't be," He declined as his mind went into deep thought, "The are was highly guarded, not to mention it was far too vast even with trees for anyone to hide away from multiple officers..."
Suddenly, a thought went to mind. Surprised at the implications of it, my eyes widened, "You don't think...that someone at that time went and warned Fin Keinsley, do you?"
Jayus could only shake his head, unsure, as he continued to chew on his nail, thick brows furrowed in deep thought as he glared at anyone who passed by, "I don't know but... this is bad."
I gathered my thoughts for a moment, "What about the other Suspects? The used lighter could be one of theirs, and now we just wasted time of Fin Keinsley," I said, hoping my words would atleast give Jayus some sort of an idea which could help in anyway. Unfortunately, it didn't. Jayus shook his head, disapproving my statement.
"Fin Keinsley is more known to be the smoker of the three. Multiple people stated Lous to be a conservative fellow, and Mika smoked in the past but stopped abruptly when it raised medical concerns to her aunt who she lives with. Our best bet is on Fin right now,"
Without any experience and degree on criminology, I had no idea how to help Jayus in this situation. Perhaps if it had been the other Isolde, she would have known what to do. My gaze focused right back at the ground as I waited for Jayus's next move when a figure around the corner of the building startled my attention. It was only for a moment did the shadow caught my attention before it quickly disappeared in a rush. Only then did I realize it was a person rushing to get away when I noticed them.
In my frenzy, I called out to them in a panic, "Hey wait!" before I quickly ran to try and catch up. As I rounded up the corner of the building, I could see their silhouette make a getaway at the other end. Without awaiting for Jayus's instructions, nor turning back to see if he had followed me, I made quick haste to follow the perpetrator.
Jayus startled at my sudden action as he snapped out of his thought, his red eyes widened in surprise as he watched me make a run for the narrow gap between the two apartment buildings.
"What happened? Hey—!" He tried calling out to me. When I didn't turn back, he immediately followed my trail without much choice.
Now with both of us stuck in this goose chase within such narrow gap, it became easier to try and catch up to this unknown figure. But it also became difficult for us to pass through without so much as scratching our shoulders and arms against such rough surfaces.
The perpetrator turned back in panic when the distance grew shorter between us before they made a swift turn inside the building, pushing back it's wooden door with such force that it broke to pieces in their wake. As they continued to escape, I quickly followed through.
By now we had reached the abandoned employees room. Filled with dust and cobwebs from never being used, I scoffed off and held my breath in disgust. If there's one thing I hate most, it's wandering through rooms as filthy as this. The stranger cursed under their breath as they threw down everything they could reach, disturbing all the dust in their wake. My face wrinkled as I coughed out a few dust that hit my face, yet I didn't stop either. Jumping through the dusty boxes and ruined furnitures, I finally made it out of that room with Jayus right behind me. We had reached the first floor of Ms. Keinsley's apartment.
"On your right!" Jayus said as he ran right past me. And there the perpetrator was, I had merely caught a glimpse of them pushing through the Exit door of the building before they disappeared out of sight.
I quickly followed right behind Jayus. The few times we came here, we had went through the entrance. As we pushed through the Exit door, I was immediately faced with the empty streets of the neighborhood. The barren area had trash settling by every curb the naked eye could find. Like a part of the neighborhood left unattended, everywhere we ran past smelled of lingering smoke and alcohol all fused together with the rotten stench that emitted from the dosposed bags.
The further we ran, the more I failed to recognize our surroundings. Who knew this neighbourhood could stretch so wide? Or was it because we've been strung along around more narrow alleyways that I've lost track of our location. Whatever the answer was was completely irrelevant now.
Almost got him...! Jayus thought, his reached out hand barely grazing the back of the stranger's shirt before he unexpectedly fell on his back. Just as his hand reached the unknown perpetrator, the back door to a run down bar opened without expectation. As Jayus painfully fell to the ground, the perpetrator took this as a chance to escape.
"Fuck..." Jayus cussed under his breath as I quickly dropped down to his aid, "Are you okay?" I asked, staring at the red mark on his face as I did so. I winced.
"Holy shit, dude. Watch where you're going, asshole..." A voice from above said as a puff of smoke traced from his lips. My eyes snapped right at him. Asshole? Does this guy have no reserve for others? I firmly grasp Jayus arm, no longer concerned about his state. Trying to hold myself back, I snapped right at him, until Jayus held me back.
"...Lous Darwin."