BBDW 10 [Black Butterfly] - Nevereverland

Section 10 (UNEDITED)

“The second person has gone missing?”

-What a diligent fellow. As he folded the third letter, which had been regularly delivered every week, and put it in his arms nonchalantly, Jude asked Tim who’s driving next to him. Tim, who looked a little uneasy at Jude’s appearance of folding the letter, answered with a voice of nervousness.

“Yes. It was a big family that’s hard to see these days. I heard they live together with their parents, children, grandparents, aunt, uncles, niece and nephews. All of a sudden, the grandfather and niece were reported missing one after another.”

“What was the name again? Ra-Ra…….”

“The Rice. They live on the outskirts of the town. They don’t have many neighbours, but they have a nice neighbourhood.”

“Ah. The place where city people always say they want to go when they retire.”

Nodding his head to the old pop song flowing out of the radio, Jude looked out at the scene. If you drive a little further from the city centre, the scenery quickly turns idyllic. A few times passing through a plainly written town sign, a long, flat horizon and densely decorated gardens, Tim slowly stepped on the brake to check the street number.

“Here we go.”

“Oh, the house is huge.”

“Think about the size of their family. How can they live together if it’s not this big?”

In the garden of the house, which is considerably larger than a regular private house – but looks a little older – a middle-aged woman was pruning the branches with electric scissors. Tim and Jude got out of the car cautiously and approached her, with their round chubby faces full of signs of fatigue. Suddenly, fear quickly permeated the face of the woman who turned her head at the appearance of the two men. Seeing her stepping back and raising the electric scissors, Tim hurriedly pulled out his police ID.

“I’m a cop. You called the police, right?”

“Oh … yeah, oh, co-come in.”

The face, which would normally be lively and kind, was heavily shaded with vigilance and a sense of despondency. Following her guide, who put down the scissors and wiped her hands roughly on the apron, Jude and Tim went into the vestibule of the old house. Looking at the house interior, the furniture lifespan was unlikely to be less than ten years. Putting down two teacups in front of the two detectives sitting in front of the hand-stained table, the woman settled in front of them with a long, troubled sigh. The voice, a little low, relaxed.

“I’m sorry. I’ve had a lot of bad stuff happening lately……and I’m Martha Rice. You can just call me Martha. I’m Martin Rice’s wife. I’m the only one in the house right now, so you’ll have to hear from me right now.”

“I’m Tim, and this is Jude. Can you explain what happened?”

Once again, a long sigh came out.

The woman, who had been silent for a while with her eyes closed, soon open her mouth with her eyes half-opened.

“In fact, I’d like someone to give an account…… my father and niece went missing five days ago and three days ago respectively. When my father disappeared, I wondered if he went fishing with a friend without telling me, but when Jane went missing, I thought something was wrong. It just didn’t seem like a coincidence. As you can see, this is a small community, so if anything had happened in here, someone would know it, but no one knows where they are. I feel like I was possessed by a ghost… my children are anxious, and my mother and husband, and Rhett…… Rhett is my brother and Jane’s father. We’re waiting for father and Jane, almost in devastation.”

“Have you had any big fights with anyone lately?”

“No, no. None of my neighbours is unfriendly, and I’ve never fought. It’s just… I’ve had a little argument with my relative about money, but, uh, it wasn’t that big of a thing to involve my family. Oh, no…… It wasn’t a fight for wealth.”

“By any chance, do you know where they last went before they went missing?”

The woman shook her head at once. The anguish of not getting the answer to the longing question came to her face. Her pale lips trembled vulnerably.

“I don’t know. They both went out in the morning, but Jane hasn’t come back since she went to school. I asked her friends, but since they parted, no one knows. We didn’t have anyone around that kid’s age in this neighbourhood. I don’t know what happened until I got home because I don’t have any children going to school with her.”

“What about your father?”

“My father left early in the morning. He has a plan to go downtown and meet his friend for lunch, but he left a little early. He used to be like that. But when I asked his friend, I was told that he didn’t even come to the appointment. Until then, I was nervous, and I wasn’t sure, but two days later, when Jane disappeared, I feel dark. There was no phone call asking for money, and she just disappeared all of a sudden…!”

While silently looking at the woman, who rolled up her apron to hide her overwhelming emotion, Jude turned his head and made eye contact with Tim. Is there anything else we can get from her? No, I don’t think there is anything other than the name of the person concerned. All right then, let’s ask around. Seeing her red-eyed, Tim said cautiously.

“Well, can I have the name and address of your relative? I’ll let you know right away if there’s any progress in the investigation.”

“Yes, it’s my mother’s younger brother, and his name is Liz…”

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