about the crime scene, and wanted to see it. He might still be able to talk to the investigators. Mark was more than willing to take her there, he was eager.
Julie nodded and replied, “Okay, thank you.” All though, she couldn’t imagine why he’d want to go back there.
As they pulled into the parking lot, Mark realized that almost everyone HAD left. A couple police cars remained; one of them was unmarked. “Probably, a homicide detective,” Mark thought.
There was also a service van of some kind and Julie’s car. They parked around back to go in through the service doors. Mark took out his personal work keys and tried the door, but it was already unlocked. He quickly entered, expecting the alarm to start beeping, but it didn’t.
This was unusual, and it annoyed Mark. The back door was supposed to be locked at all times. Maybe, Mark thought, the alarm had been shut off to accommodate the police detectives. He guessed it made sense that they be able to come and go as needed. Mark quickly rationalized this, and let it go. He realized how paranoid he had become, and should probably cut himself some slack.
Mark slowly lead Julie inside, and looked around. An unfamiliar looking janitor looked up at them, as he mopped the floor. Mark and Julie carefully made their way through the slippery kitchen and went out into the main dining hall. There were a couple of temp-workers vacuuming and taking down the lights as well.
Mark glanced over to what was once “Allie’s table” and saw nothing but a tidy place setting. He couldn’t smell the flowers anymore; not even a trace of them. It was almost as if they had never been there; never existed.
“Mark? Julie? What in the hell, are you guys doing here?” The sound of Nick’s voice brought him back to reality. Nick was shocked to see Mark standing there. He looked like he had just seen a ghost.
Nick had just come out of Dom’s office and was walking down the hallway with a much taller man.
“Mark, um… this is the cop that’s doing the investigation, he just had some questions, and so, I handled it,” Nick straightened his back, proud of his contribution.
“Thank you, Nick. Also, thank you for bringing my car to the hospital earlier, I appreciate that very much,” Mark said.
“Oh, yeah, you’re welcome. It was nothing,” Nick smiled. “Anything I can do to help, man.”
“I think I might have left my phone on the table,” Julie said from behind Mark.
“Oh, yeah, I put that in the office,” Nick said. He was still staring at Mark. “Go ahead and grab it.”
“Mark… Anderson?” The investigator asked.
“Yes, sir, I‘m the father of the young girl who died here this evening,” Mark answered nonchalantly.
The background noises and the whirring of the vacuum had stopped.
The two workers had apparently been eavesdropping on their conversation, as they were now staring at Mark with large, frightened eyes.
“Yes, sir, I‘m aware of that, and I’m very sorry for your loss,” the man said kindly.
“My name is Detective Williams,” he introduced himself and extended his hand. Detective Williams was a tall man, a couple of inches taller than Mark, actually, maybe 6’3”. His most notable attribute, however, was his firm handshake.
“It’s nice to meet you, Detective Williams. Thank you for your kind words,” Mark glanced at the woman who had been vacuuming, as she quickly turned it back on and looked to the ground.
“I’m curious to know where the investigation lies at this point. If you don’t mind taking a walk with me, I would like to hear about it and learn of how everything has developed so far,” Mark turned his back towards Nick and escorted Williams to the dining room.
Julie was encouraging Nick to start making their way towards
Julie nodded and replied, “Okay, thank you.” All though, she couldn’t imagine why he’d want to go back there.
As they pulled into the parking lot, Mark realized that almost everyone HAD left. A couple police cars remained; one of them was unmarked. “Probably, a homicide detective,” Mark thought.
There was also a service van of some kind and Julie’s car. They parked around back to go in through the service doors. Mark took out his personal work keys and tried the door, but it was already unlocked. He quickly entered, expecting the alarm to start beeping, but it didn’t.
This was unusual, and it annoyed Mark. The back door was supposed to be locked at all times. Maybe, Mark thought, the alarm had been shut off to accommodate the police detectives. He guessed it made sense that they be able to come and go as needed. Mark quickly rationalized this, and let it go. He realized how paranoid he had become, and should probably cut himself some slack.
Mark slowly lead Julie inside, and looked around. An unfamiliar looking janitor looked up at them, as he mopped the floor. Mark and Julie carefully made their way through the slippery kitchen and went out into the main dining hall. There were a couple of temp-workers vacuuming and taking down the lights as well.
Mark glanced over to what was once “Allie’s table” and saw nothing but a tidy place setting. He couldn’t smell the flowers anymore; not even a trace of them. It was almost as if they had never been there; never existed.
“Mark? Julie? What in the hell, are you guys doing here?” The sound of Nick’s voice brought him back to reality. Nick was shocked to see Mark standing there. He looked like he had just seen a ghost.
Nick had just come out of Dom’s office and was walking down the hallway with a much taller man.
“Mark, um… this is the cop that’s doing the investigation, he just had some questions, and so, I handled it,” Nick straightened his back, proud of his contribution.
“Thank you, Nick. Also, thank you for bringing my car to the hospital earlier, I appreciate that very much,” Mark said.
“Oh, yeah, you’re welcome. It was nothing,” Nick smiled. “Anything I can do to help, man.”
“I think I might have left my phone on the table,” Julie said from behind Mark.
“Oh, yeah, I put that in the office,” Nick said. He was still staring at Mark. “Go ahead and grab it.”
“Mark… Anderson?” The investigator asked.
“Yes, sir, I‘m the father of the young girl who died here this evening,” Mark answered nonchalantly.
The background noises and the whirring of the vacuum had stopped.
The two workers had apparently been eavesdropping on their conversation, as they were now staring at Mark with large, frightened eyes.
“Yes, sir, I‘m aware of that, and I’m very sorry for your loss,” the man said kindly.
“My name is Detective Williams,” he introduced himself and extended his hand. Detective Williams was a tall man, a couple of inches taller than Mark, actually, maybe 6’3”. His most notable attribute, however, was his firm handshake.
“It’s nice to meet you, Detective Williams. Thank you for your kind words,” Mark glanced at the woman who had been vacuuming, as she quickly turned it back on and looked to the ground.
“I’m curious to know where the investigation lies at this point. If you don’t mind taking a walk with me, I would like to hear about it and learn of how everything has developed so far,” Mark turned his back towards Nick and escorted Williams to the dining room.
Julie was encouraging Nick to start making their way towards
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