The Interrogation

"David, the hell?! What was that supposed to be? I know it's about your daughter, but you control it," Jim said, slamming the door to his office where I waited with Alex and Victor, pacing nervously around.

My friend sat down in his armchair and sighed deeply. Even though he was not much older than me, the stress of work had already left his hair gray. The color covered even his voluminous mustache, the tip of which he always played with when he thought about something, as he did at that moment. However, he had gained weight recently, but he claimed he would lose some when his grandchildren started running and he would have to keep up with them. His daughter had recently given birth to twins, and he must have been under the stress of finding out he was going to be a grandfather.

"I wonder what you would do if it was about Natalie?" I replied, still furious.

"But it's not about her. That's why I have to think for you,” said Jim with a sigh. "You know I want to help you, but you must think soberly." Lucretia didn't come home, right? Who was the last person to see her, any of the boys?"

"Yes, Victor, he spoke to her before she left," I confirmed, then told him about everything I had learned from my son and his boyfriend. I just skipped that they were together, that was what they asked me to do before, decided to honor their request since it didn't matter to the case anyway.

Jim listened to me and looked at the materials I had brought, thinking for a moment, then reaching for the phone.

"Get me, Collins and Peterson, here right now," he said firmly and put the phone down. "I'm too old for any scandal, so I hope this is just a simple misunderstanding. Peterson is an experienced cop, he'll take care of it, pick up the young ones for questioning, and bring Lucretia's disappearance into the system. You have a picture of her, don't you?"

"Of course," I said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"And we'll talk to Collins before Peterson does," added Jim.

Moments later we heard a soft knock on the door, it was hard for me to control my emotions when I saw this young policeman again. I had known Peterson for a long time, he was a really experienced policeman who rarely spoke but had an extraordinary sense of detail and tart remarks. Jim explained to him why he had summoned him and took Alex and Victor with him to take their testimony and start procedures related to someone's disappearance.

He also asked the other mate to sit across from me. I won't say that I would completely overcome the urge to throw myself at him again, but the presence of my friend somehow kept me in line. I looked at the young man for a moment, his expression completely different now, as if he was thinking hard about something and worried at the same time.

"Collins, do you know David Parker, the assistant attorney general? I know you've been working here recently, but maybe you've got your ears," Jim asked him.

"I know him, I think that when I lived here before, I went to the same class with his son," he replied matter-of-factly, but his words were only directed at Jim. "I have not yet had the opportunity to meet in person."

"Now's the time. David Parker, and Tetsuya Collins," introduced us with a pointing hand. Fortunately, he didn't expect us to shake hands, and I didn't feel like it until I was sure it had nothing to do with my daughter's disappearance. He just nodded at me, and I replied the same, still glaring at him angrily.

"Okay, Collins, short and to the point, do you know David's daughter Lucretia?"

"Maybe," he replied.

"What do you mean, maybe?!" I exploded, rising from my chair. "Do you know her or not?!"

"Two days ago in Spring Park, I met a girl with that name. She did not give me the surname, so I do not know if it is your daughter," answered the young man calmly, not afraid to meet my eyes. It made me feel strange, but I couldn't tell what that feeling was going to be based on. "We exchanged phone numbers, I was supposed to meet her again in the park yesterday, but she didn't show up. I called a couple of times and she didn't answer so I went home. Everything I have to say on this matter."

"Did you contact her before the meeting?" Jim asked. "She only asked if I was allergic to something because she wanted to bring me some cake and what my dog ​​likes because she would like to buy him something too."

"Sounds like my Lucretia," I sighed softly, covering my face in my hands. "Victor recognized you, she showed him who she is going to meet."

"Could it be Collins?" Jim asked.

"She was taking a picture of Kiba, my dog. I could be caught there," he replied after a long moment, a bit surprised, but he didn't let his supervisor, who was staring at the notes I had brought, noticed it.

I cursed silently, after all, she could show him this through my memories. I knew Lucretia and Victor could do such things. I was surprised how Collins's gaze only said that he understand. Yes, Victor mentioned that she told a stranger in the park about her powers, and since it was him ... he believed her? Just like that? On the one hand, I wish he had something to do with it. It would be the easiest scenario, just squeeze him and the investigation would move on. On the other hand, my intuition told me that he was not a bad person and that he had nothing to do with it. However, there was one more thing I had to clarify as a father.

"Why did you want to meet her again?" I asked. I heard Jim taking a deep breath, he knew perfectly well what it was like to have a daughter and find out that she was going to see a man.

"I liked her, I wanted to get to know her better," he replied, still meeting my eyes and making me feel this strange discomfort.

I felt all the air escape from me. My daughter shouldn't be seeing anyone. She was already an adult, but the thought still haunted me. I thought no one would deserve her anyway, and certainly not the young man sitting in front of me. I have flooded with anger again, I rejected everything my intuition told me, and so far I only blamed him. For me, he was the prime suspect.

Jim noticed my shift and referred Collins to Peterson, and he asked me to pick up the boys and go home. I realized that I would have to tell Martha and Hyacinth about everything, only then did I feel the weight on my shoulders. I couldn't show how much it overwhelmed me. I took Victor and Alex back to the apartment and asked them to sleep as they were barely standing. I had to face the messenger role by myself. While driving, I called my wife.

"Honey, are you home?" I asked when she said hi.

"Yes, I am waiting for our lovebirds, they said that they will be there soon, and we are arranging the last details for the party," she replied joyfully, but after a while, she reflected, sensing the sadness in my voice. "Something happened?"

"I need to talk to you and Hyacinth, but not on the phone," I replied. "I just wanted to make sure you were there."

"Okay, we're waiting," she replied seriously and hung up.

I guess I was more nervous now than when I first drove Lucretia to our house. All my fears have faded over time, even after the accident with Victor. Martha accepted her and loved her like a daughter, although it was not easy for her to show it. Sometimes it was even difficult for her to do so with our sons. Lucretia was never a threat to us, she did everything to keep us exposed to her powers as little as possible. I was worried, I didn't want anything to happen to her. My hands tightened on the steering wheel, I couldn't let that happen. I decided that I would find her at any cost and bring her home again safely.

A dozen or so minutes later I was home. Even Meow could sense my gloomy mood, he hadn't left me a step since I stepped over the threshold. Only Ginny greeted me with a happy smile, I didn't feel like seeing her. I understood that Hyacinth loved her, but sometimes she made me nervous with her fluttering.

"Hi, my dad will be too soon," she called to me.

"Stop it, not now," I said furiously, seeing her joy. "Just not now," I added in a calmer tone, seeing her, not even sad, outraged expression.

She looked at Martha and Hyacinth, expecting them to somehow defend her, but neither reacted. I asked them to talk to the two of them, Ginny obviously wanted to be part of it as well, but I forbade her. I was sure that if he got the chance he would overhear our conversation. I picked up the Meow and closed the door to Lucretia's room, which had previously been my office. Being here has already started to cause me a lot of pain.

"You didn't have to be so hard on Ginny," Martha scolded me, whose nerves were also taking their toll.

"What's the matter, dad?" Hyacinth asked, looking tired and subdued. He didn't remind me of the confident, somewhat aggressive old self.

"Lucretia is missing," I said, unable to meet their eyes, full of surprise. "I came back from the police station, and reported her missing."

Martha clenched her fists and lips, and Hyacinth turned pale and sat down on his sister's bed. The wife looked at me and asked for details. So I told them what I had learned from Victor, and then from Collins. They were both outraged that he was not immediately identified as a possible suspect, but I warned them that Peterson and Jim would be sure to take a close look at his every word.

I saw in their expression how much they resemble each other, and how much our older son inherited from Martha. He seemed particularly devastated by this news, unable to recover. My wife was already working on a plan in her head, as always in crisis situations, she was the leader, and now she looked at me and softly whispered: "We will find our daughter".