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What Happened to Judith Jane? (II)

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  2. Where is Judith?  A crippling hangover greeted Esme the following morning when she awakened on the living room floor, head still spinning, beside dried vomit and an empty vodka bottle. “Oh God… I feel like I’m dying…” She moaned while clutching her head that felt twice as heavy than normal. When the blurry haze of her vision cleared, Esme was mortified by her lack of restraint from the previous night. She had gone off the deep end with no way back to the surface. “Dammit…” Begrudgingly, Esme pulled herself up off the ground and staggered into the bathroom where she took a long, painful look in the mirror. Her appearance was appalling. She was ashamed of how ragged she looked. The reflection looking back at her in the mirror wasn’t Esme. The woman staring at her— no  judging her was a stranger. “Stop it…” Esme strained, her voice raspy and parched. “Just stop it! Stop looking at me with critical eyes.” She raised her voice a little, but it ended up hurting because of ...
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What Happened to Judith Jane? (I)

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  I. Judith is Missing On the dreaded night of June 25th, 2019, Judith Eleanor Jane vanished without a trace. Four years quickly went by after the woman’s mysterious disappearance. Judith’s heartbroken friends never learned what happened to her. Her missing person’s case file went cold, tossed into a raggedy box and stored away in a dingy room with other missing cold case files. On the night Judith disappeared she had been out with work colleagues bar hopping to celebrate her recent promotion. Judith had invited her close friend Esme to come with, but the woman declined, even after persistent pleading on Judith’s behalf. She wasn’t the social butterfly type like her friend Judith was. Esme was a wallflower and had always been since the day she and Judith met. High energy social events made her deathly anxious. Although Esme was flattered Judith wanted her along for the ride, it just wasn’t for her. But had Esme known Judith wouldn’t have returned home that night, she would have gon...
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The Girl in the Wych Elm (XV)

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XV. A Knight of Swords  The NightCap was the partners’ refuge after every shift. The dinner became Nicolai’s and Hollis’ second home over the years. A haven where they could unwind and forget about the dark horrors of their jobs over a meal and drinks. Hollis’ patronage ended after Nicolai’s death. The NightCap had lost its appeal to Hollis without his partner across from him with that goofy, optimistic smile plastered on his face. The food lost its flavor without someone dear to share stories and laughter with. The light of the NightCap disappeared as the light inside Hollis did.   Fidgeting with the salt and pepper shakers, Hollis slumped lower in the booth as he reminisced about the good times he had with Nicolai. “You were always a little peculiar when it came to your food palette, Nicolai.” He chuckled low, addressing the vacant space across from him. Fifteen years after Nicolai’s passing, Hollis still had the man’s signature order memorized like the number to his old lan...
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