INSIDE THE CLEAR OPAL MANOR
Roderick de Milo was struggling to take sips of his tea when the door to his study was opened, and Carl, the butler turned Roderick's right hand man, entered. He gave a slight bow and Roderick nodded his head.
"Any news?" Roderick asked. There was no trace of hope in his voice.
"Sir, I have Detective Harris with me here, may I let him in?" Carl spoke calmly.
"Let him in", Roderick quickly stood to his feet and dumped the tea cup on to the study table.
"Detective", Roderick stretched out his hand as he greeted the man in front of him.
"Doctor sir;" the detective nodded and shook Roderick's hand.
"Hold on", Roderick motioned to the detective. "Carl, Shimmer must be brought here. Whatever the detective has to say, she must hear it first hand as well.".
"Yes sir.", Carl nodded his head and immediately left the study.
"And, has Pete already left the manor? Get him here too" Roderick called out after Carl.
"Yes, sir!" Carl responded.
Roderick did not know what to say or do. He shifted his weight to one leg. Part of his heart wanted to sit down, but the other part preferred to stand instead.
"Perhaps it would be wise if I tell you on your own, doctor sir? It's not the best of news" Detective Harris said.
"My wife should be here", Roderick insisted. "Pete should also be here. He comes here every single day to check the progress on finding Dylan. He is part of this family. We will wait for him."
Roderick was not sure if he was able to handle the news on his own. He did not know why he wanted Shimmer and Pete to be there. As for his daughters, Ciera and Arianna, Roderick was not sure. The girls were already in a pathetic state, crying themselves to sleep every day. He did not want to call them at that moment.
The man felt a chill run down his spine, and he suddenly realized that he was unable to remain in the standing position. He moved around to the other side of the table and sat on the sofa. Although the room was well conditioned and very cool, he started to sweat. "It's not the best of news", the detective had said. What was it? What did the detective want to say?
Waiting for his wife and Pete felt to him like he had waited for a whole week, or maybe a whole month! Their entry seemed very much delayed, and when the door finally opened and Shimmer walked in, Roderick felt a sense of relief. The relief however immediately vanished after the detective's words rang in his mind, "it's not the best of news"
Iris was holding Shimmer protectively. Her left arm was carefully hooked around shimmer's waist, and her right arm held tightly to Shimmer's. Behind them was Pete.
Roderick shifted, creating space for his wife to sit next to him, and Iris stood behind her, holding her shoulders. There was space for three on the sofa, so he called out to Pete, "sit here, son."
Carl stood next to the detective, and there was dead silence in the room. In their anxiety and pain, none of them remembered to offer the detective a seat. Worry was written over all the faces in the room. Roderick allowed Shimmer to rest her head on his shoulder. Her face was drained of all color, she seemed like she had aged three times over, and one could easily tell that she was seriously exhausted and stressed.
"Tell me it's good news, Detective?" she pleaded with her eyes.
"Umm, Mrs de Milo. I'm afraid it's not the best of news", the detective said in an apologetic tone.
"Say it! Just say it! Is he dead!" Shimmer began to scream. Iris was quick to hold her and comfort her. Shimmer shook herself out of Iris' hold and cried out in deep pain.
"What's with all the formalities? Just say it!! Tell us! He is dead, isn't he? Someone killed him!! My son!! My son!! Who killed my son?"
"Please calm down, Mrs de Milo. Let me get to the issue now," the detective said.
"Just tell us!" Roderick ordered. "Get to the point already!!"
Although both Roderick and Shimmer's minds strongly refused to accept that there was a possibility that their only son might be dead, part of those same minds told them that they needed to prepare for the worst. They had prayed over and over again for it to be a dream, but by then they were well aware that it was no dream; it was just the painful reality.
"My son, my Dylan …tell me! Just say it!" Shimmer was facing the detective.
Detective Harris cleared his throat and said, "we have received a phone call from the officers in Yellowleaf." He stopped and looked at everyone's faces, as if he was searching for their reactions.
"Just say it, detective!!" Pete pleaded.
"He's dead, isn't he? My dear son is dead….!" Shimmer broke down in tears, crying her heart out. Roderick stood up and hugged her tight, and Iris was also supporting Shimmer while rubbing the back of her palm.
"A body has been…." The detective was about to continue but Shimmer cut in with her loud scream.
"A body!! You said a body!!! Oh no, my child!! My child! My son!!" Shimmer screamed in agony. She removed her jacket and threw it on the floor. Iris was still holding her and saying words to try and calm her down, but she cried all the more.
Roderick was silent, he had not an ounce of energy in him.
"Mrs de Milo, there is a chance that the body might not belong to your son", the detective said.
"What do you mean?" Pete asked the detective.
"The body is severely swollen and the head is entirely ripped apart. We cannot tell who the person is by just looking at his face. But he does have the same hair colour as your son. But I repeat, it is not certain who that person is. It is difficult to determine who it is without a DNA." The detective explained.
"Ripped apart?!! The face is ripped apart, you say? Who did this to my boy!!" Shimmer cried and was about to throw herself on to the floor when both Iris and Roderick held her.
"Shh, honey there is still a chance that the body is not Dylan's", Roderick whispered.
At that moment, he told himself that even if there was a 0.5% chance that the body was not Dylan's, then he had to hold on to that percentage. He was not going to allow his mind to believe that it could be Dylan. No. It could not be him. It could not be their son. Roderick refused to believe it.
"Mrs de Milo, let's just hope for the best!" Pete's voice was shaky.
"I'm trying, Pete! I'm trying to believe the best, but they found a dead body! My son is dead! Who killed him? What did the person want? What did my son ever do to anyone? He wouldn't hurt anyone, my Dylan is a good child! Who hurt you, Dylan? Who did this to you?" It was sad to listen to Shimmer's cries of desperation.
Everyone felt the pain. Iris failed to hold in her tears, but the men in the room, although feeling the ache, held in. They knew that they needed to be strong, if not for the women, then for Dylan himself. If he was out and alive, he surely was relying on them to come to his rescue. There was no way they were going to let him down at such a crucial moment.
"Carl, prepare the private jet. We're heading over to Yellowleaf right now!" Roderick gave the command. "Arrange for many bodyguards and private investigators to come with us."
He carefully let go of Shimmer, leaving Iris to hold and support her. Roderick violently shook his head as the image of a dead body came to his mind again. It was the last image he wanted to flash in his mind. He wanted to focus, so he shook his head again and continued, "get another private jet, I need ten of our best doctors with us for this. Pick specialists from different disciplines. Let's go right away!"
"There is something else", detective Harris went on. "The lady who found the body requested that she be given her twenty million dollars in cash"
"Of course!" Roderick answered. "Carl, prepare everything. I need the team of doctors to be in Yellowleaf within the hour. Arrange for the twenty million dollars as well."
"Yes sir", Carl nodded "I'm preparing for the first jet to leave immediately with the two of you and Pete, as well as the detective. Iris and I will come along in that same jet."
"Of course, Carl," Roderick nodded his head.
Roderick took Pete's hand and told him, "son, we need to be strong through this. Make sure we take specialists in various disciplines, we cannot afford any errors!" Pete nodded his head.
Turning to Iris, Roderick gave an instruction, "prepare her clothes and toiletries; you know best what she needs. Make sure she's comfortable."
"Yes sir," Iris nodded as she left the room. Shimmer wanted to go out with Iris, but Roderick held her back. Pete held her other hand, and with detective Harris leading them, they all left the study.