Dear Detective Plowe,
I hope to see you soon.
May 19, At 3:40pm
2435 Long Street
Clayton and Nathan eyed the note as they stood outside his house. Seeing him soon? What did she mean? And why that day precisely? Was it bad luck? Thought like that continued to surge around the men's heads as they talked.
"So what do you think?" Nathan looked to Clay for the answer. "Does this date mean anything to you?" He curved the invite over and over again. While he played, Clayton scanned his phone over and over again. He looked at his calendar, swiping through each and every year, trying to find some resemblance of a May nineteenth. Nothing. Nothing ever in resemblance. He looked up to his partner before speaking.
"Nah, nothing." He wanted to say those words before a sudden memory flashed into his mind. Pharaoh. Feeling like he had somewhat of a lead, he quickly looked through his camera roll to see when was the last time he ever got to see his best friend. He kept albums amongst albums of photos between him and the other. It almost seemed criminal. Pharaoh was an old childhood friend Clayton had before he died.
Clay could remember him like it was yesterday. Him and Pharaoh playing on the swing. Counting as many cars as they could and purposefully assigning themselves the cool looking ones. He remembered how his almond shaped eyes would close slightly as he laughed about dumb things, like girls… and boys. He was just the type of friend Clayton needed…until he disappeared. One day, during third grade, there was no sign of him. Teacher would ask students and the facility if they'd seen him. Nothing. Gosh, he couldn't count the time when people would ask him the same thing.
"Where's Pharaoh?"
"Y'all are best friends, right?"
"Is he sick?"
Truth was, he'd realized he didn't know anything about Pharaoh. They hung out, sure. But only on school grounds. Every time anyone would recommend somewhere, he'd get up and leave. He just seemed off. It wasn't long before his name went all over the news for missing. He knew he had a sister, but none of his family wanted to be videoed on the subject. So realistically, he knew the same as everyone else.
May 19, was the day he was found. Clayton remembered people all across town talking about it. Mothers kept saying how their prayers were answered, and fathers kept repeating 'I told you so.' Everyone was so happy… until they realized he was dead.
Clayton felt so bad for years after that. Truth was, he didn't go to the funeral. He didn't know enough about him. He was just a stranger. A novelty…at best. It was that dark feeling that made him want to help people. That selfish, unlovable feeling. And god, it burned like hell.
"I know what day it is." He turned his phone to show Nathan the picture of Pharaoh, causing the other's face to turn subsequently pale.
"Pharaoh!" The assistant detective ran his fingers back through his already gelled hair. "Gosh, I haven't heard his name in so long." Nathan continues to go on about basically the same thing Clay knew. Even though they all had the same class, Nathan and Clayton didn't get to know each other until high school. It wasn't through any of the classes, he was always taking college, while Nate took a more simpler version. They both met in the journalism club though. Clayton worked as a researcher, while the other worked the camera. Other than that, they never crossed paths.
"So if this address has any meaning, it is probably a graveyard."
"Or a church of some kind." Nathan chimed in, but in actuality it could be a whole lot worse. The kid was lost for six months before anyone found his body. It could be a trap. It could be showing the place he died, it could be showing us anything. Clayton took a breath before resting his body against the hood of his car.
"Dude, I," Words couldn't explain how he felt. He told Yasmine to go away so she could be safe, but now everything felt terrible. She has people in her pocket. People they weren't expecting. Normal everyday people could be working for that disease of a woman. Did someone follow Yas? Did someone know where she was? He called a few hours ago to confirm everything with Hannah, but what if she's not right? What if she's planning on betraying her daughter, right now? "I just… need a break." As he planted his hands into his face, he could feel his hand slowly caressing his arm. It had the type of hesitation that made him almost want to laugh. Almost. Instead, he thought about all the terrible and tragic things that brought him here. Pharaoh, Sage, Yasmine, and everyone else who ever fell victim to Despair's tricks. He needed to do this. Whether he wanted to or not. This was his despair. One that he couldn't escape until he died. He was trapped.
"How about we go get something?" Nathan's voice cut through the violent thoughts that pierced his scalp. "When was the last time you ate something?" His question caused the detective to think to himself. Did he eat today? He didn't, didn't he? This one day felt so long compared to others. From him waking up bad, finding Sage, and investigating everyone…today just seemed fake. Like a bad dream you were bound to wake up from, heck! A part of him wished he did. A part of him wished that he would open his face to the sight of his bedroom. He begged to see the sight of his wife, Kudo and Sage. He missed his family. As he slowly thought to himself, he could feel himself being pulled into a hug with zero hesitation. For the first time all day, someone took it in their hearts to try and comfort him.
He smelled weird. Not bad, but weird. Clayton separated himself from the cedar pine smelling man. To erase the awkwardness, he patted Nathan on the back before he spoke.
"If you're recommending us eating, you're paying right?" His words were only met back with a laugh. After he confirmed his payment method, they both hopped into the car to go and buy their food.