Cindy Mace was on top of that huge building. She had made the decision to end her twenty-seven-year-old's short and unsuccessful life forever.
Well, that was the second time he was in that place. The first time was two nights ago and the building's concierge prevented him from committing a misfortune. But now this was his second attempt and after making sure that no one, much less the concierge, would be in the building, he went up the stairs and found himself in that place again.
Cindy had to admit that she was terrified of heights and it was quite normal for her to feel chills running down her spine. From that height she could see the vehicles passing through the public roads. But her from that position she looked like a mini game of race tracks.
It was 08:13 at night and the lights of the buildings were on, Cindy could see them and they looked like simple stars fallen from the sky. The sky was cloudy. She knew that a heavy rain would fall in a matter of minutes on the city and would leave the pavements damp.
"The moment has arrived." Cindy had stood at the edge of the building, she felt the wind move certain areas of her clothing and she felt her hair mess up on top of her head.
She remembered the night when she had a heated argument with her older brother. The reason for the discussion was that Cindy did not want to admit that she was addicted to alcoholic beverages and that this addiction would lead to ruin. That same night, Cindy packed her bags and left the house.
"It's that he was absolutely right." Cindy sighed, looked at the sky for the last time in her life and got ready to jump.
...
"Dead?" Cindy Mace had answered a phone call.
At the moment when he had taken the initiative to jump into the void and end his life forever, his cell phone vibrated unexpectedly or miraculously inside his pocket.
"Yeah." The voice on the other end of the line was male. But Cindy didn't recognize her.
"My brother can't be dead, this has to be a joke." Cindy was trying to assimilate the news she had just received, "Who are you?"
"Miss Mace, we found your brother dead in your home, please, we need you to come to the city of Indianapolis so we can give your brother a holy burial."
"What happened to him?"— Cindy asked, still trying to assimilate the situation.
"From what I understand it was a heart attack."
"I'll be there."— She said, "Who are you?"
The call was cut off. Cindy tried to call back more than seven times. But the line was busy. Full of rage and pain, she threw the cell phone into the void, the same void she had thought of throwing herself into.
…
Cindy Mace arrived in the city of Indianapolis, United States the following night. She hadn't finished picking up her bags and a dozen journalists had surrounded her to ask an innumerable number of questions, which of course Cindy didn't feel ready to answer.
"My brother just died. I just got to the city. I need to rest and bury my brother tomorrow." Cindy said seriously and began to walk through the halls. But the journalists were too insistent and followed her.
"How did you find out about the unexpected death of your brother, Matteo Mace?" asked a journalist.
"Will you keep your deceased brother's assets? We know that his brother was co-founder of a perfume factory.
Cindy wasn't going to answer any of those questions. She had neither the time nor the courage to answer any questions. Getting into the first taxi that passed by and after the vehicle accelerated, Cindy looked out the back of the windows and through the reflection, saw the dozen journalists standing in the middle of the street. They were similar to lions when a prey escapes them.
"Please take me to the best bar in town." Cindy said kindly and sighing that she had finally freed herself from those journalists. Well, at least temporarily.
…
"Pour the strongest tequila you have, please." Cindy had taken a seat in one of the few free positions that were a few meters from the counter.
"Are you Matteo Mace's sister?" The bartender was a man in his early twenties. He had black hair and his gaze was fixed on Cindy as she poured the tequila.
"Were you the one who contacted me last night?" Cindy asked with confusion and interest.
"What are you talking about?" The bartender raised both eyebrows and placed the glass, filled with tequila, just inches from Cindy's hands.
"Sorry, I'm just confused." Cindy took the glass and drained the contents in one gulp, "How do you know I'm Matteo Mace's sister?"
The bartender sighed and took what looked like a mini control and immediately pointed to a large screen on the side. The screen came on, it was a TV and it was on the news channel.
"Can you turn it off?" Cindy asked. The TV had only been on for ten seconds and she already felt that everyone present had their eyes on her.
The bartender turned off the TV, "Images of you at the airport evading journalists have appeared on various news programs."
"Those journalists do not understand the definition of the word mourning or the definition of the word personal space." Cindy said in a disappointed manner, "Hey..."
"Tell me?" The bartender waited for an answer or some comment.
"What is your name?"
"My name is Adam Standoff."
"Adan, can you pour me another tequila three times stronger."
Adán nodded kindly and got ready to prepare the tequila. Cindy was looking around her, a few people glanced at her briefly. But those brief glances caused some discomfort for her.
"Good night." A smartly dressed man had sat down in the next booth. The Good night had been addressed to her. But Cindy didn't have time to be friendly with strangers.
"Who are you?" Cindy asked, downing the tequila in one gulp.
"My name is Bryant Calgary." The man said in a friendly tone of voice. He moved onto his chair and a pleasant smell of perfume began to flow from his elegant clothes, "For starters, I knew your brother. He and I were partners, we both founded the perfume factory."
Cindy felt embarrassed by her attitude, "I'm sorry, well I guess you already know that my brother was found dead in his house and for a moment I thought it was one of those intense journalists, looking for a way to ask me questions."
"No, journalism is not my thing." Bryant started laughing, "Have you already gone to the morgue to claim your brother's body?"
"No. I arrived in the city a few hours ago and I came here to have a few drinks." Cindy said calmly, "Tomorrow morning I'll go to the morgue and he'll fix that later."
"Cindy, I just want to recommend that you head to the morgue right now so the medical examiners can prepare the body for tomorrow morning. But if you leave it for tomorrow, you will have to wait for two days."
Cindy first wanted to ask him how he knew her name, but she knew that his late brother had been his partner and that he may have told him about her on several occasions. Bryant had asked for a shot of whiskey and while he was enjoying it with total calm, he briefly observed Cindy who was pensive.
"How do you feel about my brother's death?" she asked.
"I'm trying to assimilate the situation." Bryant drained the whiskey from the tumbler, "Do you want to go out for something to eat?"
Cindy didn't feel like going out. But she was hungry and she needed to fill her stomach, tomorrow would be a long day. She could go and get something to eat and finally go claim her brother's corpse.
"That seems fine to me. I need to eat." She said, "When I finish eating I'm going to claim my brother's body."
They both got up from their posts, leaving their tips on the counter. When they got out of it, they boarded a white car, Bryant opened the passenger door and cordially asked her to enter.
"Thank you so much." She said. She had to admit that Bryant was a good person. But there was something about him that caught her attention and it wasn't his physique, but the aroma of her perfume.
"It's time to go." Bryant said after boarding the vehicle and starting the engine.
"What kind of perfume are you wearing? I like that fragrance."
"It is the last product made by your brother."
"What is the name."
"Dangerous fragrance."