The rain had finally let up and the first rays of drawn gently pushed in the windows, gently bathing both Aron and I in gold and pink. The light reflected in Aron's eyes, turning them into a lighter brown, like glimmering tigerstone. His cheeks reddened and he looked away.
I should have looked away too, help reduce the embarrassment, but I couldn't take my eyes off of him.
"You…," Aron stammered. "You don't need to give me a reply or a rejection or anything. I just wanted to tell you that, that's all."
All through this I watched with fascination as his face and neck became pinker and pinker.
"So why tell me at all?" I asked.
Aron took a deep breath then looked at me. "Because… I think you dislike yourself too much and I want you to know that someone thinks the world of you."
Then he smiled.
And so did the world.
Aron's phone buzzed and we both jumped. He grabbed it, checked the message then immediately dialed a number. When it connected, he set his phone to speaker mode and put it down on the mattress.
"I knew you would still be awake." It was Officer Claire's voice.
"You said there's an update?" said Aron.
"Yes, but you'll want to let Lachlan..."
"I'm here too," I said. I crawled over to Aron's side of the van to get in better range of his phone. He picked up his phone and held it between us.
"Oh, you're together, that's nice. Well, here's the long and short of it: Millie is safe and sound. She's had a quick health check and is now fast asleep in the hospital."
"Oh, thank God..." I sank against the side of the van and ended up leaning against Aron. He gave my shoulders a squeeze.
"Where did you find her?" Aron asked. He was trying to be professional, but I could hear the relief in his voice.
"In a discrete, grey SUV. They changed vehicles twice in total, but we were able to corner them before they got to the harbour."
"How did you find them then?" I asked.
"Trade secret," replied Claire.
I glanced at Aron but he just rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Harbour? Did they have a boat?" he went on to ask.
"Evidently yes. While we were able to rescue Millie, we were not able to capture Moira or her co-conspirators. We lost them at the docks."
"So…" I began. "We don't know why they took her?"
"Not yet," replied Claire.
I thought this over. It struck me as odd. Such a big thing had happened yet we knew nothing, or was Claire holding something back?
"Has Professor Zheng said anything?" asked Aron. I straightened and listened carefully.
Claire sighed. It sounded as though she had just leaned back on a creaky office chair. "He hasn't said anything useful but that could be because he really doesn't know anything. Right now, nothing points to him being involved."
"Except that he was the one who called Moira to the university," said Aron. I could have been wrong, but I thought I could hear a note of frustration in his voice.
There was a pause from Claire's end of the line. I suddenly thought of something.
"Those trespassers," I said, "The ones that came to the meteorological station... were they perhaps connected…"
"To Moira?" Claire finished for me. "It's looking more and more likely."
I shifted against the van interior and crossed my legs. "If they were working for her, then she's had her eye on Millie for a while. The professor calling her last night was just a coincidence." Even as I said it, I knew it sounded a little too far-fetched.
"Maybe, maybe not," was Claire's reply. "We don't want to speculate too much before we have real evidence to work with." I had to agree though I still did feel a bit embarrassed. "Speaking of evidence though, I'm sending you a photo of this Moira Chung. I want you to take a look at it and see if you know her or seen her before."
My phone dinged and I scrabbled to get it and unlock it.
The photo was a little grainy and looked to have been taken from a security camera. Something at the back of my brain seemed to whirr into action.
"Do you have another picture?" I asked. "Something that shows her from the front?"
"I do."
Another ding. Another photo arrived. This time it was a profile photo.
"This one's from when she graduated university so it's old by this point, but hopefully..."
"It's good enough."
Aron shot me a questioning look.
"I haven't met or seen her before," I said, "But I'm almost certain she's related to Millie."
"What...?" said Aron.
I handed my phone to him and he scrolled between the two pictures. "Uncanny, right?" I asked.
"It is..." he replied then picked up his own phone again. "Is there any DNA from this Moira to do a comparison with Millie?"
"Unfortunately," said Claire, "No, as of right now. My team is looking but I'm not optimistic."
"Who is Moira Chung?" I asked.
I heard Claire sigh over the phone. "Now that's the million-dollar question, isn't it. We've run a check on 'Moira Chung' and it's turned up nothing noteworthy so it's likely an assumed identity."
"Or she keeps her real identity clean while using other ones to do the dirty work," said Aron.
"Exactly," replied Claire. "You know, Aron, the offer to join my team still stands. Any chance you've changed your mind?"
I looked at Aron with surprise. He grimaced. "I'm still thinking," he said.
"Alright, well, I'm off to bed. I'll send you both the hospital address so you can go visit Millie at a more reasonable time."
"Thank you."
We hung up. Good to her word, Claire sent us the address and I checked where it was. It was at least a two-hour drive away from where we were.
Next to me, Aron flopped down onto the mattress. I was sure he hadn't slept a wink.
"So, Claire's team?" I said.
Aron stretched and sighed. "I just meant to do some digging about her and what she's up to, but she ended up catching me and..." he gestured to his phone, "offering me a position."
"And you want to turn her down?" I asked.
Aron didn't immediately reply.
"And you want to join?" I amended.
"A little. Her team's pretty elite."
"Then why don't you? Seems like a good opportunity."
Aron looked at me oddly. "I thought you wouldn't like it."
That threw me for a loop. "She was a little suspicious before but I think she's proven herself now, right? Wait, no," I kneaded my forehead, "My opinion's got nothing to do with this. What matters is if you want to join. Do you?"
Aron's face was in shadow where he lay but I could still make out the odd look on his face. It looked halfway between amused and intrigued.
"Maybe I will," he said quietly. There was a playful glimmer in his eye as he said this and I felt my insides shift suspiciously.
I quickly lay down and turned to face the other direction. My face felt hot.
"I'm going to sleep a bit more."
--
I insisted on being the one to drive to the hospital. Aron put up some resistance when he saw how much water was still on the roads, but a combination of him knowing his own body and my insistence eventually wore him down.
But right as Aron managed to fall asleep in the passenger seat his phone rang. I wished I could answer it for him and let him get some sleep but I'm not talented enough a driver to juggle something like that.
Aron said a few words on the phone then hung up. He stretched and sat forward looking like he was trying to get awake again.
"Something up?" I asked. I'd somehow managed to navigate the flooded rural roads and gotten us back to civilisation. I breaked at the red light and pulled on the handbrake.
"I'm supposed to have a shift this morning…" Aron said with a sigh.
Oh no. "Should I… Can I drop you at the police station?" I asked.
"Would that be alright?"
"Of course!" I flicked on my indicators.
The flooding had mostly been dealt with in the city, there were only a few awkward puddles, so it didn't take me long to pull into the carpark of the police station.
"Are you… going to work like that?" I asked as I turned off the engine.
Aron yawned. "I think… I'll find someone and switch shifts… then I'll sleep."
"Do that. You look awful."
He found that funny for some reason. "Alright. I'll see you later." He got out his side of the van and shut the door. He turned to go then turned back again. "And let me know how Millie is."
"I will."
Aron grinned and rapped his knuckles on the roof of the van then left for real.
I watched as he went inside.
I could feel my heart beating.