Chapter 2
Rise From the Dead
'Summer is hitting hard this time,' thought Tanyah to
herself. 'Working in such conditions is torture.'
She really wished she could get a nice vacation outside
town. No noise from the bustling traffic outside, no dirty
smoke and air, just peace and quiet. But then she
remembered something; a couple of years ago someone died
mysteriously in their country home and when the news came
out it was not very clear about what happened. Since it
wasn't in the city of Dalsus, their department was told not to
get involved and stay away from the case unless told
otherwise. 'Who was it by the way? Oh yes…' Her train of
thought was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Good day, Detective"
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It was her partner, Louis. They had been recently
assigned to a case and they were supposed to submit the
final report and close it that day. Louis entered with the
papers of the case and gave them to Tanyah.
"Good morning, Louis," said Tanyah in a breathy, almost
dead tone.
Louis quickly picked up the gloomy dryness in her voice
and couldn't help but want to know what was wrong.
"Everything ok there? Seems the heat is really giving you
a hard time. You look like a zombie, or rather a dead one at
that," said Louis leaning on Tanyah's desk. "At least a
zombie shows signs of life. You look so dead right now."
She had dark under eyes, chapped lips and her head was
tilted to the side as her eyes were slightly closed and it
looked like she was going to pass out at any moment. But
she wouldn't, knowing her very well she would still work on
a case with a chopped-up arm and a limping leg. She was a
smart and bright person but sometimes stubborn and foolish.
A good combination depending on the situation. Which is
one of the reasons why she was who she was today, a
brilliant and enthusiastic woman.
"Yes, the heat is really killing me" she answered as she
sighed dramatically and slumped deeper into her chair.
Louis was trying his best to hold in his laugh as Tanyah
went through the papers handed to her. She wasn't even
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extensively reading the contents because her brain would
have combusted due to the tiredness she was feeling.
As she was scanning through the first few pages the first
thing Tanyah saw was the word 'Leave'. Both her and Louis
were being given a period of leave from work as a form of
appreciation for their hard work.
Tanyah quickly stood up from her chair not believing
what she was reading. Her eyes twinkled as she kept looking
at the papers in her hand.
"Wow, looks like the news of being off work breathed
some life back into you. Well...less dead I can say," said
Louis.
They both began to laugh as Tanyah picked up a file
from her desk and jokingly hit Louis with it. When it came to
being a partner and friend Tanyah was very grateful she was
working with this man. There was never a time he was sad
or gloomy. He was the one who cheered her up even in a bad
situation. She remembered when they both almost got fired
for blowing up a secret investigation. They almost got fired
and arrested at the same time, even so, he still managed to
lighten her up.
Tanyah started arranging her desk and randomly
placing items away. After that she moved to packing up her
things, it wasn't much so within a few minutes she was
finished.
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"You're leaving already" asked Louis with a raised brow.
"Time waits for no one dear Louis," she said as she
patted his shoulder and bolted out of the room.
"Hey! You know that you can't leave without submitting
the papers to the lieutenant!"
He tried shouting in the hopes of his words reaching her
but unfortunately, now she was gone. He took the papers
from her desk and headed to the lieutenant's office.
Something was bothering him though, this leave. Yes it was
ok to go on leave but something wasn't right. He expected
Tanyah to be also questioning the whole thing but it seems
like the heat burned both her brain and senses. Maybe there
was another important investigation that's being held and
given what happened the last time an important
investigation took place, it was wise to keep both him and
Tanyah very far away.
"So she left huh? That went easier than I expected" said
the lieutenant, in disbelief and surprise at hearing Detective
Tanyah's quick departure from the police department. And
there he thought she was going to question him about the
suddenly proposed leave or even refuse it. Hearing this, the
lieutenant smiled internally to celebrate his success.
"Yes sir, she left a few minutes ago" answered Louis as
he nervously scratched his neck.
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"You should also get going, Detective. You guys worked
pretty hard so go get some rest, Detective Louis, you deserve
it."
"Thank you very much sir."
Louis left the papers on the lieutenant's table and left the
office. He went to his office to wrap up a couple of things
before he departed. After he was done he packed up his
things and headed out his office. When he was near the exit
of the police department he crossed paths with someone who
subconsciously grabbed his attention. Before the person went
far, Louis managed to get a small glimpse of the woman.
She made her way inside walking proudly and smiling
while holding something that looked like seals. As she was
talking to one of the officers Louis couldn't take his attention
off of what she was holding. He wanted to go ahead and
speak to her, however he remembered that he was no longer
required to work.
As soon as Louis closed the door the smile on the
lieutenant's face disappeared. He heavily sighed as he
rubbed his forehead. He opened one of his drawers and took
out two folders. One had Louis's name and the other one had
Tanyah's name. He took Tanyah's folder and started going
through it. She was smart and sharp, cutting sharply through
crime, which is why he needed her out.
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Inside was also a request from the Sinclair family to
Tanyah. Luckily, he was the first to receive the envelope,
otherwise there would have been a lot of trouble for him. He
took out his phone and dialled a number.
"Hello, Amar'e Family Estate...?"
* * *
Tanyah didn't notice how her work had taken a toll on
her until she started making her drive home, she could feel a
great deal of fatigue overcome her wear her down and it
took all she had to stay focused.
Living on coffee and snacks wasn't the ideal way of life.
Even though it was only for a short time while she was
working on a case, the effects were starting to show up.
Insomnia was now slowly creeping into her life and she
could only rely on her passion to keep pushing forward,
otherwise she would have quit a long time ago or collapsed
on the job. But her perseverance did manage to get her
through.
She loved the puzzles and mysteries that came with
being a detective, to work on complexities of the human
mind and obsession when it came to the world of crime and
murder. She herself had become obsessed with her job. Well,
to some extent.
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A few moments ago, she bolted out of the building
leaving everything behind with her thoughts being to just go
home and rest. She looked at her face in the mirror and she
understood why Louis called her a zombie. She wondered
what other people thought when they saw her walking
around looking so tired to the point of looking half dead.
Her eyes looked drained and lifeless and the dark circles
only made it worse. When was the last time she had a proper
meal, a proper bath...oh Lord, a proper man.
The car came to an abrupt halt and the tires screeched on
the tar road. Tanyah was mortified by the figure looking
back at her. She looked at herself in the mirror again and this
time she almost screamed. At this point no person in the
world would want or even look at her. Tanyah banged her
head on the wheel repeatedly as she ignored the shouts and
curses from the cars behind her that were being intercepted
by her halted car.
Tanyah finally arrived home and the first thing she
wanted to do was take a relaxing peaceful bubble bath and
sleep till the next day, but before that she would have to get
past the dragon that would be waiting for her inside. When
she opened the door to her house she was welcomed by the
angry look from her Aunt, Miss Laura, who was stomping
towards the door as soon as she heard the door open.
"Hey where have..."
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Miss Laura didn't finish her words as she looked at the
haggard scene in front of her. She planned on scolding
Tanyah for spending three days straight without coming
home to eat, rest or even show up to let the world know she
is fine. Not even a phone call was made to assure her if she's
alive and doing well, leaving Miss Laura to worry because
anything could happen in the line of work her niece was
working in.
She understood that she was busy but at the end of the
day family was important. All the words she had prepared
for the entire day died in her throat as she looked at the state
that Tanyah was in.
Noticing the look on her aunt's face shift from shock,
disbelief and pity, Tanyah just pointed to the direction of her
room and walked away.
After taking a nice warm bubble bath, Tanyah headed
down stairs to talk to her aunt. When she arrived home she
expected a long lecture but her aunt took one look at her and
saw that life had given her more than enough of a karma
lesson for her.
Half the hallway now smelled of her favourite bubble
bath, peach, after her long soak in the bathroom. She loved
everything about it and now the whole house was about to
smell like it. With a jolly smile and spirit, Tanyah skipped
down stairs to find her aunt.
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'Bet she will be happy to know I have some time off
work' she thought to herself.
As she sat down in the living room going through the
letters from the mail her aunt came in with a tray that had a
glass of water on it. Tanyah put the letters down and took
the glass of water from her aunt. She gulped it down in a few
sips with some of the water leaking from the side of her lips,
and when done she placed the glass on the table.
After that glass of water Tanyah felt quenched, hydrated
and even more refreshed. Her aunt on the other hand gave
her that same look but this time with a sprinkle of
disappointment as the topping.
"Goodness! Were you really that thirsty? Careful not to
chomp at the glass while you're at it"
Tanyah only looked at her aunt wide eyed like a deer
caught by headlights as she slowly gulped down the water
in her mouth. Her aunt believed in female etiquette and
norms of a woman holding herself with grace and pride in
whatever she did. How she sat, how she talked, how she ate.
Her aunt's vision of perfection was making sure everyone
was well groomed, up to date, and well-mannered. Tanyah,
however, did not have the time to practice or implement any
of those things. She hoped that maybe during this holiday
she will be able to learn a thing or two in order to impress
her aunt.
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After receiving a long lecture from her aunt, which
mainly consisted of being scolded and reprimanded for not
coming home for too long and not even doing as much as
giving a call, Tanyah now listened to her aunt as she told her
about a visitor that had come by the previous day.
"He came yesterday saying he had something very
important to discuss with you. He didn't leave a name or
anything..."
Tanyah raised her brows in confusion as to why a person
would just depart without leaving any information on what
they want or how to reach them if she returned home. Now
she was wondering who he was, what he wanted and if it
was so important that they had to come to her home.
"But he left something behind," said Miss Laura as she
handed Tanyah a grey scarf.
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