Unraveling the Mystery

It just doesn’t sit right with her. It’s not like she killed her – it just was a crazy heart attack in the middle of the street – in Berlin of all places. Olivia couldn’t really picture her outside the city – or outside her own house for that matter. Her Aunt Sophia was always there when she came by every weekend.

She could have gone during the week. A thought popped in – but she shrugged it off. It was Sophia. Angry at the world and yet always there to lend a cup of sugar if that was still a thing? Whatever…

It never really sank in the fact that she was really gone.

Perhaps that is what death does. Perhaps it’s just a lack of real understanding who a person truly is and the only way you get to see them is when they are dead and all their secrets are unlocked.

Not like she didn’t have secrets, her Aunt, just she never really realized how far this rabbit hole went until tonight.

Olivia was just a subpar person left to adult in this subpar world, if that makes sense. She did her job to the bare minim and spent a good portion of her time people watching with her Aunt Sophia on the weekends. So, it didn’t make sense that her Aunt’s body was expedited back to the States from Berlin. Why did she go to Berlin without even telling her – they told each other everything, right?

She pondered this thought while she pulled up to the small two story brick house. Any other time the house would seem warm and welcoming – like a warm hug, but the fact that the person whom she enjoyed the most was six feet in the ground – made it feel anything but.

The clicking of the ignition turning off and keys clinking together were the only sounds. It seems that even the night time noises were dulled down upon her approach to the house. Olivia fumbled with her seat belt and lunged over into the seat beside her to grasp inside her satchel. Inside was her aunt’s small black notebook – another item weighing her down.

This just felt wrong. Perhaps it’s the grief talking or perhaps she just felt rather jaded by the fact that her one person is now gone. After-all family life was nonexistent prior to her Aunt offering her support. Her father left well before she was born and her mother – a simple afterthought. A blip and then gone on the next bender. The only time that Olivia would see her was when she was out of money or crawling back from yet another pointless relation.

No, home wasn’t any of those walking donors, but the warmth of her Aunt Sophia. Scrape knees and bruised egos were her specialty. She always had a knack for prying just enough to get her to talk about the really deep down thoughts that Olivia tried to hide. Even when she grew up and moved out on her own she would still find the time to come over every weekend to spend the time with her Aunt – simply to bask in the enthusiasm that Sophia would hold – held.

Remember – she isn’t here, Liv. She’d catch herself wondering back to before her death.

Happier times, but looking back perhaps there was cause for some sort of alarm? After all – her Aunt did start acting strange a week before last, kind of jumpy at times and constantly wondering her gaze around the room whenever they went out in public.

She should have known something now, but one would guess looking back they would always come to a different conclusion instead of the reality of what they did then. Hindsight is indeed 2020 – whatever that may be.

Olivia grunts at her misguided and wishful thoughts and shoves the door open after jamming the key into the lock. Her Aunt never replaced the stupid thing even after she almost broke her key in it more than once. The oaken slab shoves the unopened mail aside as she makes her way further into the dark hallway.

The darkness seems almost over powering and she swears that she could see a shadowy figure in the distance. But alas, she must have been mistaken. Loneliness gets to everyone, right?

Olivia made her way further into the building kicking the door behind her and placing her items onto the table just in the walkway. She leaned too far over raising her position up onto tip toes to flick on the light switch that was just off to the side. Something that her Aunt always suggested she stop since she was smaller because it never failed for her to apply too much weight to the thin table that always caused it to jerk side to side and spill any items onto the floor. Just when Olivia thought she mastered it this night her footing underneath gave way and she jerked against the table causing her items to fall…

Thunk!

…to the floor

This time though her satchel dropped onto the floor spilling the contents everywhere. I knew I should have fixed that zipper. Olivia thought while she knelt and collected everything up again only to bring her fingers up wet.

What the…

She grumbled and picked up her water bottle noting the large chunk of plastic missing from its side. Kudos for being shatter proof… a thought along with a roll of the eyes.

Drip

The sound stuck out in the silence of the house. Olivia stood up and glanced around.

Drip

Where could that be coming from? She wondered before turning her attention back down to her mess on the floor. She noted the water pooling into the side of the floor closest to the trim and more dripping sounds. It sounded like the area had space.

She knelt again and started to pry at the wood attempting to find a catch or something to signify that she wasn’t losing her mind.

Drip

Digging back into her bag she pulled her ID out and jabbed it into the side of the panel and pulled releasing a catch to the floor board underneath. How long has this been here? She thought to herself while she pulled out her phone and turned the light on.

Looking into the darkness she found a shoebox of sorts and carefully lifted it up she pulled the top off and gazed at the contents inside. Olivia’s eyes widen while she took in what she found.

She counted at least five passports in total each with a different name and the picture of her Aunt along with deeds to random housing all over the world.

What in the world…

Hidden under the papers were other items – she noted a few keep sakes she herself gave to her aunt in her youth as well as stacks of money. At least two stacks of the US 100 dollars that she could only guess ranged up to $20,000 or more as well as other stacks of Yen, Euros, was that even Pesos in there?

What was Aunt Sophia doing with all this?

She cut herself off because something shiny flashed further into the box. Shiny and metal… it looked like a… gun. A GUN?!

Her hand dropped the box as the contents banged onto the floor with a huge crash – or was it a boom? Out of the corner of Olivia’s eye she saw a figure coming from behind her while another one came from the half kicked in door.

All seemed to be gone in a split second before a hand was on her shoulders.

BANG!

A flash of bright light and loud piercing sound shattered her ear. Olivia struggled to make sense of everything all at once and failing miserably.

“Get up. We need to go.” He said in a brisk voice.

“Go? Who are you… why are you… where did you…?” She gasped before she heard sirens and screams outside. Time seemed to be going both slow and too fast for her to keep up. Her words were muffled while she attempted to tap the side of her head as if too remove the current high pitch ringing.

“Get the box and let’s go!” He said again more annoyed pulling her from her armpit and dragging her further into the darkness at the back of the house.

“Let go of me!” She shoved her weight back and rolled forward collecting the items in question as well as her own things.

“I’ll answer those questions later, but for now you need to come.” He spat out before running out of the room and out the back door leaving her there pondering her own next move.

She glanced toward the doorway and saw a hand and a pool of red around them. Sirens were heard coming closer – and she really didn’t know how to talk to the police, especially when she herself was in possession of a firearm. She felt she had no other choice but to follow the man behind her.

A quick glace down into the box of her Aunt’s things and a few pieces of ripped paper with Sophia’s scribble on it.

If I’m dead – it was no accident. Find Charlie.

Seconds more passed and she had to make a choice. Police and questions… the possibility of being framed for someone’s murder… or go with this person? Perhaps this was Charlie?

Olivia stumbled towards the back of the house nearing the back door. Here’s hoping she can follow this rabbit hole and perhaps make sense of everything going on in her life.