All About Eve - Part 3

Age 25

Eve went to her room and took off her favourite summer dress that had been ruined by her hiding in the blackberry bushes. She jumped in the shower to clean off the dirt and cleanse the cuts and scrapes over her body. She was just getting out of the shower when she heard the scream.

She quickly wrapped her towel around her and flung open the washroom door, running out to the living room. It was her mother - she was standing in front of the TV with her hand over her mouth and tears streaming down her face.

‘Mom, what’s wrong?’ Eve asked, rushing up to her mother, putting a hand on her shoulder. Her mother pointed at the TV. The nightly news was on, and it showed the river bank, and a swarm of police and other officials. ‘That poor girl!’ her mother cried, ‘that poor little girl’.

Eve didn’t see what all the officers were surrounding, but she knew what it was. The corpse. The dead body of the young girl that she had come across herself just over an hour ago. With Arra’s help she had avoided being found next to the body, that wouldn’t have been good. She knew she was seen as the town weirdo, even if no one in town knew she was psychic, she had kept that aspect of herself well hidden.

‘Oh…yeah,’ said Eve.

Her mother whipped around to face her, ‘what do you mean, ‘oh yeah?’.

‘Oh, I had just heard from Amber before I got in the shower. She called and she told me about it,’ said Eve, her left eye twitching as she spoke. She subconsciously put a hand up to her face.

Eve’s mother turned back to the screen and sat down in the arm chair. The tears continued to flow. Eve went up to her mother and hugged her. ‘It’s okay Mom.’

Later that night in a continued news broadcast, police made a plea to the townspeople of Golden Falls and the surrounding townships. If anyone knew the identity of this young girl, to please contact the police without hesitation. So far no one in Golden Falls or False Creek recognized the girl. Police put out a statement that no foul play was involved, and that it looked like the girl had simply drowned by accident.

A week passed, then two, and the local police had had no one contact them about the girls identity. On the morning of the last day of the two weeks, Eve had an idea. She had heard that if no one had come to identify the girl by the following day, she would be placed in the cemetery in an unmarked grave. Shutting out a protest from Arra, she went down to the local police station, a small brown slatted wood structure. She entered and spoke to the young, and not unattractive, male officer at the front desk.

‘Excuse me sir,’ she said. ‘I’m here about the young girl that was found down by the river a few weeks ago’. The young officer got up and opened a small side door leading to other desks in the small office. ‘Really?’ he said. ‘Please come with me. I’ll ask you a few questions.’ Eve bit her lip, which she always did when nervous. ‘Um, okay.‘ She followed the young man to a desk further back in the small building. The man, who introduced himself as Officer Hannigan, motioned for Eve to sit down. Eve raised her eyebrows at this. ‘Hannigan?’ she said. As in Dr. Hannigan, psychiatrist and counsellor?’.

The man smiled. ‘Oh you’ve heard of him,’ he said, with slight surprise in his voice. ‘Yes, he’s my father.’

‘Oh,’ said Eve taking the seat. Officer Hannigan sat down opposite Eve and opened a file folder that was on the desk. ‘So,’ he said. ‘You said you think you might know who the girl is?’

‘Um, yes,’ said Eve. Her left eye twitched, but Officer Hannigan did not notice as he was busy writing in the file.

‘Where do you know her from?’ he asked.

‘Well, I’m not sure exactly.’ Officer Hannigan looked up at this. Eve continued quickly, ‘I mean I’m not too sure if I know her or not. That’s what I’ve come by. To see….’ she cleared her throat, her mouth had suddenly gone dry. ‘To see the body, and see if I do know her, or not.’

‘Oh,’ said Officer Hannigan closing the folder in front of him and looking slightly disappointed.

‘Well, who do you think she might be?’

Eve bit her lip again, thinking. She asked Arra for help, but she was unusually silent. She simply shrugged.

Eve noticed the young officer was wearing a light blue short sleeved shirt, that matched his eyes. ‘And,’ she thought to herself ‘his pants are the same dark colour as his hair.’ There was a patch above his left breast pocket that read ‘Cst. Hannigan.’ Eve looked him up and down, wondering why she had never seen him before. Golden Falls wasn’t a big town and she had lived there all her life.

As if reading her mind he said, ‘I’m from False Creek, if you’re wondering. He had a slight drawl and Eve couldn’t help but smile at the sound of his voice.

The Constable looked surprised at Eve’s request. ‘ Are you sure....?’ he stopped, realizing he hadn’t asked her name.

‘Eve,’ she supplied.

He reached his hand across the desk. She took it and shook. ‘Nice to meet you Eve, I’m Paul.’

He repeated his question. Are you really sure you want to do this? It’s not a nice sight, you know, seeing a dead body.’

Eve nodded. After all, she knew what the girl looked like, she had been the first to see her down by the river, before those little kids showed up with all their fishing gear.

‘Okay then,’ said Paul, pushing back his chair. He waved her forward, ‘come with me.’ She followed the young man past a clutter of desks towards a door at the back. Paul opened it and stood aside to let Eve past. Eve was expecting some stairs, or at the very least a hallway, so she was surprised to find she was back outside. Paul gestured to a low concrete building a few hundred yards behind the small police building they were now standing outside. ‘Our morgue is over there’ he said. ‘Follow me.’

Eve followed the officer through long grasses between the police department and the morgue, her pants becoming wet with the morning dew.

Paul took a key ring off his belt, that only held a handful of keys and opened the locked door. He ushered her into a long concrete hallway. ‘It’s the door at the end,’ he said. They walked in silence, side by side down the narrow passage.

They entered the room, which was surprisingly and deceivingly large. There were instruments on tables along 3 walls of the perimeter, which Eve tried her best to avoid looking at. The furthest wall was stainless steel, with 20 or so small squares on the surface. Officer Hannigan walked up to the wall unit, grabbed a handle on one of the metal squares and pulled. Out rolled a long drawer on which was a figure draped in a white sheet. He started to lift up the sheet when Eve shouted. ‘Wait!’ she said. He jumped slightly at the abruptness and stopped, hand still holding up a corner of the sheet.

‘Um, can you maybe leave me alone for a few minutes,’ she asked. ‘I need to, um, gather up my courage, to look at…her.’

‘Oh okay, sure,’ he said, lowering the sheet again. ‘I understand. I’ll go and stand out in the hallway. When you’re done you can close the freezer again. And then just come on back out to the hall.’ He moved to walk away, then turned back to her. ‘Take as long as you need,’ he said, and left.

Eve stood there just looking at the sheet. She didn’t want to look. She hadn’t seen the girls face down by the river and didn’t want to see it now. Those kind of things had a bad habit of sticking in your mind. Instead she gingerly reached out a hand and was about to place it on what she thought was the girls stomach. Be careful, she heard Arra’s voice ring through her head. Her hand stopped, hovering inches above the body. ‘Why?’ Eve asked, though no response was forthcoming.

She placed her hand on the girl. Nothing happened. She was expecting at least something – visions, a feeling, a thought of a name or something to identify the girl. But there was nothing. Eve’s mind was blank. She removed her hand and closed her eyes. Slowing her breathing, she focused her mental energies and again reached out and touched the body. Again there was nothing, just darkness.

‘Why?’ she thought. And Arra answered. ‘She is just a shell now. Empty. Her spirit has long left her body. Her spirit would have left a few minutes before actual death.’

‘So why would I have not seen her spirit when I was at the river?’ asked Eve.

Arra didn’t respond.

Eve gave up. She grabbed the handle on the front of the compartment door and pushed it. The drawer slowly moved back into it’s space.

She went back out to the hallway where Constable Hannigan was holding a small handheld radio, pressing buttons and turning knobs. He looked up. ‘So?’

Eve shook her head. ‘No, sorry.’

‘Oh well,’ said Paul. He turned off the lights in the room and locked the door. They walked back down the long hallway.

‘So what’s going to happen to her now?’ Eve asked.

‘Well, she’s going to be buried in the cemetery. Tomorrow.’ Paul said, shrugging.

‘Um, thanks,’ said Eve when they were back in the police station. She put her hand out.

‘No problem.’ Said Paul. ‘Nice meeting you. I bet you never want to see that place again!’ he said laughing.

Eve laughed. ‘Definitely.’ She left, not thinking she would be back the following week.

~~~~~~~

Check out part 4 below to continue!