Haunted in the Night

Chief Bob didn’t speak as he led her through past the front desk where a young male apprentice was who smiled politely at them and they kept walking until they reached the end of the hall where a door had a sign that read, A. Wright, Lawyer.

Bob knocked twice and they only stood there for a short moment before the door opened to reveal a tall man.

“Bob hello, I have been expecting you, please come on in" Mr Wright said as he stood back and ushered them inside before he closed the door behind Claire.

“You must be Claire, how are you? I’m Alan Wright, I’m the town lawyer" he told her and she smiled nervously, the last time she had been in a lawyers office was when her parents had gone missing but it had been a different man back then.

“I’m well thank you" Claire replied naturally even though she honestly had no idea how she was really feeling and Alan gestured with his hand for them both to sit down.

He had long black hair that went down to just before his shoulders, light blue eyes, he was clean shaven and wore a black suit, he had a chiseled chin and a small mole on his left cheek and Claire noted that he was ruggedly handsome for a lawyer.

“I take it you’re here to hear Helena Goldsburgh’s last will and testament?” Alan asked looking at Claire who only nodded while she tried to clear her throat which had gone dry and she fiddled nervously .

“Alright here it is" Alan said as he opened a draw and moved a couple of things around before he pulled out a file and Bob reached over from his seat and comforted her by putting his hand on her shoulder and she smiled at him slightly.

“Alright to my goddaughter Claire I leave her parents house and store and all my savings worth of $50,000” Alan read out to her and Claire instantly burst into tears, she hadn’t even realised that she had been holding it back but for some reason hearing how much Helena had left her just made it all more real and showed how much she had still loved Claire even after all this time.

Alan instantly stopped reading and looked at Claire with sympathy, he had seen a lot of this reaction before and obviously knew it was best to wait it out before continuing.

Bob however reached over more and rubbed Claire’s back in soothing circular motions as she sobbed into her hands.

It took a couple of minutes for Claire to gain somewhat of her composure and Alan grabbed a tissue box which he lent over his desk to reach out to them where Bob grabbed a few for her and handed them to her and she slowly dried her face of the tears that had stained it, however her face was still a bit red and puffy from the crying, tissues could not dry that away.

“I’m sorry I don’t know what came over me" Claire apologised embarrassed as she slowly met their gazes.

“It’s quite alright dear, as you can imagine it is rather a common reaction, shall I continue or do you need a couple more moments?” Alan asked quietly and comfortingly, his calm demeanour helped calm Claire slightly too, he just had that kind of personality that influences others emotions to mimic his own, it would be a handy trait in his line of work.

“I’m alright, please go on" Claire insisted even though she wasn’t entirely sure how alright she was, she just wanted it over with now so she could escape to get some space and air as soon as possible, it felt like she was trapped in a tight airless room and her body was going into fight or flight mode from the panic.

“To my dear friend and lover Robert Tuckerman I leave my house and a request that you take care of Claire for me, help her get closure and answers" Alan read out and suddenly the air felt very still, almost like in slow motion as the words gradually seeped in to Claire’s understanding.

‘To my dear friend and lover’ Helena had a lover? ‘Robert Tuckerman' Robert as in Bob as in Chief Bob, Helena and Chief Bob were lover’s.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Claire blurted out unexpectedly, she hadn’t meant to say it out loud, she had more just been thinking it but it had come out in her speech too and she slowly met Bob’s sorrowful gaze.

“I wanted to tell you, I couldn’t find the best way, I thought perhaps if you heard it in Helena’s Will it might break it to you a bit more easily coming from her" he explained to her but Claire had no idea on how to respond so she just got to her feet, smiled and nodded slightly at Alan as a way of saying thank you before she turned and left without speaking another word.

The air was refreshing after feeling like she was trapped in a stifling room and she just focused on her breathing and wrapping her mind around everything, it wasn’t all that hard to believe after all, I mean Helena was a grown woman, and she could imagine how lonely she would have gotten now that her parents were gone missing and Claire had moved away.

“Claire are you alright?” Chief Bob asked as he came out of the building and walked up to her.

“You loved her?” Claire asked curiously, not answering his question, she still had no idea if she was alright yet.

“I did" he answered short and sharp, expecting more questions so he figured it would be better to just get through it, it was obvious it was her way of trying to sort through it.

“Did she love you?” was the next question that came from Claire.

“I think she did, she had told me so I few times, she had trouble opening up to someone again, after your parents were gone and you left she closed herself for a long time" he explained and Claire felt a pang of guilt, if only she had made an effort to keep in contact but it had been too hard, the memories too painful.

“Was she happy?” Claire was afraid to ask but she had to know, even if it was just a little bit of happiness that would be enough for Claire.

“Well I hope I made her happy, the only time I ever saw her truly happy though was when she received letters from your grandparents” he replied and she looked at him in confusion.

“What letters?” she asked and he looked rather shocked for a second before realizing she hadn’t known.

“Your grandparents would send her monthly letters, letting her know how you were, what you had been doing, pictures of you and stuff, I’m pretty sure she has you photo from high school graduation in her office at the hardware store" he told her and she sat down for a moment on a small wooden bench that was nearby.

“I wish I had made an effort to talk to her" Claire revealed and he sighed as he slowly sat down next to her.

“She understood that it was too hard for you, she knew the pain you were going through but that didn’t stop her from loving you, she was so proud of you" Chief Bob told her and she sniffles as tears fell from her eyes.

“I have to find out what happened to her, to my parents, to all of them, it’s the only thing I can think about" she declared and he nodded understandably.

“Would you like to take a look at the police files?” he asked and she looked up at him and nodded, she knew it wasn’t going to be easy but it was something that she had to do.