How to hide a body

Coffee over murder

Locks are a peculiar thing. They keep things out and trap others inside, depending on the way you look at it.  If you are given a key, then you have the responsibility for whatever it leads to. An apartment for example. An apartment in South London, in a block hidden among many others which had a lock that was impossible to close for anyone. If Tyler said that she had only been trying to close the lock for ten minutes she'd be lying. She'd also be lying if she said that she wasn't banging her head against the wall with the short strands of her strawberry blonde hair bouncing out of place at the sudden movement. Groaning, she slowly slid down the door and glared at the wall in front of her.

"Having a bad day Miss Foxley?" She screamed in her head at the sound of the soft voice that greeted her.

"Other than wishing I lived somewhere else. I'm having a fantastic day Officer Gray," she stared at the gleam of his shoes, looking at his reflection through them.

"Please, call me Dolan," he offered his hand to her which she slapped away and stood up on her own, rising to grasp eye contact with him.

"Look Officer Gray," she emphasized his name, "you've done your daily check-up on me so you can move on with your day as I'm sure you have a lot to do," she gestured towards the stairs before turning back to the door and continued to try to move the lock.

He brushed his hand against the stubble on his neck and merely chuckled goodheartedly, "nonsense I thought you knew me well enough by now to know that I enjoy your company," she raised an eyebrow at him, "would you like to have dinner with me on Friday?" He fiddled with the ring on his finger.

"Might I remind you that you have a wife?"

"Well, she can't make it because she's working. But my daughter will be there. She really wants to meet you, she wants to learn how to skateboard too."

"It's lovely of you to ask Officer and it's great she has a passion but I'm sorry I can't do that," she sighed and watched as the hope drained slightly from his bright eyes.

"Just think about it. Ok?" She leaned her head against the door and closed her eyes but when she turned to answer him, he was gone.

"Ok then..." shrugging she tried the lock again and breathed out in relief as she finally heard a satisfying click. She slipped the key under the doormat and pulled up the sleeves of her coat.

As she fled down the stairs, she wrapped her purple scarf around her neck, getting it caught in the velcro of her coat making her lose balance on the last step and stumble slightly sending her crashing into a random stranger. Going to apologize she stepped towards them, springing back when they barged past her and headed up the stairs.

"I need coffee," she groaned whilst running a hand through her hair. She pushed open the door to the apartments, scrunching her nose slightly when a frosty breeze bit at her face. Leaves fell through the air in slow motion capturing your attention as they trapped you into a mystical haze. They moved in a way similar to how you'd imagine a fairy would, dancing from side to side with their orange, red, and brown skirts flowing in the breeze, no longer attached to its branch, thriving in the momentous freedom until they were grounded. Beanies were shoved onto heads and buttons were sewn back into place on more than one occasion. A warm drink would be clutched in most hands, burning against the red chill leaving a pale imprint behind when they were placed down. Christmas gifts were already displayed in the front of stores and cards were bought by their plenty in the hope to get them before the season actually started.

Puddles full of murky water from the night before huddled into the cracks in the pavements and dips in the road; so that when cars passed, huge fountains of water would stream into the air and soak some innocent person close by. She smiled to herself as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket, breathing in the damp air as she fiddled with the frayed material inside her pockets. She stopped outside a cafe at the corner of the road. There were fairy lights on inside that were pinned up onto the top of the white-faced wall at the right side of the cafe. Art by local artists was displayed on shelves to the left, all with business cards next to them. Seven tables were spread out across the room with two light blue chairs that had some paint picked off in uneven strands. Each table had a daisy in a cup of water in the middle.