The Castle On The Hill

Part 3

Part-3

"Where are we going?" Sam asked after Parker started her jeep. He fastened his seatbelt, opened the mouth of the brown bag and started eating the content inside.

"To the hospital." Her reply was short. She was concentrating on backing her car and was frequently checking the rear-view mirror. Sam didn't speak anymore as to not disturb her.

The two lanes were idle as always so Parker didn't have any problem reversing her car. She drove on the long straight road for a while and then turned to look at Sam. She saw that he wasn't paying any attention to anything other than the food on his hands.

Now that she examined him closely and clearly for the first time in the daylight at such a close proximity, he didn't appear as ragged as she thought him to be. Sure, his hair was as unkempt as ever but his face was not all bad. It could even consider to be above average in terms of looks. But the most striking features on his face were undoubtably his eyes. She had never met anyone with such pure yet so piercing eyes that looked like they could cut steel with a single stare.

She shook her head after seeing how he ate his food. He ate like a small rabbit, biting an already small piece of gnocchi into even smaller ones. Which didn't match with his tall statures at all. Not just that, he was full of contradictions. His appearance was average-tall and thin but his arms seemed longer compared to his body. He was into his mid-thirties- not much older than her. Yet, his eyes were wise beyond their years, shrewd but soft and at the same time crystal clear like a pure lake. He appeared tall yet frail, had no distinguishing aura and felt like he might vanish any second if someone doesn't observe him.

He had this mysterious air about him which only poured oil in her curiosity. And Fred was one of the main reasons for that. In the past year that she worked with Fred; they had the chance to work with other outside agency on a few occasions. They even worked with an international spy once. And yet, she never saw Fred as confident with them as he was in regards to Sam.

"Why are you checking me out?" Sam's teasing voice broke her thoughts. She looked at him and saw that he had stopped eating and was staring at her. A slight blush crept on to her cheek as she was embarrassed that he had caught her. She knew Sam didn't know what she was thinking about but after yesterday- she wasn't so sure anymore.

She jerked her head around and was furiously thinking for an excuse. A lightbulb appeared over her head as she thought of a perfect response,

"I wasn't checking you out. I was just trying to figure out your trick. And you still haven't told me even though you said you would."

"I was going to explain to you but you ran out before I could say anything. And why are we going to the Hospital anyway?" Sam resumed eating the unfinished piece he was holding. He knew Parker wasn't telling him the whole story, he could even guess that she was thinking about him but doubted it would be anything good. So, he didn't poke it further.

"The M.E sent the preliminary report of Billy's cause of death to my friend at the hospital. The reception was no good so I couldn't quite hear what she said. That's why we are going there." Parker was surprised. She didn't expect the M.E to work on their body so quickly.

Sam understood. He was also very interested to see what the M.E had to say. After all, that curious sound suggested that Billy's death might not be natural at all. He asked for the distance,

"So, when might we reach there?"

"We just started driving. The hospital is located in the heart of the city so it is still very far. It would take minimum an hour and half to reach there." Parker turned to look at him and said in an assertive voice, "We've got plenty of time. So, open that tiny mouth of yours and tell me how your trick works."