Now and Forever [Jefferson Hatter || OUAT || Mad Red #7]

Chapter 13

With Detective Rogers, Jamie and Henry were waiting for Tilly in the park. Henry sat on a bench with Grace as Detective Rogers stood looking around for Tilly as she was running late.

Adam and Daisy walked up, "Hey, man. What's going on?" Adam asked as he pocketed his phone.

"Waiting for Tilly," Henry said.

"What for?" Daisy asked.

"She's talking with some other homeless kids about Eloise," Grace said.

"Ah, okay," Adam said.

"But, you'd think a girl hooking watches wouldn't ever be late," Detective Rogers said.

"You know, I've been thinking about what you said before about Eloise Gardener. This connection that you feel with her? Is this like a cop thing or is there something more going on here?" Grace asked.

"It isn't just a cop thing. The night she vanished, I was drinking instead of patrolling her neighbourhood, I was en route to the bottom of a bottle. It's my fault she disappeared," Detective Rogers said.

"No, it isn't," Daisy said.

Tilly was walking towards them, when Detective Rogers saw her she turned away, "Hey! Hey!" Detective Rogers called out.

"Where's she going?" Henry asked as they ran over to Tilly.

"Hey, we were waiting. Did you find anything?" Detective Rogers asked her.

"Yeah, I found something but you don't want to hear this," Tilly said.

"Of course I do," Detective Rogers said.

"No, I should go," Tilly said as she turned to leave.

"Hey, stop! Whatever you've got, just get on with it," Detective Rogers said.

"Tilly, what is it?" Grace asked.

"Okay," Tilly sighed as she turned to them, "I spoke to a few of the runaways from the old group home. There was a guy who used to go out with a girl... A girl by the name of Rain. She wrote poetry, loved Salinger and was constantly drawing in her notebook. So, I checked him out, okay? And... And, uh, he gave me this," Tilly said and she handed him a drawing of a sunset that Rain did and it matches the ones in Eloise's book.

"This... This drawing's from her. This is from Eloise, that guy did he say where she is?" He looked at her and Tilly looked away sadly, "Hey, what?" Detective Rogers asked.

"She's dead," Tilly said sadly.

"How?" Adam asked.

"Car accident, there was a stolen car and since her name wasn't Rain..." Tilly said.

"They couldn't identify the body," Henry looked at Detective Rogers, "Hey, I'm so sorry..." Henry said.

"Rogers?" Grace said.