Dissociation

Hide & seek

« Mom!! Why isn't dad here already ? » asked the little boy while looking through the window.
« I'm sure he'll be here soon, have some patience okay? » Snow responded as she went back to take some orders from customers. It was a Friday morning, one of the most busiest day of the week at the cafeteria, Rick usually spent the weekends with his son but he ditched her this time it seemed. Snow was very irritated by this but had to keep her composure; she couldn't let her personal matters affect her work.
5pm finally arrived and she closed earlier.
« Where's dad? We were supposed to go fishing this time » said the boy with his head down.
« I'm sorry Ryan, maybe he had an important matter to solve today, I'll call him this night and ask him to come pick you up tomorrow morning okay? » Snow said, trying to sound cheerful but Ryan wasn't fazed. No matter what she said or did, it seemed like he was always more excited to spend time with Rick than her, she sighed.
« How about we buy some ice-cream ? » she proposed.
« 'right » he said still sad, they went to an ice cream parlor nearby, ordered two chocolate ice creams and sat at a table. Ryan was making a mess trying to eat his ice cream while Snow kept calling Rick but was always redirected to his voicemail.
« That's weird » she mumbled, sure they weren't in the best of terms but he wouldn't ignore her calls and worst knowing it was about their son.
« Mom, your ice cream's melting » said Ryan.
« You can have it if you want » she said, pushing the bowl to his side. They went home when they were done and Snow put her kid to bed. She tried to call Rick one more time but still no answer, she finally gave up and went to sleep.
It was 4am when the alarm went off, Snow got up, brushed her teeth, washed her face, changed into workout clothes then tied her hair in a ponytail and went out for her morning jog. Ryan didn't wake up before 8am so she'd usually jog early in the morning and come back an hour before then. The streets were almost empty and it was cold, Snow liked this atmosphere, it helped her relax.. she plugged her earphones and started running. A million thoughts rushed through her mind as she was jogging, she didn't wake up to missed calls from Rick nor a message and this really bothered her, it wasn't like him to ghost people unless he is going through something painful. Approximately an hour later she stopped to catch her breath, only then did she realized she'd jogged a little more further than she usually goes, she checked her clock and was about to head back home when she heard a woman screaming. She rushed in the direction from where the sound was heard and saw an elderly woman on the ground panicking, she turned her head to see what was scaring the woman this much and saw the body of a woman in the middle of the cornfield.
« Oh my God, ma'am are you okay?? » she asked.
« Who..? Cops.. I..» was all she said, still in shock.
« Let me call the cops » Snow said, pulling out her phone. While waiting for the cops to arrive, she approached the corpse to figure out who it was; the girl laying down looked like she was in her early twenties, was stripped naked and her eyes were removed from her eye socket. This triggered her, it wasn't the first time she saw something like this. Suddenly she fell to the ground and started gasping for air while holding her chest, everything became blurry and she fainted.

« Ma'am can you hear us? Ma'am ? » asked the nurse as Snow was regaining consciousness.
« The.. girl..» she said, trying to sit up but her body fell too heavy.
« Ma'am you need to get some rest please lay down »
« Oh my, my son.. I left him home alone » she said, panicking. The nurses looked at each other, not really knowing what to do.
« What time is it? » Snow asked.
« 6:11 miss » one nurse said. Snow calmed down and laid back on the bed.
« Thank God » she sighed. About 5 minutes after, she got up and went back home. She opened Ryan's door and saw him still sleeping.
« I hope this was all a dream » she said.
Few hours later, Snow was in the kitchen making eggs and bacon for breakfast when someone knocked at the door.
« Who is it? » she asked.
« Police, we need to ask you some questions » she opened the door and led them to the parlor where they sat on the sofa.
« You were the second person to find the body, would you mind telling us what happened ? » one of the officers said. Snow told them how it happened; how she just went for a jog and heard a woman crying for help.
« Do you usually run around that area? » he asked.
« No »
« Then what brought you there this time? »
« I was feeling more anxious these days so I wanted to run some extra miles to cool off »
« I see » he said.
« Mind telling us what made you anxious? » the second officer asked. She turned to look at Ryan who was watching some cartoons while eating.
« I can't reach his father for quite some time now, they're supposed to spend the weekend together »
« When was the last time you talked to him? »
« About a week ago, we don't really talk unless it's about our son »
« Okay » was all they said while getting up ready to leave. Before closing the door, Snow asked if they could try to find out where Rick was.
« Sure, what's his name ? »
« Rick Cockborn » she said. They officers looked at each other and went off.

« Do we know the cause of the death already ? » asked the sheriff.
« Not yet sir » replied one of the officers
« I heard her eyes are missing, what kind of sick person could've done this? » as he was talking, Karl Sanders entered the police station.
« Mr Sander! I didn't expect you here today » said the sheriff .
« We need to talk, can we go to your office? » Karl asked.
« Sure »
They entered the office and Karl didn't sit down, he just stood in front of the certificates and pictures that were hanging on the walls.
« Heard there was a murder » he said.
« Yes sir, we're currently working on it »
« Who's the victim ? How did she die and who are your suspects for now? » Karl asked, still looking at the pictures.
« I'm afraid I can't answer all that Mr Sander » replied the sheriff with an embarrassed smile. Karl turned around to look at him, he then pulled a chair and sat down.
« Then I'm afraid we'll have to stop donating money to this station Finn» Karl said.
« No sir! I didn't mean to offend you, we just don't want the public to know about this to avoid panic » the sheriff replied.
« Do I look like the type to gossip? »
« No sir! »
« Well then, start talking »
The sheriff sighed but eventually started talking;
« The victim is Blythe Davis, her mother came to the station some days ago saying her daughter is missing »
« Then why was no one searching for her? » asked Karl.
« It was not the first time she'd run off like that without telling her mother, you know how these teens are but she'd always come back a week or two later, so we brushed it off »
« And how did she die? »
« We don't know yet, the autopsy results will be here tomorrow maybe but.. » he paused.
« But? » Karl leaned forward.
« Her eyes are missing, the killer took them out »
« I see, what about the suspects ? »
« We don't really have any suspects now »
« Common, you must have someone in mind »
The sheriff thought about it for a second then replied.
« Well, first we have the woman who called us, she was the second one to 'find' the body »
« Why are you suspecting her? »
« She claimed she just happened to be there when she heard someone scream but when asked if she usually runs around that area, she said no.. coincidence ? I don't know, you know it's common for criminals to go back to the crime scene and there's one thing too.. »
« What? »
« This isn't the first time she finds a body, you remember few years ago when that boy was killed in your yard, she was there too »
Karl didn't say anything, he just stared at the sheriff, waiting for him to continue.
« The second suspect is Rick Cockborn.. ever since he suddenly disappeared, strange things has been happening.. first a finger left in front of someone's door and now a body, maybe he killed her, cut her finger and eyes off then got scared he'll be caught so he ran away »
« Did you check his house? » Karl asked.
« Will send men there after this conversation sir »
« Is that all? » Karl asked.
« Well this one's a little far fetched but the third suspect is the woman who made a scene the other day »
Karl raised an eyebrow.
« Why » he asked.
« This village was calm before she arrived and now someone's killed not even a month after her arrival, I think even if she's not the killer, this has something to do with her »
Karl got up.
« Let me know if something comes up » he said and exit the door. The sheriff then sent two men to Ricks's house to see if he was back so they could question him.

« It sucks we actually have to work, don't you think? I miss when this village was boring, I didn't have to put in some work but still got paid » one officer said while driving to Rick's house.
« I second that » the other officer said sighing. They arrived the house and knocked on the door but no response.
« Should we go in? » one of them asked.
« I think we should » They forced the door open and immediately covered their nose when they entered, the house had an awful smell. They went around the house and found a dead dog in the kitchen.
« Disgusting » the officer said.
« Let's check upstairs » the other proposed. They climbed the stairs and started going through his room.
« Look! This brick looks weird » one said, pointing at the wall separating the room from the toilets. He then pulled out the brick and noticed something hidden in there ; a box. He pulled it out and was shocked when he opened the box.
« Well, we have our first suspect now! » said the second officer.