A Darker Past

Background of a thief

Sam and Malaki were still up by the time we got home.Sam's voice floats from the kitchen and she breaks off mid-sentence to look up expectantly as we fill the doorway. "how'd you go?" Sam asks immediately. I don't know how much Danielle has already told her, but I'd given her only the briefest of details.

Contrary to my initial belief, Sam and Danielle had hit it off straight away, sitting up the past couple of nights to chat into the early hours of the morning.

Danielle brushes past me and, hiking up her hoodie, reveals a small brown notebook tucked into the waistband of her pants. She tosses it onto the counter and strides to the sink, helping herself to a glass of water. The rest of us crowd around the book, burning with curiosity. "It's Moms diary" Danielle says, her back still facing us. "I caught her writing in it a few times".

I glance at Sam who is watching me closely. "Why didn't the police find it?" I ask quietly. Danielle turns, bracing her hands on the bench behind her. "Mom had hiding places all over the house. I only knew a few of them, but I checked them all tonight." She pauses, as if debating whether to tell us more.

"I also found this" she says, retrieving a piece of crumpled notepaper from a back pocket. "It was kept separate from the diary" Danielle gently places it down beside the book. Sam picks it up. "May I?" this was directed toward Danielle. A fractional dip of the chin.

"Wait" I interject. "Before we get lost in its contents, I have one more question." Danielle waves her hand to continue. "Where did you learn to move like that?" Its the question I've had on the tip of my tongue since she got back in the car. Sam's head whips up.

Danielle sighs and perches on a stool. "My mom had me go to defence lessons for as long as I can remember. From there I worked on my stealth, never to steal or anything bad, just to follow people, see how close I could get. The defence classes helped with my mobility and balance, but other than that I taught myself. It's come in useful in recent years. Mom had a very dark past and there was increasingly more shady characters turning up at the house. I'd slip out my window into the tree in our backyard and wait them out. Some of them became verbally aggressive, but I never feared for her safety. Never thought that she'd be killed." Her voice breaks at this stage and she bows her head, hair sliding forward to cover her face.

Malaki shuffles closer and reaches for her hand. I can see her squeeze it back after a moment. We all  stand in silence. After a while she raises her head. Her eyes are shining but her voice is steady as she tells Sam to continue. As she meets my gaze I can see that she has more to say but is perhaps not yet ready to share.