Savouring the last drop of my now-cold mug of black coffee, I took a glance up at the cork board with a photo of a beautiful blonde lady in her late twenties with scattered images from CCTV footage and faces of potential criminals from this unsolved crime of the disappearance of Emma Daniels; my wife.
"You heading off soon, Rob?" Asked Stephen, the chief constable, my coworker, taking my cup to bring into the kitchen.
I tutted, looking at the time, it was half past seven, I should have finished two and a half hours ago. "Yep." I replied, shutting down my computer and taking a closer look at the board with my missing wife's face all over it.
Emma went missing the day that she gave birth to our daughter, Ruby. I had left the room for a few minutes, when I returned Emma was gone without a single trace and I was left with the innocent little girl she had given me less than an hour beforehand.
"They're still working on it, mate." Said Stephen, returning into the joint office that we shared and patting my back. "they won't stop looking for her."
"It's Ruby's fifth birthday tomorrow." I told him, "It's already been five years." Stephen gave a sorrowful echo of "five years.."
"Y'know maybe she's not been kidnapped or anything- could've just wanted to go away. Changed her name or something..." I sighed, still pondering over thousands of possibilities of what could have happened to her.
"Go home, mate. You've got tomorrow off, right? You need a break." Sympathised Stephen, throwing me my coat.
"Yeah, got a new house to try and move into. I'll see you the next day." I told him, retrieving the keys to my old Volvo XC70 from my coat pocket and switching off the lights in the office, exiting the building and walking out into the dark and cold winter's evening. It was a twenty minute drive after the rush hour home to my 1980s one-bedroomed flat on the fourth floor. The whole apartment block was rather run down now, but it's all I could afford after Emma went missing. I spent most of my money trying to find her.
As soon as I entered the living room I placed down my rucksack and was greeted my beautiful brunette daughter bouncing towards me in her blue and white spotted pyjamas and exclaiming "daddy!" with a multitude of giggles. I lifted her up in my arms, I may have the worst day at work, but one hug from Ruby just makes my whole world so much brighter.
"Sorry I'm late, Rubster!" I apologised, wrapping my arms around her, spinning her around and plonking her onto the worn leather sofa.
"How was your day?" I asked her, sitting down beside her, looking about in my pocket for £20 to give to Jessica, my sister who looked after Ruby when I was at work after she came home from school.
"I got pupil of the week!" Squealed my precious child running off to her school bag which was sitting on the kitchen table,
"You did not!" I exclaimed as I handed Jessica the money which she, on a daily basis, refused.
"I'm not taking your money, Robert." She denied.
"You can't do this for free." I muttered, shaking my head at my little sister who had just turned thirty. Her fiancé had just admitted to her that he couldn't have kids a few weeks ago which I could tell was still affecting her.
"I could do this for years and not get paid, Rob. Ruby's a dream." She told me, patting my shoulder and kissing my cheek.
"Sorry I kept you late..." I sighed, "you need a lift home?"
"Don't you worry about me! Go congratulate that little sausage." She giggled, gazing over at my young daughter who seemed to be growing up far too fast.
"You available tomorrow? Ruby's birthday- dinner?" I offered,
"Of course! Is she choosing what we're having?" Asked Jessica, as I walked her to the door.
"Yo cheeky-face! What do you want for dinner tomorrow?" I called, seeing her clear up her colouring pencils.
"Lobster, please!" She requested, laughing with both hands full of crayons in the air.
"Fuck me!" I laughed quietly to Jessica, "alright your majesty!"
"See you tomorrow." Said Jessica, "take care."
"You too." I replied, closing the door behind her before turning to my child and taking off my coat, rolling up the sleeves of my white shirt and running towards her.
"Now show me this pupil of the week!" I exclaimed, seeing her excited face as she showed me the golden certificate with her name embedded. "Oh my gosh! 'Pupil of the Week goes to Ruby Daniels for being the kindest and most generous student!' Oh Rubster, you're the best. Your mum'd be so proud." I told her, genuinely feeling quite mushy and full of pride for my successful little girl who was acting as if she'd won an Oscar.
"Did you find her?" Asked Ruby, She asked me that question every single day without fail.
"Not today, sweetheart." I replied, sadly smiling at her. "Now go on and brush your teeth, let me get changed."
I sat in bed with Ruby that night, our flat only had one bedroom with a double bed and a single bed, generally we'd lie in the double bed just chatting to each other and end up fast asleep. There had only been one occasional where three people had stayed in the flat, that's when the snow was so deep that I insisted Jessica slept in the single bed.
With regards to romance since Emma, there's been nothing. I always put Ruby first, above anyone else. Colleagues had been hinting that I should use online dating, I just laugh and shake my head. It still hasn't sunk in that Emma probably isn't coming back, that I'll probably never find someone else if I don't act now.
I just don't want to get Ruby attached to someone in case we split apart. Besides, Ruby asks me every day if I've found her mum yet, I'm not going to lie to her and pretend that someone else is her mum, or worse, give up on believing that her mum is still out there.
There'll never be another Emma. She's my wife and I'll never love someone the way I loved her.
"Do you think you'll ever find mum?" Asked Ruby, leaning her small soft head on my chest as I stroked her hair.
"I dunno, pet." I sighed, looking up at the world map on the wall opposite us, Emma and I used to stare at that very map and plan our future adventures.
"I hope you do." Said Ruby,
"I hope I do too." I replied.
"Reckon she's is Australia?" Pondered the nearly-five-year-old.
I chuckled at that, "she could be."
Maybe in another ten years Ruby might come to the terms that her mother is probably dead. However.. I still haven't come to terms with it and I'm thirty-seven.
There's always that feeling in the back of my mind, that she could be out there, alive and waiting for me to find her. But I don't think I'll ever know really what happened to her.
YOU ARE READING
Did You Find Her?
Short Story[COMPLETE] Robbie Daniels is a thirty-seven year old police officer, his main case was the disappearance of his wife, Emma five years ago, just one day after his daughter Ruby was born, a case of which he'd never solved.
