“I knew it! Why the hell is it you two again?!”
The cab driver glared out of the window after parking as he watched Thomas and Senna approach. He remembered the two very well, the fae girl who constantly glared at him in disgust, and the man who lacked all manners and was flicking snot in the back of his car.
This wasn’t a company vehicle. He worked for a ride share company that required one to provide their own vehicle as the profit share was much better. This meant he had to clean up his car, and having to clean other people’s boogers was particularly disgusting.
If he hadn’t already accepted this commission and afraid of getting poor reviews and having the company cutting him off from their service, he would have immediately driven away.
“Ehh, what? Have we met before?” Thomas asked in genuine confusion as he simply entered the rear door of the car without care, the driver’s face not triggering any memories.
The driver massaged his temples with his fingers before stating, “Forget it. You are going to 445 Century Road in Longford, the St. Alms Retirement Home, yes?”
“Correct,” Senna bluntly stated, turning her crimson pupils to stare directly into the driver’s eyes through the rear view mirror until he broke eye contact.
The electromagnetic engine quickly hummed to life as the hover car raised itself from the ground. It then moved sideways out of the parking space and merged with the traffic heading south.
Thomas casually looked out the window and let his gaze roll over the electronic billboards lining the shopping district and on the side of public transport vehicles. Electronic displays also hung themselves from the stop lights, showing street names and other key information to drivers.
Several blimps and cargo ships drifted through the skies utilizing anti gravity technology, either being used as transport for goods, or to provide an experience of dining and a resort style lifestyle to people willing to pay for such a package. It was particularly popular among tourists and the wealthy in general to frequently book rooms aboard these fancy aircraft as if it was a sort of symbol of wealth.
For those who weren’t aboard, the projectors on the base of the aircraft didn’t miss out on the opportunity to advertise how great a day in the sky was. They also utilized infrared QR code technology so one only needed to shine their phone on the ship to be taken directly to the booking page.
“Ouch!” Thomas cried out in pain as Senna abruptly pinched his hip.
It was only then that he realized he had been casually picking his nose once again and awkwardly coughed before wiping his finger clean on the back of the driver’s seat. This action was not missed by the drivers, whose expression was dark and had a prominent throbbing vein in his temples.
In order to try and distract himself from his irritations and calm down, the driver pressed on the screen in the car and turned on the FM radio.
“…the current number one on the global charts, it’s Dreams of Stars by our one and only celebrity naiad, Serena Rivershore~”
“Shut it off,” Senna demanded in a tone so cold the temperature in the car seemed to drop by several degrees all at once.
Afraid of the implicit threat in her tone, the driver quickly turned off the radio. He secretly swore to himself that he would never accept another job in this area again for fear of encountering these two individuals who had no regard for him or his vehicle.
Thomas rose a brow and smiled while stating, “Huh, do you not like music? But I recall hearing you singing before. You’re voice was actually very-owe-owe ouch! Let go already!”
Whilst the pinch had softened, Senna’s hand hadn’t actually left his hip from before. Upon bringing up her singing that he had heard previously, not only did that pinch return in an all time new level of strength, but she also twisted her hand violently that caused Thomas to squirm about in agony.
“Welcome to the St. Alms Retirement Home,” A young woman sitting behind the reception desk smiled amicably and welcomed Senna and Thomas as soon as they entered. “Are you here to see a family member… or?”
As soon as the woman saw Senna’s pointed ears, she didn’t think the demi-fallen fae was here to see a family member, but Thomas appeared human enough to her.
“I am Thomas Smith, a private investigator following up on a case of a missing child.”
Thomas handed over a gaudy business card that listed his details to the woman, who looked over it with a curious gaze.
“Thomas’ Private Investigator Office for the Supernatural and Mundane… that’s quite a long business name. In that case, do you have an appointment? I apologize, but our policy restricts any person that is not someone’s immediate family from being able to visit without a prior arrangement.”
“Ah, unfortunately, Ms. Hudson did not have any other family or means of contact to arrange this beforehand. I hope you will be able to extend our request for an informal visit. We believe we have information on her daughter that went missing 30 years ago, but we would like to discuss the circumstances around the time.”
“…Ms. Hudson, you say?”
If the awkward expression of the receptionist was anything to go by, Thomas and Senna could already tell this was likely not going to go how they expected.
“Yes. Is there a reason why we wouldn’t be able to meet with her?”
“No, no, it’s not that. It’s just… the years have not been kind on her. If it’s Ms. Hudson, you should be okay to come and meet with her, I will call for one of our staff to guide you.”
Shortly afterwards, a male nurse in his late twenties entered the room and greeted the duo before guiding them deeper into the facility.
Carebots constantly patrolled, providing assistance to the elderly upon request, fulfilling all kinds of tasks from bringing food, pushing wheelchairs, serving as call interfaces with family, or simply being information terminals.
“Ms. Hudson doesn’t leave her room anymore and has become a bit reclusive. I will go see her and let her know you are here.”
The male nurse vanished into a room that caused Senna to scrunch her nose up in disgust.
“I smell death,” The beautiful fae stated while focusing her eyes.
The nurse poked his head out and silently waved for the two to enter into what was a large but simple room. There was a bed at the end and an old projector tv that could be viewed from anywhere in the room. A sofa chair also sat in the room, while the only decorations were a pair of flower pots with fake flowers in it, and two pictures on the wall.
One picture showed Ms. Hudson in her prime, a stunningly beautiful woman in her prime with thick chestnut hair and a bright smile on her face. The other was of a hospital room, a slightly older Ms. Hudson with signs of aging clutching a newborn baby girl in her arms, clearly fatigued but with a gaze full of love and affection.
That same woman currently sat in the sofa chair, her beauty long gone and replacing her was an very old woman with cloudy eyes that could barely see light anymore. Her limbs were thin and face marred with countless wrinkles, whilst her white hair was light and wispy like cotton fibers.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if the elderly woman had already passed away, given her current appearance, but that her eyes seemed to track Thomas and Senna as they entered proved she was still in the realm of the living.
“Ms. Hudson, this is Tho-”
“James, is that you?” Ms. Hudson squinted her eyes and spoke in a broken, dry voice.
“Ms. Hudson, I am not James, my name is Thomas Smith.”
“I knew you would come back, James. I never forgot you, I never forgot. I have waited all this time.”
The elderly woman tried to reach out to hold Thomas’ face as he lips curved into a smile that not even her wrinkles could hide the warm feelings in. Thomas reached out and tenderly held her hands in between his, calmly continuing to talk.
“Ma’am, my name is Thomas. I am a private investigator. Recently, I came across information relating to your daughter, Laurie, who went missing over thirty years ago.”
“Laurie?… Oh Laurie, you have come back too! I have missed you dearly!”
Ms. Hudson tried to reach out to Senna too, but the girl simply stared in disgust while refusing to approach and allow the old lady touch her.
The elderly woman wasn’t hurt by this, her gaze merely rolling back to Thomas before exclaiming with a radiant smile, “Oh, James, you’ve finally come back. You don’t know how much I’ve missed you these past few years.”
The male nurse sighed in resignation before explaining the situation to the two of them.
“Ms. Hudson has a severe case of dementia. Some days its worse than others, but today is probably one of the better times. It is difficult to hold any form of conversation with her most times, but she is content in this room. She does speak about her former husband a lot though, even calling me James quite often, so she must have cared deeply about him to have left such a deep impression.”
Thomas merely smiled, but his eyes shifted to white momentarily before fading back into their normal pale blue before stating, “She was never married. Not legally, at least.”
“Is that so? She had a wedding ring in her possessions when she was admitted here from the hospital, so we had just assumed she was.”
“James, will you hold me again? I want to tell you about the squirrels in the backyard. I think one of them is pregnant.”
“This is hopeless,” Senna snorted in annoyance, “She won’t be able to tell us anything in this state.”
“Don’t be so insensitive, you never know. It just takes patience~ Dear, it’s James. I am here looking for our daughter, Laurie. Do you know where she went?”
“Oh, James, of course I know it’s you~ I don’t know where our daughter is, but I think I saw her not too long ago.”
“You did, you did. I just want to know where she went so I can bring her home.”
“”Ohh, Laurie just went out to play with the squirrels. She will be back soon, so wait here with me, James, don’t leave me alone.”
Thomas felt the frail hands grip onto him as if terrified that he would abandon her. He could feel her desires from her grip, such was her attachment to this James.
“Don’t worry, I am just going to go outside and get her, then I will be back. Just wait for me here.”
“No! You can’t go, James. I need you to stay here with me!”
Ms. Hudson’s shrill voice rose into barely short of a scream, taking Thomas aback and making Senna take a step further away from the senile woman.
“Ms. Hudson, you need to calm down,” The male nurse hurriedly tried to placate the woman and have her release her grip on Thomas, silently drawing out a small medical patch from his pocket.
“No! Stop getting in between James and me!”
Ms. Hudson’s voice cracked as she became more and more erratic. It was only a moment later that the male nurse placed the patch on her arm and held her arm still to prevent her from being able to pull it off.
The effects were nearly immediate as the mental relaxant was absorbed through her skin and made her calm down. She quickly became woozy and absent minded as a smile formed on her face and she relaxed back into the chair, her gaze obscure and distant.
The male nurse sighed in relief before turning to Thomas and Senna
“Apologies, but I think this is all we can do for you. Ms. Hudson is no longer in a state to communicate and is nearing the end of her life, as you can see. I don’t think you will get the answers you are seeking and we would prefer she doesn’t get agitated, as that will only worsen her health.”
“We understand. Thank you for your assistance today.”
The nurse shook his head slowly and stated, “No, if there is anything we can provide that will ease her time here, we are more than willing to accommodate. If you do find her daughter as you have said, perhaps that kinship will calm her mind.”
Thomas bid them farewell after that and quietly left with Senna, onto the next target of investigation.
It wasn’t a surprise that the taxi who accepted their commission was not the same driver who dropped them off.
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