Monday, December 11, 2006

   Cream Filling & Nougat: Half-Julkalender (Chapter III)
[It's almost 1am as I start this. And yeah, I still don't know what's happening in this chapter exactly . . .]


Cream felt the need to chime back in as the energy in Vezel's bedroom rose dramatically.
"Perhaps leaving it at that is still a little misleading," he said in regards to his partner's prior statement. "She most likely did leave the front door of her own accord, but that doesn't take into account anything else that might have influenced her prior or happened to her after." Selleri kept a strong face, but knew that her daughter was still very much in trouble.

Nougat flipped back through the stack of drawings on the desk; he still couldn't get over the details in the pictures. Meanwhile, Cream continued his brainstorming.
"It's possible that maybe once she was out the door someone could have grabbed her," the younger detective said, "or maybe she was even told to come out and meet someone outside?" Selleri immediately shook her head.
"I hate the idea that someone could have grabbed her off the sidewalk, that'd be horrible," she said, propping her shoulder against the door frame. "Still, I like the idea that someone could have told her to leave like that even less."
"Well I can understand that, Ms. Selleri, that's always the worst fear of any . . ." Cream was cut off.
"Oh no, you misunderstand," Selleri stated. "I dislike that notion more because I just can't think of an opportunity for Vezel to speak with anyone to set up such a plan."

Nougat put the drawings back down, the drawing on top of the stack having what he figured was Vezel sitting in a time machine - it was a large contraption that had a clock motif, and each clock-face had motion lines suggesting that the hands were moving backwards. After hearing Selleri's statement, he looked towards the curiously more confident mother.
"Are you absolutely sure?" he asked her.
"Obviously I can't say for sure," she answered, "but the chances are really slim . . ." She rubbed her neck slightly before continuing. "I always drop her off and pick her up from school, so there's little chance of strangers speaking to her during those times."
"How about when she's over at friends' houses?" Cream suggested.
"She mostly only goes over to a few houses now and then, and all of us . . . the mothers and the like . . . we all have a system where if any of us go anywhere with each other's kids, we call the others to tell them."
"And you're sure it works every time?" Cream asked.
"We all want to protect our kids, so we can't afford to lose the trust of the other parents . . . not being able to trust our kids playing with each other would just be too cruel for them." Cream blinked and shook his head slightly, veritably surprised by the notion.
"Wow, parenting has changed a lot," he said honestly.

"How about phone calls?" Nougat asked.
"I tell Vezel not to pick up the phone," Selleri replied. "So if ever, it's usually just a friend asking her to come over, or . . ." Selleri paused for a moment before again smirking slightly, lips tight. ". . . or if her father wants to talk to her . . ."

Cream and Nougat immediately perked up, as if both had just been slapped in the face for sleeping in class or something to that degree.
"How often does your ex-husband call to talk with Vezel?" Nougat asked, a kind of gleam now in the back of his eye.
"Once or twice a week," Selleri replied. "He also visits and takes her out at least every month and usually more . . . but I think that's really good for both of them, so I . . ."

Selleri looked at both men and immediately knew what they were thinking.
"You two aren't suggesting that . . ." She was cut off.
"Miss Carbono, when was the last time your ex-husband called the house?" Nougat asked, still noting Selleri's complete confidence.
"Yesterday," she answered flatly. Cream pressed the matter.
"Where does he live?" he asked, stepping forward towards Selleri.
"No . . ." she said, "no, he wouldn't have done it. Hidrato loves Vezel with all his heart."

"Please, Miss Carbono," Nougat said, also stepping forward towards Selleri who had now backed herself into the hallway, "we need to know his address. Your saying that he loves Vezel so much can only force us to consider this more and more." Selleri remained confident with her ideals, but less so with her position in the current discussion.
"He agreed to give me custody because we didn't want Vezel to have to go through the pain of a custody battle," she asserted. "He wouldn't wreck all of that now, after we've been adjusting so well since." As the two detectives pursued Selleri, Nougat heard a flutter and saw that his walking past had blown a few of the drawings off the desk. He quickly picked up and replaced the time machine picture, a picture of heavy snowfall, and a picture of a red-headed girl - presumably Vezel - boarding a bus; he followed behind Cream into the hallway.

"Are you absolutely willing to bet your daughter's life that her father would not have taken her?" Cream demanded. Though he would not show it, he absolutely hated having to ask such a question that was clearly causing Selleri distress. Nevertheless, he needed to make his point.
". . . . . yes, I would," Selleri answered, a slight waver in her voice. "You don't know Hidrato . . ."

"That's right," Nougat replied as he stepped forward and cornered Selleri against the wall and Cream, "we don't know Hidrato . . . and because of that he's our best suspect right now." Selleri looked down at her feet; she knew he was right. "Miss Carbono, we need to know where we can find him." Selleri looked towards Cream and he quickly flipped open the notepad.

" . . . Seven-three-three-one Oak Street," she finally conceded.


[I just barely have a sense for how I'm gonna keep this story moving along, finally . . . that's gotta be a good thing . . .]
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