Hurry Harry

The baking heat was seeping through the car, he didn't care. He was frustrated and allowed all the windows to be open. Letting the breeze brush over him he bit his lip. He was parked outside the Melich church. The atmosphere inside was drowning. People were giving him their pity and he frowned at every curtsey. He shook his head and looked at his phone. Without thought, the first contact he chose was Dona's. He threw the phone to the side and hit the wheel with both hands. He saw the fading bruise on his hand and it made him gag. He felt less than a man at this moment. He felt helpless and hated the feeling. He hadn't been eating in days but forced himself to. Dona would hate the state he was in and so he tried to maintain his grip on the world.

He looked down at the passenger side and noticed a lipstick container near the mat. He picked it up and remembered that Dona loved to store things in the car. He found her notepad and held it as if it were glass. He scanned through it and landed on something odd. A name had been neatly written inside the notepad. "Tony Anderson". Why had she written it? Harry shook his head and thought back. She had written on her notebook that night, he remembered. As if inclined to, he took out his phone and dialled Crystal. He didn't know what he sought after in conversation. But the mere fact she wrote his name down in concern revealed something to him.

Voice mail. Crystal wasn't picking up. He thought it odd. The police had questioned both Crystal and Tony that night and had been left with no cause for concern. And yet, Harry felt as though something was off. He decided to call her studio to speak with her assistant. 

"Crystal hasn't been in for a few days". 

His eyebrow twitched. "Why?"

 He could hear her worry. "No idea, but she left a note."He asked her to read it to him, adding that he was concerned family. "There's a gallery opening on Friday the 13th". She continued," I'm helping out with the displays."

"Did she say which gallery?"

"No, she didn't."

 He found that peculiar. Crystal loved her studio more than anything, to leave it out of the blue was out of the ordinary."Do you know of any gallery openings within a few weeks or so?"

"No, but I can check."

"That would help a lot, thank you."

Harry wanted to actually go to the studio and view the note himself. Instead, he went to Crystal's apartment. He was followed on the way by one of the detectives on the case. He knocked on the door to be answered by silence and turned to see the detective. 

"Trying to find answers I see."He wasn't a weak individual, he was a robust man with confidence that intimidated.

"As any concerned husband should be."

He looked Harry up and down then he remembered that he too was a suspect in the case. He pointed to the door. "She hasn't been around in a few weeks, it's worrying me."

The detective found Harry amusing, churning his eyebrow. "Why don't you leave that to me?"He stepped towards him. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation."

 Harry didn't really like him. Although he was only being a hound for the sake of professionalism, he couldn't see the sincerity in Harry's expression.

"She hasn't been at her studio too."

"Can I ask, why she seems to cause you such worry?"

He couldn't find the right words. His thoughts were rambled and he looked around the porch as if an answer laid on the doorstep. He looked through the window one last time. The curtains were open and he caught a glimpse of the interior. All seemed well. There were a few flower petals on the coffee table-remnants of a dying flower. The table held no items of concern but its shadow brought with it a different outline. She had no pets and no alarm that could go off at the sign of an unnatural intruder.

He scanned his way to meet the eyes if there were any eyes. Stunned, he caught his breath. He was anchored to the spot, rigid in his belief that he saw a man. Alarmed, he looked back at the detective.

 "Someone's in there!"

In a fluid motion, he stepped in front of Harry. Harry's eyes were fixed onto the figure, stubbornly bringing him into reality. The detective stood for a few seconds with no words. Harry was dumbfounded by his reaction.

"We can't just stand here, we have to do something!"

 He looked from the detective back at the figure. He heard no quick response but a chilling one that made his heart escape his chest. "There's nobody in there Mr Collins."He turned around slowly, looking at Harry with crooked eyes. His gaze pierced his skin, looking through him with unapologetic lenses.

Harry shook his head, "Nonsense."He pointed to the figure", He's still—"

The room was empty.

"I'm going to ask you one last time Mr Collins, why is her disappearance any of your concern?"

What is he asking? What is he insinuating? Harry wasn't really grasping the situation. "She is, of course, Dona's best friend."He was right in his face now. "What if something happened to her too?"

"Like what?" He was really testing Harry's patience.

"Like Dona."When he said her name something pinched his chest, a sore heartbeat.

"Found anything yet?" Harry asked.

The detective stepped back. "If anything new appears in the case Mr Collins, you'll be the first to know."

Harry nodded and stepped down the sidewalk. He needed to find Crystal. What if something has happened to her. He looked back at the detective standing at the gate with his arms crossed. He was furious that they were looking at him that way. He needed to find them both. He needed to find Dona before he loses it. He stopped as he reached the gate, remembering what he had seen. 

"Shit", he said under his breath. He lifted his hand and noticed that it was shaking.