Chapter Thirty
Lila relayed the events of Saturday to Grace and Elise when she met up with them a couple of days later while they hung out at the shopping centre. They had planned to narrow down some more dress choices and scout out a shop or two for when Cecelia was able to get a dress next week.
“Lila,” Elise sighed, flicking through the sale rack of the third store they had visited that day.
“What?” Lila asked, looking through a different rack.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think you’re really down bad for Asher. Like, mega down bad.”
“I’m not,” Lila said flatly, turning to the rack behind her so Elise couldn’t see her face.
“The fact that you turned around just now is sus, dude,” Elise laughed. “What do you think about this one? Is purple my colour?”
Lila peeked over at Elise pulling a deep purple, knee-length dress to her chest and nodded approvingly. “I reckon you should try that one on, at least.”
Elise continued to hold it as she browsed. “Anyway, I’m glad that Holly is nice,” Elise said. “But are you sure you should be trying so hard for the guy? I mean, the English project is over, so you could just disappear.”
Grace emerged from the changing rooms to the left side of the store, wearing a strapless navy blue satin dress with pleats.
“What do you think?” she asked, twirling.
“Ooh,” Lila said enthusiastically. “That looks good Grace!”
Grace grinned and thrust her hand into the sides of the dress. “And it has pockets!”
“Frothing,” Elise said approvingly. Grace giggled, swishing side to side, before heading back into the changing room.
“You should take a pic of it if you’re not going to buy it now,” Lila called.
“Good idea!” Grace replied in a somewhat muffled voice.
“Well, we’ve become pretty good friends now,” Lila said softly. “I mean, with the English project and the whole Piper fiasco, I don’t think it’d be right to just disappear. I mean, he’s a decent guy.”
“I guess,” Elise said, sighing. “But you’re going to hurt yourself.”
“I’ll be fine,” Lila replied, her voice somewhat strained. “I know that you and Grace are convinced that I have a crush on him. I know he’s taken, and I know he’s really happy with her. I’m not bothered by it, but y’know, don’t you think the PDA was a bit much? ‘Specially since I was there as like a third wheel.”
‘Besides,’ Lila thought to herself. ‘It’s not a crush.’
Elise shrugged. “Sounded pretty normal for a couple. What do you think Grace?”
Grace emerged from the changing room, clutching the dress she’d tried on. She frowned for a moment and also shrugged.
“I mean, I guess it could be a bit rude, but at the same time I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some PDA with my partner.”
Lila grimaced, fixating her eyes on the rack of dresses before her. She quickly found that she couldn’t focus properly on any of them.
“I did say at the beginning of the year that I didn’t want you to get hurt,” Grace said pointedly. “So I’m not exactly happy that you’re throwing yourself into hanging out with him and Holly. Elise is right – some distance could be good.”
“I’m not hurting,” Lila said, though her voice cracked unnaturally. Grace and Elise both exchanged a doubtful look.
“You always deny your feelings, Lila,” Grace said gently. “Maybe you should try-”
“And what if I stop denying it?” Lila asked sharply, crossing her arms. “It’s safer to deny everything. That way, it can’t hurt me if it’s not true.”
Grace and Elise exchanged another look of concern, and Elise opened her mouth to say something before Lila interrupted her.
“Forget I said anything. Please. That… I don’t know where that came from. It’s… complicated.”
“… Okay,” Grace replied. “I don’t understand, but I’ll respect it.”
“Forgotten before you even asked,” Elise said, grinning while indicating that she had nothing in her head. Lila smiled at Grace and Elise, before turning her attention back to the rack.
‘I can’t run away from him, anyway,’ Lila thought as she continued to browse the dresses absently. ‘I’ve got something I gotta do first…’
But… Asher hadn’t messaged her since their meeting on Saturday. Lila had thought that it went well with Holly, but as the days passed, she started thinking that perhaps Holly didn’t want Asher hanging out with Lila after all.
“Hey Lila,” Elise called, waving a hand in front of Lila’s face. “You’re spacing out again.”
“Sorry,” Lila replied, shaking her head. “What’s up?”
“What about this one?” Elise asked, pulling out a crimson, knee-length dress. The bodice was decorated with many silver imitation gems and diamantes in various sizes. There were tasteful cutouts around where the breastbone would be, without revealing any cleavage. The chiffon skirt itself flared out from the waist, appearing to have a built-in petticoat with several layers of varying shades of red.
“That’s cute,” Lila said, nodding. Elise thrust it into her hands.
“Try it on, then,” she said, smirking. “Red is so your colour.”
“It’s a bit too flashy for my taste,” Lila said, somewhat tentatively.
“You haven’t tried on a dress from this store yet,” Elise said simply. “It’s no fun if it’s just Grace and I.”
“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to buy it,” Grace added with a nod. Lila raised the dress to her eye level, spreading the skirt to see how far it extended. She looked back up at Grace and Elise uncertainly. Elise smiled encouragingly, and Lila headed into the changing room.
It fit Lila very well, once she figured out where her arms were supposed to go. Looking in the mirror, she thought it seemed to make her olive skin tone appear deeper and richer, though not necessarily darker. She spun in the change room, and the skirt twirled out nicely. Satisfied, she pulled the changing room curtain aside and stepped out.
“Whoa,” Grace whispered.
“Damn,” Elise said, giving a low whistle. “You look so good!”
Lila bashfully looked in the mirror again. She did admit that she liked how she looked in it. The decorative pieces gave it a good amount of sparkle and shine, and the fullness of the skirt wasn’t too much either.
“Lila, you have to get it,” Grace insisted.
“For sure!” Elise concurred. “It would be a crime not to at this point.”
Lila bit her lip, before breaking into a wide grin. “Alright,” she said, feeling slightly giddy now. “Looks like I’ve found what I’m wearing.”
The girls continued to look for dresses for Elise and Grace before heading home for the day. Lila felt exhausted, but Clare insisted Lila try on her dress once she arrived home. Both Clare and Lila’s Mum were ecstatic over Lila’s purchase and began to suggest ideas for matching shoes and accessories. Lila eventually stopped them with a tired smile, and they allowed her to go upstairs.
Lila hung her dress up in its garment bag in her closet before falling into bed. She was starting to feel excited about semi, despite her lack of a partner. She fantasised for just a moment about having a partner for semi but dispelled the thought. She’d only just beaten back the rumours – she definitely didn’t need any more to start.
Lila’s phone buzzed on her desk and she brought it closer. She quickly sat up in her bed, her eyes wide. It was a message from Asher.
Sorry for not messaging sooner, it read. As she read this message, a new one came through.
Holly really enjoyed herself. Thank you for coming
No worries, Lila replied with shaking hands.
She’s fine with us hanging out btw. She just needed some time to think about it
I’m glad, Lila sent, placing her phone on her chest. Her body slumped forward, losing its stiff posture. She hadn’t realised how tense she had been about it. Her phone buzzed again.
So I was thinking it’s time to kick up the investigation again. Are you free tomorrow? The 5<sup>th</sup>.
Lila quickly opened up her calendar. It seemed like her next plans were scheduled for Thursday the 6<sup>th</sup>.
Yup, she replied. Asher seemed to take a while to respond.
Great. See you tomorrow at mine around 11?
Sounds good, Lila replied, her heart thumping. Asher didn’t send anything else.
<hr>
Clare didn’t question why Lila was going to Asher’s house the next morning as she dropped Lila off, but she had her lips uncharacteristically pursed as she rolled the car to a stop.
“Let me know when you need to be picked up,” Clare said with a wave.
“Will do,” Lila said, closing the passenger side door behind her. Clare skidded off without a backward glance at Lila. Lila walked up the familiar path, casting a quick look around her surroundings. Though Piper had been suspended, Lila couldn’t be too careful that she wasn’t lurking in the bushes, watching Lila. She didn’t see anything and knocked on the right-side door. As she waited, Lila smoothed down her outfit, which was another t-shirt and jeans combo.
The door opened a few moments later, and Asher leant in the doorframe, his hair in its typically messy state and matching the wrinkled look of his casual graphic tee and jean shorts.
“Hey,” he said with a smile. “You made it.”
“Of course I did,” Lila replied, moving forward. Asher stepped backwards, allowing her entry into the home.
“Gabriel is shopping at the moment for some groceries,” Asher explained as Lila put her shoes in her usual spot. “He should be back soon. Dad’s working at the Hospital.”
“So, it’s just us?” Lila asked, fiddling with the messenger bag that was on her right shoulder. Her stomach did a funny swoop as the words left her mouth.
“Yup,” Asher said, closing the front door behind Lila and looking at her curiously. “Is… that a problem?”
“N-No,” Lila replied, her cheeks strangely flushed. Asher looked at her for a moment without saying anything.
“We can sit either in the library or my rumpus room,” Asher finally said as they continued to stand awkwardly in the hallway.
“I don’t mind, either way,” Lila responded.
“I think… we’ll go up to my rumpus room,” Asher said carefully, casting furtive looks around the hallway.
“Sounds good,” Lila uttered. They made their way to Asher’s wing of the house in relative silence. It seemed to Lila that Asher was intentionally being quiet, so she didn’t attempt any conversation either. It felt lonely without Gabriel’s usual welcome, but Lila tried to pay it no mind.
Once in the safety of the rumpus room, Asher turned to Lila, his eyes burning with urgency.
“Lila, I want to investigate Marlene.”
“I do too,” Lila replied with a firm nod.
A look of relief crossed Asher’s face as he gestured for Lila to sit down on the couch. He made his way to the kitchenette, pouring some drinks for them. He sat down next to Lila and took a sip, seeming to be lost in thought.
“I… I’m glad that we sorted out the rumours,” he eventually said, setting down his cup and looking at Lila with another of his intense but unfathomable expressions. “You did well to get to the bottom of it, Lila. I’ll be honest, finding all that out about Piper freaked me the hell out. I… definitely wouldn’t have been able to come up with nearly the same amount of info as you did… I didn’t sleep that night. But… knowing that you were on my team got me through.”
Asher gave a surprised laugh, shaking his head. “Why am I saying this?” he asked, seemingly troubled by the question.
“Thank you for telling me that, Asher,” Lila replied quietly. Asher’s eyes snapped to Lila’s as she spoke. “I’m glad, too. And I’m glad that we were able to get Piper the heck away from you, even if it’s only been temporary. I was pretty worried that she’d hurt you, actually. It’s been such a relief, these past couple of weeks.”
“You were worried that she’d hurt me?” Asher whispered. He tore his eyes away from Lila and looked instead at his hands.
“I mean, I’m sure you’d be able to handle her,” Lila said quickly. “But… yeah. Even so, it scared me that she’d try and do something even worse.”
“I see…” Asher trailed off, still looking at his hands.
“I’m also glad that Holly seems okay with us hanging out,” Lila said softly. “I was pretty worried that she’d say you had to drop me and then we wouldn’t be able to… to get to the bottom of your Mum’s disappearance.”
Asher looked up at Lila, a small smile on his lips. “I was never worried about that,” he said confidently. “I mean, I knew that you guys had to meet up, but I also knew that you two would get along. I didn’t think it’d be as much as you did, though. She couldn’t stop talking about you after the movie, but she still needed a couple of days to make sure she was comfortable with her decision.”
Lila nodded, now looking at her own hands. She wasn’t too sure what it meant, that Asher was confident that she’d get along with Holly. Were they similar somehow?
‘Well, not that similar,’ Lila thought with a sigh. ‘She’s an absolute bombshell, and I’m… just me.’
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“You guys are really sweet together,” Lila whispered, still looking away. “I’m happy you found your person, Asher.”
Asher swallowed audibly and Lila looked into his eyes again. There was something lurking in them, but it was too complicated for Lila to untangle. Was it happiness? Sadness? Lila wasn’t sure why Asher would be sad, but she knew it certainly wasn’t pure happiness.
“I am curious, though,” Lila piped up, her mouth suddenly feeling as though it didn’t belong to her. “What did Holly mean when she said that you weren’t telling her how you feel, as usual?”
As soon as she recognised what she had said, Lila wished she could reel the words back into her mouth and swallow them whole. Asher gave a heavy sigh, leaning back into his side of the couch and staring up at the ceiling.
“I… well, you saw her,” he eventually said, the fleeting ghost of a smile dashing across his face. “She’s… perfect. Every morning I wake up and remember she’s mine, I kinda freak out. The thought of letting her slip through my fingers scares me. I… don’t want to screw her up with my imperfectness. My vulnerability. So, I don’t really say anything at all about my feelings, or show her my full emotions. I don’t know if that makes me dishonest, but… to be honest, I’d never thought anyone could like me in that way. Especially with all those stupid rumours about me over the years. I lost a good many friends over them… so I thought she was joking when she asked me to be her boyfriend, after our last debating match last year. Now I’m at the point where I’m unsure how to talk about my feelings with her. She… tells me all the time that I’m like her happy charm. That my happiness makes her happy… s-so I can’t lose my smile with her, y’know? ‘Cause… then I won’t be her happy charm anymore.”
He ended his explanation with such a quiet murmur that Lila almost didn’t hear him. Lila’s heart sunk through her body as she listened to Asher’s words. It sounded like he was in a predicament…
“But, for some reason, it’s like I can’t shut up my feelings or hide away my emotions with you. I mean, you’ve already seen me at my worst, emotionally. Well, at least I hope that’s the worst…” he said, bringing a hand over his eyes, a humourless chuckle escaping his pained grimace.
“I see,” Lila replied, unease settling in the place her heart used to sit. It sounded like he cared about Holly an awful lot. So, was the reason Asher felt comfortable letting out his feelings and emotions with Lila because he didn’t care about his image with her? Did that mean, then, that he didn’t care about Lila?
“W-Why do you ask?” Asher asked with a slight stutter. A blush appeared to be coating his cheeks, but he still wasn’t looking at Lila.
“Just curious,” Lila said honestly. “I just would’ve thought that you’d… communicate those kinds of things with your girlfriend.”
Asher remained silent for a moment.
“You’re right,” he said finally. “And I hate that you’re right. I hate that I just can’t with Holly. It fills me with a lot of guilt every time she asks and I lie through my teeth. But I just don’t want to disappoint her with the real me.”
“She’d be stupid if she was,” Lila mumbled under her breath.
“Sorry?” Asher asked, whipping his head around to look at Lila with wide eyes.
“N-Nothing,” Lila replied, turning away from Asher on the couch. She started pulling out her personal laptop and English notebook, her own cheeks a deep red now. He didn’t ask her to repeat herself again. Hopefully, he hadn’t heard what she’d said…
“A-Anyway. Thank you for being so honest with me, Asher. I appreciate it,” Lila said, attempting a bright smile. “It sounds like it’s usually difficult for you, and I don’t want you to think that I don’t notice that.”
Asher nodded silently, tugging on a lock of his hair. He seemed lost in thought. Lila opened the laptop with an attempted businesslike flair, which seemed to catch his attention again.
“So, Marlene, yeah?” she said, clearing her throat.
“Y-Yeah,” Asher replied, relaxing his posture. “I think, given everything, she’s the most suspicious person at the moment.”
“Let’s write up all the points we’ve got,” Lila suggested, opening a fresh Word doc. She saved it and titled it ‘Himitsu’.
“What does that mean?” Asher asked.
“It’s Japanese for ‘secret’,” Lila explained, flushing again. “I just thought it fit since we’re trying to keep our investigation on the down-low. Plus, it looks like a doc for my Japanese class, so it’s unlikely to be opened by someone else.”
“Does someone else have access to your laptop?” Asher asked, seeming alarmed. Lila shook her head.
“No, and it’s password and biometric-protected. But you never know.”
“I guess it’d be odd for you to have a document called ‘Investigation into Tabitha Wagner’s Disappearance’ or ‘Asher’ or something,” Asher supposed with a shrug.
“Anyway, let’s start detailing what we know about Marlene in relation to the case.”
“Right.”
Lila set up a rudimentary table. It felt almost like she was preparing to make a suspect profile.
“What’s her last name?” she asked. Asher looked at her blankly.
“I… don’t know.”
“You don’t know your help’s full name?” Lila asked incredulously. “That sounds kinda rude.”
“I never needed to know,” Asher said defensively, his face growing pink. “So I never asked.”
“How are we meant to do some open-source searches?”
“What are those?”
“Searches you can do on Google, Facebook, Insta, things like that. It’s called open-source ‘cause you can come across it with little to no security clearances. The info isn’t locked behind a paywall, or otherwise secured. So, it’s ‘openly’ available. And a lot of it is put on the internet by the person themselves, too.”
“Oh. I didn’t know there was a name for it.”
“Yeah, I did a bit of digging around my Dad’s study the other day since he works from the PI office usually, and I found an interesting reference guide for it. I basically do it all the time, anyway, ‘cause I’m nosy about our classmates but it’s easier with a full name. A date of birth is handy too. But it’s a bit of a bummer that we don’t have her name.”
“Maybe Gabriel knows?” Asher suggested, pulling out his phone.
“Don’t text him,” Lila said sharply. Asher hesitantly lowered his phone.
“Sorry. We should probably be pretty careful from here on out, in terms of what we send and receive,” Lila explained. “You never know who’s reading it.”
“But my phone’s locked-”
“You can install tracking apps and all sorts on phones, with or without the password.”
“Sounds like a conspiracy.”
“How do you reckon wiretaps work in the Police? It’s not like they go to the person and say ‘Hey, I’m a Detective with the Police, can I borrow your phone for a sec? Just need to track your messages.’ I know wiretaps usually refer to older tech, like home phones, but they still get texts and stuff from smartphones nowadays.” Lila said sternly. Asher fell silent.
“We’ll wait for Gabriel to get home and ask him in person,” Lila said gently. Asher nodded.
“For now, let’s compile what we do know about Marlene and her involvement in this case.”
“Okay.”
They worked together to provide an overview of what they knew about Marlene. It seemed that she’d started working for Asher’s family about 6 or 7 years ago and she lived at the worker’s cottage with Gabriel. She worked part-time at night, so they had no clue what she did during the day. Marlene had left to see her family the week of Christmas, departing on 23 December last year and returning on 30 December, the day Gabriel started his leave. Asher didn’t know where Marlene’s family was, but he thought that Marlene may have stayed pretty local to the area.
Lila also noted down that Marlene hadn’t returned on the day that Asher’s Mum had gone missing. She also wrote the question, ‘When was Marlene made aware that one of her employers had disappeared?’. Additionally, Marlene seemed to have started keeping tabs on Asher as soon as she returned from leave. While Asher originally saw it as a sign of concern for his mental state, it seemed excessive. He explained that it felt like every time he left his rumpus room, she would be standing just outside, cleaning or with baskets of laundry in her hands.
She apparently was also on the phone all the time, after his Mum’s disappearance, when he had hardly seen her even take it out of her pocket before. Then, there was the matter of Marlene having avoided all the CCTV cameras on 8 February, when Lila visited… and when Piper took the photo of Asher pulling Lila inside his house.
“Asher, I do have to ask,” Lila said with a small frown as she re-read their notes so far. “I know you said that… well, the reason why you look a bit… uh, dishevelled… is because you’d been told it made you look like a nerd. But, if you have a basically live-in maid, surely she’d decide how your clothes lay and all that?”
Asher glanced at Lila before laughing.
“S-Sorry,” he said after pulling himself together. “You think I look dishevelled?”
Lila suddenly felt as embarrassed as when she’d asked Asher about why he didn’t tell Holly how he felt.
“W-Well, I… it’s not like… well… I m-mean… you certainly don’t look ‘shevelled’,” Lila said pointedly.
Asher broke into raucous laughter this time, clutching his stomach. Lila watched on in bemusement, waiting for Asher to stop again. He eventually did, wiping a small tear from his eye as he straightened up.
“Sorry,” he wheezed. “I didn’t realise I had that impression on you. It’s kinda funny, given how hard I tried over the years to impres-”
He quickly cut himself off with a cough, not meeting Lila’s eyes. Lila tentatively nodded.
“I guess it would be kinda funny, to know that I think you’re dishevelled,” she said quietly. “B-But you didn’t answer my question.”
“I told Marlene she could wash my clothes but to buzz off with the iron after Mum disappeared,” he said simply, rubbing his stomach. “I… wanted to get out of my comfort zone. It was getting almost OCD-level, the amount I was obsessed with how wrinkle-free I needed everything. She was getting kinda sick of my demands, so she didn’t fight me on it when I asked her to stop. Plus, I didn’t want her to spend more time looking at my stuff than she needed to, what with the weird vibes she’s been giving me.”
Asher paused for a moment, looking at the corner of the coffee table before continuing. “I dunno if you’d call it self-destruction, but I guess I wanted to dismantle my image a tiny bit after Mum disappeared. It was… kinda like letting go of my control of how immaculate I could possibly be at any given moment was my way of regaining control. I guess it sounds counter-intuitive, but… it was freeing. Plus, Holly said she likes it better this way.”
Lila nodded again, contemplating Asher’s words. It felt like she suddenly knew a whole lot more about him than she had before from that simple question.
“So, what now?” Asher queried, looking at Lila’s computer screen. “I can’t think of anything else, at the moment.”
“I mean, we still have to do our open-source searches,” Lila replied, scrolling through the table. “Once we get those done, I think we can decide if we want to talk to Marlene, follow her to see where she goes during the day, or have a look in the cottage.”
She looked up at Asher. He was looking at her with an expression that Lila couldn’t help but think was maybe awe.
“I’m so glad I told you about all this,” he said, a smile slowly appearing on his face. “It feels like every time I get lost for ideas on what to do, you’ve got an answer for me.”
“Well, don’t be too reliant on me,” Lila responded quickly. “This is the first time I’m doing something like this too.”
“I know,” Asher nodded, stretching his arms above his head. “But somehow it feels like you’re a pro. Sorry if it feels like I just put you on the spot.”
“N-No, it’s okay,” Lila said, looking down at her laptop again, her heart thumping in her chest, the tips of her ears reddening slightly. It felt like Asher had just complimented her, but she wasn’t too sure whether he’d meant it to be a compliment. Whatever the case may be, she felt like she wanted to treasure the warmth she was now feeling.
A crackle sounded at the intercom, making both Lila and Asher jump.
“Asher, I’ve come back. Is Lila here yet?” Gabriel’s voice sounded through the speaker. Asher immediately crossed the room.
“Yeah, she’s here,” Asher said, glancing back at Lila. She gestured wildly, trying to convey that she wanted to go see Gabriel.
“I… think she wants to see you,” Asher added with a smirk. “Either that, or she suddenly wants to show me an interpretive dance.”
Lila made to argue, but Gabriel’s deep belly laugh sounded through the speaker.
“I’ll be glad to see you too, Lila,” Gabriel chuckled. “Come down when you’re ready.”
“Okay,” Asher replied, moving away from the intercom, looking smug.
Lila immediately crossed the room towards Asher. “What the heck?” she asked in a huff. He raised his hands in surrender and laughed again.
“You gotta admit, that was a lot of gesturing. I thought it was pretty funny.”
Lila glared at him for just a moment before joining in with his laughter. They made their way downstairs, with Asher imitating her gestures much to her chagrin, but she found herself chortling.
Gabriel greeted them at the kitchen counter, beaming as usual.
“Lila!” he said joyfully. “Have the holidays been treating you well?”
“They certainly are, now that I’ve seen you,” Lila grinned. Gabriel winked at her.
“I’m happy to hear that. Though, I’m sure that’s because of the food.”
“I can’t deny that you cook a mean meal,” Lila teased. Gabriel guffawed. Surprisingly, Asher joined in Gabriel’s mirth.
“Well, I hope you’re excited for lunch, then,” Gabriel said slyly.
“Always,” Lila replied, smiling. Gabriel made to move into the butler’s pantry before Asher stopped him.
“Gabriel, I have a question,” he said. Gabriel turned back, looking at Asher curiously.
“You don’t normally have questions for me,” he said, seeming excited by the prospect.
“I guess I don’t,” Asher said thoughtfully. “A-Anyway, I wanted to know if you knew Marlene’s name? Or date of birth?”
Gabriel looked surprised now, walking back to the counter.
“All these years, and you don’t know?” Gabriel questioned.
“I-I guess I never thought to ask,” Asher replied somewhat sheepishly.
“And it’s been way too long to ask Marlene now, I suppose,” Gabriel said with a booming laugh. Asher’s sheepishness seemed to turn to embarrassment, but Gabriel didn’t take long to answer Asher’s question.
“Well, her name is Marlene Mathieson, with an ‘h’ in it. As for her date of birth, I believe it’s the 7<sup>th</sup> of June, 1993.”
“Thanks,” Asher said with a smile. “I’ll have to think about getting her something for her birthday.”
“Well, hang on,” Gabriel pouted. “What’s my birthday then?”
“Easy,” Asher said confidently. “18<sup>th</sup> of August.”
“It came to you so easily and yet you don’t get me anything?” Gabriel asked incredulously.
“See ya at lunch!” Asher called behind him as he set off at a fast pace back down the hall, gripping Lila’s wrist. She stumbled behind him but waved at Gabriel all the same, who let out a disappointed sound before heading into the butler’s pantry.
Closing the door to the rumpus room behind them, Asher seemed far more energetic now.
“So, we’ve got those details!” he said, seeming to bounce on his heels as he went to the couch again.
“Sure do,” Lila replied, rubbing her wrist slightly. He hadn’t let go until he’d opened the door. “Let’s get to Googling.”
They spent the next hour or so trying to find a scrap of detail on Marlene but found none. Asher didn’t seem to know any nicknames that Marlene went by, so Lila also searched for ‘Mary’ and ‘Marley’. A couple Facebook profiles appeared, but they were all locked down. Instagram profiles vaguely fitting Marlene’s details were set to private as well.
“This is frustrating,” Asher said despondently, scrolling through his phone.
“Sometimes it’s like this,” Lila said with a sigh. “Do you have Gabriel on Facebook?”
Asher pulled up his Facebook profile and checked his friends list.
“Yeah,” Asher said. “Why?”
“He might be connected to Marlene,” Lila replied with a shrug. She shifted her gaze to her own Facebook account briefly before looking back up at Asher.
“Are we friends on Facebook?” she asked. Asher shook his head.
“Nah, I don’t use it very much anyway so I don’t have many people added. I think I’ve only got, like, Isaac, Holly and my family on there.”
“I see,” Lila replied in a half-whisper. She continued her searches until a notification sounded on her laptop. It was a friend request from Asher. She looked up at him again, tingles rushing down her arms, but he seemed absorbed in whatever he was doing. She accepted the request. He only had 42 friends, so Lila supposed he was being truthful about not having many people as friends on Facebook. She resisted the temptation to look through his profile for the moment as she conducted further searches on ‘Marlene Mathieson’.
Finally, she closed her laptop lid with a groan.
“I don’t think we’re gonna find anything, Asher,” she said, rubbing her eyes.
“I’m happy to call it there,” Asher said with an annoyed sigh, dropping his phone on the coffee table. “Gabriel’s friends list is private.”
“Look, not every open-source search will show anything,” Lila said, trying to sound comforting. Asher sighed again.
“But isn’t it weird to have absolutely nothing?” he asked quietly. “I mean, literally everyone has something on social media. Right?”
“She could just have locked it down,” Lila said softly. “I know it’s frustrating, but we need to pick a new plan.”
Asher nodded but didn’t say anything further.
“Out of the three options I said before,” Lila raised after a few moments, “which appeals to you the most?”
Asher held his head in his hands before responding.
“F-Following her, I think. It… doesn’t make me feel good, but… well, Piper figured out a whole bunch of stuff following us, didn’t she?”
“We don’t have to if you’re not comfortable,” Lila quickly insisted. Asher looked up at her again, determination in his eyes.
“Let’s do it,” he stated, his voice firm.
“Alright,” Lila replied. She pulled out her phone and looked at her calendar.
“It looks like… well, I have plans tomorrow, and then it’s the Easter break. Everything’s basically closed then… hmm… I’ll be here on Easter Sunday, right?” Lila asked, her eyes flickering briefly to Asher’s face. He nodded. “Alright, so then I’m shopping with Cecelia and the girls on the 11<sup>th</sup>… then hanging out again on the 12<sup>th</sup>… if Marlene is only absent on weekdays, during the day, it looks like we can have a go at following her on the 13<sup>th</sup> and 14<sup>th</sup>.”
Lila looked up from her phone at Asher. He seemed somewhat disappointed.
“I didn’t realise you’d be so busy during the holidays,” he said slightly dejectedly.
“Oh, it’s mostly plans with the girls to hang out and get stuff for semi. But we realised the other day that we need to get serious about it. Grace doesn’t have a dress still, and we all need to get shoes.”
“Oh,” Asher said shortly. “I forgot about semi.”
“Well, I hope you remember to get a suit or something,” Lila laughed. “It’s on the 21<sup>st</sup>, after all.”
Asher seemed like he wanted to ask Lila something with the way his mouth twitched but remained silent.
“Anyway, when does Holly get back from Moreton Island?” she enquired.
“She’s actually gone until the holidays end, basically. She comes back on the night of the 16<sup>th</sup>.”
“Ah,” Lila replied awkwardly. A heavy pause hung in the air until the intercom burst to life again. It was Gabriel calling Lila and Asher down for lunch.
The rest of the day consisted of another delicious meal (a Mongolian beef stir-fry, the beef being especially tender) before Lila was back in the rumpus room with Asher.
“I… think I should get going,” Lila yawned.
“You can nap here, you know,” Asher offered, glancing at her. He was looking through the table again on her laptop.
“I’m good,” Lila shook her head. “I only just got Holly on my side. I’m not about to screw that up by staying over at her boyfriend’s place.”
“R-Right,” Asher replied, looking even more intensely at the laptop than he had been. Lila sent a message to Clare to pick her up.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for a bit longer?” he asked quietly. He still averted his gaze from Lila.
“Clare’s already on her way,” Lila said, fiddling with the strap of her messenger bag.
“I feel like you avoided the question.”
“I mean, it’s not really about what I want,” Lila whispered under her breath, surprising herself. It was almost as though she couldn’t get control of her own thoughts or body lately.
“… well, let’s just watch something until Clare comes,” Asher suggested. From Asher’s reaction, Lila couldn’t tell whether he’d heard what she said.
Clare arrived about half an hour later with a beep of her car horn. Lila quickly turned to Asher before he could get off the couch.
“Before I go, can I ask you to do something?” she asked urgently. He looked at her in surprise.
“Sure…” he trailed off uncertainly.
“Just to make it efficient, can you please get a feel for Marlene’s normal routine? Like, whether she’s just in the cottage all day before starting here at night, or maybe she goes elsewhere.”
“Oh, is that all?” Asher asked, looking relieved.
“Yeah. What… what did you think I was going to ask you to do?”
Clare sounded the horn again outside, and they both leapt to their feet. Asher and Lila hurried down the stairs. As they rushed past the kitchen, Lila called out a goodbye to Gabriel, who responded in kind from the depths of the butler’s pantry. Asher let Lila out the front door as usual.
“I guess I’ll see you on Sunday,” Lila said as she put her shoes back on.
“Yeah,” Asher replied with a nod. “See you then. Uh… thanks. For today.”
“No worries,” Lila grinned as she began to walk towards the driveway, “happy to be of service.”