2.19 All out of luck

     It is often claimed that patience is a virtue. And perhaps it is at times. Atleast no one could say that Marco didn't have any, for he had waited for ages for something to move forward. Taking down corruption was a pain in the arse, and it could take lifetimes. Clearly this was to be his lifework, or ending.

    
     Marcos statement would be that patience was a flaw. If he hadn't listened to his boss and waited to begin with, maybe he would have been a bit better off now. So patience had to be a flaw. He didn't even know where the hell he was, even if he had suspicions. But he knew a few things for certain.

     He was a sucker for a pretty face

 

     

     Women were not to be trusted

 

     

     Dominic was smart

 

 

     Getting a beating hurt like bloody hell

     

     He'd run out of luck

 

     

     The worst thing was that he couldn't quite remember everything that had happened. He'd been on the usual "meeting" with Jonny. No one had killed the guy yet, so it was probably all good. He remembered that part atleast.

     No punching had been needed this time, which was good because he was dressed for a fancy date. Who says men can't multitask? He went to pick up his date at some shabby old place that seemed abandoned. He'd just assumed she was married or something. But that's when it went a bit blank.

     Now he could barely remember anything that had happened. Which could happen when one got beaten unconscious. So he'd been right about Jonny, but highly underestimated the syndicate. And he'd been plain out wrong about his date, who had to be involved in some way. He really was loosing his touch.
     Yet that wasn't the oddest thing.

     For some reason he was still alive and breathing. And they hadn't beaten him again since they moved him here. They fed him, and even kept him in a real room with all facilities, not a dungeon even if the place was insanely filthy. The door was locked obviously, and no windows were present.
     But why hadn't they killed him yet? Maybe they were setting an example? He could have tried getting out, but not only didn't he have any idea where he was, he also had no idea how many sims were present. Running blindly into that was a stupid idea even for him. Which was why he had all facilities present ofcourse, because that way no one had to walk him around. Even blindfolded it was always a chance to see something.

      

     Marco wondered where he was, not in Jericho that was for sure. He'd been moved around for days and days it seemed. In blinding darkness, the times he didn't get beaten. Some blackhaired, buttugly jerkoff and some fatarsed brunette. They probably gave his such a hard time, since he was hot and they ugly.     He was out of ideas to, so for now he was all nice and obedient just waiting for his time to shine. Hopefully it would come soon, as there was a very real chance he'd end up dead. How could he have been so incredibly reckless and stupid? It wasn't like him.... (what? It wasn't!)

     They were never far away, he often heard them outside the door. Now and then it was opened and something to eat was left. Nothing healty ofcourse, but for now he swallowed his pride and poisoned his body with saturated fat, sugar and empty carbs.
     And even if he never showed it, he was afraid. Afraid that they went after the rest of his family even if the chances were slim. He'd end up in jail if Dominic ratted him out to the department, but he'd rather take that over the uncertainty.

  
     A brutal sound of the door beeing unlocked screamed through his battered mind. But he wouldn't show it this time either. They never covered their faces, so he doubted they had any good plans for him. So he never looked up, and this time wasn't any different. But now he wasn't waiting for greasy food to be left, he could smell something very distinct. 

    
     He heard the ominous sound of clacking heels towards hard wooden floor. It wasn't that hag that tricked him... damn that pretty face... He also saw a pair of manshoes entering, a distictly different sound. And by the looks of it they were expensive, handmade in Monte Vista. Marco had always suspected someone high up in the hierarchy, working against the department. Ordinary sims didn't wear shoes like that, that was politicians shoes. 

   
     That scent of cigarettes were impossible to ignore, and sounds of another beeing lit was easy to hear.
     Remind me again why you're keeping him? Freezing like a fimbulwinter that voice irritated the hell out him. Through and through rotten to the very core. He still couldn't believe that snake was married to his sister. How could such a venomous rat, have such a sweet daughter?
To make matters worse, he recognized the other voice.
     Don't question me. So calm and powerful. Rowena and Bashir made a grisly couple. To the very last he'd hoped she wasn't involved in any way.

     
     It's easier just getting rid of him. Bashir smirked at his partner in crime. And he's been a royal pain if I might add. You know how hard I've been working stopping things, paying sims off, pulling strings. All because of that guy. He inhaled deeply, before blowing smoke out his nostrils. That guy really pissed him off: Get rid of him.

 
     Delightfully calm, Rowena snapped back at him: Mind your own business. She ended the sentence with a sweet smile. 

     Your partners aren't thrilled about it either.     If they have a problem with it, Rowena still smiled: They can come and talk to me themselves. Her smile said how it would end: As long as I rule the shop, my words stand.

     Bashir stood at a safe distance, smoking and looking down at him. Before Marco had gone on that stupid date, he's told Oriana that maybe he's been wrong about him. He hadn't been truthful. He was just so tired of always arguing about that eel, and as much as he'd hated admitting it that icyeyed bastard treated her well. Well, if he ignored the lying and abandonment that was.

     
     Rowena was very close to him though. It wasn't because she was stupid, but they both knew something Bashir probably didn't. If Marco by any chance had gotten a hold of her, using her as a hostage, her "friends" would kill them all. These criminals were dangerous, and there are no honour amongst them. It truly was the survival of the strongest. If Rowena showed herself to be weak, she died.

     Bashir! All smiles she turned to ratbreath: Go smoothtalk the MorcuCorps. Tell them things are on it's way, but to be a little more patient. Something, she gestured to Marco: got in the way. Make sure they keep up the work, and reassure them that we will keep our end of the bargain.
     He actually rolled his eyes at it, like a sassy little kid with a bad attitude.
     And Bashir? She said to his back: Try not to be a prick about it. 
     Where's the fun in that? he sighed with drama before leaving.

     Marco took it upon himself to stand up straight. Rowena looked like a scrawny little thing, but she was tough. She'd climbed the criminal ladder quickly, almost as quickly as he had gotten to the top.
     Maybe it meant they were similar in some ways, he hoped not. Damnit Dominic! Just rat me out already! Prison I can take, but if you leave me here with that icecold snake, I'll kill him with my bare hands! And if he killed Bashir, Oriana and Lucky would be sad... for some reason...
     He truly hoped he had some telepathic powers, like his sister once had believed she had. But he strongly doubted it. He only attracted freaks, he wasn't one.

    
     Expecting his cousin to mock him, to play tough; she instead did something he never could imagine. Whispering to herself with disbelieving joy: I knew it, I knew I wasn't alone. Then he felt her thin arms around him, the fingers sticking like needles into his back. Pulling back from him, her eyes were all shiny with tears, the lower lip shaking: Dad kept telling me you were a good kid, but I knew! I knew you were a bad seed, just like me! I knew I wasn't alone. 
 

     

     She was still holding his arms in a hard grip: When I heard you fed us information, I was thrilled. But Bashir kept saying not to trust you! And than that looser told about the drugmoney... She shrieked with joy this time: I knew! I always knew you were rotten, just like me! Looser, she meant Jonny. But what the hell was this all about? Why did he always attract freaks?!

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     Are you sure? The man, whos name turned out to something ordinary as Adam, still had a creepy face, all grinning and smiling all the time. Oriana thought he was a bit weird in addition, but as long as there was a chance he'd help, she didn't care.
    Absolutely, Adam answered. Despite appearing like someone caring, Oriana thought he seemed completely uncapable of any emotion at all.
     Adam claimed that Marco had been seen around the poorer districts before he dissapeared. More correctly; the most criminal parts of that district again. But he hadn't been on duty, so why would he be in such a place? No way he'd date anyone from that neighbourhood! Or would he? Why did she know so little about her own brother? 

     So could I offer you a drink perhaps? He asked her out of the blue for some odd reason.
     I'm not sure if my husband would approve, she pulled her most beautiful smile. Truth been told, Bashir wouldn't have cared, but she really didn't want to be more alone with that guy than she had to. The creepiness factor was to high.

    
     He looked dissapointed, but managed to keep his style: The good ones are always taken... Why isn't he helping searching for your brother? That was a good question, a good question indeed.
     A blushing Oriana thanked Adam for his information. He'd been quite helpful, even if she'd never got anywhere with his leads. Get a drink? Hm, not bad for a woman her age.

    
     Oriana once again decided not to involve the police. Her brothers co- workers was still looking for a corpse as far as she knew. Maybe she should mention it, but what if it was another dead end? That meant she'd waisted their time to. She hadn't quite decided if they were helpful, or if they weren't trying. Maybe she could tell Marcos partner? It was hard times beeing Oriana right now, but eventually she decided to look into it herself. It was probably better that way.

     
     To be sure she waited until nightfall, criminals always came out after nightfall, she'd seen that on tv. And tv was probably a good source for this stuff. Wonder why they came out after dark though?
     The area smelled like urine and old vomit, even with the relative chill in the air. And she thought she'd been in bad neighbourhoods before? She was scared beeing mugged, and really happy she drove an old simswagon, not some expensive car. She didn't exactely live in the nicest part of town, but this was redicilous. Why would Marco ever been here on his sparetime? Wasn't he a bit posh for this area?

 
     Scared of stepping in pee, or getting attacked with used syringes, Oriana swallowed her fear and stepped into another allyway. She'd been in several trying to look for something about her brother.
     Maybe it would be better telling the police, she had no idea what to look for. And she was to scared to ask anyone of anything in this place. The sims here looked really tough, and dirty, Besides there were a lot of hookers here. And lots of expensive cars slowing down, staring as they drove by.
     The creepers in the cars were by far the scariest ones.

     In the bad light Oriana nearly swallowed her own tongue. Was that sims in the end of the ally? They were going to rob her, no, beat her and then rob her. Or were they going to kill her!? Okay, that was it! She was going to tell the police, no way she would continue this! No way in bloody hell would she keep looking into this alone any longer.
     Doing her best trying to fumble after her phone without beeing to obvious about it. And she was to scared to turn around and walk away! What if it provoked them into attacking? Okay, she could look tough to!! No she couldn't!!

     One of them seemed a bit familiar though. Wait....
     Jonny? Maybe Oriana should have stayed quiet, but why was Jonny here? The other sim sure wasn't a hooker atleast. But what other reason was there for him to be there?
     And by the look of his face, he wasn't expecting her either.

     It took a long time before he even answered, hesistantly: Heeey..... Oriana. And then he slapped on the fakest smile she'd ever seen. Not the woman though, she kept the stoneface. Something about her reminded of a bodyguard of sort. Why would he need that? Jonny was a big, strong guy, and could probably take on most sims without any bigger problems.
     He really wasn't a sim she wanted to see, and still after all these years he made her skin crawl, but it was better than meeting someone she didn't know. Like the scary lady with him. She looked used to chewing stone instead of gum.

    
     Jonny really looked uncomfortable meeting her, and nervous about Stone- face. Oriana had no intention of asking him what he was doing, she wasn't that stupid. He wasn't a cop, and other than that, no sim with good in mind came down to this place. Other than her that was.
     She tried some common pleasantries: It's been a long time! How you been? And as many times before she could have bitten her own tongue off. Couldn't be that good since he was here.

    
     But he served a thin smile, and answered without even trying to sound sincere: Good, good.... You?
     Same old! The words flew out to quickly. Well, I mean Marco's gone missing! She nearly shouted the last part into his face, damn that guy gave her the creeps! Yeah, he was apparently seen in this area right before he dissapeared! 
     Really? Something in his dark eyes gave Oriana a bad feeling. She usually wasn't the most observant sim, but this was easy to see. A sensation of relief and wild panic clouded his gaze, and that short look he gave Stoneface wasn't exactely subtle either.

     Stoneface and him knew something, that was certain. But Oriana wasn't tough enough to ask him anything. Not that she had any respect for Jonny, but the woman was quite intimidating in all her silence. Women were just generally scarier than men.
     Hey, Oriana just wanted to get the hell out of this place. She could come back when it was light outside, or wait until dark and bring Meave. Why hadn't she brought her to begin with, she killed sims for a living for crying out loud: you want to go grab a coffe or something, catch up a bit? Your girlfriend here is welcome to ofcourse! Anything to get out of here!

     Stoneface for once almost cracked into a laughter: Eh.... maybe later! Jonny coughed awkwardly back at her, still with panic in his eyes.
     Oh Okay!!! Oriana gave out a low bark, quickly finishing the sentence: I should get going then! Give me a call later! She hurried out of the allyway without seeming like she was constantly waiting to get attacked.

   
     Finally out of the worst place, Oriana drew a deep breath trying to calm down. Screw taking Meave with her, she needed Mahdis in the worst of moods for this at the least. Now, what was the safest way to get out of this place and back to the parking lot?
     The dark alleyways weren't really that dark to be honest, or alleyways. But she was to scared of syringes and other shady characters to be realistic at the moment. Atleast she was way out of Jonny and Stonefaces way. She'd make sure to check her back when she'd rounded the first corner.

     Unfortuntaley they weren't the only characters in this place of town.
     Orianas heart nearly crawled out of her nose when a voice was heard from behind: Hey lady...
Poor Oriana decided to prepare for death by the hands of Stoneface. Just to be massively relieved:

     
     Incapable of seeing the young girls face properly, as she was hiding in the shadows, Oriana did her best beeing polite agains the kid. Barely out of her childyears, and clearly ridden with diseases and malenourished, the girl touched the older womans maternal instincts. Not to mention a huge wish to give the kid a proper bath. She smelled bad.....

     Yes? She was probably just going to beg, or kill her, or stab her with syringes! Oriana didn't like needles.
     You the one that's looking for the blond cop? 
     As she'd seen many detective series, Oriana used all her witts to get the girl to spill whatever she wanted to say: Yes!! Do you know where he is? She wished she could bite her tongue straight off...again. So much for playing it smoothly.

     The kid seemed to be thinking a bit before actually answering. Arms covering the body, looking around herself she finally talked again: No... Oriana nearly lost hope again but the girls childlike talking wasn't done just yet: But I think maybe I know somethin'. 
     That's great!! Oriana happily exclaimed a bit to loud as expected. The girl quickly and nervously sushed on her. Then she went: Him and his partner are kind of nice to us kids, she hugged herself whilst rocking a bit back and forth. Was she high or something?

     A clear sound of someone walking towards them with powerful stepps stopped the potential conversation dead. The girl looked at her, making it possible for Oriana to get a good look. The blond hair was clearly fake and seriously needed a comb. And soap, lots and lots of soap and water.
     You should leave, she said with calm voice: Meet me here tomorrow at the same time, I'll tell what I know. Come alone.
     Oriana didn't need to be asked twice, and did as the kid: Got out of there as soon as possible. She didn't want to see who was coming.
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poses by Dill, ohoh, Matheus Serafim, AG,

Come on, you all saw that coming ;)

The girl at the end there, is supposed to be the same as in chapter 2.16, but she dissapeared in the pc- meltdown. And a handful of sliders stopped working all of a sudden, so replicating has it's limitations. Just imagine that there's no difference.

And Rowena last appeared in 2.14, which is a looong time ago

Thanks for reading

2.18 Monolith

     I'm sorry for all the things I have ever done, and for all things I will do. I'm sorry that I made fun of your hair, for all the times I though of you as an idiot and called you names. I'm sorry I ratted you out and for the times I never saw you. 
     But you can't do this to me- I wasn't that bad a sister was I? I know I could have been better, but to my defence you can be really annoying. Even your co workers are at a loss, and I thought they were supposed to be professionals?

     You can't do this to me.

     He was gone, vanished from the face of simplanet and this time it wasn't a joke. Oriana had been restlessly looking for her brother, but whatever had happened... had he been abducted by aliens? All kinds of weirdos seemed to contact her lately, and Joe would have gotten crazier. But luckily Meave had come back home and took care of that crazy bastard so Oriana didn't have to.
     But the kids... her niece and nephewes; they had to be made out of stone. For now she'd only seen her own daughter cry. And she wasn't even capable of getting a hold of Bashir for comfort. What was she going to do, how was she going to fix this?

    
     Oriana found herself strolling all over the city and the outskirts looking, even if she knew it was poinless. But sitting at home drove her almost as crazy as Joe.    
    She didn't know what it was with a woman in distress, but lately men had started coming straight up to her trying to "fix things". What was it with men and fixing stuff? It wasn't like they were actually capable of it anyway.
     Listen, Oriana said to another man that came up to her: Thanks for the offer, but my brother is missing. Unless you work miracles there's really nothing you can do. She slapped on a smile to take some of the edge off out of old habit.

    
     The man seemed sincere as he exclaimed: Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, that's horrible. Is there anything I can do to help? 
     As usual Oriana did the best she could, and that was spreading the description of her brother to as many sims as possible: You can keep an eye out for him. He's tall, short blonde hair, dark eyes, slightly tanned skin and well built. Has a tattoo of a dragon on his hip. Last time he was seen he wore a black tuxedo and a bowtie. She noticed the small reaction at the description. A lot of sims were expecting her to talk about some troubled individual, not a tuxedowearing beefcake.

      
     He's a cop, so the entire policeforce is looking for him. If you can think of anything, tell them I sent you. Maybe it should have been embarassing for a cop to dissapear, but for now Oriana was shameless. And her brother had never had any shame in life anyway, so when they found him (because they had to) he'd forgive her.
     And what name would the missing cops sister have? 
     Oriana, she answered...

     Does your brother have a name to then maybe? The man asked again: I can ask people I know if they know, or have seen anything? 
     Marco, Oriana answered again: He was supposed to meet a woman at a restaurant, but never showed up. 
     Do you know anything about the woman? He asked again, but this time she had to shake her head. They hadn't found any mystery woman, but then again her brother might have lied. But he'd said the same thing to Joe, and it was doubtful he'd lie about women to him. Atleast the man promised he'd keep a lookout for her brother.

     If the kids were worried they hid it well. Even if they weren't as wild as usual.

     Atleast Skuld talked to someone once in a while: Hey Biorn, no we haven't heard anything. Though Oriana suspected that Anya made her son do it, to check in on them. She was a cop to after all. They all did their best not to let Marcos untimely dissapearance take over the kids lives, but it sure wasn't easy.

   
     Oriana had gotten a lead. The man she'd spoken to earlier phoned her and said he had a suspet as for who the woman might be. He hadn't wanted to phone the cops, incase they went to far. They tended to be a bit intense when it was one of their own missing, and especially her brothers partner was intense. Maybe he knew more than he admitted?
     But he did give her an adresse, so Oriana knew just what to do.

     
     The idea was to get a spraytan to hide her pasty white skin, but it botched. However, the important part was that she didn't look like herself, but an overcooked donut. Oriana really liked donuts, especially the type with sprinkles.

    
     Oriana had even gotten a disguise, that let her smootly blend in with the surroundings. But standing outside the worn out building, she kind of realized that it had botched to. Even the wig was in her normal haircolour. And breaking up a lock was really difficult, it never was when she saw it on tv. So this was why PIs usually used cameras and nothing else. Breaking an entry was probably illegal to, even if no one lived there. Maybe it belonged to the city or something?

     
     She gave up the attempt at breaking into the house- it was pointless anyway as she finally realized that looking through the windows was easier. No one lived there, the floor wasn't whole, neither was the ceiling. The only thing inside was a broken old lamp, and old garbage. Even the trashcan was completely empty. The lawn behind the house was a bit of a mess, but maybe it was common at abandoned homes. It almost looked like someone had fought.

    
     The mail consisted of adverts, and not real ones that sometimes had names on them. Only the type that volunteer organizations sometimes dropped in the mailbox. This wasn't going anywhere, there was nothing there. She hadn't told the cops about it, as they'd just tell her to butt out. Stupid cops thinking they knew how to fix things... she was the only one that could fix this. The only thing they did was searching the river, because they though he might have drowned. There was no way Marco could have drowned, he was a great swimmer.

     Orianas outfit made sure every sim that saw her, took her as seriously as the lamatshirt- guy did. But the man, who still hadn't told his name, contacted her again. She told him that nothing was there, and he appologized for it. Not that it helped, as she'd gotten her hopes up for unknown reasons.

     Have you heard anything else? She did her best not crying, she didn't have time for it. She had a big blonde gorilla to find, and nothing could stop her. Her brothers idiot coworkers had made it indirectly clear that they were looking for a corpse. But they were wrong, Marco couldn't die this way. He was a master in sim- fu, and was stronger than anyone she'd ever met. And not just physically, he was a hardarse; Meaves words but they still counted. Oriana would rather think about him as a rock, like Jerichos monolithic structures, that no one had any idea where came from. They couldn't just dissapear, neither could Marco: simple as that.

     The man shook his head, but promised he'd contact her again if something came up. He looked a bit creepy to be honest, he had one of those faces that looked like he was always smiling. And why the hell wasn't she capable of getting a hold of her idiot husband?! Even Milo wasn't able to, said he was out of reach due to work. But he claimed he had no idea what he was doing at the moment. Which made sense, since Bashir and him didn't work that close anymore. And Milo did his best to help her.
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     Something was under his skin!! It had to be because he was sure the skin moved. But when he clawed on it, nothing happened! Mentally yelling at himself, Joe decided he couldn't go insane right now. Because it had to be that he was going insane again, and he couldn't go crazy right now, because with Marco gone, he was the only male rolemodel the kids had. So if there were maggots crawling under his skin, they could just stay there!! And that was final!! No picking bleeding wounds on himself when the kids could see. Go away crazy Joe! He mentally yelled at himself again.

 
     Thankfully Meave was home or he probably would have gone mental. She had ordered him not to go crazy, and crazyJoe was afraid of her. So was ordinaryJoe.
     Besides he also had to take care of Mahdis, who was getting seriously fat. He had to train her a lot more, but she was also getting terrifying beeing around. She wouldn't even let him anywhere near her with a sadle. Crazy animal. Kind of suited the owner though.

     Since Oriana had taken it on herself solving the case of a missing Marco, Joe was mainly home alone with the kids. He'd known them their entire lives, so why was it so difficult now?
     Lucky was the only one that acted normal. She kept asking about her uncle, cried a bit, played and had fun and then felt guilty about it. Effie was calmness incarnated, completely unlike his own dad. Jarl and Odin acted a bit quiet, but other than that pretty normal. And Skuld was a viscious little hag as usual.

     Where had that gorilla gone to anyway? He had just dissapeared into thin air. It wasn't like the cops didn't have any leads, but they kept beeing dead ends. In tv shows solving crimes always took short time. In Jericho it clearly took a lot of time. Wonder how someone as impatient as Marco was capable of working with that? On the other hand there was a lot more going on under that blond hair than just thoughts about carbs and proteins.

     In addition he couldn't stop worrying about Meave. What if she decided to go back to active duty in the army? Had she even transferred to doing paperwork instead? She hadn't really answered his questions about that clearly. What was he going to do if he lost her to? Maybe if he just squeezed her hard enough, she would stay with them and never leave again? The problem with that logic was ofcourse that she was a lot stronger than him and easily could get out of the hug.

     Joes thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell, it was probably Rye. He was phoning non- stop acting all hysterical about Marco. Joe was worried to, but it was all to surreal for him. Marco couldn't be dead could he? He'd always been the one that pulled him out of a bad place, and Rye (and his ugly hat) up from the dead. He was an awesome friend, how could he just be gone?

     It was something about redheads and Marco, as yet another one stood on the doorstep. But this time it wasn't his partner. Not surprisingly it was a woman, so not Rye then. Not that strange either, because there had been a lot of them hanging around the place to. She had big green eyes that was all shiny from tears. He heard Meave stomping up behind him on heavy boots. His wife didn't know who that was, but he did. He was probably the only one in the household other than Marco that knew who she was.
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     Oriana wasn't always gone ofcourse, she was home with the children to. But often she wasn't home until early morning hours. This time Meave had phoned her, asking her to come home. She half expected it to be something with Joe, but it was a bit stranger than that.

     
     That's her? She thought with disbelief as she looked at the readhead Joe was talking to. That's the infamous Esther? The one that's given my brother all that grief? That scared him from entering a serious relationship again? Atleast that's what Oriana liked to believe.
     She and Meave shared a short glance, her cousin clearly thinking the same. Didn't their kids go to school together? Was that why Marco never came to any parental activities? Because of... that?

  
     Her brother was way out of her league, but even Joe seemed a bit smitten. Which was a stupid thing to do with Meave right there. But she didn't seem to care. Really? She'd seen Skulds mum and Ally, and some of the others that her brother had.... well.... but seriously? Her? And he even married her?

  
     Oriana had kind of assumed she was some dazzling beauty that turned all heads. But she was married to Anyas brother Salek, and he was seriously hot. Men had the oddest ideas of beauty if ...that... was two guys dream! Then again, she herself was married to Bashir so maybe she should just be happy about men having bad taste.
     Even the kids seemed disbelieving. Not that they knew she was Marcos ex- wife, but unfortunately they tended to understand more than they liked them to.

  
     Skuld stared Esther down, clearly not impressed with another redhead. It became so bad that she asked all the kids to go out and play. Luckily they listened for once. Well, actually they ignored her, and listened to Meaves miltaristic approach at barking out orders. Damned kids, but atleast it was pretty normal behaviour for them.

  
     As soon as they were gone, Esther started talking, even her voice was dull: Have you heard anything?
     Does your husband know you're here? Meave clearly didn't like Esther either, but it seemed to go over her head. Oriana shot her cousin a short glance before answering: No, there's nothing new. Just because she disliked the woman, didn't mean she couldn't act civil.

     I keep asking Salek, she explained, to phone his sister. She's a policeofficer. Like they didn't know that already.. but she doesn't hand out any information. The poor readhead looked confused and sad. Oriana started feeling sorry for her instead, she herself had an ex- husband. And just like this woman, she'd left him even if he hadn't done anything wrong. Who was she to judge

     They're usually not very giving with information, for some reason. Oriana explained, choosing to forget to mention that she was looking into it herself. With the help of "the man", who still hadn't shared his name. When she thought about it, she was kind of like a ninja right now, tricking everyone and working in the shadows! Ninjas were awesome....

  
     But it was something about what Esther mentioned that was strange. She felt that Milo did all he could to help, but Anya and her were friends to. Why didn't she help, or atleast share information? Why so professional all of a sudden? Oriana missed having Anya around, and what about Vera. That woman had phoned her once! Only once after her brother went missing! And her husband was a cop to!!

 
     Oriana was surrounded by police, and no one helped her. Why didn't they help her? And what the hell was up with her brothers partner anyway? He looked all stone faced, but she saw shadows of a guilty frown. Did he know something? Something that she didn't? Maybe they had information they just didn't want to share? Oriana was happy she was a private investigator, atleast that's how she liked to think about herself.

     Eventually a hysterical Rylan entered the premises, without any warning. Which was good, that was he and this Esther could freak out together with Joe.
     You know what? She heard Meaves nasal voice over the rest: How about the three of you go down to the library and look through their files. Look for similar crimes the last five years. Way to go Meave, getting those sims out of the house. They even seemed to think it was a good idea. She was probably used to dealing with hysterical sims.

    
     Have you talked to Rowena? Oriana only waited until she heard the door slamming shut behind the adults.
     Are you insane? That nasal voice never seized to amaze: I've barely seen her since I moved out. But yes, and no she doesn't answer. Don't expect her to either. She sighed heavily, not noticing the kids that came back inside: How the hell can a grown man just dissapear? 
     The looks on the kids faces were reason enough to end the conversation. But Meave had a point: How does a grown man dissapear, and

     such a loud man to.
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I've lost saves, sims and CC, but it's been so long that I doubt anyone remembers anything anyway ;) And it's spring, so pretend you don't notice the weather beeing all difficult.

This is more of an introduction chapter, or a refreshing sims chapter. So let's try to make this easy:

Esther is Marcos ex- wife. She's married to Salek. Salek is Anyas (Orianas friend/Marcos co worker) brother. Anya is married to Milo (Orianas friend/Bashirs co worker).Anya and Milos son Biorn is friends with the kids.

Rylan is Marcos mate, Rowena is Meaves sister, Vera (Orianas friend) is married to Arnie (Marcos co worker), and Dominic is Marcos partner.

Efraim is Meave and Joes, Skuld and Odin (and Jarl) are Marcos, and Lucrecia is Oriana and Bashirs. 

(...yeah that was easy..... )

Thanks for reading