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Scrawl BandittaLevi Brooks
BZZZZZZT.....BZZZZZZT.....BZZZZZZT
Face down on the edge of his pillow, drooling from the corner of his mouth, Levi Brooks slept peacefully for the first time in what had felt like an eternity. His body, dressed in only boxer shorts, laid in the middle of his blanket-less bed surrounded by several crime books. A few on psychology, a few on a variety of case studies. On the nightstand beside him; several empty beer cans, an ashtray filled with cigarettes, the nearly empty carton, and one list of possible suspects.
Finally at peace, sleeping. No dreams, no nightmares. Just silence, darkness, a mind at rest. Oh, how sweet it was. Something he had certainly taken for granted as a child. What was it like when he was able to sleep more than 4 hours? There had been days in his teenage years that he had slept for 11 hours straight!
BZZZZZZT
Levi suddenly jolted awake, blue bloodshot eyes snapping open just as he fell off the edge of his bed with a loud THUD.
"SHIT!"
He sat up from the ground, rubbing the back of his head which had smacked against his work boots on the way down. "What the hell...." He groaned, his voice gruff as he pulled himself to his feet. He looked in the direction of the buzzing which had so rudely interrupted his slumber and scared him half to death. Seemingly, the damned phone had buzzed itself around the bed until it eventually settled close to his face, which immediately began vibrating along the bridge of his nose.
He sighed at the name scrolling across the phone screen. CAMPBELL.
Clearing his throat, he picked up the phone and tried his best to sound like he'd been awake for hours. "What's up Campbell?"
"Ah, so you've finally decided to wake the hell up, eh Brooks?" The deep voice on the other end belonged to William Campbell, Millington's own Chief of Police. In other words, Levi's boss.
"I didn't-"
"I've called you four times, you little shit."
"I was-"
"Would you just shut up and listen for one god dang second? Your generation, I swear... It's about the Reese case. We got a new lead in." The line went silent for awhile, Campbell clearly enjoying the suspense.
"And? Are you going to tell me what it was?"
"Ha! Get your ass in the office. I'll tell you here."
Levi sighed, running a hand through his tousled hair and surveying the chaos of his bedroom. "Fine. Give me two hours."
"Two hours?! What are you gonna do, go grocery shopping?"
Levi hung up and tossed his phone back on the bed. William Campbell was two decades his senior, a fire cracker who loved to bust everyone's ass, but he was a softy on the inside and Levi knew it. After working with him all these years, the two often acted more like siblings than coworkers.
"I must've only been out for an hour at most.." He thought, eyeing the still lit cigarette sitting in his ashtray. Definitely not something the fire department would recommend. He had spent all night reading up on other kidnapping cases, murders, and anything he could get his hands on that could even slightly relate to the Reese case. He'd even made a list of possible suspects to interview in town. They hadn't made much progress since the initial disappearance, but the case was beginning to consume Levi. This one was a little closer to home for him, as he often enjoyed breakfast and lunches at the Reese diner. That, and their father belonged to the police force himself. Levi, much like the rest of his department, knew Roderick personally. They weren't best friends by any means, but Levi did consider Roderick a friend. He was a real stand up guy.
Speaking of which, he needed to get himself cleaned up and head into town for his morning coffee routine at that very diner.
12pm
After his 30 minute drive from his house in the countryside, all cleaned up, Levi pulled his car into the parking lot of the Queen's Orchid. "Looks empty..." He thought, noting the open parking lot with only a car or two parked. Either the Reese disappearance had been bad for business or...
CLOSED.
A big, handwritten sign hung smack dab in the middle of the diners front door. Underneath it, an explanation.
We are very sorry for the inconvenience! With recent events, we have taken the day off. We'll be back tomorrow! See you then! Mention that you came by today and we'll give you a discount for the trouble!
The note gently tugged at his heart strings, wondering what sort of thing must have been going through the mind of the person who wrote it. How awful to have to pretend to be so happy, as if nothing was wrong, when your whole life was falling apart within the span of a few months.
Of course, he was happy they had finally taken a day off. The eldest, who had been running the place, had looked so disheveled the past couple days he had seen her. She was always smiling at him and being positive, but anyone could see the pain behind her eyes. It didn't take a detective to figure that one out. However... now he was left without his favorite coffee spot. Would he be reduced to getting coffee from a Starbucks? $8 for a coffee seemed ridiculous.
"Am I turning into Campbell?"
