Between friendship and duty (part 2)
It had been a long day, but Kent was finally starting to calm down again. He’d sat his friend down on the sofa, made him a cup of tea, and tried to get further information out of him. He was completely broken, and it had been a struggle for Kent to remain calm for his friend, but he’d managed and in the end Mark had told him where it had happened. That was Kent’s cue. He got dressed for a work day, reminded his friend to clean up in the apartment and feed the cat, and went out the door.
Although he’d dressed for work, he’d no intention of going there. The sun wouldn’t be up for another few hours, and that, along with the chill in the air, made sure there were as few people around as possible. The work dress was to insure him an alibi. If he got caught, and he really hoped he didn’t, he would call his work and inform them he’d gotten a clue to where a corpse was and wanted to check it out before any of the others were bothered by it. It might have been nothing. It wasn’t the best of alibis, but what other explanation could he give, spending an extensive amount of time with a corpse well underway of being got rid of. No one would know that it was him. The murderer could have been distracted or have fled the scene before finishing his job, and Kent was just examining it a bit. He would call the others straight away.
If this was to happen, Chandler would be disappointed in him, he was sure. He’d tell him that he needed to go to him straight away. It hurt him even thinking about it, but considering the situation and what he was really about to do, he knew it was the better option. Chandler would forgive him for it eventually, and ideally he would never even know about it. He didn’t have to worry about it. The place was deserted, and Kent had done everything in his power to get rid of the body, and all evidence of what had taken place there.
Afterwards he’d called in sick. He was completely worn down from the events of this early morning, and he needed time to recollect himself, but not time to relax. It had only been a couple of hours, and he’d already realised how having something to do kept his mind busy which helped him feel sane. As soon as he allowed himself to relax, he was hit by guilt, shame and fear like a brick wall.
When he’d arrived home, Mark was in his room. He had tried to knock on the door and call on him, but there had been no answer. He quickly took a look into the room and found him in a deep sleep. He looked very relaxed and for a moment Kent felt jealous of him. How could he be this relaxed? Did he just call on him for help and then push it out of his mind, as it was now Kent’s problem? No, he probably hadn’t slept at all last night and now the sleep had finally claimed him. Still, he did look very peaceful.
Kent abandoned every thought of getting any sleep of his own. He would be surprised if he fell asleep in the evening even. His mind was racing with thoughts, and he instantly turned on the radio, computer and TV and had them all running at the same time to have something to busy his mind with. The TV and radio formed a static background noise that kept him from dwelling on the same thoughts too long, while being on the computer gave him the illusion of being productive.
Time went by painfully slowly this way, but the rest of the day was not to go by this way.
It was around noon that the doorbell rang. Kent quickly turned off the radio and the TV and got up to answer the door. Standing in the doorway was Mansell and he was smiling brightly.
“Hey mate! It’s a slow day today, so I thought I would use the official lunch break - well most of today has seemed like a lunch break already - to come see you and bring you some soup”
Kent was absolutely dumbfounded. None of his colleagues had ever been in his home before, and all of a sudden on the worst day possible, there Mansell was holding a container with soup. He began to panic. What if there was any tell-tale signs of what had happened previously.
“Hehe, surprised to see me? I knew you would be, but Erica told me where you lived. You know, I thought I better start acting like a nice brother in law, so I made you a soup that can get you up and running in no time. Just watch out if you’re not used to spicy food,” Mansell grinned broadly, and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
Kent still had no idea what to say. He looked to the side. It didn’t surprise him that Erica had given him the address, and he’d warmed up enough to Mansell by now to appreciate the kind thought that lay behind him arriving unannounced with soup. When he looked back up at Mansell he saw the look of curiosity that so often played on Mansell’s face.
“Well well well, that’s an interesting attire to be wearing on your sick day off,” Mansell said with a smirk.
Kent quickly glanced down at himself. He was still wearing a full suit plus he was sure that the only thing that looked ill about him must be the black lines he had under his eyes, due to his lack of sleep.
“Oh, yeah, um yes. I wanted to do some paperwork from home, and since I was doing work I thought I better dress up like it, you see,” Kent tried explaining, but Mansell still had a sly smile on his face.
“So you don’t mind me coming in?”
Kent stepped aside. “Noo, that’s alright.”
Mansell continued ahead of Kent into the living room.
“Wow! What’s going on in here?” he said standing in the doorway. He was referring to Mark’s “home studio” which still hadn’t been put away since the day before.
Kent stopped right beside him, scanning the room for anything that might imply anything... unusual.
“Oh, it’s my roommate. He’s a photographer, so….” He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Mansell got distracted.
“Aw, you have a cat! I didn’t see you as the cat type - come here!” He swooped the tortoise-shelled cat which had curiously walked up to him up in his arms.
Kent felt way too distracted to respond, and before he found something to say the door to Mark’s room opened and Mark stood there in nothing but his boxers.
“Em!” He called out but quickly identified Mansell as a detective and froze for a moment before Kent spoke up.
“Mark! This is my colleague, Mansell. He just came over to see if I was okay and to bring me some soup,” Kent gave a reassuring smile while gesturing at the soup. Mark visibly relaxed at this knowledge, but before Kent could give any proper introduction, Mansell was looking at him flashing one of the widest grins Kent had seen in a while.
“Right! I’ll just pop in here again,” Mark excused himself and closed the door.
“Oh Kent, man! Seems like you won’t be needing the soup then,” he said with a wink. Kent was baffled.
“I - what?”
“Don’t play innocent with me, Bambi. I’ve had the odd sick day off now and again. Don’t worry, I won’t tell the boss.”
“You think? No… um…” Kent looked at the ground.
“Haha, but from the looks of it, I probably interrupted at an inconvenient time. You can still have the soup though.” He left it on the sofa table which was pushed against a wall, and put the cat down at the same time.
Kent wanted to tell him that he was wrong, but he knew that Mark wouldn’t mind this assumption. He’d saved him a great many times from girls that got too pushy with him by pretending he was his partner, so Kent knew he wasn’t scared of people thinking that, and if Mansell thought this, he had a great alibi, so he kept his mouth shut.
Mansell gave him a pat on the shoulder on the way out. “Good job by the way! How bad should I tell them you’re feeling?” Mansell turned around in the doorway. Kent gave him a cautious smile.
“Just tell them I’m counting on being in for work tomorrow.”
“Will do!”
“Thank you for the soup,” Kent called after him as he closed the door.
“Was that really all he wanted?” Mark was standing behind him, now fully dressed. Kent turned to face him.
“It really was. You know, he’s my almost brother in law, and he was just trying to be considerate.”
“Phew, so he’s Erica’s new boyfriend? Oh well, I just panicked for a minute there. I thought you might have ratted me out,” he gave Kent a light punch on the arm, but Kent noticed his expression.
It was only for about a second or so, but it gave him chills. He had really thought that Kent had went to his job and told them about it even if he said he wouldn’t. Kent felt strangely hurt by this, but at the same time something in the back of his mind still told him that was what he should have done. But it was too late for that now.
Kent sent his friend his best smile and told him what Mansell had assumed which seemed to lighten the mood a bit.
It didn’t take long before Kent received a text from his sister asking who the lucky guy was.
Although he’d dressed for work, he’d no intention of going there. The sun wouldn’t be up for another few hours, and that, along with the chill in the air, made sure there were as few people around as possible. The work dress was to insure him an alibi. If he got caught, and he really hoped he didn’t, he would call his work and inform them he’d gotten a clue to where a corpse was and wanted to check it out before any of the others were bothered by it. It might have been nothing. It wasn’t the best of alibis, but what other explanation could he give, spending an extensive amount of time with a corpse well underway of being got rid of. No one would know that it was him. The murderer could have been distracted or have fled the scene before finishing his job, and Kent was just examining it a bit. He would call the others straight away.
If this was to happen, Chandler would be disappointed in him, he was sure. He’d tell him that he needed to go to him straight away. It hurt him even thinking about it, but considering the situation and what he was really about to do, he knew it was the better option. Chandler would forgive him for it eventually, and ideally he would never even know about it. He didn’t have to worry about it. The place was deserted, and Kent had done everything in his power to get rid of the body, and all evidence of what had taken place there.
Afterwards he’d called in sick. He was completely worn down from the events of this early morning, and he needed time to recollect himself, but not time to relax. It had only been a couple of hours, and he’d already realised how having something to do kept his mind busy which helped him feel sane. As soon as he allowed himself to relax, he was hit by guilt, shame and fear like a brick wall.
When he’d arrived home, Mark was in his room. He had tried to knock on the door and call on him, but there had been no answer. He quickly took a look into the room and found him in a deep sleep. He looked very relaxed and for a moment Kent felt jealous of him. How could he be this relaxed? Did he just call on him for help and then push it out of his mind, as it was now Kent’s problem? No, he probably hadn’t slept at all last night and now the sleep had finally claimed him. Still, he did look very peaceful.
Kent abandoned every thought of getting any sleep of his own. He would be surprised if he fell asleep in the evening even. His mind was racing with thoughts, and he instantly turned on the radio, computer and TV and had them all running at the same time to have something to busy his mind with. The TV and radio formed a static background noise that kept him from dwelling on the same thoughts too long, while being on the computer gave him the illusion of being productive.
Time went by painfully slowly this way, but the rest of the day was not to go by this way.
It was around noon that the doorbell rang. Kent quickly turned off the radio and the TV and got up to answer the door. Standing in the doorway was Mansell and he was smiling brightly.
“Hey mate! It’s a slow day today, so I thought I would use the official lunch break - well most of today has seemed like a lunch break already - to come see you and bring you some soup”
Kent was absolutely dumbfounded. None of his colleagues had ever been in his home before, and all of a sudden on the worst day possible, there Mansell was holding a container with soup. He began to panic. What if there was any tell-tale signs of what had happened previously.
“Hehe, surprised to see me? I knew you would be, but Erica told me where you lived. You know, I thought I better start acting like a nice brother in law, so I made you a soup that can get you up and running in no time. Just watch out if you’re not used to spicy food,” Mansell grinned broadly, and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
Kent still had no idea what to say. He looked to the side. It didn’t surprise him that Erica had given him the address, and he’d warmed up enough to Mansell by now to appreciate the kind thought that lay behind him arriving unannounced with soup. When he looked back up at Mansell he saw the look of curiosity that so often played on Mansell’s face.
“Well well well, that’s an interesting attire to be wearing on your sick day off,” Mansell said with a smirk.
Kent quickly glanced down at himself. He was still wearing a full suit plus he was sure that the only thing that looked ill about him must be the black lines he had under his eyes, due to his lack of sleep.
“Oh, yeah, um yes. I wanted to do some paperwork from home, and since I was doing work I thought I better dress up like it, you see,” Kent tried explaining, but Mansell still had a sly smile on his face.
“So you don’t mind me coming in?”
Kent stepped aside. “Noo, that’s alright.”
Mansell continued ahead of Kent into the living room.
“Wow! What’s going on in here?” he said standing in the doorway. He was referring to Mark’s “home studio” which still hadn’t been put away since the day before.
Kent stopped right beside him, scanning the room for anything that might imply anything... unusual.
“Oh, it’s my roommate. He’s a photographer, so….” He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Mansell got distracted.
“Aw, you have a cat! I didn’t see you as the cat type - come here!” He swooped the tortoise-shelled cat which had curiously walked up to him up in his arms.
Kent felt way too distracted to respond, and before he found something to say the door to Mark’s room opened and Mark stood there in nothing but his boxers.
“Em!” He called out but quickly identified Mansell as a detective and froze for a moment before Kent spoke up.
“Mark! This is my colleague, Mansell. He just came over to see if I was okay and to bring me some soup,” Kent gave a reassuring smile while gesturing at the soup. Mark visibly relaxed at this knowledge, but before Kent could give any proper introduction, Mansell was looking at him flashing one of the widest grins Kent had seen in a while.
“Right! I’ll just pop in here again,” Mark excused himself and closed the door.
“Oh Kent, man! Seems like you won’t be needing the soup then,” he said with a wink. Kent was baffled.
“I - what?”
“Don’t play innocent with me, Bambi. I’ve had the odd sick day off now and again. Don’t worry, I won’t tell the boss.”
“You think? No… um…” Kent looked at the ground.
“Haha, but from the looks of it, I probably interrupted at an inconvenient time. You can still have the soup though.” He left it on the sofa table which was pushed against a wall, and put the cat down at the same time.
Kent wanted to tell him that he was wrong, but he knew that Mark wouldn’t mind this assumption. He’d saved him a great many times from girls that got too pushy with him by pretending he was his partner, so Kent knew he wasn’t scared of people thinking that, and if Mansell thought this, he had a great alibi, so he kept his mouth shut.
Mansell gave him a pat on the shoulder on the way out. “Good job by the way! How bad should I tell them you’re feeling?” Mansell turned around in the doorway. Kent gave him a cautious smile.
“Just tell them I’m counting on being in for work tomorrow.”
“Will do!”
“Thank you for the soup,” Kent called after him as he closed the door.
“Was that really all he wanted?” Mark was standing behind him, now fully dressed. Kent turned to face him.
“It really was. You know, he’s my almost brother in law, and he was just trying to be considerate.”
“Phew, so he’s Erica’s new boyfriend? Oh well, I just panicked for a minute there. I thought you might have ratted me out,” he gave Kent a light punch on the arm, but Kent noticed his expression.
It was only for about a second or so, but it gave him chills. He had really thought that Kent had went to his job and told them about it even if he said he wouldn’t. Kent felt strangely hurt by this, but at the same time something in the back of his mind still told him that was what he should have done. But it was too late for that now.
Kent sent his friend his best smile and told him what Mansell had assumed which seemed to lighten the mood a bit.
It didn’t take long before Kent received a text from his sister asking who the lucky guy was.