THE HEALER WHO COULD NOT SAVE HER BROTHER

THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH

Aria didn't sleep that night. Again. The note sat on her desk like a small, ordinary thing, but was impossible to ignore. If anyone is reading this, the official report is incomplete. Aria studied the note for the third time. It had no signature. It had no clues. It had nothing but seven words that destroyed her certainty. Someone had been in the records room. Someone had looked at Liam's file, and, for some reason, that was worse than the note. Because Liam was in her memories and in her heart. He wasn't for anyone else. When Nyra found Aria the next day, she was drinking cold tea. “You look terrible.” “Good morning to you too.” Nyra sat. “Did you sleep?" “No.” “I can tell.” Aria looked at her. “You say that every time.” “Because every time it's true.” Aria almost smiled. Almost, until her eyes went back to the note. Nyra didn't miss it. “What is it?” Aria considered lying. No. She was showing it to her. Nyra read it twice and raised her brows. “That's not unsettling at all.” Aria sighed. “Very helpful.” Nyra stared at the note. “Do you think it's real?” “I don't know.” “Do you think someone planted it?” “Definitely.” Nyra looked up. “Then why?” That was the mystery. Was someone helping her? Warning her? Playing with her? Aria hated not knowing. By the afternoon, one thing was for sure. She was doing it. The one thing she wasn't sure she even wanted to do.

There weren't many choices for her. It seemed only one person could offer even a small lead on hidden investigations, and it happened to be the same person she had spent years trying to avoid: Captain Rowan Hale. Describing the city was always a challenge. Children zigzagged like fish and merchants bellowed from their stalls. The smell of fresh bread wafted through the air. At that moment, the world seemed whole once again, and she was envious of the others that strolled the city, many of them without carrying a ghost. Rowan's office was on the second floor of a stone relic building that dated back to the time the city opened. The guard on duty seemed to instantly recognize her. "He isn't expecting visitors." "I'm not a visitor." The guard shifted to a frown. "What are you then?" "Tired." That seemed to be enough to earn her an amused look. "Fair enough." As the office door opened, she could see that some things had not changed. Rowan was the same as she remembered, which was also unfortunate for everyone in the room, since he had a tall, dark, and perpetually annoyed aura. Curtis also seemed to have to take care of a lot of paperwork. Rowan's gaze landed on Aria as his annoyance seemed to increase. "You are not saying what I think you're about to say." Aria had given no lead to what was about to be said, and apparently, he needed no cue. "I could be here to say nice things." "You threatened to throw a medical textbook at me one time." "It was a small textbook." "It certainly was not." Nyra, who stood next to Aria, seemed amused. Apparently, it was a winner of a topic. Unbeknownst to her, this was all a massive distraction for him. Rowan's annoyance seemed to peak the longer he had to deal with Nyra. Rowan leaned back in his chair, and it seemed that he was finally beginning to get annoyed with Nyra. "What do you want?" Aria slid the note on to his desk. Rowan's amusement had seemingly left. That was also a massive distraction. Aria and Curtis exchanged side glances. Rowan was losing his sass to them. But this was all probably just as bad. He had picked up the note from his desk, read it, and then fell completely silent.

Too quiet. Aria noticed. “Do you recognize it?” Silence. “Rowan.” Slowly, he laid the note back on the desk. “Where did you find this?” Not the answer she was looking for. Her heart raced. “It was in Liam’s file.” The walls felt as though they were closing in. Rowan finally looked uneasy. Not nervous. Not confused. Uneasy. Like someone who has a faint memory of a trauma. “You should leave this alone.” The statement was more of a warning. Aria looked at him. “What?” “You heard me.” “No.” Her anger peaked. “No, tell me. Why should I?” Rowan diverted his gaze. This was more concerning than what he was looking at, he was avoiding eye contact.Because Rowan Hale never looked away.

Not from criminals.

Not from dangers.

Not from anything.

But now, he couldn't look her in the eye.

Why?

"What do you know?" she asked quietly.

Silence.

"Rowan."

Silence again.

Finally

"I know that your brother's death was investigated."

Aria's heart stopped.

The world stopped.

Nyra stopped breathing.

Even Rowan started to regret saying it.

Investigated?

The word ricocheted around Aria's brain.

Again and again.

"Liam's death..." she broke, through a cacophony of thoughts. 

"...was investigated?"

Rowan took a brief moment, almost a beat, to close his eyes, to regain his composure, to pretend he hadn't revealed too much.

Maybe he had.

Aria's heart met her throat as she advanced on him.

"What was the investigation?"

Again, silence.

"What the hell happened?"

Again, nothing.

"Rowan."

His jaw hardened but she could see the muscles in his face loosening ever so slightly. 

The last thing she could have imagined he would say, what none of them could have imagined, the one that sent a chill through the room. 

"Your brother's case was closed before I could finish it."

Confusion mingled with the shock and terror written plain on Aria's soul.

One thought persisted.

If Liam's death had been investigated... 

If his death had been anything other than the peaceful end to the existence he never wanted to live in... 

If his death had any reason other than what she had spent years believing... 

If his death had not been anything at all what she'd spent years believing. 

Then what would it have been?