Chapter Text
Jo Smith had it all. She was an artist at the top of her game with a wife she loved and the perfect job. Her paintings were incredibly popular, yet nobody knew who she was. Her artist name was The Doctor, so to the outside world she was just another woman walking the streets.
Sometimes she would attend her own events, but nobody knew they were her paintings. She had perfected the art of looking impressed at her own work and asking questions she already knew the answer to - sometimes they got them right too.
She had money and fame and yet Jo Smith was completely anonymous. Everything was perfect.
Until it wasn't.
One day her wife had left her and the next day her house was burnt to the ground. Jo had a suspicion the two events were linked, but she couldn't prove it. And that was why she now rented a small flat on the other side of town where she could hide away from everything - including her work. The Doctor went silent.
Sometimes they would talk about her on the news. Why were there no more paintings? Why had this incredible artist disappeared? There were conspiracy theories everywhere ranging from her death to alien abduction. She enjoyed reading the reddit thread at times.
Today was 6 months since it had all happened. In that time Jo had barely left the safety of the flat and definitely hadn't tidied up much. She was daydreaming on the windowsill as usual when there was a knock on the door. That was strange, nobody knocked on her door.
Begrudgingly she left the comfort of her windowsill and walked over to open the door - leaving the chain on at first. She was a little surprised to find a policewoman outside. "Hello officer, how can I help?" Jo let the chain off and opened the door a little further.
"Jo Smith?" Jo nodded to confirm. "I'm sorry to disturb you, my name's PC Khan. Yasmin. We just had a call concerned about your welfare? Apparently your neighbours haven't seen you for 10 days now," she spoke politely.
"Well, as you can see I am still here. Just don't get out much," she shrugged.
The officer nodded, but she was looking past Jo and into the depths of the flat. "Mind if I come in? Just need to ask a few questions - usual procedure."
Jo was a little reluctant, but also not one to argue with the police so she moved to allow the young woman in and then shut the door behind them. She watched as PC Khan walked through her hall and glanced into each room. "Sorry it's a bit of a mess, I'm not great at tidying - never have been. Comes with the territory. Just a hoarder me. Pretty impressive how much stuff I've collected in 6 months when I barely leave the house really." PC Khan smiled politely. "Sorry I'm being proper rude aren't I, can I get you a drink? Tea? I've got biscuits too. Feel free to have a seat - they're clean I promise."
PC Khan sat on the edge of the sofa, "I'm fine, but thank you. Can I ask why you don't leave the flat?"
Jo sat on the chair opposite her and shrugged, "just not a very outside person. Don't have much need to."
"What about work?" Yasmin had her notebook open now. Jo wondered what her writing was like - you could tell a lot about a person from their handwriting.
"I suppose you could say I'm self-employed, but I'm on a bit of a break right now," Jo explained as vaguely as she could.
Truth was she hadn't had any motivation to paint since 'the incident' as she called it. There weren't even any canvases in the flat. All her supplies had been burnt and she didn't bother replacing them. Her agent had hassled her for a while until Jo cut off all contact.
"What about friends and family?" Yasmin asked when she finished writing.
"Don't have any of them me, too much effort. Prefer to be free and easy," she went vague again. More of a lie this time. She did have friends - at least she had before all this. PC Khan had a slightly sad look on her face now. "Don't you be worrying about me - I'm fine and dandy! Was busy people watching before you arrived - I like to assess their walks and try and decide where they're going. Got yours wrong though - didn't guess it was me you were headed to in such a rush. Kinda assumed someone had been attacked the way you were moving. Maybe my brain is going off," she muttered the last sentence.
PC Khan looked up at her, "to be honest Ms Smith we thought you could have been, or at least in some sort of danger...or worse."
"Oh good so I wasn't completely wrong then. Reassuring," she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as a sign of relief.
"I have to say I've never met anyone like you Ms Smith," Yasmin smiled. "Do you mind if I take some contact details? One of our welfare officers will need to call you. It's just procedure honestly," she reassured her.
Jo shrugged and gave her phone number and email address. This was all very odd, but PC Khan was nice and she couldn't bring herself to argue with the poor woman. She was only doing her job.
Eventually they finished up and Yasmin got up to leave. Jo watched as she paused in the doorway before turning around. "If you ever need to chat," she started before pulling out a small card, quickly scribbling on it and handing it over. "You shouldn't be lonely Ms Smith. Reach out to someone - even if it's not us." With that she left.
Only then did Jo look at the card in her hand. The front was just the police station information, but on the back was a phone number and a note.
Don't be alone Jo,
Yasmin.
90 minutes previous
Yasmin Khan was fed up of dealing with parking disputes. She had been begging for a different job for weeks, but didn't expect this to be it.
Someone had phoned from a block of flats on the outskirts of the city centre. It wasn't a troublesome area so Yasmin rarely went here on the job, but apparently a woman was concerned that her neighbour hadn't been seen for a while. She hadn't done a welfare check since training, but something still felt odd about this one.
Usually they were older people and they would find them fallen in the kitchen, but this was a 31 year old female. The woman who phoned didn't know much except her name and that she hadn't been seen. This was almost more worrisome than the old dears.
Yasmin parked up opposite the flats and made her way inside thanks to someone leaving as she arrived. She found the right flat after climbing a ridiculous number of stairs (definitely should've taken the lift) and knocked gently. She waited, but let out a sigh of relief when there were footsteps and the door opened a jar. "Hello officer, how can I help?"
She opened the door a little wider and Yasmin immediately recognised the description she had been given - a 31 year old woman with a short blonde bob. "Jo Smith?" The woman nodded - albeit hesitantly. "I'm sorry to disturb you, my name's PC Khan. Yasmin. We just had a call concerned about your welfare? Apparently your neighbours haven't seen you for 10 days now," she explained. Normally she was a really good judge of someone on a first impression but something about this woman felt different.
"Well, as you can see I am still here. Just don't get out much," she shrugged.
Yasmin nodded, but she had begun to notice the state of the flat. Something felt off here still. "Mind if I come in? Just need to ask a few questions - usual procedure."
To be honest Yasmin didn't expect her to agree. This was usually the point where people shouted and shut the door. Instead Jo moved to the side and let her in. She walked through, glancing at all the rooms. "Sorry it's a bit of a mess, I'm not great at tidying - never have been. Comes with the territory. Just a hoarder me. Pretty impressive how much stuff I've collected in 6 months when I barely leave the house really." Yasmin was a little taken aback by the slightly random statements. She did note the part about barely leaving the flat. "Sorry I'm being proper rude aren't I, can I get you a drink? Tea? I've got biscuits too. Feel free to have a seat - they're clean I promise."
Yasmin glanced at the chairs - the place wasn't exactly unhygienic, it was just… really messy. She sat on the edge of the sofa out of politeness. "I'm fine, but thank you. Can I ask why you don't leave the flat?"
Jo sat on the chair opposite her and shrugged, "just not a very outside person. Don't have much need to." She opened her notebook and started to write some bits down. She needed to piece this altogether.
"What about work?"
"I suppose you could say I'm self-employed, but I'm on a bit of a break right now." That didn't really answer the question.
Figuring she wasn't going to get any further on that road, she tried a different one. "What about friends and family?"
Jo's reply was not what she expected. "Don't have any of them me, too much effort. Prefer to be free and easy." Yasmin noted that down, how could someone have nobody? She was convinced this woman was hiding something. "Don't you be worrying about me - I'm fine and dandy! Was busy people watching before you arrived - I like to assess their walks and try and decide where they're going. Got yours wrong though - didn't guess it was me you were headed to in such a rush. Kinda assumed someone had been attacked the way you were moving. Maybe my brain is going off." The last sentence had been quieter, but Yasmin heard it.
"To be honest Ms Smith we thought you could have been, or at least in some sort of danger...or worse." There had been a lot of thoughts running through her head when the call came in after all.
For some reason Jo looked pleased at this. "Oh good so I wasn't completely wrong then. Reassuring," she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as a sign of relief.
It was hard not to laugh at that. "I have to say I've never met anyone like you Ms Smith," Yasmin smiled. "Do you mind if I take some contact details? One of our welfare officers will need to call you. It's just procedure honestly," she didn't want to sound too needy, but she wanted to get this woman help.
Jo did give her the details. Yasmin couldn't take her eyes off her while she wrote them down, trying to get a feeling for what was wrong here.
Eventually she had no more reason to stay. Yasmin made her way to the door and Jo followed to show her out politely. However compliant she had been, something still told Yasmin she wasn't going to accept help from some random on the phone. She paused after opening the door. This was so off book, but she did it anyway. "If you ever need to chat," she started before pulling out a small card, quickly scribbling on it and handing it over. "You shouldn't be lonely Ms Smith. Reach out to someone - even if it's not us."
She left and made her way back down the stairs so she had time to think. Maybe she would never see Jo Smith again, but something inside her really hoped she would. She at least hoped the woman would reach out for help, there was definitely something hiding underneath that cheery persona.