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It was around three am when I got the call, i wasnt to happy about being woken up but went to grab it anyway. Shielding my eyes I tried to adjust to the bright phone light. Once I did I couldn't belive what i was seeing...gina? Gina my older sister, after years of no contact finally calls..at three in the morning on a workday? Instantly I answered it and held the phone to my ear "gina!? How are you!? You haven't talked to me in so long! You good!?" She didnt reply, all I could hear was quiet but fast and shallow breaths. "Gina?.." I asked a little quieter. "Cody....I'm sorry..." for what I asked but she just repeated it "I'm sorry...I'm sorry..im sorry.." I tried to calm her "gina..are you okay? Please tell me what going on.." again just another apology "I love you cody...I-I have to go..." I pleaded with her not to but soon I heard the click and my phone displayed the red button. She hung up. I called her back multiple times but each one when to voicemail "yo, this is gina " it would start but you could here a voice in the back laughing "I'm probably in a place with bad cell right now, just text me I'll see it whenever" then it went to the classic tone. I heard that voicemail over a thousand times in the following hours.
The sun came up at around six and by then I had decided to call my parents. My dad picked up and I asked him if he had received a call from gina but he just groaned "why would gina call us!?" I heard my mom call from another room "exactly what your mother said" my dad spoke and then hung up. So that's when I decided to go to you.
"You didnt try to contact Gina's freinds?" My coworker Carl asked "carl you know I dont know her freinds" i speak feeling anxitey build. Carl sighs and puts his clip board down. We had recorders and cameras in our questioning rooms but carl always wrote Evreything down. "Cody..how do you know gina didnt just feel the need to call?" I shook my head "gina wouldn't do that" carl raised a brow "she wouldn't apologize?" I rolled my eyes, carl was getting on my nerves..this whole process was, now I know why our questionings make people so snappy. "Carl I've told you about gina before, plus who calls someone at three in the morning just to say sorry?" Carl wrote something..probably noteing my behavior. "Someone with years of built up guilt" gina didnt have guilt. As far as I knew she never wanted to see us again. We were the guilty ones to her. I told carl this and he wrote again. I knew I was getting special treatment when he said "fine..I'll see if we send someone out to check her place , okay cody?" I nodded knowing this is the best I could get. Carl didnt do this with theses kind of situations. Hell I didnt either. A sibling just calling? After years of no contact. I'd probably pass it off the same way carl would. "No proof, cant do anything with out proof of foul play" I'd say and carl would just nod beside me. This was different however. This was gina, my sister not a stranger I could ignore just because we wanted lunch earlier. I couldn't ignore this..
"Come on, let's get you coffee" carl said standing up and holding out his hand. I took it and pulled myself from the chair. I felt wierd to be on the other side of the cheap table we used. The seat hurt my back too. I followed him out and as we walked past our other coworkers, I saw it. Pity. They pitied me. Cody one of thier own, coming in at seven tired out of his mind demanding to report his sister missing, a sister most didnt even know he had. They felt bad. Normally I'm the one helping the tired people, I'm the one with the soft voice and cheery attitude. Not today though, it would have to be someone else today.
Any other day here the coffee would have sucked, I however was running on nothing. It was amazing today, after I had drank three cups carl spoke again. "Cody you should take the day off" of course he would say that, relief flooded through me. I knew I couldn't work straight today, I had to take the day off. Worry would consume me if I did though. "I'm good man, I can work" I spoke. Carl didnt buy it "I wasnt giving you an option cody, go home and sleep." He used his formal voice, a one he only used on newbies or when he needed something done fast. You couldn't argue with him if he used the voice. I had no choice but to obey. I managed to convince him I was okay to drive home myself. He cautiously let me go.
The ride home was silent, I didnt feel like it was a day to listen to the radio. I sat in the car, devoid of sound. Gina..why did you call? Where are you? Please be okay? Please let carl right..dont be in trouble gina. I lied earlier to carl..I said gina wouldn't do this stuff..but what would I know?
The gina I used to know and the one that called me were two different people.
I could tell.