Purpose: Whisperer of Night

by Keya Jay

Skylar Royce

  Ryder hadn’t come back with Larissa so Skylar assumed that whatever her condition was was serious and she had to stay overnight. She took this time she had to herself to finally put this case to rest, all of the evidence she had and needed was there now she just had to make sense of it all. The fact that Skylar had accused Brooke of not only kidnapping but killing as well didn’t sit right with her the longer she sat there thinking about it. She knew Brooke all of her life and couldn’t possible fathom her hurting someone let alone her own blood and family.

  Skylar had gotten Sidney’s mother to send over her computer; she needed to check this mysterious email out for herself before making any other assumptions. Skylar had the lap top open in front of her on her living room coffee table with a mug of coffee in one hand and the reports from Brooke’s mother on Erin/Hank in her other as she read over the email once more.

  To: CFields67

  From: 050972

  Subject: 5th or possibly 6th try

  Dear Ciana,

  This is about my fifth or possibly sixth attempt at trying to send you an email but for some odd reason I can’t seem to get your email right, I hope that this is you—if not then sorry again mystery person but I’m trying to get in touch with my wife if you by any chance know of her please contact her and tell her that I am trying to get in touch with her. I can’t tell you or her where I am because I don’t even know but I hope she knows what to do once she finds this, if not then I’ll just have to try again.

  To: 050972

  From: CFields67

  Subjects: Is this really you?

  Dear Aaron,

  Is this really you or some kind of sick joke that no one in their right mind should find funny? If so then I’m so glad that you’re alive and this seems really weird talking to you like this without being able to see you but I just want to let you know that I love you and I miss you so very, very much. And if this is not you then whoever this is you’re a sick bastard for playing with someone else’s life like this!

  There was no response after that so there was no telling if it was really Aaron or not but something didn’t sit quiet right with Skylar. She peered down at the document she held in one hand before taking a sip out of the coffee cup she held in the other.

  Brooke’s mother used a bunch of numbers similar to the ones used for Aaron’s email. There at the top of Erin/Hank’s document sheet and a few others were numbers that only consisted of 6 numbers just like Aaron’s and Skylar couldn’t really convince herself that that was some kind of coincidence. Not only did that seem suspicious but Hank’s computer code back at the office consisted of the same numbers, she thought as she peered down at the picture she had taken of it before she left that day. 05A09L72F

  As Skylar thought about all of this only one explanation made sense. On Erin/Hank’s documentation sheet were the numbers: 111282 and coincidentally his birthdate was November 12th of the year 1982. Now if she was right about this then Aaron’s birthday had to be May 9th of the year 1972. Skylar picked up her phone and dialed Sidney’s number someone answered on the third ring.

  “Hello?”

  “Mrs. Fields this is Skylar.”

  “Oh. Hi Skylar.”

  “Mrs. Fields I have a question,” Skylar said as she leaned back against the couch feeling confident in Mrs. Fields answer.

  “What is it honey?’ she asked as if she would answer anything she asked.

  “I need to know when Aaron’s birthdate was,” she said calmly as not to alarm the woman.

  “Oh, umm…”

  “It’s important,” Skylar reminded her.

  “Uh his birthday is May 9th,” she answered finally.

  “The year wouldn’t happen to be 72 would it?” Skylar asked with a winning smile.

  “Uh as a matter of fact it is.”

  “Thank you Mrs. Fields as promised I’ll keep you up to date if I find anything I think you should know.”

  “Is the email from him?” Mrs. Fields asked before Skylar could hang up the phone.

  “Not sure yet but it’s still a possibility,” she said before she hung up. Skylar pulled back up the picture of Hank’s computer code now knowing what it all meant: 05A09L72F The letters in between Aaron’s birthdate had to be Aaron’s initials Skylar wasn’t sure what Aaron’s middle name was but she was sure about one thing—it started with an L. Skylar picked her phone back up and contacted her Uncle to her surprise he picked up immediately.

  “I was wondering when you’d call,” he said as way of hello.

  “Sorry I thought you’d be busy with Hank and Brooke and besides I’m no longer on the case so I didn’t want to be suspended for interfering.” Skylar could hear Ethan’s tummy rumbling laugh over the phone and it truly chilled her, laughing was so unlike her Uncle.

  “So you mean to tell me that you haven’t been at all working on the case even after I told you not to?” he asked after he was done laughing.

  “Anyways,” she said knowing he was right but for some reason she though that Ethan was actually counting on her to finish this case even though he kicked her off of it he knew all along that she wouldn’t just be able to cut all ties to it. “I need a favor?” she said.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “I need you to hack into Aaron’s emails.”

  “In order to do that I’mma need an email from him.”

  “I already sent it to your phone,” she said proudly.

  “Wait, Aaron…”

  “Yup, he’s alive,” she said after his hesitation to finish. “Or at least I hope he is, if this email is indeed from him then this case will be solved faster than you’d ever hoped.

  “I’ll send the results to you as soon as I get them,” he said. Skylar could hear the proud pitch to his one and couldn’t help but think that it was her who had put it there. Skylar hung up and grabbed Erin/Hanks papers and walked toward her dark room. She walked past her mother’s room and paused, she knew she wasn’t ready to go in there yet if ever so she had no clue why exactly she had stopped so she kept going. Once the UV lights had been activated she turned toward her notes now knowing that if Brooke indeed was the person they were looking for then all they had to do was find out where Aaron was been hidden if he was alive. All of the killings, kidnappings, and dumping sites were in this area and so it would only make sense if the hiding places were as well, she thought to herself. Skylar couldn’t shake the feeling that this felt too easy, that Brooke was just the easy answer out and that there had to be more and by more she meant more than just Casper though she was almost certain that though he thought he was involved he truly never was, this seemed more like a family issue…Before Skylar could finish her thought her phone chimed and she checked out the email from Ethan stating the username and password he wanted her to put in in order to access all of Aaron’s emails. She walked back toward the living room where the laptop sat and did as Ethan’s instructions instructed. She was soon in Aaron’s email viewing a lot of email from someone under the alias Unknown Recipient. Most of the email were written not in code but riddles; almost poetic like. All of the emails were about abandonment and rebirth as if the unknown recipient was trying to lecture Aaron—who she was now positive was really Aaron.

  Skylar was almost 100% positive that something was not right. This didn’t sound like something Brooke would say or do she was sure of that now. All the years Skylar had known Brooke she had never heard her complain about her father leaving her, she was always under the impression that her father was dead which was one of many reasons why Brooke never wanted her mother to move on. Why would Brooke go through all of this trouble to find and help/torture a father she never even knew still existed? Skylar looked over all of the papers she had scattered around her—al documents written by Brooke’s mother and then she looked over all of the emails. This didn’t seem like something Brooke would do, not without clear motive or…persuasion.