What the Snow Kept

The snow fell from the sky in thick, round flakes which looked like tiny Marshmallows.

“Too bad they don’t taste as sweet.” Marla grunted as she waded through the dense white blanket that covered the ground.

The bristles of the snow brush were sturdy as she combed the white layer of the roof of the car. The handle wasn’t as robust though. Halfway through the brush broke in half. Marla didn’t have a spare. She had to clear the rest of the vehicle by wiping it off with her arm.

“I hate the winter,” she said as she flopped into the driver’s seat.

She put the car in reverse. The vehicle moved a couple of centimeters. Marla glanced at the clock. She was already late for work.

With a nudge she opened the car door, stepped out and inspected the situation. A small snow bank had formed at the rear of the car.

Marla sighed. She gave the Chevy a kick.

The shovel stood right next to the entrance door. As she reached for it Marla snagged her finger on the door frame.

“Ouch,” she yelped as the shovel fell to the ground. The scratch wasn’t bad but it started bleeding. There was no Band-Aid in the bathroom cabinet.

“Could this Monday get any worse?” With her finger in mouth, she grabbed the shovel off the ground and went back outside.

The red plastic tool had a wide mouth and cleared the snow bank in no time. Marla tossed it into the back of the car. Just as she was about to open the door to the driver’s seat, she stopped.

Behind the car she spotted something dull.

Was there something in the snow?

Marla walked over. Carefully, she dug her hands into the snow and yelped as her scratched finger hit the cold. It started bleeding again and the red blood droplets looked like ink staining untouched paper.

She pulled a box out of the snow. Small, rectangular, covered in blue velvet.

When she opened it, there was a ring inside. It was dainty, golden and, in the middle, had a small ruby encircled by a halo.

For a moment she stared at the open box. All she could hear was the white noise of the falling snow covering the world around her like a veil. Her hands started shaking as a perfectly formed snowflake landed on the gemstone.

Quickly, she closed the jewelry box.

“Not again,” she whispered.

***************

“Manny, can you do a welfare check?” Sergeant Carla Horn looked at the guy in front of her.

“Come on, boss. Can I at least finish my lunch? It’s been a crazy Monday.” Officer de Rosa looked up from his sandwich, still chewing. He wiped his chin with a paper napkin.

“Female, 27. Didn’t show up for work this morning.” Horn kept a straight face.

“Probably partied too hard over the weekend.” De Rosa grinned.

“Stop being such a prick,” the sergeant raised her eyebrows. “And do your job.”

“Ok, boss,” he tossed the sandwich aside. “What’s the address?”

“I’ll text it to you in a second.”

“What’s her name?”

“Marla Gallant.”

***************

Nobody came to the door.

Officer de Rosa had rung the door bell countless times. He looked up the 3-level apartment building which had white wooden windows and light blue panels.

He tried to peer through the entrance door but did not see anything. The windows on both sides of the ground floor were covered with curtains. No way to peer in. He tried the other units, but nobody buzzed him in.

“Damn, what an unlucky Monday,” he cursed.

All of a sudden the front door opened. A man dressed in all black walked out and greeted him with a nod. De Rosa asked if he knew someone named Marla Gallant but the guy declined.

Marla Gallant lived in unit number seven but de Rosa had no idea on which floor the apartment was. Luckily, all the doors had numbers and he found number seven on the second floor.

De Rosa knocked. No noise.

He knocked again. No movement.

The officer sighed.

“Seems like nobody’s home,” he grunted.

De Rosa walked down the narrow stairs. They had light brown carpet that looked old and worn down. He wedged the front door so it would stay open, then went around the building.

The snow plow had already plowed the parking lot. Two trash bins lay knocked over on their side. De Rosa pulled out his phone and dialed Sergeant Horn’s number when he stopped in his tracks.

There was a Chevy in the parking lot with the driver’s door wide open. De Rosa looked left and right but could see nobody.

He walked closer, hanging up the phone.

There were no keys in the ignition, nothing in the back seat. The officer popped the trunk. He took a deep breath before he lifted the hood. Fifteen years of being a police officer had taught him things. He knew people had far worse items in the boot other than groceries.

But the trunk was empty.

He frowned, then closed it. As he turned around, he saw it:

Tiny blood droplets in the snow.

De Rosa squatted down, inspecting the scene more closely. There seemed to be a rectangular indent in the snow.

“What did you dig out?” De Rosa said out loud.

He turned around, and started looking for anything that resembled the indent. Since the lot was freshly plowed, all he could see was densely packed snow. He pulled up the trash cans, but found nothing.

Then he spotted it:

A blue, velvet box lay underneath the rear tire of the Chevy.

De Rosa put on a pair of single-use gloves that he pulled from his pocket.

He gingerly picked up the box.

The ruby ring inside stunned de Rosa.

It had a golden band and the gemstone was encircled by a halo.

His phone started ringing as the officer stared at the jewelry.

“Any news about the girl?” Sergeant Horn asked.

“Do you know what car she drives and the license plate number?’

“It’s a Chevy. Hold on,” he could hear her typing. “License plate is GDA 851.”

De Rosa looked at the car - it was the same plate.

“Boss, I think we have a problem.”

***************

De Rosa forced the door open. It was easy. The apartment door was made of plywood and the hinge was loose.

The place was small and besides some dirty dishes in the sink, it was tidy. It faintly smelled like fresh coffee in the kitchen.

De Rosa walked slowly through every room but found nothing that sprang out to him as odd.

In the living room, a royal blue sofa was placed to the left, a striped blanket tossed over the armrest. Lots of plants sat on the window sill. Marla didn’t have a TV which de Rosa found strange.

“Looks like she is more of a reader.” He grunted as he browsed through the countless books on the shelf.

As he opened the doors on the cabinet, he saw folders in light colours. They read taxes, investments, bank stuff. Nothing odd here.

The last folder however left de Rosa frowning. In big, capital letters it was labelled lawsuit.

De Rosa opened it quickly.

His eyes got wide as he began to read.