The House That Reece Built

                                    

                                          
March 2025
Reece woke and instinctively reached across the bed. She wasn't there. She hadn't been for weeks. His heart still sunk every morning. She wouldn't even speak to him. She spoke to Siobhan or Vivian, and they called him. On more than one occasion Vivian had shown up on his doorstep with beer and takeaway. She told him all about the new therapy Marjorie was doing and asked him loads of questions about how he was doing. She always spent the night, and then she would be gone again in the morning. Often traveling three hours back straight to work.
They had become fast friends in the midst of this chaos. He appreciated the time she was giving him. He seldom ate at home when she wasn't around. He still ate with Carly at work, or sometimes Char, but of he was home alone he didn't bother. 
Mia had started coming around more too. He knew she cared in her own way, but he knew she was there because Charlotte was concerned by how his clothes barely fit him anymore. He had gotten a smaller belt, but it did little to hide that his jeans were way too big for him now.
He shook the thoughts from his head and got around. He really didn't know why he had told Aut they would be there at seven, but he didn't have anything better to do. 
Mia showed up right at six thirty with a coffee for him and a tea for her. They drove to Aut's in her mustang at speeds he wasn't entirely comfortable with.
Winter met them at the door with a smile. Reece thought that was at least reassuring. Maybe his sister had done as he said and worked on saving her marriage. "She's moved everything to the table so you all can have more space. I made up a variety of breakfast foods for you all as well."
Reece had never realized how accommodating Winter could be. He would do anything to make life easier for someone, but he bent over backward for Aut. He was a good man. That brought an, as of late, unusual smile to Reece's face.
"What are you smiling about? You got us up at the ass crack of dawn. Let's get to work!" 
"Mia, kiss my..." he trailed off when he saw something over Autumn's shoulder. 
"What is that Aut?"
"Oh, this was found on father. Well in him." Mia and Reece both looked at her suspiciously. "His nose had been cut off, and well this had been shoved in the nasal cavity."
This is the man all tatter'd and torn, 
That kissed the maiden all forlorn, 
That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog, 
That worried the cat, 
That kill'd the rat, 
The nose knows!
"What is that last bit? It isn't part of the original nursery rhyme. The nose knows? What the hell does that mean? Mia get Char on the phone. She is good at this stuff."
Autumn raised an eyebrow. 
"She figured out Aunt Muk."
Autumn nodded. 
Mia rang a still sleeping Charlotte and read off the the rhyme and added bit. Charlotte over the speaker kept saying "the nose knows" over and over. And then almost out of nowhere ... "Carly! It's Carly! Nose ... nosey... it's Carly ... she is an eavesdropper!"
Reece took the phone from Mia. "Charlotte go pick up Carly and meet us at Aut's house. We might have a fair shot at figuring this out if we figure out what all of this means."
The threesome poured over the other documents while they waited. Mia pointed out some minor details that could work in their favor to get Sorscha released. 
"Aut the forensic reports indicate that the marks around Janice's neck were from larger hands than Sorscha's. Father?"
Autumn nodded. "I suspect as much, but I don't know why. Sorscha and I were convinced they were sleeping together."
"Could she be the one Marjorie mentioned? The person who walked into the bathroom?" Mia hadn't actually intended to cause him pain, but the mention of her name made Reece wince. A look that wasn't lost on either woman.
"What was that? What is going on? Reece?" Autumn's voice was raising with each utterance.
Reece placed his hands over his face. "She's left, Aut. She is staying with Siobhan and Vivian at theirs. It isn't meant to be permanent, and she has started a new form of therapy there, but she's been gone a month."
"A month? A fucking month? And you haven't said? What the fuck, Reece!"
Mia stepped in. "First of all Autumn you haven't been exactly present. When Sorscha was arrested you cut everyone off, and by the looks of it we got more accomplished in the space of one hour than you did in two months!"
"Amelia!"
The three all looked up as if their own name had been called. 
"You three are meant to be helping each other, and I walk in here to you tearing each other apart?"
Almost in unison they all began to apologize to her and each other. Tearing into each other wasn't going to help and it wasn't going to free Sorscha.