Mayhew and Konrad both stood looking at a path leading into a dense forest. Not just any forest—Sterego dębu Forest, one of the town's most notable aspects. Its only other notable aspects would probably be the park and also the miserable conditions of the buildings.
'The ruthless weather could also count.'
The detective could feel the cold wind that came all the way from the distant mountains brush against his skin, making his lip twitch. His hazel eyes glanced between all the identical-looking trees.
'Well, if the park is the luring ground, I would assume that this forest would be the execution ground. Though if the person behind these disappearances is as smart as I think they are, I doubt that I'll find anything today.'
As Mayhew had these thoughts, he took his gaze away from the forest and looked at the young man beside him.
The calm and collected Konrad Novak.
'I got too invested in that chess game—that was a mistake on my part. I haven't managed to get any information regarding the missing Tomasz Novak from Konrad, and the tour is going to end once we take a quick walk through the forest. Can't end the day like this; I need to get at least one good piece of information before the sky darkens. Still... I shouldn't rush—I have plenty of days to hang around with Konrad.'
Without turning his eyes toward the pondering detective, Konrad spoke in a confused tone.
"Is something the matter, Mister Mayhew?"
Being snapped away from his thoughts by Konrad's voice, Mayhew let out a fake nervous chuckle as he looked back at the path leading into the forest.
"Oh no, it's nothing, really. I am just having a sort of déjà vu moment right now."
Konrad threw a side-eye.
"You are having a what moment?"
Mayhew chuckled hesitantly again, though this time it was more genuine.
"Oh, I am sorry. Obviously, you wouldn't know a French term. I know a lot of languages, so I mix them up sometimes. It's a bad habit, really."
Scratching the back of his head, the hazel-eyed detective pointed a finger toward the path ahead.
"I really don't want to arrive late at my apartment today. My friend barely let me off the hook last time. How about we start our walk, yes?"
Konrad chuckled.
"Oh, so it's like 'that' with her, huh? Well, I can't blame you for wanting to get going quickly, Mister Mayhew. Let's go, then."
As Konrad took the lead, walking between the trees that were part of the forest edge line, Mayhew followed behind. His steps were ever so slightly slower than Konrad's.
And soon enough, the two men disappeared beyond the forest edge line, walking deeper into the untouched nature. It was just the two of them and no one else. The density of the trees prevented anyone from seeing them, and the strong wind blowing through the forest would drown out any noise they might make.
Thinking about the qualities of Sterego dębu Forest, the brown-haired detective had two realizations. One validated Mayhew's thoughts about the park and forest being used as devices to lure and kill people, while the other... the other was more so just terrifying and validated the detective's increasing paranoia.
'No way for people to see and no way for them to hear, either. This forest also has plenty of crevices to hide bodies. It really doesn't get any more perfect than this.'
Looking around, the detective saw all the hollow spaces inside the trees, all the big rocks that had small spaces beneath them. This place was just covered in hiding spots.
Mayhew then took his attention away from the surroundings and aimed it toward his tour guide. His second realization came at the same time.
'I am alone and without a weapon. The day is coming to an end soon, so there won't be many people around the park, let alone in the forest.'
He hid his frown behind a natural expression.
'All I can do is put my trust in Konrad and hope that he isn't the person I am looking for.'
Mayhew felt baffled by his own thoughts. Never, ever in any of his previous investigations had the detective been so paranoid and suspicious of everyone around him. It was so bad that even the environment itself felt suspicious.
The old heads, Konrad, the police, the forest, the park, the drunk lady, and just the whole town in general. Everything made Mayhew's brain go: 'Something isn't right here.'
He didn't know a lot about religion, so the detective felt reluctant to make this kind of comparison, but... could Mayhew call this town 'Hell'? Because for a detective such as himself, all these different factors that played into this case made his job truly feel like Hell.
Mayhew closed his eyes for a moment and calmed himself.
'Okay, let me calm down for a second. Even if Konrad is the person I am looking for, I doubt that he would do anything to me now. Plenty of people saw us going through the town and into the park. That would be a lot of witnesses stacked against him.'
He opened his eyes to look at Konrad's even face.
'I am getting way too paranoid. Besides asking a very abrupt question, Konrad has only shown me how much of a kind person he is. He took me on a tour, tried to get the old men to let me play with them, and when they didn't accept, he ditched them and played with me instead. Now he is touring me around the forest, and all I can think about is, "What if he tries something?"'
Mayhew thought about his parents. Specifically, what would they think if they saw him act like this? Paranoid of everyone and pushing everyone else away. Especially someone like Konrad, who seemed even more alone than Mayhew had been when he was his age.
He quickly had to shut these thoughts off, as a scowl almost appeared on his face due to them.
"Hey, Mister Mayhew."
Seeing the young man suddenly stop, Mayhew came to a halt as well. His shoes almost slipped on the shallow snow that lay on the ground.
The detective got ready to put on his usual polite smile; however, as he looked at Konrad and his expression, Mayhew quickly reevaluated that decision.
"Is there something wrong, Konrad?"
Konrad had a glint of sadness in his eyes... those deep—deep eyes.
'...'
Konrad let out a sigh and turned his head to the side, looking off the path into the trees nearby.
"I know this might be a strange request, but... would you mind coming off the trail to pray for someone I lost?"
Mayhew didn't respond immediately, as he was barely managing to keep his even expression from falling apart.
Inside his head, a war between interest and newfound paranoia made his thoughts rumble in his skull.
'Someone he lost? Could he be talking about Tomasz Novak? But Tomasz is missing; he is not confirmed dead or alive. Did he just out himself accidentally—no, he wouldn't do that, right?!'
'He wants me to follow him off the path to pray for someone who is presumably dead? That is way too suspicious. And why would we need to step off the trail just to pray? Is he implying that this someone is buried here, in the middle of the forest?!'
The detective could feel it—he could feel his heartbeat becoming faster and faster.
Just as Mayhew opened his mouth to respond, Konrad unintentionally cut him off.
"I am sorry, Mister Mayhew. I must have made you really uncomfortable. Forget I asked anything. I'll just go by myself. I'll be back in less than two minutes, so don't panic, all right?"
Just as he was about to walk off, Mayhew instinctively reached his hand out and grabbed his shoulder, stopping Konrad before he stepped off the path.
As much as it pained him, Mayhew again thought about how his parents would react to seeing him like this. Paranoid and unwilling to help someone who clearly needed it.
If Konrad had no one to pray together with, then Mayhew would fulfill that role for him. A brother, a father, even a dear friend—he could play that role for whoever needed it.
"I am sorry that my slowness gave you the impression that I was uncomfortable. I get stuck inside my own mind sometimes. A talented chess player like you would get it, right? Konrad, I would be more than happy to pray with you for this person you lost."
As Mayhew put a genuine smile across his lips, Konrad's expression lit up as well.
Seeing it made the detective so very happy. That... light?
The two men walked off the path and into the uncharted dense forest. The ground was covered in branches, thicker snow, and rocks, so Mayhew and Konrad made sure to walk very carefully.
It took less than a minute to arrive at the place. It was near enough that the detective could still see the path that they had been walking on, although it did require him to angle himself in a certain direction where there were fewer trees.
But all that mattered was that he could still see it, and other people could still see him if they walked by. Mayhew almost wanted to laugh at himself.
He had been worried for nothing.
'That's paranoia for you!'
Looking down, what Mayhew saw was not what he had been expecting.
Considering that the 'person' was buried in the middle of the forest, the detective wasn't really expecting a very proper grave site. But this grave, if you could even call it that, was just one barren spot on the ground, with a few rocks stacked on top of each other to act as the grave's 'tombstone'. It was the most primal grave that Mayhew had ever seen. If Konrad had not specified that a person was buried here, then he would have assumed that it was a grave for a pet, like a dog or a cat.
Turning his gaze toward Konrad for answers, the detective kept a lighthearted face.
Konrad didn't look back. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the barren ground and rocks. A glint of melancholy shone in his unique eyes.
"So this is the resting place of the person, right, Konrad?"
The young man nodded in confirmation.
Mayhew took his eyes off Konrad and looked down at the grave. Now both men were looking at the 'person'.
"So, Konrad, who was this person to you?"
He sighed as he knelt down right in front of the grave site.
"They were the two people who brought me into this world..."
Placing a hand on the cold and harsh ground, the young man closed his eyes.
"My mom, my dad. I pray that they are resting peacefully."
The words struck a certain spot in Mayhew's heart as he heard them. And the detective soon knelt beside Konrad, closing his eyes as well.
'So he's just like me after all.'
The two of them continued to silently pray. Sometimes, their prayers would accidentally come out of their mouths as quiet mumbles.
After a minute or two, the two men sat up and looked at each other.
"Thank you, Mister Mayhew. It felt nice to have someone else to pray with me."
The hazel-eyed detective shook his head with a smile.
"No need to thank me. It was a pleasure to do so."
Taking a slight pause to glance toward the grave, the detective spoke again, a curious tone in his voice.
"I hope you don't find this question offensive, but I have to ask it. Why did you refer to both of your parents as 'someone', or am I messing up my Polish again?"
Hearing that question, the young man surprisingly found it comedy gold as he let out a long chuckle.
"Ahh, sorry, Mister Mayhew. It's a long story. But to tell you the short version: When I was a kid, my father and mother would always tease me by asking me which one of them I loved more. This question annoyed me so much that I decided from then on forth I would refer to my parents as one singular person. That way, there would be no favorite parent in my books. Of course, I was just a stupid kid back then, but that way of speaking ended up sticking with me."
What a story that was. It was a funny one, but also sad when taking into account the current situation. That 'person'—his parents—were literally buried just a few meters away.
Mayhew let out a cough.
"Well, Konrad, we should get going. The night is just around the corner, and those clouds I see in the distance worry me."
Konrad nodded as he looked up at the distant sky.
"You're right, Mister Mayhew. It is getting late, and that cloud does not promise anything good. I guess our tour is over."
Mayhew nodded.
"I think what you meant was: our 'first' tour is over. I need to see more of the town, park, and especially the forest. Today was simply not enough."
Hearing that, Konrad chuckled.
"I wouldn't mind that, Mister Mayhew."