Page 8 of Sage

Kansas? Gross, too many cows and corn fields.

Maybe, another country?He shook his head.

Hans continued scrolling through the listings, coming up with excuses for each one until he came across a posting that caused him to pause.

How did that...Hans squinted at the screen.

Marco's position had been listed in the national database.

It’s too soon.

Hans continued staring at the screen. He had just admitted to Charles that Marco had passed. With no body and no investigation to confirm whether Hans was even telling the truth, there is no way that Marco’s supervisors would have enough evidence to justify the position listing.

Did Marco resign after losing Alana, before risking his life entering Brighton Forest? Nothing made sense anymore, but this made it seem like Marco went into that forest not expecting to come out alive.

Interesting. It looks like Charles isn't getting that position. He smiled. Charles had a history of being a hothead which had gotten him in trouble a few times. It was a surprise that Charles hadn’t been fired since he was such a liability.

Regardless of the knowledge he had just come upon, it still didn't make Hans feel any differently about relocating. Hopefully, he would be able to stay on the East Coast, close enough he could still come back and visit friends, but far enough away that Sage wouldn't be able to follow him unless she learned to ride a broom.

A position listed in New York seemed promising. It would also come with a pay raise, though most likely due to the increased cost of living there. But he liked the idea that he would only have to be in the field for high-priority cases; they were the ones that most were too chicken-shit to get involved with, and in New York they would probably be even more dangerous than what he dealt with when it came to Sage.

Hans quickly uploaded his resume and filled out the application, hoping that it would get him out of there sooner than later.

Chapter Six

Remembering the Past

Sage dug through the box of shoes from the back of Marco’s closet, searching for the perfect pair. Alana had an impeccable taste with brands like McQueen and Gucci. Sage couldn’t believe her eyes and was almost afraid to touch them.

Almost.

Finally, at the bottom of the box there was a gorgeous pair of ruby-red pumps. "I bet if I click my heels together three times these won't get me home." Sage giggled as she stared at them intently. She stood back up, grabbed a hanger to place the dress on, and walked over to the full-length mirror. Holding up the little black dress and the shoes, Sage was able to see that she had created the perfect outfit for a night out. Perhaps she would have to invite a certain detective out for a couple of drinks.

If only my face wasn’t plastered all over the news.Sage sighed at the realization and then began to search the apartment for scissors, shears, or anything else that she could use to change the length of her hair. She could use some of the money that she had taken from Troy to purchase some lightener and hair color.While part of Sage felt sad about losing something that she had known for years, she looked forward to the change.

After an unsuccessful search, Sage finally settled on using a sharp butcher knife.Guess this will have to do.Walking back to the bathroom, she put her hair into a ponytail. She took a deep breath and began sawing through the thickness of her hair.

Sage removed the hair tie and examined the damage she had done while murdering her hair, which is exactly what it looked like she had done. She sighed, wishing a pair of shears would magically appear in her hands so that she could fix this disaster.

Glancing around the room, her eyes fell on a baseball cap. It was perfect. All she needed to do was tuck her hair up into it while grabbing everything she needed. Sage went back to the box and dug through everything hoping to find something a bit more casual.

Nothing.

"Was the princess too scared to wear comfy clothes around her prince?" The snide remark slipped from her mouth. Sage had a vendetta against Alana the moment she realized that Alana had the man of her dreams at her fingertips. All she had to do was stick her ass out on the hood of the car, whereas Sage couldn't get his attention without committing murder.

Bastard.

It wasn't completely Hans’ fault. It had taken Sage a few years to accept, but had she not wandered off from where she was supposed to be, they could have lived happily ever after a long time ago. Hans had never been the type to tell her to stay put and then change his mind, wanting her to come find him instead.I should have known better.

Sage moved away from the closet and began going through drawers, looking for a pair of sweats and a shirt that wasn’t twosizes too big. After what felt like hours she found a pair of light gray sweatpants and a gamer-boy tee. "Well," she giggled at the shirt. "I guess I'll have to make do with this." She continued searching through the drawers just in case she could find another gem tucked away. Instead, she found an envelope at the bottom of one of the drawers.

"What could this be?" Sage pulled it out, slowly opened it, and peered inside. "Holy shit!" she exclaimed, dumping the cash out over the bed, diving into the bills just like she had seen people do in the movies. “There's so much here! I could go on the run and survive perfectly fine."

Sage was making snow angels in the mound of cash sending them flying in various directions. In a single instance, Sage realized that a majority of her problems had just been solved while causing just as many issues at the same time. She lay there in silence, enjoying for the first time in years what felt like true peace. At least her brain was not running a million miles per minute, which made things even better. Sage rolled over and before she could muster up her next thought, she had drifted off to sleep.

???

Only a few hours had passed when the visions disturbed Sage’s sleep. So loud. Soreal.She got up quickly and rushed around, throwing on the clothes that she had found earlier. "I have to do this."

---