Sting

Who Killed Marnie Thomas? - Chapter 7

The day of the shooting...

"The NYPD have now released Michael Markham, who until last night was the prime suspect in the brutal murder of sixteen-year-old Arabella Tomlinson. Her body was recovered in Marcus Garvey park on Thursday, and it has been reported that she was shot twice on her way home from school that afternoon. The NYPD have not released any further statements regarding any suspects or leads, however, they have issued an amber alert on fifteen-year-old Marnie Thomas, who's abduction they believe is connected to Tomlinson's murder. If you have information about the murder of Arabella Tomlinson, or the whereabouts of Marnie Thomas, you should contact the NYPD tip-line with the number that's appearing on your screen."

Baldaire switched the monitor off in the Hive.

"I hate that the press thinks she's some innocent little girl after what she's done. Abducted. She fled to Long Island." She scowled.

"Well, she probably wouldn't come back if she knew you were after her." Bullinger replied.

Moments later, a baby-faced uni came in - if she weren't in uniform with her blonde hair in a tightly slicked bun, she'd look like a kid.

"Hey, Daisy." Baldaire welcomed her. "Mikey, this is Daisy Harrison-King, Daisy this is-"

"Mikey Bullinger. Nice to meet you, I love your documentaries." She said over a firm handshake.

"Thank you, very much. It's a pleasure to be working with you today."

"He's coming to film the raid. Malina's in TPR if you need her."

"Great, thanks. Nice to meet you sir." Daisy said as she went into the Tactical Planning Room.

Bullinger wondered over to the case display board full of maps, timelines, Post-It queries, and photos of Marnie and Arabella, alive and dead. A scanned the board, taking in every harrowing detail, and pulled a small camera out of his pocket. The flash of the camera made Baldaire spin round to meet his eyes.

"What're you doing?" She exclaimed, snatching the camera from him.

"I'm sending a picture to my producer for the episode."

"What?"

"It's for my producer. We want it to be authentic."

"You are not covering this case! Are you crazy? Is this why you're here, to leach off of a dead little girl's tragedy, so you can buy yourself a new suit? What's wrong with you?" She seemed more hurt than angry.

"I didn't mean for-"

"You should leave. And delete that photo, you can't take pictures of the boards."

Seeing the upset he'd caused, he quietly apologized and left. She hovered at the board for a little while, pouring over its contents with quiet desperation. And then she paused... she squinted at the photograph of Marnie. Sat there, smiling in her red uniform, her striking cornflower-blue eyes twinkling under the camera flash. Suddenly, Baldaire's face dropped. She pulled her photo off the board and marched to her desk, rustling through papers and files, and then, she found it. She lay her photo down on the table, and then placed another one next to it. Michael Markham's photograph. He didn't look quite as pleased in his, given it was taken while he was cuffed, but she noticed something... their eyes. An intense, unique shade of blue.

She sat and opened her laptop, pulling up Michael's arrest report, reading through his details, and there it was. How did she miss this this first time? It all made sense now. She couldn't believe it.

. . .

Rikers Island Jail, Rikers Island