As Evil As Murder

24 | Even In Death

I have been writing for years now. I know that when someone says not to tell something to the cops, it's because you have the advantage. This is exactly why I decided on telling that it was Dean Carmichael who was sending me death threats. If I didn't, I'm sure I would have regretted it later.

"Who?" Rex was still waiting for an explanation apparently. I clenched my teeth and glared at him.

"It's Dean. Dean Carmichael. Elise's neighbor. He's the one who bought her mint-flavored cupcakes. It's him, I don't know how, but it is!" I yelled, my voice threatening to crack any moment.

"Are you sure?" CJ asked cautiously. Rex was already on his phone.

"All units towards St. Joesph's hospital, Decoit Street, we have a situation... Dean Carmichael.." He kept on talking quickly to the phone.

I looked between CJ and Rex. She shook her head, already guessing what I was about to do. I bit my bottom lip and thought of Dean, his whole church-loving atmosphere, and his warm eyes. Can he really kill my sister?

Stop gambling her life, something said inside me. CJ shook her head again, but I mouthed a sorry.

Then I started running.

I heard a small "Oi!!" from Rex's direction but I didn't stop for an explanation. The cops were in the other part of the town. By the time they will reach the hospital, Gloria might as well be dead. Not to mention that if they didn't come discreetly, Dean might panic and speed up the process. I was the key to all of this. I could try to set it straight.

Ridiculous, just say you got a death wish, the same voice said in my head.

"Shut up Poppy, you don't exist," I muttered to myself as I opened the door to my car and hopped inside. I saw Rex jogging over to me but I pushed my right leg against the accelerator and sped off, circling around the bushes and turning left to the open road.

Within five seconds, both Rex and my house disappeared far off to the shadows, and I was on my way to see a murderer.

St. Joseph's hospital was hidden behind the tall trees of Decoit Woods, where we can find plenty of birds and sadness alike. No lights came in through branches of the trees and the aura that something was about to happen, always hung in the air. This combined with the screaming patients made it one of the top scariest places in Haywood.

I stopped my car in front of the gates, not even bothering to park it properly. I rushed out, slamming the door behind me.

When I finally got to the hospital, I expected chaos and was not disappointed. People weren't running around or screaming, but all of the staffs' faces were panic-stricken and overly alert. The cops had obviously asked them to not create any kind of suspicions and to lay low until they come. They were trying, but their eyes gave away. It was a quiet kind of chaos, but chaos nonetheless.

"I'm looking for Gloria Albert's room?" I politely asked the receptionist. She tucked her brunette hair behind her ears and jabbed some keys in front of her.

"Third floor, room no. 156." She informed, then frowned, looking cautiously at me. I was out of breath and sweaty. Within a second, she knew that I knew.

"Don't." The word was hardly out of her mouth, but I was out of there. I rushed to the elevator and pressed the button inscribed 3, hoping she wouldn't call security. She didn't, instead she stood there, looking at me with concerned eyes and as the elevator closed, I saw her lips move silently as if she made a quick prayer for me.

Don't overthink it. Just stay calm, ask him what he wants. You did nothing. Meaningless rambles like this were made by my brain on the way up. The elevator was empty, and the moment it opened to the third floor, I rushed out so fast I almost collided with a short blonde lady.