Let's Play

Questions

Damien

"Bring them in, let's get this over with" I said as I laid next to Jessika in the bed. I kept my arms wrapped around her softly. I thought I almost lost her and the comfort of her in my arms was the only thing keeping me sane.

A few seconds later two men appeared, one in a police uniform and the other in a plain black suit. The man in the suit I knew very well. His name was detective Greyson. I first met him almost 10 years ago when my son disappeared. Back then he was only a cop and had taken my initial statement. He had a very calm demeanor and did great with handling me when I was in hysterics. His eyes still showed kindness and compassion like it did back then, and the only difference was the amount of hair he had left on his head.

Detective Greyson had already taken my statement when I first got to the hospital. I obviously didn't have much to say since I didn't even see it coming and the truck drove off before I could get a good look at it. I didn't mind when he questioned me then, but for some reason I was annoyed that they were questioning Jess now. I knew this was standard protocol but I just wanted her to rest and not have to relive those memories yet.

He approached with a warm smile, both the detective and the officer offering their hands to us both to shake before pulling up chairs.

"I'm Detective Greyson, this here is Officer Pat. I'm sorry we have to meet under such circumstances, Jessika."

She simply nodded her head, and I could feel as she pressed her body closer to mine for comfort. I squeezed her arm gently in return so that she knew I was here for her.

"Jessika, I know it may be difficult to think about the crash, but I need you to tell me everything you remember."

Jessika paused for a moment before answering softly. "I don't remember much. We were driving and I saw a large, black truck coming right towards us from the drivers side. After that everything went black. That's all I remember."

Detective Greyson nodded before writing a few things down in his small notebook. I tried to crane my neck to look at what he was writing but he was too far away and I couldn't get a good look.

"May I ask you something?" Jessika asked.

"Of course, anything at all."

"Damien said that you think this was intentional. Why is that?"

Detective Greyson nodded, never losing his calm composure. "Well we took a look at some traffic cameras. It seems as though the same truck that hit you had been tailing you for quite some time. They ended up taking a different road a bit later before crashing directly into you. It doesn't help either that they sped off after the crash."

I could feel the anger in me rising, bubbling in my chest. I could care less if someone was trying to hurt me. Hell, people have tried to physically hurt me in the past. But what I wasn't okay with was that they hurt Jessika as well. She is off limits. As soon as I knew who did this I would make their lives a living hell.

"If you could see that they had been tailing us then why don't we know who did it?" I growled. "You had to have seen a license plate, or seen where they had gone. Something!"

Jessika shushed at me quietly, rubbing her hand over my arm. I hadn't realized I was raising my voice and I instantly felt bad. "Sorry." I mumbled before burying my face in her hair. She kept me at peace.

"No need to apologize Mr. Hart, I understand your frustration. Whoever did this was very clever. They removed all license plates on the car and we ultimately lost them after they drove down a street with no cameras. However, they missed one tiny detail that I was able to pick up on. Damien, I thought you might be able to confirm my suspicions."

My heart rate quickened as I saw him reach into his briefcase. He pulled out a thick piece of white paper. When he turned the paper around so that I could see the picture on the other side, my blood ran cold.

I felt like I could barely breathe. I was frozen in time as I stared at the picture. I didn't know how to feel. So many emotions coursed through my veins at that very moment. If it wasn't for Jessika grabbing my face, I would have never come back to reality.

Because the face staring back at me from behind the wheel of a black truck was non other than Darla. She looked different. Her hair was cropped short and dyed black. The picture was fuzzy and I couldn't make out too many details, but there was no denying that that was Darla.

"She wore a mask for a majority of the time, but this picture was from the last traffic camera that we saw before losing her. She took her mask off a little too early. Would you be able to confirm that this is who I think it is?"

I nodded, unable to take my eyes off of the photo. "Where is my son?" I whispered. My face was still in Jessika's hands, and she tugged on my face forcing me to look away from the photo.

"Hey, that's enough. You don't have to keep looking." She pulled my face again, but this time towards her own so that our lips met in a passionate kiss. I channeled most of my emotions into that kiss. My anger My pain. My sadness. All escaping my lips as they met with hers.

Detective Greyson cleared his throat, reminding us that we were not alone. "Mr. Hart, I remember our first encounter, and everything that happened between you two. But I have to ask you a very personal question." For a split second he looked worried, but it was so fast that I might have imagined it. "Are you still married to Darla McKnight?"

I felt Jess stiffen beneath me and my heart dropped to my stomach. "Well, you kinda can't get someone to sign divorce papers if they're not around. But why the hell would she come back now and try to hurt us? SHE took MY son!" I shouted.

"That's what I was worried about, Mr. Hart. You see, when she left the first time she took a lot of money. I'm thinking that she is trying to get even more by attempting to kill you. With you dead, she would get everything."

I lay back in the bed and stared at the ceiling. My head was swimming with all of this new information. Darla was trying to murder me for money. And Jessika was caught in the crossfire. What was I going to do?