Old Money Madness

16. Formal Barriers

"Miss, you need to start getting ready." Daisy softly knocked at my bedroom door. 

Mars left yesterday. She's off to travel Europe with James and create a new chapter in her life. That lapis blue apartment we spent all summer painting, is going on the market. Feels like the end of millions of memories, but she deserves this. The last thing I'm going to do is be the anchor that keeps her down here in the dark with me. 

I decided that I'll call her in a week. I won't bother her for a moment until then. It's a promise I hope my bastard heart lets me keep. 

"Miss, did you hear me?" Daisy was now opening the door. "Miss please get up from the bed. Harry is already getting the car started to take you to the station." 

I left my bed to get into the shower. The lights go off and the music goes on. Steam quickly blurs the sharp outlines of shapes around me while I get back into my glass cage. Soap is now in my hair while I move my hips under the hot water. 

Another knock sounds at the door. 

"Daisy, you can just come in to talk to me." I sighed rinsing my hair. 

"Uh, no it's Maddox. I just had an idea about the case. A lead that I think would be valuable to explore."

His voice alone was cheering me up. Even if there was a war raging in my head when I thought about our friendship, he was still my friend. 

"Come in." I called. 

Hesitantly the doorknob turned. A line of light cut through the darkness, but as quickly as it came it faded with the sound of a closing door. 

I could sense his nervousness, I could feel his shaky presence. My eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, so as I wiped one section of glass clear I saw confusion on his handsome face. I knew he couldn't see any detail of my scared body only an outline. 

"Why are the lights off?"

"I prefer showering in the dark. I can only tolerate seeing the most disrupted parts of myself for so long. It disgusts me, the darkness makes a shower manageable." 

"Your past is a lot more twisted than you tell." I watched the outline of his face shake back and forth dismissing the conversation. 

"If I had a perfect past, my book would be boring and our conversations would lackluster. You can thank my parents and siblings for making me such an enigma." 

Dox finally seemed to relax. His body sank down to sit on the floor right in front of the bathroom door making the room a little darker. His legs weren't fully extended, they remained bent at the knees. His notepad was his hand as he scribbled some more while his face contorted. 

"Riv, we need to go to town hall and check your parents will more closely. We need to see every beneficiary of their death and all of those who would gain either power or money from their deaths." 

"Could Nicolette have done it?" My voice broke as I sunk to the bottom of the shower and brought my knees to my chest. "Could my biggest sister have killed them?" 

"We don't have evidence to confirm or deny that. You shouldn't jump to-"

"Just answer. No bullshit no sugar coating. You're a detective, could she have done it?" 

"Yes. It is certainly an angle I'm looking into to." He rubbed his forehead and groaned while adding a few more pen lines to his notepad. "Do you still want to be involved?" 

"Of course." I rushed out shooting back up to a standing position. I shut off the water and threw opened the steamed shower door. I wrapped myself in a white towel and sat back down on the ground in front of Dox. "I want to know what target I inherited to my head. I want to know what bullets might be aiming my way."