Fallen

Chapter 1

Six hours.

Just six more hours. That's how much longer they could hold me for before they either had to charge me or let me go.

I knew they would be watching me through the cameras on the walls of the dingy police interview room so I kept my eyes focused down at the metal table my cuffed hands were resting on. Time seemed to be stood still as I tried to work out how many hours I'd been inside this room. Seven? Maybe even eight. Eight hours of relentless questioning that was only paused now because someone had called the FBI in to help investigate. That's how I knew they were watching me and why I still avoided looking up at the two cameras in front and behind me. I'd seen enough crime shows to know that when the FBI gets called in that it's serious and they'll use anything, even body language, to charge someone.

Only six more hours.

The first twenty four hours spent at the station had passed in a foggy blur. My heart sank when the word floated through my brain again.

Murder.

"Hi, you must be Rosie. My name is Emily Prentiss I'm with the behavioural analysis unit of the FBI. Do you mind if we talk?" A dark haired woman entered the room. I hadn't even heard her come in. I only looked up when I heard her voice. She was certainly beautiful. Shoulder length black hair, smooth skin and a slim figure. In her hands she held a thin brown binder with numerous sheets of paper and what I assumed to be evidence photos inside. I watched her gracefully walk to the other end of the table and take the seat opposite me. Something I hadn't noticed from far away were her eyes. They were kind.

"Look I've told the police everything. I just want to go home." I mumbled, tears pricking at my eyes. I blinked them back. Angry at myself for even letting them form.

"I know you've spoken to them I just have a few more questions that's all Rosie. Did you want anything before we start? Some water perhaps?" She asked. I looked up at her again and nodded. She was kind, unlike the men I'd spoken to before.

"Water would be nice." I forced a small smile but I could tell it didn't reach my eyes. She nodded before reaching into the pocket of her blazer and pulling out a small silver key.

"I'm going to uncuff you so that when my colleague arrives with that water you can drink it. Is that okay?" Her voice was smooth and gentle. She almost sounded angelic. Relief rushed through me as turned the key in the lock and my wrists were freed from the steel grips. Instinctively I brought my hands up to my chest and began massaging my aching wrists.

"Thank you." I told her before a sharp knock on the door made her stand up. Once again, my eyes focused on the metal table and I listened as Emily crossed the room and came back. She placed a clear plastic bottle on the table and immediately I grabbed it and greedily began guzzling the water inside. I hadn't noticed how thirsty I was until this point.

"Rosie where were you between 10:00am and 11:00am on Tuesday morning?" Emily asked. I could feel her eyes burning a hole in my skull. For a second I looked up and met her eyes. They weren't hard and steely like the eyes of the detectives I'd spoken to before. Hers were still kind.

"I was working. You can check the hotels security cameras but I was there. Before that I was at a coffee shop ten minutes from my house. It's called Laila's it probably has camera's too. Look, I didn't have time to do what I'm being accused of, I didn't murder my family."

First degree murder. That's what I was being charged with. Somewhere between 10 and 11am on Tuesday someone had entered my family home. They'd entered through the back door and made their way through the kitchen and into the living room where my mother had been sat. She was watching TV, that was part of her normal routine. After doing the mornings breakfast dishes she'd often find herself in the living room, either reading or with some cooking show on the TV. When the intruder saw my mother, they didn't hesitate. They'd approached her from behind and in one swift motion cut her throat, leaving her with no opportunity to scream out for help. The detectives think the intruder watched her bleed out before heading upstairs to my father and sister. They'd found them both in my parents room. Talia hadn't been at school because she'd been running a fever the past few days. My father had her seated on his side of the bed he shared with my mother with a thermometer under her tongue.