Destiny of Demons

How far?

My head is trapped in a daze after leaving the library. My mind is constantly churning over what happened to MaryAnn and what became of the family after such an awful and sudden loss.

"What are you thinking?" Zak asks, as we head back to the cottage.

I sigh quietly. "I can't get MaryAnn out of my mind. Not just what happened whilst she was alive but what happened in her death. Just filled with pain and torment, right to the end.."

"Awful story, isn't it?"

"It is. As tragic as it is.. Is it enough to go in?" I ask him.

There's a moment of silence between us as he weighs it all up. Whilst I think there probably is, I have to look at it from his angle too. Time is money and if they don't get anything from this investigation, then it could be a bad call on his part.

"The thing is..." He begins.

"Can I just add something?" I ask making him nod. "I don't know if I am thinking about this from your angle or whether I feel the need to prove that MaryAnn was brutally murdered at the fault of George. There is a huge part of me that wants the world to know that she didn't kill Olive."

"What would it gain though?"

"I don't know. I feel like I owe it to her?"

"Sweetie, there is two well educated and documented historians on this, if there was any kind of proof, don't you think they would have uncovered it?" He asks.

I look away from the road and to him. "I know, which is exactly why I am having a hard time sorting through it. In my head, I mean."

"So from my angle, the baby cries could be cats, you know how similar they sound.."

I nod.

"The scratching in the walls?"

"Mice, old house and by the sea is bound to have some vermin issues." I tell him.

"Exactly. Which could contribute to the faulty electricity. Put all together, it's a case. But when it is so easily explainable..."

"It's not."

"No. Without physically having the house checked for mice or rats, we won't know if it is paranormal or an infestation."

With a nod, I feel the disappointment sink in. "MaryAnn will always have a tarnished name, huh?"

"Unfortunately. Some people know, obviously, for Charlie to be able to tell us, but hearsay doesn't account as evidence."

I rub my hand over my face to get some life back into me. "So are we ruling my dream, a coincidence?"

Zak's frown says different and it's enough for me to pause for thought. "That, I do not know.." He says.

"Maybe it is a case of worlds colliding? Mine and Marie's?" I suggest.

I'm met with silence again. But as I try to work it out more, Zak speaks. "Your face, the scar.." He says.

Before I can touch it, I feel the tip of his finger run over it. "What if it never happened. Would we really be questioning it?"

"How do you mean?" I ask.

"Well, seeing the photo of a woman looking exactly like you, didn't scare me. It was the scar that ran down the cheek, in the exact same position as yours. It is as if someone has copied and pasted my wife.."

Sliding the photo out of the pile that Charlie gave us, I look at Marie. "Do you think Charlie is right? I'm poking a bear with a stick?"

Zak shrugs. "A part of me wonders if George was responsible for her scar, like I was for yours..."