"Shit"
"Delilah Jade. What did I tell you? Take a deep breath before you aim. Other wise ya hand gets too shaky and you won't be shooting nothin' but ya own foot" Susan scolded
"Ok ok. I got it! Breathe and aim"
Pow
Another dream, another restless night in this lonely house. It used to be filled with Suzy talking about her day, the assholes that called in about stupid complaints or how Beth at the main desk always complained about her husband and his loud snoring. My heart ached and my chest felt heavy as a flush of realisation came over my body. Suzy wasn't gonna be here anymore. She wouldn't be able to teach me about life, she wasn't gonna be here to scold me on my questionable choices or how I sometimes left my shoes in the middle of the room
because she wouldn't be here at all.
And it scared me.
I heard a knock at my door and groggily got up to answer it. Trying my best to clear the sleep from my eyes and make sure my hair was still in my silk scarf.
"Vic?"
"Hey kid! bought some groceries, Mandy put some nice little things in there for ya, thought it might cheer you up" He said holding up two bags, I smiled.
"Thanks...and tell her I said thank you.
Uh—come in" I said, opening up the door. He came in and sat the groceries on the kitchen table.
"How you holdin' up? Mustn't be easy"
"I uh—I'm fine"
"It's okay to not be fine, you know?"
"I know, how about you? I heard you were the first on scene"
Shoupe shook his head in thought
"Shaken. Pete was—she was one of a kind. Don't think there'll never be anyone else like her again"
I teared up, feeling my nose sting and the back of my throat choke up.
there'll never be anyone else like her again. He was right.
"My bad, kid. I didn't mean to upset you like that. I wasn't trying to—"
"No it's ok. Everything is so fragile right now, I'm in a state of shock still"
He gave me a short hug and tapped my back, squeezing my shoulder.
"You'll get through it. We all will"
He said, looking at his watch.
"—Well I should get going. I have a lot of paper work and meetings to get through today with the SBI and all em. Did you hear? John B and Sarah Cameron got themselves into a tropical depression"
"No...I turned the radios off yesterday afternoon, what happened? They ok?"
"Nautical team chased em into the storm. The chances of them surviving it is—well, was pretty low"
"You think John B did it?"
"Eh—I don't wanna say too much now, but unfortunately, all the fingers point to him"
"Tell Mandy I said thank you"
///
Throughout the day I had calls from some family members but most from Suzy's co-workers, expressing their love and sympathy. I pushed through each call by telling myself that it would be over soon. Neighbours and residents in the Mids left cards and flowers at the door and at some point, I had stopped going outside to collect them.
For the second time today, I heard a knock. I forced myself to get out of bed again and open the door.
"Miss Lana?"
"Hey sweetie, is it alright if I come in?" She smiled gently. I could tell Miss Lana had been crying because of the red eyes and the messy hair, don't think she got a wink of sleep.
"Absolutely"
She held a paper bag in her hand and gave it to me. "I got you some stuff. Crystals, candles and incense that help with anxiety and sleep.
I know it's not easy losing someone "
I smiled at the thoughtfulness and hugged her. "Thanks Miss Lana. It means a lot"
She smoothed her hand on my back to comfort me. "I know what it's like sweetie. And I'll tell you one thing, it'll only get worse before it gets better, but I know you'll heal"
We let go from the hug and sat at the dining room table.
"There's something I needed to tell you but I need to know that whatever you do with this information, you'll be careful "
My head perked up as I listened
"Okay..."
She shifted in her seat
"Before your sister died, I came to her about Ward Cameron...He's the reason Big John and my Scooter are dead"
I looked at her in shock
"Wait...what?"
"I warned her. I warned her it was dangerous. I told her that she needed to be careful because Ward—"
"Do you think Ward Cameron did it?"
For a moment, I felt my heart stop and my chest still, barely breathing.
She looked me in my eyes
"He may be king of the island but he's capable of ruining lives"
"My god—"
"I'm so sorry, it's all my fault. If I hadn't come to her about Ward, maybe she'd still be here" she cried
"Hey! Don't talk like that, you did the right thing in the end, that's all that matters"
Miss Lana's head lowered
"She said that to me...when I went to her"
I placed my hand on her shoulder
"Tell me the whole picture—I don't want details left out, I need to know what you know about Ward Cameron"
///
"Kooks? They're always gonna be on top of us. Thriving because they feed off the blood, sweat and tears of the people below them. Do not get involved Delilah. To them, we're disposable. Do you understand?"
"Yes ma'am"
Third night. A dream about the Kook talk and why I should stay away from them. I didn't disagree. Rich people liked to flaunt their 'hard work and dedication' but forget that it came from the people that slaved below them. As much as Mids weren't Pogues, we understood them more than we did Kooks. Because like them, we both had someone above us.
And though I did agree with Suzy, I didn't listen. The year before, I'd gotten myself involved with a Kook. Not just any kook either...I had gotten myself involved with Topper Thornton. He ran in the same circle as Rafe Cameron and their other friend Kelce. My experience with Topper was exactly what you'd expect when a totally rich person gets with someone with less money than them. He love bombed me when we were alone, and pretended I didn't exist outside of our shared bubble.
Dr Thornton wanted a rich, upper class girl for her Topper, a girl like Sarah Cameron. He fell in love with her and I couldn't blame him. He didn't have to sneak Sarah into his room, or lie about their relationship or be ashamed.
Soon enough I heard he'd found himself in a love triangle with none other than John B.
A common and recurring character in my story.
So let's get this straight.
Before Suzy's death, she talks to me about John B and his fight with the DCS and how she felt sorry for him, so she made a decision that she'd find small ways to help. Next comes the death of Scooter Grubbs, the chase with the tourists and their strange deaths. Sketchy Ward Cameron and, John B being accused of her murder and him being on the run...
I need answers.
