Ms. Revenge

Goodnight

Arthur took a deep breath beside me, and shuffled the files in front of him. Inwardly, I let out a sigh of disbelief. I couldn't believe our luck. Suspicion still lingered at the bottom of my stomach, but I pushed it down. We had to take this opportunity.

"Ms. Lou," I said, standing up, "would you like a drink of water? It's been a long interview, and I'm sure you're thirsty."

Dela stood up as well, and I realized that she was wearing a pair of blood-red heels that gave her a few inches on me. "Oh yes, that would be great," Dela responded.

I smiled back at her. "The security guard outside can escort you to the lobby."

I watched the door shut behind Dela, and immediately turned my gaze towards Arthur. He raised his eyebrows back at me. After a few seconds, we burst out laughing. The whole case was just ridiculous. This was the type of scenario we got as a trainee, and it was so ironic that I couldn't help the delirium bubbling out of my lips. I doubled over as my chest spiked in pain.

We kept on laughing, and barely noticed as the door opened again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw shiny red sequins sparkle against the yellow light.

I immediately went sober. "Ms. Lou, you're back." I said, turning towards her. Behind me, Arthur was still laughing his guts out, and I gave him an awkward nudge with my elbow. He continued to laugh, and I started to apologize to Dela when I noticed her stained hands. Her beautiful porcelain skin was splattered the same color as her shoes, and it reached almost to her elbows. In her fingers, she also carried a handgun.

I went still. My eyes slowly traveled up to meet hers, and my heart hammered at the maniac delight glittering there. "Arthur, call for backup." I said to him, still staring at Dela. At my words, he started at another fit of laughter, with even more glee.

"Arthur!" I yelled. This time, I turned to look at him. He was staring back at me, pure bliss in his face. Had he really gone insane from the case? I reached down to grab my walkie talkie, but my hand was met with air. My eyes scanned the ground. Had I dropped it somehow?

Then, Arthur held up the gray walkie talkie and smiled at me. He must have taken it while we were laughing.

"Arthur?" I whispered. Dela was walking towards me now, grinning. I slowly backed away. I reached in my belt for something, anything.

"Stand back!" I ordered. I ran behind the desk, and grabbed the chair. While she advanced, I slammed the chair into the ground, breaking off one of the legs. I grabbed it off the ground and held it in front of me.

"I'm afraid that won't do you any good," Dela replied as she aimed the gun at my head. "Drop it."

"No." I countered. My arm was quivering, and she could tell. At the other end of the room, Arthur had stopped laughing and just watched with thrill.

Dela sighed, and shifted her target. With a bang, she shot at the hand holding the wooden leg, and I screamed. Blood was pouring through the palm of my hand, and I cradled it against my chest.

"Don't be stupid," she said calmy. "You know that this won't end well."

Breath ragged, I looked for something else to defend myself with. My eyes locked onto a vase on top of the interrogation desk, but as I tried to run to it another gunshot made me freeze. My saliva tastes like iron in my mouth, and I worked my throat to swallow.

Slowly, I retracted my reaching hand and turned to face her.

"What do you want?" I asked, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm my racing heart.

Dela's eyes pierced into mine. After a few seconds, she asked in her sweet voice, "Do you remember Judith and Jay Rowe, Marcie Bennet?"

The question surprised me. Through the adrenaline I remembered the old murderous couple that I had busted a couple years ago. Then, it suddenly struck me that they had a daughter that looked very familiar. Through the hazy blur, I remember seeing her hateful gaze seek me through the crowd in the courtroom, her startling blue eyes pinning me as I took to the stand. Dela was only a couple years younger than me back then, but was still a teenager.

"You're Dela Rowe," I said, now realizing why the name was so familiar. "Your parents were serial killers."

Dela rolled her eyes, her sweet facade finally dropping. "Yes, but they were my parents and you gave them a life sentence. Now I am here to claim the debt."

My blood went cold. "So you killed your boyfriend to get me to work on the case?" When Dela didn't respond, I yelled, "You're crazy!" I shuddered. If Dela was as insane as her parents, I had no hope of getting out alive.

Dela smiled at me again, tilting her head like a conniving cat. "No, not my boyfriend." She then turned to look at Arthur.

"Let me properly introduce myself," Arthur said, stepping forward. "I am Nicholas Princeton."

This was ridiculous. Then, my lip started twitching as I realized whose body actually laid in the ashes.

"Albert Payne. You killed him and burned his body." I realized.

Dela's eyes sparkled at me, as if she were proud. "Well, they don't call you a detective for nothing."

Dela was insane. She was going to kill me for putting her family behind bars, and there was no one to help me.

Arthur‒no, Nicholas‒strolled to stand besides Dela, and she put a delicate hand on his chest. He put his arm around her waist, and they shared a brief kiss. Without warning, Dela turned to me and aimed the pistol at me. In shock, I tried running backwards but tripped over my feet and landed on the floor.

I was a mouse caught in the cat's trap, and looked up into venomous blue eyes.

"Goodnight, Marcie Bennet." Dela whispered. Then, she smashed the pistol over my head and I blacked out.