Sapphire Blue [The Grim Reaper Chronicles, #1] (Editing)

chapter twenty five

Washington DC. Present day.

"So you had no choice than to just accept it?"

Mrs Williams nodded affirmatively and sniffled. Aloysius would have killed here right there if she had refused the 'help' and stood against her. She was a mortal with no extraordinary powers and Aloysius was on the contrary. How could she have chosen to battle with a monster like her?

Lestat rested his gaze on the woman with a grimace and wondered what was going on in her mind. He wouldn't say he didn't understand the tight corner the woman was put in but then, he didn't think it was right for her to have given in to Aloysius' evil concept easily if she truly loved the child as she had claimed. The person Drusilla was going to kill in the next few weeks or months was innocent and didn't even know she was going to die in the hands of someone. The story was completely different from his. Wasn't it? He thought and shrugged.

But something was still unclear to him.  Why hasn't Drusilla hurt the child yet even after so many years? He didn't think it was because she was holding back or hesitating to kill the child; the decision had been made already and the Drusilla he knew had never pitied anyone. There must be something else guiding the circumstance.

"She said I couldn't hurt the child until she was a teenager and now is the perfect time to strike, Lestat. I'm not going to hold back for anyone who tries to get in-between, not even you."

Lestat looked on amusingly and smirked. He was indeed right about her  having a different reason for holding back all these years. It wasn't like the woman had a kind heart for anyone since she was brought in by Aloysius. There were times when Drusilla had the free chance to forgive those who'd strayed deep into the woods without caution that she didn't, even when Aloysius wanted her to. She'd driven her teeth into their soft flesh, made them cry in pain and tore them into pieces. Her criminality had indeed been well developed by the one who nourished her. "But why?"

Mrs Williams shrugged uneasily and yawned wildly to cover it. "She said it'd be easier to get away with the crime if the victim's of a legalized age. We'd planned to drug her at a bar so the death would not be traced down to anyone," She explained, eyeing Lestat skeptically and wondering if she was doing the right thing by telling him. "And I don't want you in the way, Lestat. We're not here for each other and I don't see any reason why you should intrude in my business."

She was right. Lestat muttered under his breath and thought it'd be really beneficial to the both of them if he kept mute and let Drusilla carry out her plan. But then, he didn't know why a part of his mind was telling him not to give way for the devilish woman. It wasn't like he knew the person Drusilla was going to murder in question or even felt pity for her but his body just objected to it and it made him feel uneasy in some way. What if the person was someone he'd met the other day he dropped the girls off or even on his way into the orphanage building just some moments ago? This should definitely make him act on impulse.

Dusting the nonexistent dirt off his pants, Lestat instinctively lowered his head to avoid seeing the drained look and the agitated fumes that might come after. He'd seen a lot of awful expressions on her face within the few minutes he'd just spent with her and would not like to see another, again. "Before I can decide to mind my business without butting in yours ever again, I'd like to know who the girl is."

A scowl escaped the Mrs Williams' lips when she heard this and she stood there with a puffed face, dumbfounded by the shocking utterance. If only she'd applied more sensibility earlier, she would have known the rascal standing next to her was only trying to make things hard for her and not help her. But still, she couldn't bring herself to tell him who it was because it meant more trouble for her. What was she to do?

Mrs Williams thought it was best to convince Lestat to drop the issue so she wouldn't encounter any hinderance in the future but immediately she opened her mouth to talk, Samantha and Veronica appeared into the doorway and walked up to them. The weary expression on her face washed away immediately she sighted them and was it quickly replaced with a smile. She sighed inwardly and casted a glance toward Lestat, who'd also composed himself and was now putting on a fake grin to prevent the girls from suspecting any fowl act. If the girls knew something was up with them, more suspicions were sure to arouse.

Topping her smile with a deeper one, Mrs Williams reverted her gaze back to the girls and her eyes dropped to the basket in Samantha's hand. "What are you doing with a basket, Sam?"

Samantha raised the basket in mid air and pointed at it. "This? We're going to fetch more lemons with it from the store room. The chicken's badly burnt beyond repair and I'm afraid we might have to grill another one for dinner." She explained and paused, seeing the angry expression on Mrs Williams' face. The woman must be annoyed at the woman who burnt the chicken that she couldn't take it off her face. Poor her! She was always facing trouble. Samantha thought and quickly added. "You don't have to worry, ma'am. I'll take care of the chicken myself and make sure it doesn't over grill."

Mrs Williams nodded and turned to Lestat swiftly with a pretentious obsessiveness and acted as if they'd had been discussing about something different before the girls arrived. "You said you were leaving now, are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?"

He understood the woman was trying to send him away and urge to snort at her right in the face engulfed him but he chose to keep calm. If Drusilla wanted him to be on his way now, it was fine by him and he wasn't even going to object to it. It wasn't like he wasn't going to come back to the orphanage some other time. If the woman thought he was going to forget about the question he asked her earlier, she was a total dunce because he was going to meet her again and repeat the same question. He wouldn't let her go until she answered his question.

Deleting his thoughts, he nodded his head in agreement to what Mrs Williams said. "I have an international conference to attend in a few hours so I won't be able to have dinner with you ma'am. It was nice meeting you, anyway." He lied and bowed his head thereafter.

Mrs Williams returned the gesture happily and asked the girls to escort the visitor back to his car.

Immediately they left, she let out a big yell and cursed under her breathe fiercely before returning back to the kitchen.