Deconstructing Bridges

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Once Matthew and Eddie had left the house in pursuit of Marshall, Lucian stood awkwardly nearby while Hayley crouched a few feet away from a handcuffed Rose. Her weapon was still drawn, distrustful of the woman who had taken them by surprise far too many times, but from looking at her she didn't seem to have another burst of strength inside her. Her eyes remained closed as she rested her head against the wall, tear tracks drying upon on her cheeks. Hayley remembered the sympathy she had felt for the woman during their awkward interaction in Parker's office, and right now she was feeling the same way. The woman was a fool, thinking of meeting up with Marshall on her own, but if there was anyone who had earned moments of foolishness, it was her. After giving her time to collect herself, she urged Rose to her feet and they moved towards the front of the house. Most of the house was seemingly bare, but near the front door there was a small card table with some chairs, and Hayley guided Rose over there, allowing her to sit down. 

The woman had transformed herself so many times. From the smart and sweet wife, to the evil mastermind, the lost lovelorn grieving woman to now- what? What was she now? Some kind of revenge-seeking warrior or diabolical queen?

The wise thing to do was remain silent while they waited. But if there was anything Hayley had learned about herself, it was that she was not altogether as wise as everybody seemed to think. 

"You should have come back to us straight away. What were you going to do? Kill him?"

Rose looked up miserably from her hands. Lucian edged away, presumably to give the women some privacy, and Hayley pressed on. 

"I really want to know. Was that your endgame after all? One more dead body to seal off the whole business?"

"I thought about it." Her voice was timid in comparison and almost seemed tinged with shame. 

"Was that really the best plan you could come up with? A suicide mission? Is that it? Either let him kill you, or take him down with you.?"

"No." She fervently shook her head. 

"I don't want to die. I never intended to die. I just didn't want him to get away."

"We would have caught him."

Rose scoffed, clearly in disagreement. 

"You say that you would have worked with me, but we both know what would have happened. They would have locked me back up and set up their own mission. They never would have let me be a part of it, and that was the only way to draw him out. I couldn't let him get away. He escaped you already, Hayley. I couldn't let him get any further."

"You could have worked with us! We could have found him together." She sighed in exasperation. Why did people find the concept of working with law enforcement so difficult? It boggled her mind that so many found it hard to trust the people whose entire purpose was to keep them safe. 

"You never would have let me in the room with him, and I needed to hear him say it. I needed him to admit what he did. You know what will happen if he actually gets arrested. You're too smart not to. His lawyers will tie it up in loopholes. He'll deny deny deny. I just needed to hear him say it. No bullshit."

"What made you think he'd give you a straight-up answer? You have to know better than that, surely. You can't be so naive."

Rose faltered. "I could get him to talk. I know it."

"How?"

She looked down and Hayley sucked in air. Bloody hell. When would the secrecy end?  

"Damn it. You didn't tell Matt everything. You still had something up your sleeve."