The Stranger

24. Through The Eyes Of The Enemy

He finds himself standing in front of the mirror, staring at himself. The voice in Kevin's head speaks up loud. "You need to get rid of the girl! She's in the way of everything. Stop stalling." Kevin slams his fist on the counter.

"Stop telling me what to do. I will get rid of her soon. It's not time yet." He replies. The voice echos in his mind. "Forget the boy, he's the perfect one to blame. He's always with her. Do it and blame him."

Kevin grits his teeth. "No, he's my son. I'll blame it on that disease that's in my way, Samuel." The voice in his mind laughs. "And you really think that if you do that your brat isn't going to tell the truth? Or worse, kill you. What would you achieve if you're dead?"

He splashes water on his face. "Enough. There's something else I need to do first. It's more important. Today is the day when I become the sheriff. And Elliot wouldn't do that. Now shut up and watch the show."

Kevin straightens himself up and leaves for the station. When he gets there Adam is already there. "Good morning Adam." He says as if nothing happened. Adam glares at him for a second. "You're early Kevin."

He gets a serious look and walks closer to his desk. "Adam, you can't stay mad at me. Besides, I caught him. You should just let me lead. If you step down this will be a whole lot easier." Adam slams his fist on his desk. "I will never step down and let you be the sheriff Kevin. In fact, I'm letting you go."

Kevin gives him a sinister smile. "Now Adam, don't you know they'll never except that. I can easily get you over ruled and booted off of your role. Which is what's going to happen if you do that."

Adam pauses and thinks about what to say very carefully. "Fine, but I'm not stepping down as sheriff. You're crazy if you think I'm just going to give it to you." Kevin raises a brow. "Fine, just wait. I've pretty much won them over already."

They start to see people gathering outside of the station doors. Kevin speaks up. "They're here. I'll give you one more chance to back down Adam." Adam furrows his brows and stands up. "I told you, I will Not do that. I don't care what you say."

They both walk outside and someone speaks up right away. "Adam please just let him do it. You know that it's the best thing." Another person chimes in. "We know Samuel was your friend and we all cared about him too but obviously something has happened to him. You can't put us all in danger for one person."

Adam clears his throat and puts a hand out to stop them. "I know you all are scared and you don't fully know what's happening. This isn't about our friendship. It's about Samuel being innocent. Yes, I have had the chance to speak with him briefly. He didn't do these things."

Somebody in the crowd interrupts him. "Adam we wish we could believe that really. But Kevin has the physical proof of his crimes and of the case. You can't argue with facts." Someone else speaks as well. "And Kevin was actually in the area when it happened. Don't make this harder Adam."

Kevin keeps a straight face through the interaction but in his head the voice is laughing. "Look at all of them. They're eating him alive. This will be so easy for you." Kevin steps in. "Adam I know he was your close friend but we are talking about a man that was arrested for murdering my wife and your best friend. He set my home on fire with my child inside. He needs to be caught. I've suffered enough and so has Elliot."

Everyone in the crowd starts agreeing with Kevin. "Yeah, let the man get his peace Adam." and "How can you hide this criminal knowing he did this." and "What about Daniel? He would protect you."

Adam speaks up again. "You all have known me my entire life. Do you really think I would do something like that? I've always been here to protect you all." Somebody in the crowd cuts him off. "Nothing bad has ever happened here before now."