Deadly Dreamer - Book One ✔️

Chapter 25

After a thorough clean of every surface I had touched - even though I had been gloved the entire time - and a good look around to ensure I hadn't left any footprints behind, I leave Belinda's residence for the last time - with my sanity in hand - and get back into my car.

Sitting down on the plastic I had put on my seat earlier, I start my car and head for the public restrooms.

My attitude has completely changed since I took her life away, I'm calmer and much more prepared to face Alex now.

Arriving at the restrooms, I grab my bag and head in to clean myself up. Locking myself in a cubicle, I turn the shower on and strip out of my bloody clothing.

The scratched and blurry mirror that is attached to the wall, shows me a distorted image of myself standing naked, with blood smeared on my legs from my jeans and a mark on my forehead, any other blood that marked me stayed on my clothing and didn't touch my skin, luckily. My hair is still pulled back away from my face, except now it has some streaks of blood through it. I touch my hair hesitantly. Fuck, I hope it rinses out.

I look like an actor from a horror film, covered in blood, the only difference is that this is real life. I've just committed a brutal murder upon another murderer, I call that justice. Others wouldn't. I feel comfortable in myself knowing that I killed Belinda. I had enough proof in the images I found in her home to know I have done the right thing. She wasn't a good person.

Letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding, I step under the spluttering sheet of lukewarm water and sigh at the feel of the water on my back. The water cascades down over my body, saturating me and washing away the days grime, or in my case, the blood, it settles me like nothing else does. I look down at my toes and watch the water swirl about my feet, giving it a tinge of tangerine red then slipping away into the drain below, disappearing for good.

Coming out of my reverie, I decide to rinse out my hair after all. I'm sure I can think of some excuse for my wet hair if Alex were to ask me about it. Letting my hair loose, I shake it out and dip my head under the water to wash out the blood that lingers there.

Turning the shower off and dragging my towel off the top of my bag, I quickly dry myself and then re dress in my attire from work that day. After a quick glance in the mirror, I see that I look almost the same as I did when I left this morning. I quickly pull my hair up into a bun on top of my head and dab on a little lipstick.

My ruined clothing gets stuffed into a plastic bag and then shoved to the bottom of my duffle bag for me to burn later. I take one last look around the small cubicle and then look at myself one more time in the mirror before I leave. Satisfied, I pick up my bag, throw it over my shoulder and leave with a smile on my face and a great feeling of completion, much like how I feel after I finish a case at work.

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Arriving home, I park my car in the driveway behind Alex's car. Reaching over and grabbing my bag, I put it in the back and shove it to the floor to hide it from immediate view before making my way inside.

"Hey, I'm home!" I call out over the noise, bending a little to kick off my heels in the entry.

When I get no response, I frown inwardly. Peering around the wall, I see Alex's feet hanging over the end of the couch. He must have fallen asleep. I look at my phone for the time and find that it's only 9.23pm, I'm home earlier than I'd initially planned which is good news. The later I'm out on a work night, the worse it is for my story to pan out, and this is already very late.

Creeping around the couch, I'm surprised to find Alex awake and staring back at me. The look he gives me says he's not happy in the least. Looking to his side to avoid his glare, I see that Ditz is in her usual place curled up asleep.