Psychopath. (On hold)

Chapter 2: Her

Philadelphia, April 2010.

Detective Matthews was sitting in the plain white room with his suitcase on the table in front of him. He stood up as the door opened and a girl came in. When the door closed behind her, she sat on the chair before him, never looking at his face.

The detective cleared his throat, but she didn't look up.

 "I'm detective Matthews. F.B.I" he waited for any reaction, but got nothing.

"I understand that you're not much of a talker, Miss Hayes" 

She liked her lips and said "There is no reason for me to talk". Her voice was weak. Like she had a flue. Like she hadn't spoken a word in ages.

"I'm afraid you're wrong. There is a lot of things we need to talk about." When she didn't say anything he continued. "You may not know how I am, but I do know who you are."

She snorted "Yeah right. Haven't I heard that a million times already."  She then looked up at him, her eyes burning with rage. "You have no idea who I am. No one does!" She snapped.

Matthews sighed. Then he sat on his chair, looked at her straight in the eyes and said with a firm and steady tone.

"Vicky Hayes. Born in the 4th of April 1994 in New York City. Has been an orphan since December 16th 2002. Stayed with her aunt, Polly Johnson, in Indiana for less than a year during which she spent 2 months at a mental institution due to some behavioral problems. After her aunt overdosed, she was transferred to an orphanage. She got adopted by a family in Philadelphia from the age of 11 until the age of 14. The family called the police one night to report and incident. The parents claimed that they returned home after work to find the house trashed and their 16 year old son with a black eye, a bleeding lip and a broken leg. The boy said that she attacked him out of nowhere and the parents said that she was a danger to the family and to everyone else around her.  She was then admitted to a juvenile detention center where she's been staying until this day."

The girl stayed calm. Not a word coming out of her mouth.

"Did I mention your criminal record? Break ins, stealing, underage drinking.." Matthews added "Isn't it too heavy for a 16 year old?"

Vicky hissed. "Seems like you've been doing your homework. Too bad those files you've been reading only tell one side of the story."

A smile appeared on the detective's face.

"Do they really? And why should I believe anything you say?  You're the prisoner after all."

Vicky felt her fingers curling into a fist. He was getting on her nerves. She looked up at the surveillance camera at the corner of the room. She knew they were watching her every move, hearing every word. She took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"I'm innocent" she muttered slowly, making sure he heard every word.

Matthews raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Care to explain why you're here then? Did your foster parents lie about all what you've done? "

Vicky rolled her eyes. "I'm not wasting my time and energy. You're not going to believe me anyway." 

"Try me." He said.

She bit her bottom lip, trying to figure out whether she should tell him the truth or not.

"They... they didn't lie." She looked up at him and he was watching her attentively. "I did have some issues, but I never intended on hurting anyone or scaring them. They didn't want to listen to me when I tried to explain what I did!" she felt tears burning her eyes but she took a deep breath to make them go away. She would never show that she was weak. She made a promise to herself that she would be strong and unreachable.

"And what exactly did you do, Miss Hayes?"

She swallowed hardly.

"It's my turn to ask questions, Detective. What are you doing here?"

"The question is, why am I here. And the answer, is you."  

A frown formed on the girl's face.

"As weird as it may sound, I actually need your help."  The detective said.

"Now that's funny. And what in the world do you need my help for?"

"See now, we've been working on a case for the past three years. Patrick Stevens, a well known business man."

"I think I've heard of him. Isn't he like the one who made those cereals that look so bad but taste so good?"

"That's the one. But he's not just a cereal maker, that's only a front cover for what he really does. He deals in weapons, drugs, every illegal thing that possibly exists. After all, selling cereals can't bring you that much wealth."

"If you know all of that, why didn't you just arrest him or something?"

"Because we don't have any valid proof of the information we have. The son of a bitch knows how to hide his tracks."

"And how the hell am I supposed to help?"

"We need someone in the inside. Someone to work undercover. So it'll be easier for us to know his every move."

Vicky's eyes widened. "Wow wow wow! Now wait a sec!  Does that mean that I can leave this place?"

"If you agree, you'd be out right away."

The girl sat back in her chair and crossed her arms.

"This doesn't seem right.  I've been here for two years,  and you just come here and tell me that I'm free to go? Just to help you with some case?"

Matthews nodded.

"Why me? I am considered 'a danger to people around me' after all"

"Just consider yourself lucky. And don't worry about what will happen after you're out. I've got everything planned."

Vicky looked around the room. She remembered being locked between four walls for 18 hours a day. She had enough. The idea of leaving consumed her. The simple thought of breathing fresh air made her body shiver.

"I'm in" She said. "I have nothing to lose anyway."

The Detective opened his suitcase putting and ID card and a chain of keys on the table in front of Vicky.

"From now on, you'll be Leah Whitley. Those are the keys to an old apartment of mine. But first of all." Matthews got out a passport from his suitcase. "Pack your bags. We're going on a trip."