Monster In Me

Charlie - Crazy Woman

"A nurse, unmarried and without family, was found in a deserted alley way just behind a fast food restaurant. Not the same one, but similar. Because she has no one, There couldn't have been a person to look for her. Nobody touched or moved her." I allow my eyes to will him on. I begin to get impatient when he doesn't speak.

"And?"

"And," he continues, "the fingerprints on the knife can be identified. We believe, just a hunch and nothing more, that because this killer has the same behaviors as Mark's, we may just have found her."

"Her?" I ask, being sure the murderer would be male. "How do you know?"

"We sent the prints to the lab, and they came back about two days ago with a match."

"Wait, so you're saying you've already caught this woman?" I notice that I had begun to wring my hands, and that my forehead is sweating.

"Yes, her name is Melissa Grand. She's behind bars, Charlie. She can't hurt anyone anymore."

"Did you say Grand? Melissa Grand?" I shake my head, my hands running through my hair, ruffling it until my hands were covered in more sweat.

"I knew she was crazy, but I never imagined..." I mumbled to myself, just loud enough for Moores to hear.

"What? What are you talking about Cooley?" His voice is tinged with a mixture of curiosity and worry.

"That... that's the woman we adopted Violet from. Grand. That was Violet's old surname, since her father was nowhere to be found. That psycho," I say pointing to the mugshot Moores had pulled out, "is Vi's biological mother."

"So you're saying," he continues, taking a gulp, "that the very woman who killed your husband, Violet's adopted father, is the same woman that birthed your adopted child?"

"That's about the size of it." It feels as if all the air has left my body, and I am left quietly gasping, hoping Moores can't see my silent suffering.

"Will you-"

"Tell her? No. I hope she never finds out. If she does, then... I don't want to think about it."

"Look, Charles, we don't even know if it's her for sure or not. We're only guessing."

"No. I'm positive. I know it's her. It has to be."

"What reason would she have to kill Mark? And the nurse?"

I sigh, then take a deep breath.

"Revenge." I reply.

"Revenge? What does she need revenge for?"

"For her baby." I whisper, understanding completely the rash things you would do for someone you loved. Yet, I wouldn't go as far as murdering someone.

Moores gives me a confused expression.

"Violet. She was taken away from her at birth. The doctors thought that she was too young, and her mental condition was so unstable, they thought that taking Violet away from her would protect the baby. She-" I point at the gruesome photo of the murdered nurse, "-was the nurse that took Vi. I'm guessing that's why she's dead now. I think that since Mark was another person she saw as a thief of her child, she killed him too. That also means..." I trail off, mortified at the words I am thinking.

"That means I would have been next." A lump in my throat forms out of nowhere, and I swallow as I try to get rid of it.

Moores's eyes are as wide as dinner plates, and I hear him swallow too.

"Well, it's okay now, she's in prison. The only reason she wasn't sentenced to death is because she passed off as mentally ill, but too dangerous to be put in an asylum. One thing I'm sure of, is that she can't hurt you, or anybody ever again."

"Yeah," I rasp, my throat scratchy and dry. "Thank you, thank you very much. You have no idea how grateful I am.

"My pleasure."

I get up out of the chair, and slowly walk towards the door. I feel much better than I had when I'd woken up, and it's as if the whole world has been lifted off of my shoulders.

There you have it, Mark, you got the justice you deserved after all.

I open the door to a smiling face as Violet runs up to me and hugs my leg. She clings to my pants for a long time before saying, "I love you daddy."

"Honey, I had no idea you didn't like being alone that much."

"No, I just miss you is all." Then she detaches herself from my pants leg and skips ahead of me. She finds Officer Harrison, and he smiles at her as she looks up at him with the same awe she had when she first met him.

"Hello Violet." He says with a certain gentleness. The awe on her little face fades quickly, and she looks up at him with bright eyes.

"Hello." I smile as I walk over to the two, and I take Violet up into my arms.

"She sure is a cutie." He says to me, and I laugh faintly, carrying Violet outside and into the car.