Nero - Guilt
"Sometimes I don't know where we're going, sometimes I feel you should be crawling back to me"
•••
"Holder? Pick up your phone. It's important." Holder wouldn't answer his phone, he was probably still pissed I sent him away
I was heading back downstairs, remembering that Holder had taken my car to drive to the highschool.
Amazing. I was stuck here, in a part of the city I couldn't stand for obvious reasons.
Rats, drug addicts and hookers at every corner.
I decided to use the time I was stranded here to do some investigations. I asked around if anyone had seen Turner around here, but no one seemed to recognise him.
Then, I heard someone honking behind me. "sup Davidson, missed me?" He asked weaving me to the car
"Holder, the girl I talked to. She said Brianna was meeting an older man and he got her into this voodoo shit." I got into the car rolling the windows up
"Turner?" He asked
"Don't know. Might be. We should check Turner's background, seeing if he had any relations with this scene. Where were you anyway? You left nearly 3 hours ago leaving me to freeze my ass off."
He smiled "investigations. You know me. If I'm starting something, I make sure I finish it properly." It took an idiot to realise that he wasn't talking about actual investigations, but I wouldn't need anymore details.
I raised an eyebrow at him "and? Did you find anything out?"
He nodded "yeah. One of the cheerleaders said Brianna was an outcast. No friends, even being bullied by some other students. She said she became more and more quite, talking in a strange language to a teacher once. That's all."
"Strange language? Like French?" I asked chuckling softly at him
"Did you just make a joke?! 10 points to Davidson. But nah, she said it was something she's never heard before."
I gulped "something voodoo related maybe?"
Holder stopped the car "perhaps. I'm gonna make a call, you go in already, I'll follow." I nodded and headed towards station
______
It was 2 AM. the station was empty again. The guard in the front watched Family Guy and Holder hadn't left his position opposite me since 7 PM probably
"Are you glued to your chair?" I asked throwing a pen over to him
"...I'm working, Davidson." That was in fact one of the few moments Holder hadn't made the effort to have a rant on me or make an unnecessary joke, which meant he was either really into this case, or, which was more likely, he was just really tired.
"Ok so, have you found something out? I checked Turner's background and found nothing voodoo related to him. But to his ex wife Cassie, she disappeared 5 years ago. Isn't that a bit suspicious?"
Holder rolled over to me "what do you mean by his wife was related to voodoo?"
"She sold voodoo dolls and books online. But apparently she didn't practice it, at least that's what she stated herself before she disappeared."
Holder came closer "disappeared? Do you think she was killed maybe?"
"Don't think so. She started over probably, without her husband."
Holder flipped the pen around the table and loosed his tie "we're actually close, Davidson. Turner had a ex wife that was into voodoo, then his fingerprints are found on the dead body of a girl that was into the same shit as well..."
"We just need more evidence. And we need Turner's ass chained to a chair answering all of our burning questions."
Holder laid his hand to my thigh "I'm starting to like your way of thinking, Davidson."
"Well, you're probably just getting used to me being just as bad-ass as you."
_______
I went home to take a shower and to get something other than Chinese between my freshly bleached teeth.
It's been a while since I was last this deeply investigated into a case. But since I was set up to work with Holder, he somehow inspired me to look deeper into things than I did before.
Then I remembered the diary we found at Brianna's. I grabbed my bag and pulled it out. It was pink with little flowers and butterflies on it.
I opened it and a letter dropped off to my lap. I gently unfolded it.
"Dear Brianna. I know many years have passed by since we last saw each other, but I wanted to let you know that I still feel the same. Since the day you left, the day you decided to stop fighting, I am sitting here.
Waiting for you to forgive me. For you to move on.
But even though I am writing this letter to you right now, I know you won't forgive me. Too much happened, I made many little mistakes until I made this one really, really big one.
I am sorry I put you through so much misery. I truly am.
But no matter what, I still love you the same.
-B
After a few seconds of reading I realised that this was in fact written by Brianna. I compared it to her handwriting in the book and it was the exactly same.
Weirdly, it was a love letter.
To herself.
Why would anyone do this? I breathed out. This had left me speechless. It was written with so much power.
What had this girl to hide? What was it that she couldn't let go of?
_______
"Morning, Holder." I said tapping on his shoulder. No reaction. He had fallen asleep behind his desk once again, a familiar position.
I decided to let him sleep just a little longer, it was too early to start complaining about why a 16 year old girl wrote letters about forgiving to herself. Too early.
Just, too early.
Holder looked cute when he was sleeping, I must admit. He looked kind of like a puppy who had gotten tired of chasing its own tail.
I grinned. He's such an annoying asshole while he's awake, yet such a puppy while being asleep. This man was a walking and talking mystery.
Slowly, the station came to life. The first robbers were brought in, the first drunk hookers showed up and, a face I would've probably not expected to see around here anytime soon.
It was Alex Turner. He was brought in handcuffed and held by two cops. I quickly drank my coffee and shook Holder's arm "come on man, we've got work to do"
I stepped outside my office and ran after Turner, Holder just joining in.
"Davidson, what's going on?"
"Don't know, Turner was just brought in."
Holder scratched his chin "how did they find him. And most importantly, who found him?"
"I did." A voice behind us said.
