Revenge

Chapter 12

"Well, this is a turn of events. We went from friends to family. You think she already has a list of people she wants to kill or just makes it up as she goes?" Officer Moore asked reviewing his notes. Officer Peggy was confused now. Emma had started out with killing her dad's friends and now she moved onto her uncle. It just didn't make any sense. What was she getting from this?

"Tony, do you think you can run their names for me quickly? I think we should start fresh. Start with the family who may have done her wrong."

Tony, the new cop on the squad, nodded his head shaking strands of blonde hair in his face. He was new and slow. Officer Peggy liked the kid. She knew how it was just getting started, but lately, she hoped he would move faster. This case needed fast people.

He scurried off to the car and began typing away on his computer. Officer Peggy bent down beside the remains of the house and shook her head. There was still smoke rising in the air. She slipped her gloves on and gently touched what was once the couch. That's what she assumed. She gently touched it and tried to let the remains speak. Well, let her mind think about what the home once looked like.

"I hope you find out who did this." Officer Peggy looked and saw Lisa Conner standing there. She was a short woman with curly red hair and mascara smeared all over her face. She was a beautiful woman and from what she had found about her already, a friendly woman who never refused to help someone. "My husband was a good man. He didn't deserve this. No one deserves this."

Officer Peggy stood up and held out a picture of Emma Dean. "Do you know this young lady, Mrs. Conner?"

Lisa studied it then looked up at Officer Peggy. "She is my niece. She used to stay with us during the summer. We haven't seen her in forever. Why?"

"We believe Emma is the one causing the fires. Her dad's friends were murdered in house fires and when we found out it was her, she ran. We are looking everywhere for her."

Lisa straightened up. "Well then, no ones safe with her on the run, now are we? Maybe you should start looking in other cities. She won't stay in the same state knowing she is a criminal. They all run." She walked off without another word. Officer Peggy agreed with her. But one thing haunted Officer Peggy's mind. Why hate her own uncle?

Tony returned with a hole file of paperwork he had printed off. Officer Peggy thanked him and took it. It was all about the Conner's and their relationships with anyone.

"Are you sure that this will help? She will be ahead of us." Tony said.

Officer Peggy nodded. "True, but once we know more, we can build up from that."

She spent the whole night in her home looking through the file. Still, she went through multiple cups of coffee and it did nothing to keep her awake.

Mathew Conner was said to be a good man. He hated kids, but he had never hurt anyone. When interviewing Lisa, she had mentioned she wanted kids. She had said that Mathew didn't understand kids. He liked everything clean and right where he left it. Where Lisa was fun and happy, Mathew sounded like a grumpy man who loved to work. He did love his wife. That's what everyone had told her. He would go out of his way for her, but children was never an option.

A woman had stepped up and admitted Mathew was having an affair with her, but there was no way to find out. They only had her word. That was never good enough anymore. He worked in the lawyer's office as an attorney. He was always friendly to people at work. So then why did Emma have a problem with him?

Officer Peggy looked at the notes she had taken from interviewing Lisa.

"How often did Emma and her sister stay with you and your husband?"

"Almost every summer. Until a few years ago."

"How did your husband treat the girls when they visited?"

"Like he treats every kid that visits. He makes it clear that children are to be seen not heard."

"When did the girls stop visiting?"

"A couple of summers ago. It must have been in 2012. Their parents moved to an apartment outside of town and they became busy with work and school."

"Did Emma ever show signs of violence or hating your husband?"

"She was a sweet young lady. Always quiet and helping me around the house. I just don't believe that she would do this. She just wasn't that kind of person."

If Emma wasn't that kind of person then why did she run? Something must have made her do this. Lisa made Emma sound like a saint, but was she really? Maybe Emma was a sweet kid at once. Maybe she had loved her uncle and helped Lisa around the house. Maybe life was better for her at their house. But when you're older, you tend to think about all the bad things that happened in your life and it triggers something in you. It makes you snap. Makes you want to change your life and hide the pain that was hidden there. That's what Officer Peggy did. But she never resulted in murder to do so. She found another way to go about it. What if Emma had someone in her life guiding her? Officer Peggy wished she had someone to talk to.

She tossed the papers aside and poured herself some coffee. She needed a good vacation after this. One that allowed her to get away and enjoy the beauty of life because all she was seeing now was the evil in life. She really hated it sometimes. Pepper jumped up beside her in the bed and relaxed. Pepper always seemed to make her feel better when she felt miserable.

Officer Peggy stroked her fur and wondered what it would be like to date Officer Moore. Would he show her that it was okay to let people in? Not that she was afraid, but she worried about making the right choice. Maybe Emma felt the same way. Maybe that's how she can understand Emma. Being hurt in the past leaves scars but the memories are still there. Still flooding your mind and you're afraid to let people in.

She hadn't mentioned to Lisa about the apparent affair that Mathew was supposedly happening. She didn't think it was necessary since the killer was identified. It would only anger Lisa and probably make the case more prolong. She hated to be the one to deliver the bad news anyways. To watch peoples heart break right in front of you was miserable. She hated seeing people cry because they were hurt. It came with the job but she was never prepared for it. She was never prepared to watch her mom's heart break daily, but it did. It made you feel like you had to save them but you know you can't.

Would she be like that towards Chief Moore? Would she be afraid to let him in because of her past? Only time could tell.