The Test

Chapter Twenty-Three

Derek

I ushered a shell-shocked Layna out of the room and down the stairs, trying to avoid contaminating the area as much as I could. I lead her outside, unlocking the car and guiding her into the passenger's seat. She was shivering so I slipped off my suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulder. She grabbed my hand, holding it tightly but continued to stare blankly ahead, not speaking.

I used my free hand to pull out my cell phone, typing in the number before pressing it to my ear. Greene picked up on the second ring.

"What's up?" He asked in lieu of a greeting.

"I need you to bring your forensic guys to my mom's house; there's a body," I glanced over at Layna and saw that there were tears streaming down her face. I gave her hand a squeeze.

"Okay, I'm going to call it in now but I'll be there before they show up. I'll leave the precinct now."

"Thanks, Allan. Can you call Tom and my mom as well? I need to stay with Layna."

"What about Steve? Is he with them?" Greene said.

"No, he's in the house. Layna and I are waiting outside," I hoped that he would understand what I was trying to say without spelling it out for him. I didn't want to mention it in front of Layna again.

"Oh. Oh. Okay, I'll see you soon."

Less than ten minutes later Greene's unmarked car came speeding down the road, the lights in his windshield flashing brightly against the darkness of the evening. He left the car on the street, making his way over to where Layna and I were,

Layna hadn't said anything the whole time we had been waiting, but she was still clutching my hand for dear life.

"The doors unlocked if you want to go inside. He's in the spare bedroom. I was in the kitchen and Layna had gone upstairs to change when she found him."

Greene just nodded his head, glancing over at Layna in concern, "I'll go take a look around; I'll be right back."

He disappeared through the front door and was gone for several minutes. I kept holding Layna's hand, gently smoothing the skin on the back of her hand with my thumb. We sat in silence as we waited.

***

"Where is he? Where the fuck is my husband?" Tom yelled, jumping out of the car before my mom had even stopped.

He ran towards the front door but was stopped by the armed officer that Greene had posted there. The two struggled, Tom motivated by his grief to get through the door.

That seemed to snap Layna out of the daze that she had been in from when we found the body. She slipped out of the car, dashing towards her father who was still struggling with the officer.

"Daddy!" she called out, her voice hoarse. Tom stopped at the sound of her voice, turning around to gather her in his arms. He buried his face in her hair, holding her tightly. I could see Tom shaking as Layna comforted him.

I looked away, composing myself as I walked towards my mom, "Can you take them to a hotel for the night? I'm going to stay here for a bit, help out Detective Greene."

My mom wiped her eyes, nodding at me. "I'll text you the information when I get there."

We walked towards Layna and Tom, who were still standing by the door.

"Come on," I said gently, resting a hand on each of their backs. "Mom's going to take you to a hotel tonight."

"I'm not leaving until I see him," Tom said, turning to face me. His face was still wet with tears, but he had a determined look on his face.