who killed Annie? [luke hemmings]

chapter one: who killed Annie?

CHAPTER ONE: who killed Annie?

The loud knock on the door, that the thirty-eight year old orthodontist had been anticipating for a little over half an hour now, finally sounded - loud and clear, against the tranquil backdrop of the house.

Luke stood up from his seat, but the man on the singular settee, gestured him to sit back down. Instead of Luke, it was Detective Nordström who proceeded to open the door, and eventually, a couple detectives emerged from the entrance of the room that the doctor was seated inside.

"How are you doing, Doctor Hemmings?" One of the new faces, asked. A man.

Luke lifted his face, that until then, was buried into his palms, gaping at them, with two, very tired eyes.

"How do you think?" He questioned back, a wry chuckle escaping his lips.

In turn, it earned the detective a brief scowl from his associate - a lady, who then stepped forward, beginning to introduce herself, and her partners. "I'm Detective Rita Ross, and this is my associate, Officer Peter Murphy. And I assume, you've already met Detective Nils Nordström. The three of us, will be prosecuting this case," she paused. "The murder of Annaliese Hemmings."

"You don't know that," Luke interjected, brows knitted together, his tone rising higher, with every word that came out of his mouth. "If this is a murder, then where the fuck is the body? A little bloodshed doesn't mean that she's dead!"

"Sir, I need you to calm down. And I want you to know that I agree with you, completely, but taking certain things under consideration...." Rita exchanged glances with Nils, trailing off eventually.

"What things?" Luke questioned, his bloodshot eyes drilling holes into each of their foreheads. "This is a kidnapping. Even a five year old, with half a brain would be able to figure that out!"

"Hey, calm down." Nils, the rather quiet man, ordered in a firm tone, before gesturing the lassie to continue.

"Now, we would've rather done this at the station, but we figured you'd be more comfortable here. Nils told me you weren't quite steady, and that there's a possibility that you're.. intoxicated."

"I'm not drunk, alright? Do what you have to do, and do it quick!" Luke's demeanour didn't budge, at all. "Like I said- this is not a murder, but a kidnapping. So go fucking find her, before someone actually slices her throat!"

"That's a little specific," Peter mumbled, clearly audible to everyone.

The three other people in the room, apart from Luke, exchanged glances before Officer Murphy decided to proceed with the interrogation.

"Sir, where were you on the night of the twelfth of February?" Peter questioned. "According to our sources, it was the night of you, and Mrs. Hemmings's third marriage anniversary."

"Wait.. wait- am I a suspect?" Luke flashed them an incredulous look, before bursting into a fit of maniacal laughter. "Un-fucking-believable. First, you call it murder, and now, you're trying to pin it on me! Wow. That is so typical of you folks."

"Look, Dr. Hemmings, we have our reasons. Say, have you heard of Mickey Finn? Also known as the Date Night Killer, the Escort- there's an endless list of names of the serial killer, who's currently active, in this region. He has slaughtered four people in the past five months, all women, and has managed to leave us absolutely clueless. And my, oh my, the things he does with the bodies of his victims. It all starts from one, little incision in the neck," Rita explained, striding over to the messier part of the room, towards the blood splattered wall. "See this? You being from the medical field, should be able to understand this better than anyone else in the room." She further pointed out at the now-dried spots against the cream-coloured background. "The killer stabbed her in the neck, ruptured the carotid artery - hence the splatter. Now, let's assume he didn't chop her into little pieces, and stuff her body parts into plastic bags, like every other victim of his'. Do you think a person bleeding so profusely, would survive without proper medical attention? We've checked every hospital, every drugstore in the city and beyond, and yet, we found nothing." She exhaled deeply, her hands now resting on either side of her hips. "I know it's not easy for you, but understand this: we're not jumping to conclusions. We're making simple deductions."