Insane - Who Are You To Judge? (Gripping Psychological Thriller)

Chapter 13 - Harry

Of course she did, Harry moans inside. Of course we can't have a single breakthrough in this case.

Only briefly glancing up towards his friend is enough to let him know that James is thinking the exact same thing. Regardless, they both withhold their frustration and listen to the woman sitting in front of them intently.

"I went to her place one day to find it completely empty. Thank God, she hadn't changed her phone number – I got so worried I called her straight away to ask what was going on and to make sure she was alright.

"She said that she needed to be away for a while and have some alone time." Looking them directly in the eyes as if to reassure them, she adds, "of course, I begged her to tell me where she was so that I could come and visit her and be there for her but she just wouldn't give it up. For the life of me, I couldn't understand why. I'm her sister, shouldn't she want me there?"

She pauses to get a reassuring nod from the detectives, but the words are falling from her mouth at such a pace, it is as confusing for their minds to follow as it is keeping your eyes on just one horse at the races. Fixating on the movement of her mouth, Harry is sure that she has not yet taken a breath.

With no response, she hastens on. "I suppose I should be grateful that she kept in contact at all really. I made her promise to call me every single week. That's why I got so worried when I didn't hear from her, you see. Knowing she wasn't keen on the daily updates, I initially left it alone thinking that I had pushed too much and she just wanted her space. But then the days turned into weeks and I was kept up at night praying for her to call me," she clutches the cross hanging around her neck, "and she never did, not even a text.

"I mean, I know she was ashamed about the whole scandal and how it was exposed and perhaps I was one of the most unaccepting – but she is my sister and I would always have forgiven her. Besides, it's not even my forgiveness that truly matters, and—"

The cogs in his head turning at a far slower pace than her mouth, Harry suddenly processes what she said and raises his hand as a signal to stop her. "Sorry, what was that you just said?"

Stunned by the interjection, she frowns and repeats, "It's not my forgiveness that truly matters?" Her voice trails off on a high note, showing the uncertainty in her response.

"No, the other part," James reiterates, now up to speed with Harry's thoughts, "did you say she was part of a scandal?"

Gazing up to the heavens, Mrs Lewis gasps, now having the bulb light up about their query. "Sorry, yes she was. You see, our father owns Lewis & Co Enterprises and both my sister and I worked under him with the hopes of taking over the company in partnership when our father retired..."

Harry sits there, listening and now actually comprehending what this woman is saying. She tells them all about how her sister was never happy working at the company and always wanted more.

"She met the Chief Editor of Bennet and Roy Publishing House and my goodness she fell head over heels for him – completely smitten."

Mrs Lewis rambles on that her sister did everything she could to get a job as a receptionist at the publisher's – "cutting her pay straight in half. Can you believe it? Everyone in our family told her she was being an idiot to leave a well-paying, promising job for some little girl crush, but by God she just would not listen. It was outright career suicide!"

As Mrs Lewis says this, a quote from the crime scene blurs Harry's vision as the words dance across his mind: 'for when once your shape has become like a human being, you can no more be a mermaid'