Winter's Peril

Chapter 12

A/N: It's my birthday today x

Louis lay with his head against the wooden wall beside his mantelpiece. He didn't know what to do anymore. Was there any point in staying here. He felt like he had lost everything and he definitely knew that he didn't fit in here.

Maybe they should have stayed in New York, that would have meant none of this would have happened and he would still be with Dill.

What about Harry? He thought and immediately he took in a large gulp of air. How could he be thinking about Harry? They barely knew each other yet he still felt like he had grown a little attached to him.

The priest's words lingered in his head. You'll know. It'll come with time.

He didn't know if he could wait any longer.

He did have the money Dill left for him in his will. However, the guilt would probably get to him.

A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts and he shakily stood to his feet. He hoped he didn't look terrible, his cheeks probably looked blotchy. He glanced out of one of the windows and noticed Verlee's car parked outside his house.

He didn't know if he was in the mood to speak with anyone at the moment but maybe Verlee could help.

His body felt heavy as he trudged over to the other side of the room. He hadn't bothered with taking off his coat or shoes.

Verlee looked up from her phone once she noticed the door opened. She gasped and quickly pocketed her phone. She took him inside by the arm and sat them down, making sure to close the door behind her.

"Lou? What's wrong?!"

"I'm just so tired Verlee, everything is just beginning to stress me out. Wherever I go, I can't seem to stop thinking about how much I miss Dill."

Verlee looked at him with pity. Eventually, she pulled him into a hug when she saw the tears begin to pool in his eyes.

"Lou, I know you must be feeling terrible but...I know you probably don't want to hear this...it'll be okay."

Louis chuckled. "I am so sick of hearing that."

"I know Lou."

"Maybe you're right. Maybe everything will go back to normal one day but it won't now."

Verlee looked over his attire. "Are you going out?"

"No, I just came back from the church."

She seemed a little surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. I spoke to the priest."

"What did he say?"

"He told me to take a break from here and maybe he is right. Maybe I should just go back to New York. Everything was okay there."

Verlee frowned. "You'll be by yourself, Lou."

"Well, either way, I am by myself Verlee! Dill is gone!" Louis shouted, clenching his hands on his lap.

Verlee sat back a little and cleared her throat, not sure what to do.

"Alright, maybe you do but I still want you to be around. I'm gonna miss you if you're further away."

Louis sighed. "I know but I don't think I can see my future here Verlee. Especially with everything that has happened."

"I understand Lou," she said. Her eyes held a sad look in them as she put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm here to support you with whatever you need to do. I'm gonna miss having you around."

Louis weakly smiled before turning his gaze to the floor.

Verlee took in a deep breath. "Have the police said anything about what happened yet?"

Louis rolled his eyes with a sigh. "I don't want to talk about it Verlee."

"I know, I know. It's probably the last thing you want to hear. Don't you want to know anything though?"

Louis turned to look at her straight in the eye. "Do you know something?"

"No, I wish I did. It's just hard to find out why anyone would want to do anything to Dill of all people," she sighed.

"It could be anyone."

Verlee nodded. "How was it with Harry?"

Louis sighed. "Okay, I guess he was good company."

"That's great Lou, I'm glad that you had him."

"He told me that Dnias was at my house the day of the murder. They were speaking apparently," Louis muttered.

She frowned. "That seems a bit strange. Have you seen Dnias recently?" Louis shook his head. "He's been quieter than normal."

"He's definitely got some explaining to do," she replied with a shrug. "Sorry Lou, I've got to go. I can't stay for long. I'll come around soon okay."

Louis nodded, standing up with her as she headed for the door.

"This weather has been dreadful recently. It's not normally this bad," Verlee muttered as she looked out of one of the windows.

"Maybe it will clear soon," Louis shrugged.

"Hopefully," Verlee replied before looking at Louis for a few seconds. He looked away from her, feeling a bit uncomfortable underneath her stare. "I'll see you soon Lou, don't worry too much about everything okay?"

Louis nodded, letting himself be pulled into a hug.

"Bye," he whispered when she opened the door.

Just as it closed behind him, he thought about the words Verlee said to him. It took him a few minutes of thinking by the door before he finally went into action. He still had his outdoor clothes on so he headed straight for his truck. He had one mission in mind. All he knew was that he needed to speak to Dnias.

~~~

"The time is 13:17 and we are here with Catherine Carter. You are a friend of Dill and Louis yes?"

Catherine nodded. "More of an acquaintance. We met because I sold them the house."

"Can you tell us where you were on the day of the murder?"

"I was at work all day with my assistant Emily."

DC Payne nodded. "You also attended their party that they had. Am I correct?"

"Yes, I came and left with Emily. She can be a bit testing at times but I would consider her a friend. I know that she had a bit of a crush on Dill and I tried to remind her not to overstep her boundaries."

"Did she try anything?"

Catherine pulled a face as she tried to remember any obvious incidents. "Sometimes she can be a bit overbearing and doesn't always realise some of her actions."

"Did you notice anything suspicious as the party?"

"Not really. Well, I saw Dnias leave a bit angrily but that could have been anything. He can get a bit angry sometimes."

"Have you seen him get extremely angry?"

She looked down at her hands with a frown. "A long time ago we were in a relationship. I was going through a bad time and kinda just wanted to latch on to anyone who would pay attention to me. Which he did," Catherine sighed. "I really regret that period of my life."

"We're sorry to hear that."

"It happened, nothing you can do about it," she muttered.

DC Malik wrote something down on his notepad. "Do you know anything else that could help with our investigation?"

She shook her head. "No sorry, I didn't really know them very well."

"Thank you for your time, Miss Carter," DC Payne said. "The time is 13:25 at the end of the interview."

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