Symphony Of A Serial Killer

Chapter 14: But She's Innocent

I felt sorry for her, everything was happening so fast. We were alike in the sense that we don’t want pity from anyone, but seeing that look of confusion mixed with hopelessness got to me. Before she could even get close to me, one of the female officers grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. Missy demanded that she be let go, that she was innocent and did nothing wrong.

"What do you think you're doing, let go of her!" I shout while storming up to them.

My friend looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights. I didn't notice until now that she was in handcuffs, what the hell is going on here? As the officer dragged her away and towards the room I had just left, Missy yelled out that that she was a suspect because the time of death she gave didn't match up with the police.

Shit.... that's right, I forgot about the news report… She pretty much told the world that she saw the victim alive earlier this morning... The police determined the time of the death was four days ago. What am I going to do, even if I walked into the room and told them that Missy wasn't lying and that she somehow saw the ghost of my mother... there's no way they'd believe me.

Poor thing, she's hysterical. It really pains me to see her in cuffs, especially knowing she's innocent but what can I do? I glance around and she has the attention of most of the room. There were some officers, the veterans of the force I'm assuming, that were making calls and doing work at their desks. I guess if you're exposed to something long enough, behavior and outbursts like this would seem completely normal to you. Sadly just another day at the office for them.

"Stop you're hurting me! You said I'd be free to go after giving a statement, why are you doing this to me!?" Missy shouted just before being escorted past Ms. Rubeck and disappearing into the room.

Ms. Rubeck locked eyes with me once more, she was still standing just outside of the door. I don't want to say it’s a cold stare, more of a "Heed the gravity of the situation, I'm here if you decide to talk." kind of stare. As she turned away and closed the door behind her, I felt this incredible force on my arm. The firm grip spun me around and before my very eyes was none other than James. I guess the commotion got his attention and brought him back inside the station.

"Let's go lil nigga!" he demanded with fire in his eyes. A far cry from what I had just saw not even five minutes ago, this was the James I was used to seeing. He wasn't even making an attempt to speak proper anymore, just completely back to his usual self. I guess there was no need to, we both know that I'm aware of what he's really like. I jerked my arm away and stepped forward, fist balled up and ready to go.

"Everything alright here?" a man asks while approaching us.

I turned to see a familiar face, Officer Neal's partner from when they picked me up at school. A ginger with gray eyes but not too heavy on the freckles, Officer Davenport was far shorter than his partner but more fit. He looked like if he had to chase down a suspect, there'd be no chance of them getting away. 

"Yes officer, everything's fine, as well as it can be I suppose." James replied while getting back into character.

Now coming off as a rattled and caring father just trying to help his son through a hard time.

"My son and I are just trying to deal with all of this the best we can." he added while looking at Davenport and placing a supportive arm around my shoulder.

My insides cringed at his touch, the mere idea of being pulled into his loving embrace was enough to make me throw-up all of over his shiny shoes.

Less I make him look better than he's already coming off, I'm sure if I did that he'd apologize for me and say it’s alright. Probably even offer to clean it up himself just to put on a good show. Instead I swallowed my pride and kept my disgust to myself. I was ready to leave and this supportive parent crap that he was pulling was the best way.

Davenport assured us that they are doing everything they can to get to the bottom of this. He also expressed his appreciation for our cooperation and understanding during the questioning. I suppose he was listening in somehow, oh well. Once this hits the news everyone will know anyway.

Before walking out the door, I took one final look at the room Missy was being held in. What were they saying to her? What were they accusing her of? Only a small part of me is actually worried though, she's a smart girl and once she calms down I know she'll be able to handle herself. After all, this is what she wants to do for a living.

When we stepped outside, we're greeted by the blinding glare coming from the sun reflecting off of the snow. Shielding my eyes, I walk down the steps after James.

"So what was that all about?" I ask while we make our way around the building towards the parking lot.

Amazing, he tells me that he’s planned for this day years ago, that he's not going to jail for something he didn't do. He says that the police always look at the spouse first. Now this is true, there’s no arguing that point. Even so, I still don’t get this overwhelming sense of innocence from him.  As he gets into his car, he tells me to keep my mouth shut and do what I’m told when the time comes or there will be worse things than beer bottles for me to worry about.

Murder suspect making a violent threat, yeah that’ll help convince me of his innocence… James leaned over as I reached for the handle on the car door. Instead of unlocking the door from inside, he rolled down the passenger window.

“Let me know who you end up staying with so I can tell the police in case they ask.” he casually states while looking up at me.

Before I could respond, he pulled out of the parking lot and disappeared around the corner. Really, not even offering a ride...? I’m not heartbroken in the least but damn… you’d think his whole act would at least last until we were both off of police property.

Where do I go from here? I need to sort this mess out but honestly I’m not ready yet. I can feel a headache coming on and I’m trying my best to suppress it. I’ll stay positive, a ride would have been nice but at least I didn’t have to go through that awkward car ride and wondering if he killed my mother. He’s not an idiot, not all the time at least. He knew there was no way I’d trust him enough to go home with him. At the same time he’s showing more cunning that I realized he actually had.

After sacrificing a few minutes to try and wrap my brain around all of this, a sharp pain shot out from behind my eyes. Alright, standing outside of the police station in the snow has lost its appeal, time to call Lee. It’s getting cold and now I have this piercing migraine that’s coming on.

Once I hit Lee’s speed dial, I start heading south towards the gas station. It’s only about 10 minutes from the police station and I need to get indoors, not to mention I’m hungry as hell! Still haven’t eaten today, maybe that’s why my head is starting to hurt. Lee said he was about 20 minutes out so I told him to meet me inside the gas station because there was no way in hell I was going back inside of the precinct.

With the temperature dropping, I’m regretting not bringing my hoodie. Granted I didn’t plan on being out this late, but still. As I stuff my hands into my pockets trying to keep warm, a huge smile is instantly plastered all over my face. I’m reminded of the pack of starburst that Lee gave me earlier because I missed lunch! Oh man, I love you Lee, shit is about to go down!

Showing no mercy, I rip the pack of candy open with all off my might. The smell of sweet chewy goodness assaults all of my senses, causing my mouth to water and my stomach roared ferociously, demanding satisfaction. Not wanting to anger the wild beast any further, I quickly unwrap and stuff two pieces of starburst into my mouth.

Oh the satisfaction, there's definitely a party going on in my mouth and no one else is invited. As I close my eyes to fully enjoy the nirvana, again my phone vibrates. Its Caroline, she sent a text simply hoping that I was okay. So much for seeing a movie tonight, at this point I really don’t want to see anyone. Lee is the exception because I need a place to crash tonight. Maintaining my stride, I decided not to respond to her text... not just yet.