Prologue
Elisa’s knees couldn’t stop trembling. Her hands were so cold she had to rub them together every few seconds though the weather was nowhere near cold here in Gray Court, South Carolina and especially in June. Her insides were twitching and her stomach was flipping uncontrollably which had bile creeping its way up her throat every few minutes.
Her nerves were fried and the headache she was having turned into a full blast migraine. She didn’t know how long she would be able to handle this but she knew she wasn’t going anywhere with this. All her efforts seemed useless and whatever she said didn’t seem to help their case at all.
That was clear from the expression on the officer’s face. His brown eyes glared at her, swallowing her from head to toe. Her frenzied light brown hair that indicated that it wasn’t brushed or washed for a while, the ugly black bags under her eyes that showed deprivation of sleep, her pale skin and the sharp lines on her face making her look much older than her real age and finally her poor choice of clothing made her look more like a crazy woman and the officer interviewing her from across the table shared that same thought because his constant grimace seemed to stay throughout the whole five-hour investigation.
“Mrs. Chance, I believe the outcomes of this case are very clear to me. You did not present anything new, anything that might change the course of this case.” The officer’s voice dripped of venom as he spoke, as if he was talking to a pest, something he would love nothing more than just to squish under his boot.
Elisa’s body shook even harder and hot tears burned her swollen red-rimmed eyes. She wrapped her arms around her form, clutching the hems of her thin sweater tightly until her knuckles turned white. She cleared her throat and spoke with a voice that was barely audible. “I-I would do anything you ask-k of me, but I-I guarantee you that everything that was said is not true-e.” When she finished she gulped under the detective’s hard gaze. She started rocketing back and forth on the metallic cold chair.
The officer sighed, running his hand through his dark hair. He was also tired of this interview and it had been a long day. He hated this and wanted it to be over but he had to get as much information as he could out of this woman though her company pushed him closer to the edge. He casted a look at the clock hanging on the wall, seeing that it indicated to 2:30 in the morning, and decided that she had nothing more to offer.
He straightened up and stretched his back, very aware of the woman’s bulging eyes following him as he went to the desk beside the door. He opened the first drawer and pulled out a very thick red file. He then turned back and slid the file to her. It rested in front of her at the table and she eyed it wearily with wide eyes as though it was a scorpion, ready to pounce at her. He then placed his palms quietly on the table and leaned in to look at her in the eyes.
“Mrs. Chance…” He said her name slowly, unwillingly and she raised her head to stare at him. He took a deep breath through his nose and continued, trying not to be repelled by her. “There is nothing you can do and we can’t ask you of anything. I advise you to read this and it has everything needed to prove that our investigators have the right lead and the right suspect. I’m sorry, but it looks mostly like an almost closed case to me.” He then stood up and stared at her with those eyes that spoke out everything. He didn’t believe her, no one did and all that time was for nothing. It was over.
She looked back down at the file and the sobs then broke free. Her strangled voice uttered strange noises and her tears cleared a path down her dirty cheeks. She looked around the room and everything around her seemed to switch and twist, turning into unnatural shapes. Then she felt as though the walls were closing in on her and were going to crush her in between them. She raised her hands to cover her ears before she unleashed the most ear-racking scream her voice was able to manage.
