The Bottom of the Sea

Part 13: Shane

A/N: Trigger warning: Scenes of abuse and intimate partner violence. 

She had it coming.

I'm a reasonable man — ask anyone. I'm not a hard guy. But these bitches are selfish, and they're like children. So, you have to treat them that way. They push and push, and they bring it on themselves. They get what's coming to them, and then I'm the bad guy. If they'd only listen and behave in the first place, they'd be fine. But they never learn.

I told Kayla not to come over, I had shit to do. But there she was, standing in the doorway with a pizza and some beer. I didn't like that. I don't like to be manipulated. Still, I was nice enough to let her in. We could have had a good night, if she could have kept her fucking mouth shut.

The sex was OK, but I was bored with Kayla already. Show me a beautiful woman, and I'll show you a guy who's tired of fucking her. It was something the guys all said; harsh but true. With Sara, it was different, it was beautiful. She never understood how much I loved her; that sex was my way of showing her how much. She used my feelings against me, shutting me out for no reason. She was cruel that way.

So what if Sara got a tiny slap every once and a while? She knew how to push my buttons, and I had to put her back in line. But I never took it too far — I only put my foot down every now and again to show her who's boss. She really held on to things, instead of letting them go. She made me feel like an asshole and she knew just how to cut me down into a million pieces. She never even apologized once.

When she took off, it hurt me. I'll admit it. And to steal from me? Nothing much shocks me in this life, but that threw me for a loop. She was not the girl I thought she was. You gotta watch the quiet ones — the ones who scurry around like scared, little mice. Turn your back on them for a second, and they'll slash your throat. She had more balls than I gave her credit for, you have to respect that. But the bitch ripped me off, so there's that. If it takes me a hundred years and every cent I own, I will find her. And she'll pay.

It should have been a good night with Kayla. I finally got the phone call I'd been waiting for from the digital forensics' lab. I pushed Kayla off me as I sat up to answer the phone. "Yeah?"

"Sarge, we got the results back from that SIM card — the one found at the bus stop, in the toilet? Gross, by the way."

"Go on." It was smart of Sara to take a bus, not as easy to track her movements. I knew she was clever enough not to leave any obvious clues behind. But she wasn't as smart as she thought she was. I'm a trained investigator, she's no match for me. Of course, I scoured the bus stations, that's where I found the SIM card. She would have been better off stomping on it and throwing it in the trash instead of trying to flush it. I caught a lucky break there.

Kayla was whining in my ear and I couldn't hear the tech guy. "Shut up," I whispered through clenched teeth, covering the phone with my hand as I drilled her a warning glance.

"Go on, Glenn," I said.

"It's Tim," he said. Who gives a fuck? Indignant little shit. "Please continue."

Kayla was still mumbling under her breath, arms crossed. I could feel rage building in my belly, but I tried my best to stay focused. Keep the tiger chained, at least for the moment.

"Whoever owned this phone placed a lot of calls to Nova Scotia. A little town called Locke's Harbour."

"Interesting." I was flooded with satisfaction. Finally, the break I'd been looking for. "Glenn, you're the best. I won't forget this. And remember, this investigation is off the books. You tell no one."

"This is national security, am I right? You working for CSIS?" The dolt actually sounded excited. "Something like that," I said. "And, it's Tim..." I heard him say as I hung up. To be fair, he fucking looks like a Glenn.