The Boy Who Solved Crimes

14: Mother

Amelia

"Violet!" My heart leaped when I saw the beautiful face of my daughter. As the years went by, it felt as though it had gotten harder to spend time with her. I hugged her tightly, she had become the most beautiful person I had ever seen; grown fully into the kind, clever, sweet girl I had always known.

"I missed you, mom." She smiled at me as I kissed her cheek. I smiled as I held her, it felt surreal, almost like a dream.

She had been gone for medical school and even when she began her residency a town away, she hadn't been able to visit me. It was so rare nowadays.

"I missed you too, baby girl." I was overjoyed as someone behind her cleared their throat and I immediately wondered if she had brought Dr. Anderson to visit me. I knew she had been dating the man for years, and never once had she introduced me to him, not formally anyway.

"Aaron," I pulled away from my beautiful Violet to meet his eyes. Aaron had aged well, growing into the man I knew would make my daughter happy someday; although I doubted Violet would think the same so I never brought it up. "Thank you for bringing her." I smiled, pulling away as I held Violet at arm's length.

"You've gotten so thin! And pale, Violet, for a doctor, I would think you'd take better care of yourself." I scolded as Violet looked at her feet.

"Why did you want me to visit?" She asked, her voice small as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Well, I missed you, for starters," I scoffed as she smiled, "and uh, detective Aaron has something to tell you."

"Yeah, he's been putting it off." Violet turned to glare at Aaron, who was staring at her with nothing but admiration in his eyes, "spill."

Aaron looked at her with a playful glint in his eye. I almost wanted to just leave them alone for a while. Violet rolled her eyes at him.

"I'll go get dinner ready." I said, walking toward the kitchen. As soon as I stepped inside, a strange smell filled my nostrils. It smelled like a mix of bleach and animal? I wasn't sure. I walked toward the small hallway that separated the kitchen from the garage, slowly opening the door.

I felt uneasy, searching for anything that may have been causing the smell. My eyes landed on a dark lump on the ground, about the size of my hand and I slowly approached it, regretting not having turned the lights on as soon as I walked in.

"Mom." Violet said, walking into the garage with a concerned tone of voice. She turned the light on, bright enough for me to realize there was nothing there.

Odd.

"Hey, Mrs. V, I have to get going. But stay safe and call me if you need anything." Aaron said, walking in behind her. I eyed the two, picturing how cute their children would be.

"Wait, no Aaron. It's not safe." Violet said, concern on her features. I knew we all should have had some semblance of fear toward the fact that my ex-husband was out of prison, but I couldn't muster any within myself. I was just happy to see the two of them together after everything we had endured all those years ago.

"Aaron, would you like to stay?" I asked him directly, examining Violet's features brighten as soon as I asked.

I must have done something right. The girl wasn't getting any younger.

He looked at me, but his thoughts looked elsewhere and he grinned.

"Sure, Mrs. V." Aaron said, flashing a million mega-watt smile as Violet walked back into the kitchen. I glanced around the garage once again, I thought I saw something move, but I figured it was probably a lizard or something.

I shut the door, locking it out of nothing but a gut feeling and sheer paranoia.

"Let's have dinner and Aaron you can sleep in the guest room." I suggested as I walked the sly smirk that formed on his features. I missed seeing this kid around— although, I suppose he was a grown adult now.

I quickly set the table and placed the food in front of us. It felt good to not eat alone for once. I had joined a therapy group after my boyfriend, Ethan's death. He had been murdered in cold blood, drugged by none of than Amy Bloom's older sister, Bailey. She had multiple trials before a court and jury, and she had given a different recollection of events each time. There was an ongoing discussion, more like a conflict actually, between whether her multiple personalities belonged in an asylum. Or on death row.

At the end, the jury decided she was too dangerous and there couldn't be much done to change or reverse her actions. Murder is irreversible, after all. And not more than a few months later, we got justice for Ethan Kowell.

A life for a life. And yet, that never seemed right to me. I knew I should despise the girl, but I couldn't fathom what must have been going through her mind. Regardless, the year that followed was depressing— I hardly spoke a word to anyone, even Violet. And the following five years, my daughter had moved away to become a physician. I was proud of her, but deep down, I resented that she had left me completely alone.

And my idiot ex-husband was placed in jail for experimenting on his students. Ironic how he had no morals, yet he had taught a course in ethics.

It was frustrating how, when I never wanted him to be in my life again, he somehow managed to sneak his way into my thoughts. It angered me, even now. And I couldn't stop my gut feeling that he might've had something to do with Ethan's death— although there was zero evidence against him.

And now he was out, roaming the streets and hopefully not wreaking havoc. I didn't know the full story— but I knew that in the year after his arrest, Violet would clam up and get extremely silent if anyone ever mentioned her father. I wondered if that was because she considered Ethan her father and missed him as much as I did.

But tonight she seemed back to normal. I smiled as I watched her push Aaron's hand away as he tried to take something off of her plate. These two would never grow up— but I was thankful for some normalcy. It was something I didn't know I needed in all this time.

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Until next chapter ♥️