Shattered Pieces- A Whisper Sister Story

Chapter 31

Alex reluctantly watched Mallory's form vanish down the stairs and into the dim light illuminated from the bar. She felt as though so much more had been exposed without a single word uttered. The visual of Mallory's deep physical wounds hit hard and Alex grasped the severity of the poorly timed revelation. She had seen photos in the case files, but they were nothing to the actual sight. She wanted to remain at a respectful distance, but she knew it wasn't possible. Alex needed to hear Mallory's perspective of events. Her rational thinking wanted to keep it simple; an empty threat from Caleb to stop their investigation. Damian's sudden appearance and Luke's suggesting Jeremey release could mean a threat for Mallory, only pushed her thoughts to once again be convoluted. Her gut nagged that there was something more, but she couldn't put a finger on it. It all began to feel reminiscent of trying to recover Tyler's case breaking epiphany. It was right in front of her, but no matter how hard she tried her mind refused to finish connecting the dots. The accident was all it took for her to lose and never regain the information. She had always taken pride in the almost eidetic memory she held, and the one time it meant more than a suspect's face, witness statement, or crime scene detail, it failed her.

A slow and steady rapping that began to hit the roof, walls, and windows pulled Alex from her thoughts. The unexpected rain would normally be a soothing sound, but it did little to ease her angst. She slowly and precisely moved to the stairs. She was fully aware it had only been hours since witnessing the result of the assault at the cemetery and her confronting Caleb, but as much as she knew Mallory wanted solitude, Alex was done letting it fester inside her. She was going to pull it out of her and they were going to face the demon.

Her bruised ribs and still throbbing head continued to protest her actions so she took each wooden step with care. She paused on the last step that led into the bar and centered her attention on Mallory, who sat with her hand barely touching a tumbler. She had a distant focus and hadn't noticed Alex's approach as her eyes remained fixed on a bead of condensation running its way down the glass and across her thumb. It wasn't until her shadow cast across the bar that Mallory looked up. Her once sparkling green eyes flashed with what Alex expected to see as pain and worry but they instead showed a familiar fiery intensity.

Alex began to apologize for her intrusion of privacy, but Mallory raised her hand to stop her.

"What happened with Caleb?" she asked instead.

"What?"

"Caleb, when you went to see him, what did he have to say?"

"You're looking at what he had to say."

Mallory tossed her an unsatisfied look and dropped her head again.

"I still think it's a bluff," Alex said. She wanted to encourage dialogue and tried to speak to Mallory's concerns, "Starting to ask questions again must have him nervous and destroying the gravestones would be all that is needed to stop whatever he thinks we're doing."

"I killed his brother, Alex, and accused his nephew of murder," Mallory said before taking another swallow of her drink.

With that statement, everything came rushing back and both fell silent. Alex's stomach tensed again. She didn't know what to say.

"Then there's this." Mallory lifted the box but her words were muffled by a pounding on the door. With the sudden interruption, Mallory jumped up and gestured for Alex to stay where she was. She stared at the double doors without moving towards them at first. Her hand instinctively went to her hip and lingered where a holster used to sit. Realizing she didn't have a gun she reached around the bar and removed the one attached underneath. With it in hand, she slowly approached the door.

Alex tilted her head to try and see who could be interrupting them. She moved forward when she heard the annoyance in a man's voice.

"Is everything okay?" Alex called over.

The door widened, a rain-soaked man walked through.

He was juggling two crates and complaining about the badly timed storm. "I have shit ton of deliveries, and you gals make it hard this far out."

Mallory apologized and grabbed a crate. She followed his movement to the bar and set her's next to his.

She turned to face the middle-aged man and then nodded her head towards the door. "Is there any more, Paul?"

"Just a few."

"Okay."

"I'll help," Alex offered, but Mallory stopped her. "No, you need to rest."

Mallory moved into the office and emerged with a heavy raincoat. As she walked to the door she slipped her arms through the long sleeves. "It won't take us long to unload his truck."

Alex intercepted Mallory, pulling her to the side and out of earshot. "Things are too weird right now. We can't trust anyone."

"I agree something's off, but it's Paul. He owes you too much to mess up that relationship, and you're in no shape to be lifting or carrying boxes," Mallory countered.

"Okay, but I'm still helping." Alex didn't wait for a response before she too ducked into the dark downpour.