Hell's Detective

Chapter Twenty Three- Broken

Follows had the dream again. He couldn't remember much of it, only the fear. He woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath, waving his hands at invisible monsters. When he willed himself to get up and go out to breakfast, he found Ruth sitting apart from the others, drinking coffee. She smirked when she saw him.

"Wow, you look awful."

"Sorry," he said. "Forgot my dog collar."

"Oh, shut up."

Follows grinned. Cook stalked over, her trademark scowl plastered across her face. She dropped a bowl of cereal before each of them.

"Thank you, Cook," Ruth said. Cook grunted.

Follows gave her a smile she didn't return.

"So, Follows," Spicer said sweetly. "What have you got planned for the children today?"

He wanted to leap across the table and attack her right there. To tell everyone what an evil, twisted person she was. But he didn't.

"Actually, I was rather hoping Rion could help me with that."

"Me?" Rion said uncertainly, then, "Of course. I'd be happy to help."

"Wonderful," he said cheerfully. "I need to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind." He glanced at Spicer. "In private."

"Oh. Oh, right." He stood up. "You'd better come to my office."

Follows said goodbye to Ruth and followed him out.

Rion's office was small and squashed. Files were spilling off his desk and shelves like they were trying to escape altogether.

Rion sat down. "What do you want to know?" he asked.

"What happened the night Louis was born?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "We-We don't often talk about that."

"Spicer was there, wasn't she?"

He nodded. "Yes. You really should be asking her."

"I'm asking you."

"It was her and two others," he said slowly. "Dr Malone and Brea Foster, the old nurse. They worked here. When Louis' mother came to us, she was ill and close to labour. We didn't have time to get her to a hospital, so they started the procedure. None of them spoke about what happened that night. All I know is that the girl died. Dr Malone took it the worst, spent days shut away in his office. He was convinced he could have saved her. Brea was only young at the time, poor dear, and the whole thing just went to her head. In the end she needed professional help. She was checked into the Hollowsville Hospital for Adult Mental Health Issues. Ruth visits her sometimes."

"And Dr Malone?"

Rion looked down at his feet. "After a couple of months, he stopped coming into work. We got a call from the police a few weeks later. He'd hanged himself by his ceiling fan in his bedroom."

"I'm sorry," Follows said, and he meant it. "That just leaves Spicer."

"Out of all of them, she was definitely the strongest. It affected her, anyone could tell that, but not like the others."

"And that's all you know about Louis's birth?" he asked.

"I'll admit, I tried to find out more. Dr Malone filmed the whole procedure. He always did, so that if anything legal came up- anyway, I looked for it after he died, but it wasn't with the rest of the recordings. I couldn't find it anywhere."

Follows had a thought. "Is Dr Malone's office still here?"

"It hasn't been touched since the day he died," Rion said.