“Wallis, can I speak to you outside for a minute,” I ask.
“She doesn’t appear coherent, did you have a medic take a look at her?”
“She’s fucking bat shit and what’s the betting she offed this Georgina girl for doing her boyfriend or some shit, poor shmuck.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, anxious to know more so I can fix this cluster fuck.
“There were two bodies.”
“Wallis!” a uniformed officer, one I didn’t recognize, calls out, rushing towards us with a file.
“Murphy, what do you have?”
“A match sir. We have a guy from MPD, C.I division sending everything over to us now.”
“You already took her prints?”
“She was found burning a memorial bench and mumbling something about Hannah Lawrence, drowning her in the lake. Hannah was drowned, of course I already took her prints.”
“Hannah Lawrence? Wasn’t she murdered by her boyfriend?”
“That’s what’s in the file but something about this girl is way off and now we know what, she’s a murderer and I bet I can get a confession.”
“I need to follow up on this new information,” I tell him, desperate to get out of there and to my computer.
“Why were you looking in to this girl?” he asks. But I don’t need to answer him.
Pushing through the door to exit the precinct, I grab at the air trying to fill my lungs. Was that other body Ryan? How am I supposed to get her out of this? I was queasy with realization setting in fast. My brother was no doubt dead and my daughter was going to go to do a life sentence for killing him and some woman. I should have never let him take her with him.
“Is my baby in there Blake?” My eyes shoot up to see Mel rushing towards me, tears streaking her face. Fuck. Her tiny fists pound at my chest. “You son of a bitch, you knew… you knew she was with him and you didn’t tell me. Is she in there?”
I try hushing her, she was gaining us attention. “Baby, please. Shh.” I pick her up and take her back to her car, pinning her against it. Brushing the hair from her face, I grip her cheeks in both palms. “Calm down,” I beg, “They don’t know she’s Cereus.”
Her eyes bore into mine, the pupils swallowing all that beautiful green. With a deadly cold tone she growls, “Don’t you tell me to calm down God dammit, I will kick your ass.”
I hold up my hands. “Tell me how you knew she was here?”
“Screw you. I can’t believe you have been lying to me all this time. You put her here Blake, when you let that psycho brother of yours take her. I will never forgive you for this… Never.” She shoves me away from her and gets back in her car, screeching out of the parking lot.
What the fuck is happening?
36 HOURS AGO
Life eventually comes down to the sound of the slowing beats of your own heart. Thump… Thump… Thump.
Ironic really that I lay here dying by the hand of the only person I’ve ever loved. I was born cold, hollow, all emotions vacant within me. I questioned ever owning a soul until Cereus. My life shifted when I met her, I thought it was infatuation, her being the daughter of my brother and all, that alone made her a prime target for my mind to play with but it was so much more than that, she was so much more than that.
She was everything and life without her became nothing. I once again became nothing. I can’t let that happen again.
I reach for a breath, retching and choking on my own blood. Fuck, I was bleeding internally. How long had I been out? I tilt my head and drop it back down when excruciating pain burns through my stomach. Fuck, she went deep, I pushed her too far.
Where is she?
I call out but I’m weak and wheezy, I need to get this knife out and sew up this stomach wound. Pulling out the knife could kill me but I can’t walk around with a knife hanging out of my gut.
The blood’s cold around me and Georgina’s lifeless body is gray in color, which tells me I’ve been out of it for a while. I close my fist around the blade and ready myself, trying not to tense my muscles as I yank the knife from my body, wincing from the discomfort. I liked pain but this made me fragile, I was feeling lightheaded and my limbs feel heavy.
I needed to find Cereus. I can’t afford to be this weak.
The knife is serrated and I can’t help but love the fact she chose a serrated edge. It sucks for my insides…but showed Cereus’ true character.
Holding my palm over the puncture hole I attempt to sit up, blood leaks through my fingers with every slight movement. Reaching for the sheet from the bed and tearing strips from it I package out the wound and make a crappy but effective bandage to wrap around my waist to keep it there.