《Brushing Bones》 Chapter 1 Elisa Red. The only color that now covered the once vibrant, yellow walls, as well as the carpet that was once a tan color. Each step on the carpet felt damp and sticky. The room was dark, the only source of light came from the moon shining in through the opened window. The bodies of slaughtered women lay in a pile, one on top of another in the middle of the room. The shadow of a knife loomed over the bodies. The sound of human flesh being cut into filled the quiet room. The bodies were being carefully skinned. Everything would remain, except for the bones. Knock, knock. No answer. A female who appeared to be in her mid-twenties stood in front of a door. Her name was Elisa Reynolds. She was part of the police department and it was nearing the end of her shift when the call came in. A concerned neighbor hadn¡¯t seen their neighbors leave their house in days and they wanted someone to go check on them. Of course, Elisa was the one who got stuck with that task. ¡°My name is Elisa, I¡¯m with the police, can you please come to the door?¡± She yelled out. A few moments passed and still no answer. Her long, blonde hair was beginning to stick to the back of her neck from the heat. She pulled her hair back into a bun and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m coming in!¡± She braced herself as her hand reached for the doorknob, to her surprise the door had been ajar without her noticing. Taking a step inside she quickly had to cover her nose from the stench. ¡®What IS that awful smell?¡¯ Taking in a breath she walked further into the house. The first thing she noticed was how dark the house was. She tried to switch on the lights, but it wouldn¡¯t come on. Even without the lights, she could see the bright yellow of the walls. The carpet she stood on was of a tan color, but it appeared dingy as if it hadn¡¯t had a good cleaning in a long time. There was little furniture from what she could see. To her left was the living room, which only had a couch, a stand, and a tv that sat on that stand. To her right was the kitchen area. It had a round, wooden dining table while the countertops were made out of marble. The fridge was a plain white fridge that looked run down. Ahead of her was a narrow hallway that led to other rooms. The scent was coming from there. As she walked down the hallway the stench grew stronger. Eventually, she came face to face with a wooden door at the end of the hall. ¡®This has to be the source of the smell.¡¯ She thought to herself. Slowly, she opened the door. The sight before her was one she had never hoped to see. In the middle of the room, there was a pile of what could have only been organs, while the windows looked like they had sheets over them. The carpet and walls were completely covered in red stains, the only thing it could be was dried blood. On closer inspection, she realized the sheets were actually human skin. She couldn¡¯t stop the vomit that escaped from her throat. ¡°What the hell happened here?!¡± She couldn¡¯t stop herself from yelling. Before she knew it, she was running out to her car. She had to radio this in, as fast as possible. ¡°This is Elisa Reynolds, I was the one sent on the welfare check, I need back up. There¡¯s been a murder.¡± Murder. She couldn¡¯t believe something like this was happening in her little town. The backup was quick to get there. Elisa stood off to the side as crime scene tape was put around the perimeter. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a crowd starting to form. ¡®Oh boy.¡¯ She was mentally exhausted, she just wanted to go home after what she had been. She still felt sick to her stomach from what she had experienced. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Elisa, how are you holding up?¡± A man¡¯s voice came from the side. ¡°Holding up as much as I can. Since I¡¯ve been working on the force this is my first time having to see something like this, especially one so brutal.¡± The one who approached her was her coworker, he did the same line of work as her but they never spoke until now. The male nodded, causing some of his slick black hair to fall down into his green eyes. ¡°You should go home and get some rest, I¡¯ve got things covered from here so you have nothing to worry about.¡± She nodded. ¡°Thanks, uhm¡­¡± ¡°Jackson. Jackson Bridges.¡± ¡°See you around Bridges.¡± Elisa gave a slight smile. He returned her smile. ¡°Just call me Jackson.¡± It was almost ten o¡¯clock by the time she got home. She should have been home and relaxing around three. ¡°What a day¡­¡± She murmured to herself. Standing in the middle of her kitchen, she sighed. ¡°I feel like after today I might not get to be home as often as I would like.¡± She said to no one but herself. ¡°Sis?¡± A soft voice called out, Elisa could hear tiny footsteps coming down the stairs. ¡°I¡¯m in the kitchen!¡± She called out. At the entranceway stood a little girl who looked to be about eleven years old. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, she looked like she had just woken up. ¡°What is it Elizabeth?¡± Elisa asked in a soft tone. Strands of brown hair fell into the little girl¡¯s face. ¡°I thought I heard you, so I came down to see if you were finally home!¡± The young girl approached Elisa with arms out. Elisa embraced her into a hug and rubbed her back gently. ¡°Work had me stay over later and I didn¡¯t have a chance to call. Have you eaten yet?¡± Elisa was Elizabeth¡¯s older sister. They had the same mother but different fathers. Elisa never met her father, while Elizabeth¡¯s father passed away when she was only eight. He had been murdered but the culprit had never been found. Elizabeth took after their mother, having a round, baby-like face and hazel eyes. Elizabeth had more of a pale complexion while Elisa had more color to her complexion. Elisa¡¯s eyes were also more of a grayish color. Elisa always wondered what her father looked like, her mother always said she was the spitting image of him. For some reason her mother never had any pictures of her father, only saying that she couldn¡¯t remember where she left them at last. She was probably lying but Elisa would never know because just last year their mother had passed away from some illness that Elisa couldn¡¯t remember. Not that she cared much. ¡°I¡¯ve already eaten, but I was trying to stay up to wait for you but I had fallen asleep.¡± She said sheepishly. Elisa smiled, picking her little sister up in her arms. ¡°Let''s get you back in bed then.¡± Carrying Elizabeth back up the stairs in her arms she was able to forget about the troubles of her day. Her main focus was her little sister, the only family that she now had left. They only had each other, and Elisa was going to make sure Elizabeth knew she was always there for her. Once Elizabeth was tucked in, Elisa jumped into the shower. The memories of that day¡¯s incident were etched into her mind, and now that she was alone, she wouldn¡¯t be able to forget for a while. Maybe never. The sun shining on her face woke Elisa up. Her head was pounding. She grimaced as she grabbed her phone and noticed all the missed calls she had from her supervisor. ¡®Shit, how could I have slept through all those calls?¡¯ Instantly she called back, her heart racing in worry of what could have happened. ¡°Elisa, I¡¯m glad you finally called back.¡± Her boss was the type who usually sounded authoritative as he spoke, but for some reason his tone was gentle. ¡°Sorry boss, I didn¡¯t hear my phone go off and had slept through your calls.¡± She could only imagine the expression he had, the kind of expression that would tell you that he wasn¡¯t going to listen to any excuses. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I was calling because I was needing you to come in today. I know yesterday was hectic and that you were looking forward to having the day off, but I went back over your report of the incident and it makes no sense. I need to come in and resubmit the report.¡± Elisa ran her fingers through her hair, aggravation starting to boil inside her, but at herself. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I was just all over the place yesterday from what I saw that it was hard to concentrate on what I was writing. Can you give me a bit to find someone to babysit Elizabeth?¡± ¡°Take all the time you need.¡± Elisa let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± There was only a hum of acknowledgment before the call ended. ¡°Well, I better get Elizabeth up and start the day.¡± She went to her room and grabbed a scrunchie and pulled her hair up, threw on her uniform, and went to go face the day that was ahead of her. Chapter 2 Jackson The department was in chaos when he arrived to work that morning. His coworker, Elisa, had come across a homicide on a welfare check the day before, causing everyone to now be on edge. Jackson wasn¡¯t from this town, he recently moved to the town from out of state less than a year ago, but from what he got from the locals, it seemed as if this small town was a friendly place, a safe place. Things like murders didn¡¯t seem to fit with this small town. Everyone in his department grew up in this town, so he could understand why everyone was worried, but it wasn¡¯t going to help find the killer. He approached his desk and sat down, grabbing the stack of papers that were in front of him. It was paperwork from the case before that he still had to sort out before he was allowed to officially continue looking into the current murder case. ¡°Hey, Jackson,¡± a voice spoke from behind him. He had just finished filing away the last bit of the documents when he turned around to face whoever was speaking to him. ¡°Oh, hey boss.¡± His boss was a short, stout man, and was much older in age, or he at least appeared to be. He would never tell anyone his age. ¡°You were informed that you would be assigned to the murder case, correct?¡± Jackson nodded. It was an obvious choice, considering he had been there at the scene not long after it was called in to relieve Elisa. ¡°Elisa is also being assigned to this case, I want her to gain experience, especially since she was the one who had found the bodies. I think she will learn a lot from working with you.¡± Jackson nodded. ¡°Yes sir, but isn¡¯t she off today?¡± His boss nodded. ¡°Yes, she was supposed to be off today, but I had to call her in. From today on the two of you will be working together until otherwise stated.¡± ¡°Do you know when she might get here sir?¡± He inquired. ¡°She¡¯s looking for someone to watch her younger sister, then she¡¯ll be free to come in. Once she gets here I¡¯ll call you to my office.¡± Without another word, his boss turned on his heel and walked away. ¡®It¡¯s been a while since boss said he called her in, I hope she¡¯s alright.¡¯ Jackson was sitting in the break room, staring down the cup of coffee he had made. He was used to being able to get what he had to do done and being able to go on his own for a case, the sudden downtime made him restless. ¡°Bridges, report to my office.¡± He got up, throwing away the coffee that he never finished. There she stood, right in front of the boss¡¯s desk. Her blond hair had been put up, part of Jackson wished it was down. He always liked her hair down. The two of them had never spoken to each other until yesterday, but he always was watching her from afar, trying to find a way to approach her without him coming off as being weird or creepy. ¡°Bridges reporting for duty, sir.¡± He said as he stood beside Elisa. He glanced over at her, their eyes meeting. Elisa looked away, a blush was creeping onto her face. Jackson smiled to himself. ¡°Bridges, Reynolds, you both are going to be working together on this case to help find whoever did this. Reynold¡¯s, did you turn in your revised report of the incident?¡± She nodded. ¡°Yes sir, I did. I left it at my desk just like you asked me to.¡± Their boss nodded in approval. ¡°Good, you two are dismissed then. Good luck.¡± Jackson stood at the passenger side of the car that they had been assigned, holding it open. ¡°After you.¡± He smiled at her as she got inside. ¡®Maybe finally we can get to know each other a bit better.¡¯ He thought to himself as he got into the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Where to first?¡± Elisa questioned the moment he was in the car. He was taken aback by her sudden straightforward question, but then again, this was their case and it made sense for her to ask. ¡°I thought that it would be a good idea to go question the neighbor who called in for the welfare check to see if they¡¯ve seen anything sketchy going on recently.¡± Elisa had her hands over one another in her lap, her face turned for her to look out the window. ¡°Sounds good, let¡¯s go then.¡± ¡°So, I heard you have a sister. How old is she?¡± He asked, hoping that he would be able to make some kind of conversation with her. She glanced over at him. ¡°She¡¯s eleven. We look nothing alike. She looks like our mother while I look like my father.¡± She looked down at her hands and frowned. ¡°I took her in when our mother passed away last year, it¡¯s been rough for both of us, but we¡¯re adjusting.¡± Jackson placed a hand on hers and patted her hand. ¡°Hey, I understand. I lost both of my parents when I was a kid and I had to step up and take care of my younger brothers and sisters. At least until social services split us all up.¡± ¡°Oh, Bridges,¡± ¡°Jackson.¡± He cut her off. ¡°Sorry, Jackson, I¡¯m sorry you went through that. Have you been able to meet up with your siblings since then?¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The car came to a stop and Jackson sighed. ¡°Yeah, for the most part. We¡¯ll talk more later. We need to get this over with.¡± He got out of the car and went over and opened the door for Elisa, and the two of them walked up to the front door of a tiny house. Jackson knocked and a frail, elderly woman answered the door. ¡°Officers, how can I help you?¡± She was probably no taller than 5¡¯1. She had a hunched poster and held a cane in her left hand. ¡°Are you Mrs. Connors?¡± Jackson questioned. The woman nodded in his direction. ¡°Yes sir, I am.¡± Jackson looked at Elisa then faced Mrs. Connors once more. ¡°I¡¯m sure you were informed, but yesterday my coworker here answered your welfare check call, when she arrived at the scene the door was already slightly ajar, and she found the family dead in their home.¡± Mrs. Connors nodded, the color of her face draining quickly. ¡°They were such good people, they would come over often and have dinner or I would go over there and have dinner with them.¡± ¡°By any chance have you seen anyone weird hanging around the area, or close to their house? Or anyone who possibly had any issues with this family that would want them dead?¡± Elisa asked. Mrs. Connors shook her head slowly. ¡°Sadly, no I have not.¡± She thought for a moment then gasped. ¡°Wait! About a week before I made the call I had noticed that there was a kind of dark blue van parked in front of their house. I had gone outside to get my mail, I remember the man in the vehicle asked me if I knew if they were home. I had told him they weren¡¯t because I had seen them leave a little while prior. He seemed angered. I asked if he wanted me to let them know that he stopped by but he quickly told me no and drove off.¡± Jackson crossed his arms, frowning. ¡°Did you get a good look at the guy?¡± ¡°He had dark brown hair, but I think it was dyed because I noticed that his roots were blond. His hair was cut semi-short, he was wearing a gray hoodie with some black pants that had cuts in the legs where the knees are.¡± Elisa had taken out a pad and pen and begun to write down the details the elder woman was giving. ¡°Is there anything else about him that you can tell us?¡± Jackson inquired. ¡°Hmm, I would say he was about 5¡¯7? He seemed scrawny and he had a thin face. That¡¯s all I can remember.¡± Jackson nodded. ¡°Thank you Mrs. Connors, that will be all.¡± ¡°Is there anyone in town that comes to mind that might fit that description?¡± Jackson questioned once inside the car. ¡°No, not that I can think of.¡± A brief pause. ¡°Wait, why are you asking me that?¡± Jackson shrugged. ¡°I just assumed you had been born and raised here like everyone else I seem to know here, so I thought with that kind of perk you might know most people in two and might have an idea.¡± Elisa huffed out her cheeks, ¡°Well, yes, I was born and raised here, and for the most part I DO know everyone here but don¡¯t go assuming things.¡± Even with her puffed-out cheeks, her tone was playful. The two of them both went around the block asking neighbors if they had happened to see anything, all of them had reported that they never saw or heard anything that could lead to a clue as to what had happened or who could have committed such a crime. Lunch rolled around and Elisa had picked out a place for them to eat lunch. ¡°I¡¯m glad you picked where we went, I usually go home and make my lunch there.¡± Jackson chuckled. Elisa gave a questioning look. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you knew since we never had a chance to talk before, but I actually just moved here less than a year ago. I¡¯m still learning my way around the town.¡± Elisa hummed. ¡°Well, maybe when we both have some time after work, we could meet up, and I could show you around town?¡± ¡°That¡¯s very kind of you.¡± Their food arrived at their table and Jackson dug into his food right away. He had no idea he had been this hungry. Elisa laughed. Jackson looked up at her, his cheeks flushed. ¡°Calm down Jackson, the food isn¡¯t going anywhere.¡± He swallowed what bit of food was in his mouth then rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just so good and I was super hungry all of a sudden.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s finish eating and get back out there. I¡¯m sure we can find something soon enough.¡± With lunch taken care of, they headed back to the scene of the crime. ¡°Make sure to check every room carefully, don¡¯t touch anything unless you put on your gloves first. We don¡¯t want to lose any possible leads that could lead to the killer.¡± Elisa rolled her eyes in a teasing manner. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I understand, don¡¯t worry.¡± Jackson smirked at her reaction, then headed into the first bedroom that was connected to the hallway. The air was musty, and the room looked like it hadn¡¯t been cleaned in a while. There was a layer of dust everywhere, and with every step, he was forced to inhale that dust. He stopped at the bedroom window and looked outside. The window was slightly opened, this caught his attention. He crouched down to examine it a bit further and noticed fingerprints that had been left in the dust. The direction of the fingerprints showed that someone came in from the outside. ¡°Elisa!¡± He shouted out. ¡°Come here!¡± He heard footsteps running toward him. ¡°What is it, Jackson?¡± He looked back at Elisa. ¡°I think I may have found a possible clue as to how our killer entered the house.¡± He pointed at the fingerprints. Elisa quickly took out her phone, snapping a photo of the prints. ¡°Alright, I got the picture. Should we keep searching for now?¡± Jackson shook his head. ¡°No. For now, let¡¯s go back. Someone will come out here and take the fingerprints and run them in the system to see if we can find a match.¡± He pushed back the hair that had started to stick to his forehead, his brow creasing. ¡°I¡¯ll never understand how someone could do something so cruel.¡± Elisa stayed quiet, but her silence to him meant that she thought the same. ¡°Let¡¯s head out, probably go home and get some rest. Alright?¡± She nodded. He led them out of the house and headed back to the station. Chapter 3 Jackson It was raining that day. It was a light shower, but it was predicted that it was going to become a thunderstorm later that day. I sat on the couch in my family¡¯s living room, my two younger brothers and three younger sisters all sat on the floor as we watched the Saturday morning cartoons. That¡¯s what twelve years old and under usually did. My parents were up in their bedroom getting dressed to go out. Today was the day that they usually went out shopping for groceries and took all of us out for a fancy dinner. ¡°Okay babies, your father and I are about to head out, so make sure you all listen to Jackson, understand?¡± Our mother stood at the front door, our father right behind her. My siblings had all looked up at the same time in acknowledgment. ¡°Bye, we love you all! We¡¯ll be home in a bit.¡± We had all said that we loved them back, but we didn¡¯t know that would be the last time we saw them. I watched out the window as the car backed out of the driveway and drove off from the house. Hours were passing, it was dark outside. Just like predicted, the thunderstorm had started and my youngest brother was starting to complain about being hungry. ¡°Jaaaaaackson, when are mommy and daddy gonna get home? Aren¡¯t they usually home by now? I¡¯m getting hungry!!¡± I had looked up at the clock and then at my brother. ¡°They should be home by now. I¡¯ll make you a small snack to hold you off until they get home, okay?¡± My brother nodded, I headed into the kitchen where our snacks were. Crack! Lightning flashed across the sky, causing the house lights to flicker. My sisters had screamed, they all were afraid of lightning and the dark. It was almost an hour until we were all supposed to be in bed for school the next morning. ¡°Jackson, when are we going to eat?¡± My sister was tugging at my shirt, tears welling up in her eyes. ¡°In just a few minutes. I¡¯ll make something.¡± I headed back to the kitchen and paced around the room. ¡®What can I make for them? They can be so picky sometimes.¡¯ The lights flickered once more as lightning flashed across the sky. I heard my siblings scream. ¡°Okay everyone,¡± I said to my siblings. ¡°Let¡¯s get to the kitchen and I¡¯ll make some sammies.¡± Back then my parents called sandwiches sammies for my siblings considering they were all pretty young. They all headed into the kitchen and sat at the table as they watched me fix their food. Once fed I put them all to bed and sat back down in the living room, looking out the window as I waited for our parents to return. Knock. Knock. I was startled awake. I had fallen asleep on the couch waiting on my parents. I looked up at the clock at the wall. 1:14 am. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and glanced out the window to see who was there. I saw blue lights flashing in front of the house and my heart sank. I was barely able to make out the print ¡°POLICE.¡± The rain was coming down hard enough to make it hard to see. I got up and opened the door. In front of me, an officer stood, staring down at me. ¡°Are you Jackson Bridges?¡± I nodded. ¡°Bring her in.¡± The police said into his radio. The next moment I heard a car door slam shut, and footsteps running towards the front door. There stood another officer with a woman who looked much older. ¡°Jackson, do you recognize her?¡± I looked up at the woman and met her eyes. She had the same green eyes like me, and her face reminded me of my mother¡¯s. It finally clicked. ¡°Grandma!¡± It had been years since I had last seen my grandmother. My mother had told me that grandma had moved across the country, that it would be a while before I saw her again because of that. ¡°Is it alright if we come in?¡± The officer asked. I stared at my grandmother, unsure of what answer to give. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay sweetie.¡± I nodded then stepped back, holding the door open for the three. I lead them to the living room. ¡°So what brings you here grandma?¡± I had questioned. My grandmother¡¯s expression had turned into a sad one. ¡°Jackson, honey¡­¡± She said softly. She reached out for me as if she wanted to hug me. I went into her arms and she hugged me tightly. ¡°With what I¡¯m about to tell you, you have to be strong, okay?¡± I nodded, unable to talk from having my face buried into her shoulder. ¡°Your mother and father¡­ They¡­ They got into a terrible car accident. They were on the way home when someone on the opposite side of the road lost control of their car in this rain and your parents tried to avoid a collision, but they ended up driving into a tree. Both of them had died on impact.¡± I looked up at my grandmother and saw the tears swelling up in her eyes. This wasn¡¯t real, right? I pulled away, unable to process the news I was just told. ¡°There¡¯s no way they died!¡± I screamed. I looked at the officers, hoping one of them would tell me this was a sick joke. They looked at me with pity, and I felt sick to my stomach. Tiny footsteps approached the living room. I turned to face the source to find the youngest of my sisters standing in the doorway. ¡°Jackson? Who are these people?¡± I glanced over at my grandmother, unsure if I should let her know. My grandmother shook her head, and I looked back at my sister. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it sis, just go back to bed and I¡¯ll see you in the morning, okay?¡± She nodded. ¡°Where are mom and dad?¡± She questioned. My heart had felt like it dropped. My grandmother was suddenly by my side. She smiled at my sister. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it honey, just make sure you get to bed.¡± My sister broke out in a grin. ¡°Grandma!¡± She shrieked, hugging our grandmother. ¡°There, there. I¡¯m happy to see you, but right now you need to get back in bed. You¡¯ll see me in the morning, okay?¡± My sister let go and nodded, heading back off to bed. I wanted until I heard her bedroom door shut before I spoke once more. ¡°Since our parents are dead, what¡¯s going to happen to us?¡± I couldn¡¯t bear the thought of what would happen to me and my siblings now that our parents were gone. My grandmother patted my shoulder. ¡°Either you and your brothers and sisters will come to move in with me, or I¡¯ll move in here with all of you. I¡¯ll be taking care of you all. We¡¯ll get everything sorted out tomorrow.¡± I felt numb. Of course, I was glad my grandmother was here, but why did it have to be at the cost of my parents losing their lives? I wanted to scream. I wanted to break something. I was exhausted. ¡°Jackson, you look like you could use some sleep, honey. So go get in bed, okay? I¡¯ll come to wake you up in the morning before everyone else.¡± I nodded and headed to my room, the numb feeling growing with every passing minute. The next day my grandmother had woke me up just like she said. ¡°Would you help me with breakfast honey?¡± I felt disconnected from the world as I had silently followed her. I was silent the whole time I helped her cook. It was still settling in that I would never see my parents again. We had to break the news to my siblings. ¡°Hey, grandma?¡± She hummed in response. ¡°When are we telling the others about mom and dad?¡± She sighed. ¡°I want to wait until everyone has eaten and then I¡¯ll tell them. After that, I need to figure out if I¡¯ll be moving in here or if you all will be coming with me.¡± Breakfast came and went. Dishes had been washed and put away. We all were seated in the living room with our grandmother afterward. I watched our grandmother rub her hands anxiously. ¡°Listen, children, I have news to tell you all.¡± My siblings were all staring at our grandmother, waiting. ¡°Your parents¡­ Last night on their way home, they got into an accident. They¡­ They died in the accident.¡± I looked at my brothers and sisters, seeing the confusion on their faces. ¡°It means we¡¯ll never see mom or dad again. Ever.¡± They understood. They all burst into tears, I couldn¡¯t stop myself from spacing out. After that day it was decided that we would move in with our grandmother. There were lots of fights and protests over leaving. This was our home, and suddenly we were being told we could no longer stay there. We loved our house. We had so many memories in it, and now we had to leave all those memories behind. It took a few days to get everything packed and into the car, but they did it. With that they had driven off, heading to their new home in a place they had never been, where they knew no one. Where their lives would change forever. I bolted upright in my bed. I looked around the room. I was at my house. ¡®I must have been dreaming,¡¯ I thought, shaking my head. It had been a long time since I last dreamt about that day. I looked at the other side of my bed, only to find it empty. She was gone.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Good morning Jackson,¡± a cheery voice called. It was Elisa. I blinked a few times then smiled. ¡®I don¡¯t even remember getting to work.¡¯ She held out a cup. ¡°I always saw you getting yourself a cup of coffee each morning when you get here, so I thought I could go ahead and get it for you.¡± I took the cup from her hand. ¡°Thank you, I appreciate it, but do you know how I like my coffee?¡± I questioned. I watched as her cheeks turned red. ¡°Well, I had to ask a few people if they knew, and eventually someone told me, so I¡¯m hoping they were right.¡± I took a sip. It was right on point. ¡°It¡¯s just the way I like it, again, thank you.¡± She smiled. Elisa was beautiful. When I first saw her it was hard to believe that her eye color was actually grey. Her eyes had entrapped me. They reminded me of skies right before a storm. The same skies that presented themselves early in the day before my parents died. Her hair was down today, it looked good. I wanted to run my fingers through her hair, see if it was soft as it looked. I could have stared at her all day. ¡°Jackson?¡± ¡®Ah, I must have spaced out.¡¯ ¡°Sorry Elisa, are you ready to head out?¡± She nodded. ¡°First we¡¯re going to stop my forensics, see if they had a break with the fingerprints.¡± ¡°Officer Bridges, Officer Reynolds,¡± a lady spoke. We had put in the call to let them know we were coming, she must have been waiting to meet us here. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s us. Are you here to escort us?¡± The woman smiled, ¡°Yes, if you don¡¯t mind, follow me.¡± She turned on her heel and led us to the back. ¡°Stay right here, okay?¡± She left us in an empty room, we stared around the room, unsure as to what we were waiting for. Minutes passed before someone finally came into the room. This time it was a male, he looked closer to Elisa¡¯s age. I watched as his eyes skimmed over Elisa, checking her out. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from glaring at him. ¡°So, are you the one that¡¯s going to tell us what we need?¡± I said rudely, crossing my arms. Hearing my voice snapped him back and he rubbed his neck. ¡°Ah, yes, I am.¡± He pulled out a form from his pocket and looked down at it. ¡°We ran the fingerprints in the system to see if it could have been someone we¡¯ve dealt with before, but no one came up. The weird thing is though, we had these fingerprints on file from a case years ago.¡± I glanced over at Elisa, she was frowning. She looked better with a smile. ¡°Is there anything about the previous case you can tell us about?¡± She questioned. ¡°All I can say is that you¡¯ll have to dig back into this one. It was a case from 3 years ago. I don¡¯t know much else, that¡¯s all I can really tell you.¡± I nodded. ¡°Thank you for the information. Let¡¯s go, Elisa.¡± I led us out of there. There was one place I had to go now. I had to go through cold cases from 3 years ago, it might contain a clue to help us find our killer. ¡°You can look through this, while I looked through the other one. Does that work for you?¡± I asked Elisa, placing a stack of paper in front of her. We had gotten permission to go through the cases, and to my surprise, there were more cold cases from 3 years ago than I would have thought. She nodded, grabbing the first case from the stack. ¡°If you find anything, let me know, okay?¡± She nodded once more, now intensely focusing on the task at hand. ¡°Nothing, nothing¡­¡± I muttered to myself, leafing through the cases in my pile. Nothing was standing out that could be related to our case. I leaned back in my chair and stretched. My stomach rumbled. I glanced at the time. It was almost one o¡¯clock. ¡°Hey, Elisa, are you hungry?¡± Looking at her I could tell she was lost in reading over the reports. Strands of her hair were falling into her face, but she tucked them behind her ear as quickly as they fell. I loved the sight. I got up and walked over to her, placing a hand on her desk, this caught her attention. She looked up at me, her mouth slightly opened. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± I asked again. She blushed and shut her mouth, nodding. ¡°Uh, yes, I am.¡± She admitted sheepishly. ¡°I¡¯ll order us some pizza then. Is that okay?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, I like regular cheese though.¡± I smiled. ¡°Got it.¡± I walked out of the room and took out my phone, making a call for our order. It didn¡¯t take long before I had to meet the pizza guy up at the front desk. I tipped him and took the two pizzas I had ordered, heading back to the room I left Elisa in. ¡°Look what I got!¡± I practically sang. ¡°Oooh! It smells so good!¡± She got up from her table and walked towards me. I handed her a box. ¡°All for you. Eat as much as you want.¡± She nodded again. ¡°Let¡¯s take our break while we eat, okay?¡± I sat down at my desk with my pizza. ¡°So, if it¡¯s okay to ask, how old are you?¡¯ Elisa asked. Her question took me by surprise that I almost choked on my pizza. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± She was starting to get up. I held my hand up. ¡°No, I¡¯m alright, don¡¯t worry. I just wasn¡¯t expecting that. To answer your question, I¡¯m 29, I¡¯ll be turning 30 next month.¡± She looked surprised. ¡°Why? How old do I look to you?¡± She blushed. ¡°I uh, thought you were closer to 35.¡± She muttered, looking down. ¡®Wow, that stung.¡¯ ¡°I don¡¯t mean it in the way you think!¡± She said hurriedly. ¡°You have always had that air about you that made you seem really mature. So I assumed you were older.¡± I chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m glad you thought that. Since you asked me, can I have the pleasure of asking you for your age?¡± ¡°24.¡± I whistled. ¡°Wow, almost a 6-year difference. What made you want to be an officer?¡± I took another bite of my pizza as she looked off in the distance as if she was thinking about what kind of answer she wanted to give me. ¡°Well, I always just wanted to keep people safe. This town is my home, and I want to make sure everyone is treated fairly and that they are all kept safe.¡± I nodded. I had the feeling she was the kind of person who wanted to protect others. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I guess you could say it¡¯s the same reason as you, except that it¡¯s not specifically because I was raised here. In general, I want to keep others safe. I¡¯ve seen a lot growing up, I¡¯ve seen a lot that needs to be changed. I want to help make that change. Without someone on the inside to try and make a change, then change is never going to happen.¡± She was grinning from ear to ear, causing me to blush. ¡°What is it?¡± I tried looking down to hide my blush from her. ¡°That answer. I haven¡¯t met a single officer yet who has said they wanted to make a change. Everyone knows a change needs to happen, but no one seems to care about making that change happen, so it¡¯s good to know we have someone else in the force who wants to make things better.¡± Her saying that made me happy, it felt as if we now shared a common goal, that we have grown closer. ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to get back to going through these cases, as soon as I see something I¡¯ll let you know.¡± I nodded. ¡°I should do the same.¡± I put the rest of my pizza to the side, then grabbed the next case from my now dwindling stack. There was a loud gasp, and I looked up. Elisa had her hands covering her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes. I shot up out of my chair and went over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving a slight squeeze. ¡°Elisa, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Her hands were shaking. ¡°This case has to be the one.¡± Her voice even sounded shaky. I grabbed it from her and skimmed it. The case was almost the same. Someone had been slaughtered and skinned, their skin having been used as curtains, their bones being the only thing missing. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and I was instantly washed over with worry. ¡°Elisa, talk to me, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°This case¡­ It¡¯s my sister¡¯s father¡¯s case. I never knew the actual details besides that he had been murdered. Knowing that the one who killed him also killed someone else in my town bothers me to my core.¡± She wiped away her tears. ¡°Your sister¡¯s father?¡± I questioned. ¡°Yeah, my father apparently ditched my mother when he found out she was pregnant. When I was about five years old my mother had met someone and they started dating, they really loved each other and they got married. When I was thirteen they had a child together, Elizabeth, He was murdered when I was twenty-one and she was just eight. To me, he was also my father. My sister has the same last name as me though, because my mother didn¡¯t want us to be questioned about having different last names.¡± The sadness in her eyes made my heart tug. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Elisa, are you going to be okay?¡± She nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I just want to find him and bring him to justice for the family he murdered and for my father.¡± She stood up, looking me right in the eyes. In her eyes, I could see a storm brewing. ¡°Let¡¯s catch him and make him pay for what he did.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get him, I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡± She smiled. It made my heart melt. ¡°We found what we were looking for so I think we should head out now and put in a report, are you ready?¡± She nodded, clearly determined to get the case solved. Back at the department, I walked up to my boss¡¯s office, knocking on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± Came his gruff voice. He looked up at me. ¡°What is it, Bridges?¡± I had Elisa¡¯s father¡¯s case in my hand. I placed the file down in front of him. ¡°I want this case to be reopened.¡± He snorted at me. ¡°Do you not have your own case you need to be worrying about right now?¡± I nodded. ¡°Yes sir, but I¡¯m positive that this case has ties to the one I¡¯m currently working on. The way that man was murdered and how he was skinned as well as his bones being the only thing missing from the crime ties directly to what happened to the family in my case.¡± There was a pause. I was beginning to worry. ¡®What if he doesn¡¯t reopen the case?¡¯ I bit my bottom lip. ¡°Okay, fine. I¡¯ll have it be reopened. I¡¯m also placing the case under you to investigate since there seems to be a connection.¡± I couldn¡¯t stop the smile that made its way onto my lips. ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± The people in this town might not be people I grew up with or know well, but I was going to make sure they could feel safe in their homes. I wasn¡¯t going to allow another senseless murder to take place, not under my watch. ¡°Elisa, I got the Cap to reopen the case. He¡¯s putting it under me since there¡¯s a connection between the two cases. Hopefully, this gets us one step closer to catching the sick freak who did this.¡± She smiled. ¡°Thank you, Jackson, seriously. I don¡¯t know how I can ever repay you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t.¡± ¡°No, seriously, please, tell me what I can do to repay you for doing that for me. I¡¯m never going to let it go.¡± I paused for a moment. ¡®This could be a good chance to get to know her better.¡¯ ¡°How about¡­ You make me dinner?¡± She looked shocked, I almost took back what I said. ¡°Of course! Just, not tonight. I need to prepare Elizabeth for the fact someone she has never met is coming over, and I have to clean the house.¡± I smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean tonight Elisa. I just meant whenever you can.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± She blushed. She was cute, I was tempted to reach out and touch her cheek to feel how warm they were. ¡°Well, what about tomorrow night then? I can go home now, tell Elizabeth, go shopping for dinner, and clean up.¡± I nodded. ¡°That sounds lovely. I look forward to it. Also, good job today Elisa. Let¡¯s crackdown on this case even more tomorrow.¡± I held my hand out. She grabbed my hand and we shook. ¡°I look forward to solving this case with you Jackson.¡± ¡°I look forward to it as well.¡± Chapter 4 I remember the tears that welled up in my mother¡¯s eyes as she held me. My parents had been fighting like they always do. My mother had taken me out to buy new clothes since I finally grew out of mine, and once father found out, he was mad. He screamed at mom about how she wasted money, and she had tried to defend herself. I remember hearing the sound of my father¡¯s hand slapping my mother across the face. I ran out of my room, panicked about what was going on. I remember the look of hate that was in my father¡¯s eyes that day when he saw me. ¡°You¡­ If it hadn¡¯t been for you being born then none of that money we needed would have been wasted!¡± He was screaming. I trembled as his huge frame stood over me, his fist clenching. I heard my mother scream but I couldn¡¯t make out what she was shouting. Pain. Blood. That¡¯s what I remember next. I had been wearing my favorite light blue shirt that day. Now the front had puddles of red drenching it. I lifted my hand up to my face, feeling the blood coming from my nose. My mother screamed. It hurt. ¡°What are you doing to our son!?¡± My mother shrieked, running to me and pulling me to her. ¡°We never should have had a kid! Do you see what kind of position we put ourselves in the moment he was born?!¡± My father screamed, walking towards us. I cowered into my mother¡¯s arms, I was afraid. This was the first time my father had ever hit me. I knew he got angry when it came to money being spent, but I had never seen him get this angry before. He grabbed my mother by her arm and she screamed. ¡°Get off of me!!!¡± She tried pulling her arm back, but with no luck. ¡°Give him to me.¡± He yanked my mother away from me, throwing her to the side. He grabbed me by the front of my shirt, balling up his fist, and hit me once more. There was more pain. Unbearable pain. More blood poured from my nose, pooling at my feel. I screamed at the sight. ¡°Don¡¯t scream you little brat!¡± He threw me down onto the ground, kicking me in the stomach. I was crying. I couldn¡¯t understand why the man who was my father was hurting me so much. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt him!¡± My mother yelled, having gotten up from the floor and was pulling on my father¡¯s arm. ¡°What has gotten into you?!¡± I could see the fear in her eyes. I always watched my father hit my mother growing up, and she always tried to cover it up, but I was always able to tell that she wanted to leave. They used to never fight. My father lost his job not long after I had been born, and since then he was never able to hold a job, putting us in a position of poverty that I was unable to understand back then. For the first time in my life, I hated my father. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I went and spent money without asking you, it won¡¯t happen again, I promise!¡± Mother sounded frantic as if she hoped her words would snap him back to his senses. Surprisingly, it did. My father stared at her, looked at me, then walked away. Mother rushed over to me and held me close, crying. ¡°Baby, I¡¯m so sorry, are you okay?¡± I felt like I couldn¡¯t speak. I felt detached from myself. ¡°Oh no, baby¡­ I think your nose is broken.¡± She gently touched my nose, I flinched away in pain. ¡°Let¡¯s get you as cleaned up as possible, okay?¡± I could only nod as she helped me up and walked me to the bathroom. Four years had passed since the incident happened. My father got more violent towards me. I started practicing fighting so I could protect myself and my mother. Some of my fights with my father would get out of hand, and law enforcement had to get involved. I didn¡¯t care, I just wanted my father dead. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Honey, where are you?¡± My mother called out from the hall. ¡°In the bathroom, you can come in though!¡± She appeared in front of the door. ¡°What are you doing?¡± She questioned. I shrugged. ¡°Nothing really.¡± She looked me up and down, spotting some blood on my shirt. ¡°What happened? Why is there blood in your shirt?¡± I looked down at the spot and frowned. ¡®I should have changed my shirt, how stupid of me.¡¯ I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what happened ma, but I¡¯m fine.¡± She looked worried. ¡°Well make sure you¡¯re clean for dinner, you know that your father likes for us to be clean at dinner.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°As clean as we can be, considering we haven¡¯t been able to pay the bills to afford to be clean or have food.¡± ¡°Just clean up, alright?¡± I sighed. ¡°Okay, ma.¡± The blood had actually come from an animal I had just put to rest out in the woods close to our house. Of course, I never wanted to do it. The poor thing was already bleeding out to death when I came across it. Its ribcages were exposed, I was surprised it was still breathing. It panged my heart to see it like that, I wanted to help put it out of its misery. Once she walked away, I couldn¡¯t stop the smile from spreading on my face. I finally had a plan to get myself and my mother out of this dump. Silence. That¡¯s all there ever was at the dinner table, whenever we got to have dinner. The only noise was the sound of chewing. My father watched both of us closely, he always did. If there was even a crumb left on our plate, it would send him into a frenzy. I needed to keep my mother safe for just one more night before I could get her out of there. I finished my food and washed my dishes. ¡°I¡¯m heading to bed now.¡± I kissed my mother¡¯s cheek, giddy for the next day to come to finally be free. For the first time in years, I woke up feeling alive. I was ready to get out of there, ready to go start a new life. Whenever my father wouldn¡¯t be home I had gone out and done small odd jobs to save up some money. I finally had saved enough to get my mother and me away from my father. We wouldn¡¯t have to go hungry anymore. We would be safe. I waited until I heard my father leave, then I made a beeline straight to my parent¡¯s room where I knew where my mother would be. She always hid away in their room when my father was going around the house, getting whatever ready so that he could leave. ¡°Mom! I want you to gather anything important to you and pack up. We¡¯re leaving.¡± She looked at me in confusion. ¡°What do you mean we¡¯re leaving?¡± I stared at her. ¡°I mean that we¡¯re leaving this place and never coming back.¡± Her expression changed from one of confusion to one of shock. ¡°But¡­ How are we going to leave? We have nowhere to go, we have no money.¡± She bit her bottom lip. It was obvious she was uneasy about leaving. I could understand that she didn¡¯t want to make our situation get any worse than what it was. ¡°Ma, trust me, we need to get out of here, and now is our only chance!¡± She stood there frozen, I had to stop myself from getting aggravated. ¡°Ma, please. I wouldn¡¯t try and get us to leave if I wasn¡¯t sure about it! Just¡­ Wait right here.¡± I ran back to my room, grabbed the cash that I had saved, and brought it to her. ¡°Look at all of this, ma! I saved enough to be able to get us out of here for good. We no longer have to be beaten and used, we could have a better life!¡± Her eyes widen at the sight of the money, hesitation flashed in her eyes. ¡°Ma, I have the money, so let¡¯s leave. I already have my important stuff packed and ready to go.¡± She nodded. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get my stuff together, and we¡¯ll leave. Wait for me in the living room.¡± I nodded, going to my room and grabbing my stuff, heading to the living room with a practical hop to my step. It wasn¡¯t long before mother met me in the living room with her stuff. She had a faint smile, the look in her eyes made it obvious that she was relieved to be leaving. ¡°Are you ready? There¡¯s no going back.¡± I glanced at my mother¡¯s hand, noticing that she still had on her wedding ring. ¡°What are you going to do with that?¡± I pointed at her ring. ¡°I thought we could pawn it, that way we could get some extra money to help us out.¡± She spoke softly, looking down at the ground. I grabbed the front door and held it open. ¡°After you.¡± She walked out her door holding her two bags of belongs and she paused in the front yard. I grabbed my bag and followed her out of the house, smiling up at the sky. I felt free. ¡°Even though this place only has bad memories, it¡¯s been the only home I¡¯ve had for years. I¡¯m going to miss this house.¡± My mother said, smiling sadly. I walked up to her and hugged her. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay, we¡¯ll find a new house, make better memories. You would never have to leave the place you call home ever again. You¡¯ll never be hurt again.¡± I smiled at her. I just wanted my mother to genuinely be happy. ¡°Well, the longer we wait to leave the closer it gets to your father returning, so let¡¯s head out.¡± She said with a nervous chuckle. I couldn¡¯t have agreed more. We both looked back for one more glance of the house, giving it a silent goodbye. We were never coming back. Not by free will. Chapter 5 Elisa I was nervous. Tonight was the night Jackson would be coming for dinner. I still hadn¡¯t told Elizabeth, I was worried about what her reaction would be. Ever since her father died she¡¯s had a hard time meeting new people, sometimes the introductions ended terribly. Right now I was helping Elizabeth braid her hair. Maybe right now would be the best time to tell her. ¡°Hey, Elizabeth, can I tell you something?¡± She looked up to me and I turned her back facing forward. ¡°Keep still so I can get straight braids, okay?¡± ¡°Okay sis, but what is it?¡± I gulped. ¡°Well, I invited a co-worker over for dinner tonight.¡± She was silent, my heart was racing. ¡®I hope this doesn¡¯t end badly.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re finally making friends sis.¡± Her response shocked me. ¡°What do you mean? Aren¡¯t you upset? I know that you hate meeting people.¡± ¡°I know, but I¡¯ve never seen you have an actual friend before. I care more about you having someone than me being uncomfortable meeting them.¡± I bit my lip. I couldn¡¯t help but feel bad. ¡°When did you get to be so mature? You¡¯re only eleven.¡± She hummed. ¡°Mommy always talked about how she wished you had friends so you weren¡¯t so alone. When mommy died I thought I could try and look out for you if you ever wanted friends.¡± My heart had felt like it could melt. ¡°When will your friend be coming over sis?¡± I paused. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure myself. ¡°I¡¯ll find out once I get to work, okay? I¡¯ll text your babysitter and tell her to let you know when he¡¯ll be coming over.¡± I finished her braids and she turned to face me. ¡°Okay sis, just be safe today, okay?¡± I nodded. ¡°Of course I will be Elizabeth.¡± Looking into her eyes I could see that she was worried. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m leaving now.¡± It hadn¡¯t taken me long to get ready for work. I felt so giddy that I hadn¡¯t even realized I was in my work uniform until I was already at the door, about to walk out. Elizabeth stood behind me, rubbing her hands together. ¡°I love you, Elisa, please come home safe.¡± I looked back at her. ¡°I love you too, Elizabeth, I promise to come home safe.¡± I looked over at the babysitter. ¡°Please take care of my sister.¡± Jackson was at my desk, waiting for me. He was looking down at papers he held in his hand. My heart skipped a beat as I approached him. ¡°Oh, good morning Elisa,¡± He looked up from the paper and smiled at me, but his smile didn¡¯t meet his eyes. He appeared exhausted. ¡°Good morning, Jackson, are you alright?¡± I questioned. He grimaced. ¡°Yeah, I will be. Don¡¯t worry about me. Are you alright?¡± I nodded. ¡°Good. Are you ready to get started?¡± I nodded again. ¡°I¡¯m always ready. I want to catch this guy.¡± ¡°So to start today off, before you got to the department a call had come in about a suspicious-looking man hanging around someone¡¯s house, the description sounded similar to our suspect, so I thought we could go check it out,¡± Jackson spoke through a yawn. I could tell he hadn¡¯t slept too well the night before, I couldn¡¯t help but worry. I wanted to question him about it but decided against it. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go then.¡± The house we arrived at was a block away from the house that the murder had taken place. ¡°It looks like they¡¯re trying to stay close to where they first killed,¡± I said as we got out of the car. Jackson nodded in agreement. ¡°It seems like it.¡± We approached the front door, I knocked. An elder man stood in the doorway, staring at us with beady eyes. ¡°You two the ones they sent about my call?¡± I nodded. ¡°Yes sir, I¡¯m officer Reynolds and this is Officer Bridges. Will you please tell us what happened?¡± The old man tsked. ¡°Yeah, come in.¡± We followed him inside. He had us sit down at his kitchen table. I looked around and noticed dishes were broken on the floor. The old man caught me staring and shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t pick it up in case whoever came wanted to check it out. Anyways, my wife and I got up around 5 o¡¯clock this morning. My wife had an appointment this morning at 7 o¡¯clock so she wanted to get up a bit earlier to get ready. With old age, it takes longer to get ready. When I get up in the mornings I¡¯ll go stand on my porch for a few minutes and watch the sunrise. This morning when I went outside, I noticed there was this dark blue-colored van in front of our house. Someone was in the driver¡¯s seat, they noticed me watching them and they drove off. Eventually, my wife left for her appointment.¡± He sighed. ¡°While she was gone I thought I should clean up a bit. I had taken the trash out and hadn¡¯t locked the door behind me.¡± He pointed towards the door beside his cabinets that led to the side of his house. ¡°I started washing dishes and when I was putting them away, there was some guy standing right there beside of me. He had a gray hoodie and he had it over his head, trying to cover his face. He had black jeans that were kind of cut up. His hoodie had a dark stain on the front. He had lunged at me and I dropped the dish in my hand and it shattered. Luckily we keep guns in every room of the house. I grabbed the gun we have in the kitchen and pointed it at him. It scared him enough that he ran.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I frowned. ¡®First a family, now an elderly couple?¡¯ ¡°When he drove away did you catch his licenses plate?¡± The old man shook his head. ¡°He didn¡¯t have one.¡± I felt defeated. ¡°Well, we don¡¯t need the dish, but let me get it cleaned up for you.¡± The old man frowned. ¡°It¡¯s my mess, I can get it.¡± I shook my head, standing up. ¡°No, I insist. You¡¯ve been through a bad experience. So let me do this.¡± He gave in. ¡°Alright. Thank you.¡± After cleaning up the broken glass, we left his house. ¡°I can¡¯t believe he would try and attack when he knows it¡¯s during the day and that he was asleep,¡± Jackson muttered, more to himself. ¡°I agree. Maybe he thought he could take the old man though. Or maybe he wasn¡¯t expecting the old man to be home and that he was trying to get into the house to stake out the house so he could come back later to do them in.¡± I said. ¡°That might be true,¡± Jackson said, holding open my door, closing it behind me once I was inside the car. He got in a few seconds left and rubbed his face. ¡°Are you alright with going to a coffee shop so I can grab a cup? I could use a pick me up.¡± He sounded tired. ¡°Of course, I could actually use a cup myself.¡± The coffee shop was a small building off on a side road that was rarely used. It was obvious the place didn¡¯t get much business, besides what was needed to keep their building open. The smell in the building was sweet. Jackson placed his order once we reached the front. ¡°What do you want Elisa?¡± I opened my mouth to argue, only to be stopped. ¡°Nope, it¡¯s my treat. So order whatever you want.¡± I ordered a large iced coffee and we found a booth off in an empty corner to sit. Jackson laid a folder on the table and flipped it open, sipping on his coffee. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I questioned. He looked at me with a half-smile. ¡°It¡¯s your stepfather¡¯s case and our current one. I¡¯m looking to see if there had been any reports made by your stepfather or anyone in the family that was killed.¡± I looked around the shop and frowned. ¡°Are you sure we should be going over this here?¡± He nodded. ¡°Yeah, this is where I usually come to get away from the desk to go over my cases without so many distractions. There is rarely anyone here during this time.¡± He started skimming the pages, flipping through them as he tried to find what he wanted. ¡°Ah-ha!¡± He took a paper out from the folder, ¡°This says there was a report made the day before his murder. Apparently, the call was about someone following him at work. This person was apparently following him around for a week before he reported it.¡± I was shocked. ¡°He never told us about this. We had no idea. If¡­ If he had just told us we could have done more to help him!¡± I could feel tears prickling in my eyes. I felt a hand on my hand. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Elisa. He probably didn¡¯t say anything to make sure you, your sister, or your mother didn¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure he didn¡¯t think it would end up the way it did.¡± I sighed. ¡°I know, it just hurts to know that something was going on beforehand and I could have done something about it.¡± I bit my bottom lip. Jackson squeezed my hand. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not you¡¯re fault, so don¡¯t beat yourself up. We¡¯ll catch the one who did this, okay?¡± I nodded, trying to give a slight smile. ¡°Considering the report is saying that he was being followed at work, I think we should go give his old workplace a visit, and ask whoever is in charge if anyone that worked there back then still is there and to see if we can ask them some questions. Do you know where he was working?¡± ¡°I actually don¡¯t remember. I can find out by the end of the day though.¡± Jackson nodded. ¡°Well until we go visit I don¡¯t want to get ahead of ourselves. So let¡¯s call it a day here and continue on tomorrow.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but be glad. Finding out my stepfather was being followed before he was murdered was emotionally taking its toll on me. We finally got in the car, heading back to the department to put the files back up. ¡°So, Jackson, when are you wanting to come over for dinner?¡± He contemplated for a second. ¡°How about¡­ As soon as we leave work?¡± I couldn¡¯t stop myself from blushing. ¡°Are you sure?¡± I questioned. He smiled and nodded. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°Elizabeth, I¡¯m home!¡± I shouted out as I walked into my front door. I held the door open for Jackson. ¡°Hey, sis!!¡± Elizabeth came out running at me with her arms wide open, throwing herself at me for a hug. I hug her tightly and smile. ¡°I told you I would come home safely, didn¡¯t I?¡± She smiled up at me. Her brunette hair was in a complete mess compared to the neat braids I had put it in that morning. She looked past me and stared at Jackson. ¡°Who is he, Elisa?¡± I rubbed the back of my neck. ¡°Elizabeth, this is Jackson. Jackson, this is my younger sister Elizabeth. This is the friend that I told you was going to come over for dinner tonight, remember?¡± She nodded slowly, still staring at him. ¡°You were supposed to let me know when he was coming Elisa.¡± I let out a nervous laugh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Elizabeth, it slipped my mind. You aren¡¯t upset, are you?¡± She shook her head and let go of me. ¡°Can I help with dinner?¡± She questioned. ¡°Of course, just let me get Jackson settled in, and then we can start, okay?¡± Jackson smiled. ¡°Actually, could I help as well?¡± I looked at Elizabeth. ¡°Are you okay with that?¡± She nodded. ¡°Then let¡¯s start.¡± Jackson ended up making all of dinner. We had grilled steaks and they had turned out delicious. Elizabeth seemed to really enjoy Jackson¡¯s company, which made me happy. ¡°So, Elizabeth, I had a question.¡± She hummed as she took the last bite of her steak. ¡°By any chance do you remember where daddy used to work?¡± She looked up, her eyes practically shining. ¡°Yeah! He worked at that phone agency place, remember? I got to go with him one time! It was so fun!¡± After dinner, Jackson helped me put her to bed. ¡°She looks so peaceful when she sleeps,¡± Jackson muttered. I couldn¡¯t agree more. ¡°She really does. Anyways, I guess this means it¡¯s time for you to start heading home, right?¡± He looked defeated. ¡°Yeah, it is.¡± I patted his back. ¡°I¡¯ll see you out, okay?¡± At the front door, we said our goodbyes. Part of me didn¡¯t want him to go, but that wasn¡¯t allowed, right? Whatever I was feeling, I needed to stop feeling that way, and fast. I couldn¡¯t allow any personal feelings towards Jackson to get in the way of our case. Chapter 6 Jackson It was hard to leave Elisa¡¯s house. Dinner hadn¡¯t exactly went how I had thought, but instead it went better. I was able to forget for a while about going home. As I got into my car I couldn¡¯t help but think that I wanted to stay longer. Now I stood in front of my front door, hand lingering over the door knob. I was unsure of what to expect when I walked inside, but my gut told me that it wasn¡¯t going to exactly be good. I sighed and walked in anyways. The moment you walk through my front door you¡¯re inside the living room. I glanced around the room and frowned at the figure that sat on my couch. ¡°So, did you have fun?¡± It asked, it¡¯s voice sounding full of spite. ¡°What are you doing, Sarah?¡± The woman sitting on the couch was Sarah. My wife. Soon to be ex-wife. She had her arms crossed, a clear displeased look on her face. ¡°I was waiting for my husband to get home, that¡¯s what I¡¯m doing.¡± She stood up, tossing a strand of black hair behind her shoulder. As she got closer I could smell the alcohol on her breath. ¡°How much have you drunk tonight?¡± I questioned. Sarah glared at me, like that was the stupidest question she has ever been asked. ¡°Why does it matter to you? My drinking has nothing to do with you!¡± I groaned. This wasn¡¯t going to go anywhere. She got closer, wrapping her arms around me. ¡°How could you leave your lovely wife all alone like that?¡± She slurred. I pulled back away from her. ¡°Sarah, you know we aren¡¯t together. We¡¯re waiting for the divorce to finalize, remember?¡± She tsked. ¡°I told you yesterday night I wanted to work things out! Are you seriously wanting to have it finalized?¡± She was getting angry. Usually when she was angry I would always say what she wanted to hear, trying to prevent another fight, but I knew one way or another if I truly wanted to leave this marriage, I had to stand my ground. ¡°Yes, Sarah, I do.¡± Before I realized it, she had spit in my face. I gritted my teeth. ¡°What the hell Sarah?!¡± She walked back over to the couch, grabbing the drink she had on the table beside it, and took a swig from her drink. ¡°After EVERYTHING we¡¯ve been through, you seriously want to do this?¡± She then chugged the rest of her drink, looking at her glass and then at me. I nodded. ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t keep doing this with you.¡± I saw the flash of hate in her eyes. She threw the glass in my direction. I ducked as it shattered against the wall. ¡°You¡¯re seeing someone else, aren¡¯t you?!¡± She shrieked. ¡®Here we go again.¡¯ I looked at the shattered glass, and instantly felt exhausted. ¡°That¡¯s why you want this so badly! Because you have some slut you¡¯ve been seeing!¡± I couldn¡¯t take it. ¡°You want to talk about ME seeing someone else? If you want to go down that road, let¡¯s talk about the countless men you¡¯ve cheated on me with!¡± I hollered. I felt myself getting heated, but at the time it was hard to bring myself to care. She went silent, but I kept on. ¡°What about your current guy, huh? The one who randomly showed up at our door a few months ago pleading to see his son? OUR son? You¡¯ve yet to get a DNA test done to see who Lucas'' father is! That was the first time I even found out about the others!¡± I was still screaming. ¡°This is MY house, the only reason you¡¯re still here is for OUR son! If it wasn¡¯t for him, your sorry ass wouldn¡¯t even be living here right now!¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t got the DNA test done yet because I know Lucas is your son Jackson!¡± Her face had paled, she sat back down on the couch and tears began to fill her eyes. She placed her face into her hands. ¡°Yeah? Then why does he keep coming over while I¡¯m not home and doesn¡¯t leave for hours?¡± After the first time the man had appeared at our door, I had a security system placed at the front door. Footage would be sent to my phone, and for months now I would see the man coming over to our house, staying for hours. She looked shocked. ¡°I¡­ I don''t know what you¡¯re talking about Jackson!¡± Her face had guilt written all over it, and I felt sick to my stomach. ¡°You¡¯re really going to sit there and lie to my face about it?¡± Before she had the chance to speak a small voice called out. ¡°Mommy? Daddy?¡± I looked behind me. Lucas stood in the doorway, holding his stuffed teddy bear close to his chest. His curly, brunette locks were messy. Looking at him now, it was obvious to me who his father was. Neither I nor his mother had curls, but he did. We both had black hair, while Lucas had brown hair. My eyes were green, Sarah¡¯s were brown, Lucas had blue. None of his facial features looked like me either. At the time I thought he took more after his mother¡¯s side, but after seeing the other man, I couldn¡¯t help but see more of that man in my son than Sarah and her family. I walked over to Lucas and crouched down to his level, placing both my hands on his shoulders. ¡°Are you okay Lucas?¡± I knew our screaming must¡¯ve woken him up. Guilt ate at me with that thought. He nodded. ¡°Are you two fighting again?¡± My heart dropped. All his life I tried to hide him from our issues. I always tried to give him the best. I glanced over at Sarah, she looked to be in no position to offer comfort. ¡°No son, mommy just had a little too much to drink and was getting too excited and hadn¡¯t noticed how loud she had gotten. I also got overly excited too, I¡¯m sorry we woke you up.¡± He nodded, but the look in his eyes told me he already knew what the truth was. ¡°Want me to tuck you back into bed?¡± He broke into a smile. ¡°Yes please!¡± I wrapped him into my arms, carrying him up the spiral stairs to his bedroom. He squealed the whole way up, and I smiled. I tucked him into bed. ¡°Daddy, will you please stay with me until I fall back asleep?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Once asleep, I walked back down to Sarah and crossed my arms. ¡°We can¡¯t keep doing this. Our fighting is going to affect him. He¡¯s only nine. He shouldn¡¯t have to keep seeing this. We¡¯re not setting a good example for him when it comes to relationships, Sarah.¡± I said sternly. ¡°You¡¯re going to get a DNA test done, if not, I¡¯ll take it to court and hopefully have a test ordered. It¡¯s up to you how this goes.¡± I turned my back to head up to my room, then stopped. I looked back at her, ¡°Oh, and you¡¯re sleeping on the couch tonight.¡± I went to my room and locked the bedroom door behind me, rubbing my face from exhaustion as I got into bed. I remember the day that Lucas had been born and we brought him home. Sarah was exhausted but she beamed with happiness. We were going to have our family over to meet our baby. Thanks to growing up with my grandmother for a few years I was able to grow a closer relationship with an aunt and uncle of mine. At the time, the only siblings I had contact with had all gone their separate ways and none were going to be there, but my aunt and uncle were. Sarah¡¯s sisters and parents were coming. Today we were going to have a baby shower. Sarah and her family didn¡¯t believe in baby showers until the baby was born, thinking it would bring bad luck. I was busying myself in the kitchen, preparing some food for our family to enjoy while Sarah was in the living room with the baby. I was pulling the last dish out from the oven when there was a knock at the door. My aunt and uncle had been the ones to arrive first, but shortly after them had come Sarah¡¯s family. ¡°Welcome everyone!¡± I hugged all of them. They were all excited to meet baby Lucas. ¡°So where is the little guy?¡± My aunt asked. ¡°Follow me.¡± I led them all to where Sarah and Lucas were. Sarah looked up and smiled at everyone. Lucas was awake, looking around at everyone. He had already been born with hair on top of his head, his baby hair was extremely curly, and his eyes were the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. I watched as everyone cooed over him, except my aunt and uncle. They both were staring at Lucas with a curious look. They caught me staring and looked away. ¡°I¡¯m going to go get everyone their food, any special request for drinks?¡± My aunt stood up. ¡°Let me help you.¡± I was thankful for the help. In the kitchen as we were fixing plates, my aunt stopped. ¡°Jackson.¡± She said in a whispered tone. ¡°Yeah?¡± I questioned. She looked me in the eyes, frowning. She got closer to me. ¡°What I¡¯m about to say, you don¡¯t repeat to anyone, not even Sarah, okay?¡± I started getting worried. ¡°Okay¡­ What is it?¡± She inhaled. ¡°Jackson, Lucas isn¡¯t your son.¡± My heart felt like it had stopped beating. ¡°What do you mean he isn¡¯t mine?¡± She glanced towards the doorway, it was obvious she wasn¡¯t wanting anyone to overhear. ¡°Have you taken a good look at him? He looks nothing like you. I¡¯m only telling you because I feel it in my gut that he isn¡¯t your son.¡± Her words felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest. ¡°Look, we just brought our son home. I¡¯m going to pretend like I never heard you tell me that, okay?¡± She nodded, and we silently fixed the rest of everyone¡¯s plates. After a month or so, I had pushed what my aunt said to the back of my mind. As I watched him grow over the years, what she told me would surface to my mind. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°I was thinking, Lucas doesn¡¯t have many features that look like me,¡± I said aloud to Sarah one day. Lucas was already asleep in bed, Sarah and I were sitting out on the back porch. At the time we had our own private land that went on for acres, so if we ever had a screaming match, no one would hear it but us, and Lucas, if he woke up to it. Sarah had frowned, crossing her arms. ¡°Are you about to say you don¡¯t think he¡¯s your son?¡± She sounded defensive, I couldn¡¯t help but find that weird. ¡°No, I was just saying that because I had been hoping he would have looked more like me, that¡¯s all.¡± She was still frowning. ¡°Well, have you thought that maybe he just took more after my side of the family? My great grandmother had really curly hair, and my father has blue eyes. He just took after us. Now get what your aunt said out of your head!¡± I eyed her suspiciously. ¡®I thought her dad had brown eyes?¡¯ I should have known back then something was wrong. Before Lucas had been born, Sarah had started going out more, she would always smell kind of strange when she got home, and she would be drunk. It happened more and more. We started fighting over her drinking, fighting about why she was going out all night and not coming home until early morning. We would fight over the smallest things. Once she had found out she was pregnant it stopped. It all picked back up after he had been born. It turns out Sarah had heard what my aunt told me, and it caused a lot of issues. Everything was a fight. Eventually I was offered a better position within my career with the police. I had decided to take the offer, which meant we had to move out of state. I bought more land and had a new house built before we moved. Sarah and I agreed that the move would be our new start, we would go to marriage counseling, we¡¯d stop all the fighting, she wouldn¡¯t drink anymore. It did start off like that, and I had thought our marriage could be saved, until the day he showed up. At the time I was at home, it was my day off. Lucas was at school. He had just turned nined the day before. Sarah was upstairs in our bedroom. There was a knock at the door. It had only been three months since we moved in. I got up and opened the door. A man standing at least 5¡¯8 was nervously rubbing his hands together in front of my door. ¡°Can I help you?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°Is Sarah home?¡± This struck a nerve. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but who are you? Why are you asking for my wife?¡± The man''s eyes widened. ¡°Oh! I had no idea she was married now. I wanted to speak to Sarah about me being able to see my son.¡± I looked him up and down. Blue eyes. Curly, brunette hair. His face looked just like Lucas, or yet, Lucas looked just like this man. ¡°I said, tell me who you are.¡± I said through gritted teeth. ¡°My name is Daniel. I''m Sarah''s ex.¡± I eyed him. ¡°Why did you two break up?¡± He rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°I found out she had been cheating on me with a few other guys. I left her when I found out. Anyways, can I please talk to her?¡± I felt anger boil up inside of me. ¡°SARAH!¡± I yelled out. ¡°GET DOWN HERE NOW!¡± I heard her footsteps come running down the stairs. ¡°What¡¯s wrong honey, you sound-¡± She stopped in her tracks when she saw Daniel at the door. Her face fell. He gave her a small wave. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± She hissed at him as she approached the door, her arms crossed. ¡°I came to see my son. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡± She looked at me then back at him, her face had gone extremely pale. ¡°Your son? We dated way before we ever got together.¡± Daniel looked at me and frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve seen pictures of him. He looks nothing like this guy. He looks like me. We broke up a month before you found out you were pregnant Sarah!¡± I clenched my fist. ¡°How did you find out she had been pregnant?¡± Daniel looked like he pitied me. ¡°Her family told me. I was really close to them. They were how I found out about her cheating. When they told me she was pregnant I tried to get back with her, but she told me she recently got with someone new. Then after that I was never able to get a hold of her again.¡± I looked over at Sarah. ¡°Someone new? We had been dating for years before we got married. You found out you were pregnant sometime after our marriage!¡± Daniel shook his head. ¡°Sorry dude, she was with me and was seeing other guys on the side. If I had known she was married I never would have done anything with her.¡± I felt anger boil inside me. I couldn¡¯t be angry with someone who didn¡¯t know, but I was severely pissed at Sarah. ¡°Your family told me that he was my son. If he is, I want to be part of his life.¡± Daniel sounded pleading now. It felt like my head was overloading. I had to sit down. ¡°You two talk it out, I¡¯m going to sit down.¡± Daniel looked worriedly at me while Sarah just stared coldly at me. ¡®Funny how the guy she cheated on me with is worried about me while she isn¡¯t.¡¯ I laughed to myself. ¡°Jackson.¡± Sarah sat down beside me after a while. ¡°We need to talk.¡± I agreed. We did. ¡°Tell me the truth.¡± She looked down at the floor. ¡°I did cheat on you before and after we got married.¡± I gritted my teeth. ¡°However, I can promise that Lucas is yours!¡± I frowned. ¡°No, I want a DNA test. If he belongs to Daniel then Daniel deserves to see his son. Also, after today, I want a divorce.¡± After that day I had her sign a contract stating that we were no longer together, that the house was solely mine. After the amount of time passed, I went and filed for divorce. We fought multiple times over it. She didn¡¯t want to get a divorce, I did. For months it was put on, until one day she signed it. Of course I had been told it would be a while to be finalized, but I felt relieved. Before I had taken out divorce papers, Sarah started seeing other men again. I no longer had love for her. I refused to continue living the way we were. I knew one of the guys was Daniel. I had the feeling that she was letting him see Lucas, so I had cameras installed, and my gut feeling had been right. Daniel was coming over. I felt numb. I woke up the next day with a headache. There were small knocks at my door. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Daddy!¡± Lucas called out. I looked at the clock and froze. It was 10 o¡¯clock. Lucas should have been at school already. Sarah was supposed to take him. I jumped out of bed, throwing my clothes on. I opened the door. ¡°Baby, why aren¡¯t you at school?¡± He looked down. ¡°Mommy said she didn¡¯t feel like taking me this morning, then she left.¡± I clenched my fist. ¡°I¡¯ll take you, okay? So go get ready.¡± He ran off to his room. I was tired of her shit. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m so late.¡± Elisa was at my desk, looking like a lost puppy. I couldn¡¯t help but find it cute. She waved her hand. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about it. Are you okay?¡± I knew my hair was sticking out from me practically running inside of the building. I quickly pushed my hair back to look more straight and I smiled. ¡°Yeah, just taking my son to school.¡± She eyed me curiously. ¡°You have a son? How old is he?¡± I bit my lip. ¡°Uh, he¡¯s nine. His mother was supposed to take him this morning but¡­ Well, something came up and she didn¡¯t but I wasn¡¯t woken up to be the one to take him so I took him when I got up.¡± She gave a sympathetic smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s been a rough morning.¡± I appreciated her kindness. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Are you ready to start the day?¡± She nodded. ¡°I looked more into it, but my stepfather had been working at a life insurance company. It¡¯s not a well known one though. It¡¯s more of the kind of company that answers calls for other businesses.It¡¯s kind of a small building off of main street.¡± Elisa said. We were already heading to the company in question, I noted how by itself the building was. We parked in front of the building and walked in. There was no front desk, as soon as you walked in all you saw were separated mini offices, and you could hear phones ringing, then being answered. ¡°Hello there officers, how may I help you?¡± A young man said as he approached us. He was dressed very formally, he looked like he was more than a regular employee. ¡°We¡¯re looking for a supervisor. Can you help us?¡± He smiled. ¡°That would be me. How can I help the two of you?¡± I looked towards Eliza. She stepped forward. ¡°Were you the supervisor in charge here three years ago?¡± The man nodded. ¡°Do you remember an employee by the name Caden Hutckins?¡± The man bit his lip, but nodded. ¡°Yes, I do. He was one of our best employees. His death was a terrible loss.¡± ¡°He was my stepfather.¡± Elisa may have looked fine on the outside, but I could tell this was bothering her. ¡°Well, first of all, I was his supervisor William Harris.¡± William held out his hand, we both took his hand and shook it. ¡°We just want to ask, the week before he did, did anything seem off? Did he make any reports of someone following him?¡± William thought for a second, then ran his fingers through his shortcut blond hair. ¡°He made a report saying he felt like someone was following him. I asked if he reported it to the police. He said he had. He seemed genuinely worried, so I started keeping an eye out more. I noticed whenever he left work this blue van always followed him a good bit behind. He always started to receive strange calls at work all throughout the day. He seemed disturbed. I also made a report to the police, but they didn¡¯t take it seriously. The night he had been murdered, someone had broken in and only taken from Caden¡¯s desk. When the police who originally were investigating came by, I told them all of this, but I have no idea of where that led the case to. I¡¯m guessing because you two are here, it didn¡¯t go anywhere and it¡¯s being looked into again?¡± I looked at Elisa. ¡°Yeah, it is. There was a whole family who was murdered. We believe it¡¯s the same guy. We also wanted to know if any employees that might have been friends with him back then still worked here?¡± William nodded again. ¡°Oh yes, two of them do. Both of them aren¡¯t here today though. One got into an accident and is still in the hospital, the other one had asked for this week off to go out of state to visit some family.¡± I took a pen from my pocket and took the pad that Elisa always carried when interviewing people and wrote down our numbers. ¡°Call us if you find anything out, and have them give us a call when they come back.¡± William took the paper. ¡°Will do. Have a good day officers.¡± ¡°Well that was kind of a bust.¡± Elisa muttered. I shared her aggravation. ¡°Well we were able to get a little more information than what we had. It just pisses me off how badly the police failed your stepfather.¡± Elisa was looking down. It was silent until I looked into the rearview mirror. A white pickup truck was behind us. I kept driving, it followed. ¡°Elisa, I think we¡¯re being followed.¡± She glanced at her side view mirror and hummed. ¡°It seems so. I wonder what they-¡± Her sentence was cut off by the sound of a gun going off. The back windshield shattered. The driver in the truck was holding a gun out of his window, pointing at us. I pressed my foot to the gas, more gunshots going off. Elisa picked up the radio. ¡°This is officer Reynolds, we have a white pickup truck behind us firing shots at us, we need back up. We just turned off of main street, heading towards Summers Rd.¡± Another shot fired. I swerved to avoid it, taking a sharp right onto Summers Rd. The station wasn¡¯t far. I heard sirens heading our direction. The truck driver must have to, because he wouldn¡¯t dare turn down the road after us. He continued driving. I stopped the car and looked at Elisa. ¡°Are you okay? You didn¡¯t get hit, did you?¡± She shook her head. Police vehicles pulled up around us, and we got out of the car. We looked at one another. We knew what just happened. The killer felt threatened, and he was sending us a warning to back off or be killed. Chapter 7 Elisa The rush still hadn¡¯t worn off yet. The only thing running through my mind was how Jackson and I had just been shot at. When I first got on the job I never thought I would see myself in this kind of situation. I could help but feel a thrill out of it. At the same time, I felt bad for feeling that way. After the incident, we were escorted back to the department to put in a report of what took place. Our vehicle was towed off to go be repaired, for the next week or so we would be out of a vehicle. It seemed like we would end up doing more on foot or at the office. ¡°Have you finished up your report yet?¡± I was sitting at my desk. I looked up. Jackson stood at the side. ¡°I actually just finished it. I was also kind of thinking about what happened today and what¡¯s going to happen until we get the vehicle back from the shop.¡± Jackson gave a small smile. ¡°Well, we have a few days until we will possibly hear from those employees, so until then we should probably stick around here and figure it out.¡± I sighed. ¡®Just what I thought.¡¯ ¡°I see, that¡¯s kind of what I thought,¡± I couldn¡¯t help the defeated feeling that loomed over me. ¡°For now we¡¯ll go home, and tomorrow we¡¯ll meet in the break room and go from there.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll take your report and hand it in to our boss for you so you can head home.¡± I handed him my report. ¡°Thank you Jackson. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± ¡°Elizabeth? I¡¯m home.¡± I said, walking into my house. Nothing. I walked through the house and to the back, opening the door that led to the backyard. Elizabeth was laying in the grass, looking up at the sky. ¡°Elizabeth?¡± I called out. She shot up, looking towards me. ¡°Sissy!¡± She got up and ran towards me. ¡°Where¡¯s your sitter?¡± I said curiously. She pointed to the side of the house. ¡°That way!¡± ¡®What would she be doing there?¡¯ I approached the side of the house and saw the sitter patting down some soil. ¡°Hey, uhm¡­¡± I paused. Now that I thought about it, I never asked for her name before. She looked up at me, wiping sweat from her forehead and pushed back the blond strands of hair that clung to her. ¡°Oh, miss Reynolds, you¡¯re home kind of early.¡± She smiled at me. ¡°I uh¡­ Yes, something happened at work so I was able to come home early.¡± She nodded and got up. ¡°I guess I should get going then.¡± I watched as she walked past me, then I grabbed her wrist. She looked back, stunned. ¡°Sorry, I just couldn¡¯t let you leave yet without me asking. What is your name? I know, it¡¯s terrible of me to not know, but I had to ask.¡± ¡°Rachel. However, I never went out of my way to mention my name either, so I apologize about that.¡± She pulled her hand away. ¡®She never told me her name?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t help but feel suspicion creep up. ¡°So, what were you doing?¡± She looked back down at the ground. ¡°I actually decided that I should grow some flowers since the backyard looks kind of barren, that¡¯s all.¡± I stared at her. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll see you next time then.¡± I watched as she left, then headed back towards Elizabeth. ¡°Are you ready to go back inside?¡± She nodded and grabbed my hand as we walked back in. ¡°Did you have a good day today?¡± She nodded. ¡°Yeah! Rachel and I cleaned up the house, then we went outside to play! She said she was going to plant some flowers, I asked if I could help but she told me no, just to play in the backyard!¡± I frowned. ¡®Why wasn¡¯t Elizabeth allowed to help?¡¯ ¡°Elizabeth, has Rachel seemed weird to you recently?¡± Elizabeth tilted her head. ¡°Hmm, well I saw her go into your room the other day. I know she¡¯s been told not to. She saw me watching and she left your room.¡± I felt a chill go down my spine. ¡°Did she take anything that you know of?¡± Elizabeth shook her head. ¡°She didn¡¯t take anything. She also mentions your job a lot.¡± Now I feel creeped out. ¡°What does she say?¡± Elizabeth headed straight for the kitchen and sat down at the table. ¡°Oh just how she feels like you should be careful, that she thinks you should get off the case because it could put you in danger.¡± I bit my lip. ¡°I see.¡± ¡°She reminds me of daddy¡¯s friend!¡± I looked at her with confusion. ¡°Dad¡¯s friend?¡± ¡°The last month before daddy died he had a friend over. I don¡¯t think you ever met him, but he was really skinny! He looked sort of like a skeleton!¡± My sister giggled. ¡°Did you get any better looks at him?¡± She looked up at the ceiling. ¡°Well, I remember his hair being the same color as yours! I actually thought he looked like you! He had the same eyes as you too! I remember that when mommy saw him she froze. She then got angry and yelled at daddy to make him leave. With that he was made to leave and daddy never brought him back over.¡± I stared at my sister. ¡®There¡¯s no way.¡¯ After putting Elizabeth to bed that night I sat on my bed, pulling out my phone. I found myself calling Jackson. ¡°Hey Elisa, what¡¯s up?¡± I swallowed. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m sorry to call so late, but would you possibly be willing to come over? I understand if not, I just need someone to talk to.¡± There was a brief pause, then I heard a woman¡¯s voice in the background. I was about to hang up then he returned. ¡°Sorry about that, yes, I can come. I¡¯ll head there right now.¡± He hung up and sighed. Knock. Knock. I opened the front door, Jackson stood there and rubbed his neck. ¡°You wanted me to come, so here I am.¡± I ran into him and hugged him. He wrapped his arms back around me. ¡°Are you okay Elisa?¡± I felt myself choke up as I pulled away. ¡°Sorry, come in, then we can talk.¡± I opened the door wide and let him walk in. We walked into the kitchen and I opened the fridge. ¡°Want some wine?¡± Jackson thought for a second then nodded. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll have some.¡± I pulled some wine from the fridge, then grabbed two wine glasses and poured the drinks. I handed him one and took a sip out of mine. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°You know that I have a sitter who takes care of my sister while I¡¯m at work, right?¡± He put his glass to his lips and took a sip of his wine. ¡°I know. What about them?¡± I looked down into my glass. ¡°Her name is Rachel. Well, today was kind of weird. I came home and they were out back today.¡± I paused. ¡°What¡¯s so wrong about that?¡± He questioned. ¡°Well, Elizabeth was in the back, but she told me that Rachel was at the side of the house. I went to check it out but she said that she was only trying to grow flowers. This was the first time I ever got her name. She admitted to me she never went out of her way to give me her name. I thought that was weird. I talked to Elizabeth about her after she left. Elizabeth said that she hadn¡¯t been allowed to help. She also said that Rachel talks about how I should back off from the case because it¡¯s dangerous. She also apparently went into my room.¡± I took a huge sip of my wine and looked down. ¡°She also mentioned how my stepfather had also brought home a friend when I hadn¡¯t been home and that she said that he had been really skinny, describing him as a skeleton. She also said that he looked like me. The same kind of blond hair and gray eyes. She said our mom freaked out when she saw him.¡± I finished my wine, the buzz was starting to set in. I was such a lightweight. I poured more wine. ¡°It just made me wonder why my mother would freak out so badly.¡± Jackson was quiet, starting down his wine. ¡°That does seem weird. You¡¯ve never met your father, right?¡± I nodded. ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Have you ever seen any pictures of him before or have any of him that you could show Elizabeth to find out if it was him?¡± I shook my head again. ¡°My mother always said that she didn¡¯t have any pictures of him.¡± Jackson took a sip of more wine, looking lost in thought. ¡°It kind of sounds like your mother might¡¯ve been hiding something.¡± I nodded. ¡°I couldn¡¯t agree more.¡± It was silent between us for a few minutes, but I felt better having been able to talk to someone about it. ¡°Are you still able to get your mother¡¯s stuff?¡± He asked. The question took me by surprise. ¡°Well in her will she said she wanted her stuff and house to go to me and my sister, but I haven¡¯t gone back to her house since she died. All of her stuff is still there.¡± I crossed my arms. The feeling of guilt began to creep up on me. ¡°Let¡¯s go pay a visit there tomorrow.¡± I frowned. ¡°What about work?¡± He smiled. ¡°Who said it isn¡¯t work related? Your stepfather¡¯s case ties into ours.¡± He paused. ¡°Wait, your mother hasn¡¯t moved since he died, has she?¡± I shook my head. ¡°My mother loved that house too much to ever move.¡± He had the widest grin I could ever see on someone. ¡°Well your mothers house might hold some clues that could help out with the case.¡± ¡°What about my sister then? After what happened today with Rachel I feel kind of weird having her come back over and watch my sister.¡± ¡°Why isn¡¯t she in school? Wouldn¡¯t that solve your issue with her having a sitter?¡± I was at a loss for words. None had ever really asked me that so I was never prepared to answer it. ¡°Well, when our mother died she was out of school for a month. I wanted her to have some time to process what happened and not have any other stresses. When the day came for her to go back, she had a breakdown. After our mother died she would have fits when it came to meeting new people. It was so bad to the point she couldn¡¯t be in class. So I took her out and enrolled her in online schooling. Rachel watches her to make sure she does her work and overall takes care of her when I¡¯m not here.¡± Jackson finished his wine, then crossed his arms. I took a drink out of my second glass. ¡°A while back I had bought some security cameras. I didn¡¯t use all of them, but if you would like, I can head back home, bring them over, and we can set them up in the house so that while we¡¯re gone tomorrow you¡¯ll be able to see what Rachel is doing.¡± As much as I wanted to say yes, part of me also wasn¡¯t sure if I wanted to know what Rachel was doing in my house. My silence gave away my unease. ¡°Look Elisa, we don¡¯t have to do that, it was just an offer, okay?¡± I nodded. ¡°I know. I also need to know what¡¯s happening when I¡¯m not here though. So, if it isn¡¯t too much trouble would you please do that for me?¡± He smiled. ¡°Of course.¡± He took his keys out of pocket. ¡°I¡¯ll return shortly, okay?¡± I frowned. ¡°Why not call a cab? You¡¯ve had some wine, will you even be good to drive?¡± He nodded. ¡°I know it¡¯s not the smart thing to do, but I¡¯ll be safe. I don¡¯t even feel like I¡¯ve had anything to drink.¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°Okay, just be safe.¡± With that, he was out the door. While waiting for him I continued to drink more wine, hoping that I could drink my anxieties away. Without realizing it, I downed the rest of the bottle. I was extremely lightheaded. Knock. Knock. I stumbled my way over to the front door, accidentally bumping into the wall as I walked. ¡°You¡¯re finally back!¡± I slurred as I opened the door. I was grinning from ear to ear. Jackson held a box in his arms, smiling back. ¡°Someone seems happy to see me. Can I come in?¡± I moved out of the way, bumping into the door as I did so. We went back to the kitchen and he eyed the empty wine bottle on the counter. ¡°You drunk without me?¡± He said in a playful tone. I puffed out my cheeks. ¡°I was anxious and waiting for you!¡± He sat the box down on the table and opened it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Elisa, I had a hard time finding them. Where would you like the cameras?¡± My thoughts were jumbled. ¡°Uh¡­ In my room, Elizabeth¡¯s room, the backyard, and I guess the front of my house?¡± I had to fight so hard to say that. I hoped I hadn¡¯t stumbled over myself. ¡°Alright, I gotcha. I¡¯m gonna get to work. You go sit down and I¡¯ll get you some water. After I finish I¡¯ll let you come see, okay?¡± I only nodded. He wrapped an arm around my waist and put one of my arms around his shoulder. I couldn¡¯t help but blush at how close we were. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get you in the living room.¡± He led me in there and sat me down. He left then returned with a glass of water, and with some medicine. ¡°Here, for if you start getting a bad headache.¡± I was grateful. ¡°You are such a lifesaver.¡± He only patted my head and walked off. I must have dozed off, because the next thing I remember was being startled awake. ¡°Sorry sleepyhead,¡± Jackson chuckled. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to scare you. I just wanted to let you know I finished putting up all the cameras.¡± I rubbed my head, groaning. ¡°How long have I been out?¡± My head felt fuzzy. ¡°I would say a little over an hour. Want to go check on my handiwork?¡± I nodded and groggily stood up. ¡°Show me what amazing wonders you¡¯ve performed.¡± He grinned. ¡°Of course. Right this way.¡± To say that I was pleased with what Jackson had done was an understatement. I was amazed. I knew I probably could¡¯ve done something like this myself, but I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do it as efficiently as he did. I couldn¡¯t help but feel like I was a little bit safer now. ¡°Thank you so much for this Jackson, you didn¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°I know I didn¡¯t have to, I wanted to. I want you to be able to feel safe and be able to trust the person who you let take care of your little sister.¡± My heart melted at his kindness. ¡°You can connect your phone to the cameras and check live feed from them at any time. Want me to help you set that up?¡± Without hesitation I handed him my phone. ¡°Yes please!¡± I watched as he piddled on my phone, then he handed it back once finished. ¡°There. Just click on this app and it pulls up all of your cameras. Just click on the camera you want to view.¡± ¡°Thank you, really, you are way too kind to me.¡± He curiously looked at me. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean? Are there people giving you a hard time?¡± I quickly shook my head, blushing. ¡°No! Sorry, just¡­ Thank you for this. I think I should get in bed now. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow, okay?¡± He looked worried but didn¡¯t press further, which I was thankful for. I watched as he returned to his car. We waved goodnight and he drove off, I went upstairs to my bedroom and flopped down on my bed, uncaring of changing into more comfortable clothes, and passed out. Chapter 8 Elisa Growing up I was always picked on. I was always told how weird I was because of the color of my eyes. I actually liked the color of my eyes. It didn¡¯t bother me what other people said about my eyes. We were kids when that happened. Once I hit middle school was the first time I ever made a friend. I don¡¯t remember that friend much anymore, it¡¯s actually been years. Or maybe I do remember, and just pick to forget. It was my last year of middle school when I had my first friend over. Elizabeth hadn¡¯t been born yet, my mother had just found out she was pregnant. I remember the first time my friend had laid eyes on my stepfather. She had asked me who he was. I told her that he was my father. She gave me a strange look. He had been there all my life and raised me like his own, was it wrong to say he was my father? That night as we were going to bed, she asked me if my father was really my father. I should have known at that moment I never should have introduced him as my father to her. I said yes. She said I looked nothing like him, there was no way I was his daughter. I got defensive. From that day on she always badgered me about it. I always tried shrugging it off, but sometimes it bothered me how much she kept asking. I don¡¯t fully remember why, but the two of us ended up getting into a fight that ended the friendship. People noticed that the two of us no longer hung out, and apparently started asking why. I was never sure why she did what she did, but next thing I knew was that I was hearing rumors. About me. My father. My mother. Apparently she went around telling everyone that my mother was a whore, that my father wasn¡¯t my real father and that I was a whore just like my mother. Of course I was angry, but I felt powerless. I was endlessly bullied. For someone to treat me with kindness was rare. I had gotten transferred to a private school because of the bullying, but there I was ignored. I felt alone. I just wanted one person who I could be myself with, who would be kind to me. Will I ever get that? ¡°Hey, wake up.¡± Jackson was slightly shaking my shoulders. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. We pulled into the driveway of a small one story home. Since our vehicle was in the shop, we were allowed to borrow another one for the day. The outer of the house was painted a beige color, with marble steps leading up to the door. The lawn looked like it had been recently mowed. Jackson looked at me with a questioning gaze. ¡°For a house that¡¯s been empty for a year it sure looks well taken care of.¡± I rubbed my head. ¡°Yeah, in my mother¡¯s will she wanted the house to still be taken care of, so before she passed away it was set up for whoever to come out every month to check the house and then send whoever for whatever needs done. It was all paid in advance. At least 15 years in advance.¡± There was silence for a brief moment. ¡°So¡­ Did you come from money then?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Me? From money? No way! My mother actually had a lot of investments in stock, that''s where the majority of the money came from. Then the money from my stepfather''s life insurance did the rest.¡± ¡°Sounds like your mom really wanted to make sure you and your sister were looked after.¡± I looked down at my hands. ¡°Probably.¡± ¡°So, ready to head in?¡± I nodded. ¡°Yeah, I made sure to grab the key as well.¡± Part of me wanted to stay in the car. It was hard to see this house. ¡°It¡¯s all or nothing.¡± I muttered under my breath, putting the key into the lock and opening the door. The house smelled like lemon scented cleaner. My mother always hated that scent. I laughed to myself. ¡°Where do you want to look first?¡± Jackson asked, breaking me from my train of thought. ¡°Hmm, maybe my mother¡¯s room? I feel like life there¡¯s anything here to find it more than likely will be in there.¡± Jackson nodded in agreement. Her bedroom was the same as when I last saw it. Her hardwood floor still smelled the same as it did the day she had her carpet changed to wood.. I wanted to walk away, but I knew that I couldn¡¯t. After a few steps into the bedroom the floor creaked. I frowned. I don¡¯t recall the floor ever creaking. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Elisa?¡± I looked behind me and waved my hand. ¡°Oh, the floor creaked, that¡¯s all. I was just thinking about how the last time I was here it didn¡¯t creak like that.¡± Jackson looked at where I stood and pointed. ¡°Did you notice that the floorboard looks loose?¡± I glanced down, shocked to see he was right. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t notice.¡± I got down on my knees, placing a hand on the floorboard. ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s loose.¡± I was able to slip my fingers underneath, and I pulled up. The floorboard came off with ease. Underneath there was a small whole, containing a small box inside. ¡®What the hell?¡¯ ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m positive that this wasn¡¯t here before!¡± My mind felt like it was spinning as I reached inside and pulled out the box. ¡°When were you last here?¡± I glanced back up at Jackson. ¡°Uhm, probably a month or so before my mother passed away.¡± I placed the box beside me. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°It might be possible that your mother did this, or had someone do it for her.¡± Jackson stated. I stared at him in shock. ¡®There¡¯s no way my mother would have something like this!¡¯ ¡°Well, open it, maybe what¡¯s inside will give hints as to who put this here and why it¡¯s here.¡± I opened it up, pulling out the contents. I felt sick to my stomach. Most of them were pictures. In these pictures it was of my mother, a lot younger, more happier looking. Beside her stood a man, but his face was so faded out I couldn¡¯t make him out. I turned the photo over. The picture had a written date of five years before I had been born. The next picture I saw was of my mother again, the man with her but this time his face could be seen. The man was exactly how Elizabeth had described my stepfather¡¯s friend. Skinny, like a skeleton, blond, and had striking gray eyes. In my mother¡¯s arms she held a baby. I felt bile piling up in my throat. I flipped over the photo. ¡°Elisa Edwards 8/24/20XX¡± I dropped the photo and covered my mouth. ¡®Elisa Edwards? My last name is Reynolds!¡¯ Jackson squatted down beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Elisa? What¡¯s going on?¡± I pointed at the photo. He picked it up and stared for a long time at it. ¡°So¡­ Is this your mom and father?¡± He questioned. As much as I wanted to deny it, the baby in the picture was me. I looked too much like the man in that picture for him to not be my father. ¡°Uh, yes. I¡¯m guessing.¡± He frowned. ¡°Why is your last name written as Edwards on here?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I have no idea. My mother told me my father had been out of the picture since before my birth. I always thought I originally had my mother¡¯s last name. This photo says that he was there when I was born. I was also always told my mother had no pictures of him, yet here are pictures of him.¡± ¡°I hate saying it, but you should bring the picture back with you. That way you can show it to your sister and see if this is the guy that she was speaking of.¡± I nodded. I tore the picture in half to get as best as I can of only the man. ¡°What about the other stuff in the box?¡± Jackson questioned. I didn¡¯t want to go through the rest, but I knew that I should. I grabbed a piece of paper from the box and opened it up. It was a letter, addressed to my mother. ¡®Marie, Today is our daughter¡¯s first birthday. It¡¯s been seven months since you last let me see her. I have every right to see her. If I don¡¯t get to see her soon, I will take action. So, please, let me see her. Don¡¯t let our daughter have to live without her father.¡¯ There was no signature. I handed it to Jackson, grabbing what appeared to be a second letter. ¡®It¡¯s been two years, I haven¡¯t seen my daughter yet. I¡¯ve tried getting in contact with you plenty of times. I¡¯ve heard nothing. This is your final warning before I take action. This time, I¡¯m serious.¡¯ This letter actually had something stapled to it. I flipped it over and looked. It was the record of a court case. A custody battle. I skimmed the papers, noticing that the man''s name had been marked out. My mother had been the one who had won custody. ¡®Shit. Who is this guy?¡¯ I bit my lip. There looked to be one last letter. ¡®I finally saw my daughter for the first time. She¡¯s grown up so big. I wanted to approach her, but I knew it would be weird. I know eventually she¡¯ll come looking to find out who I am, and we¡¯ll also see each other once again as well. Watch your back.¡¯ There were two pictures down at the bottom of the box. I grabbed them and a chill went down my spine. The pictures were of me a few years ago out in public. I hadn¡¯t even noticed someone had been taking pictures of me, even less following me. I felt sick. I wanted to scream. Jackson looked over my shoulder at the pictures and patted my back. ¡°Hey Elisa, it¡¯s alright. I know it might not be much comfort right now but, I¡¯ll protect you. Okay? So don¡¯t look so distraught. Lean on me.¡± I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I wasn¡¯t sure if I should hug or kiss him. I decided to do neither. I couldn¡¯t let my emotions control me. ¡°Thank you Jackson, seriously.¡± I walked over to my mother¡¯s bedroom window, looking outside. Her window gave her full view of the backyard. It was peaceful. I squinted my eyes. Something was out in the backyard. ¡°Come with me to the back, I think something¡¯s out there.¡± I quickly went out back, fear wrapping it¡¯s hands around my throat over whatever I¡¯m going to find. Toothbrush. ¡°What the hell?¡± I muttered. A single toothbrush was laying in the backyard. It¡¯s handle looked brand new, but the bristles were stained by dirt. Except bits of bristle looked weird compared to others. I took a closer look. Blood. Dried blood. I took a step back, bumping into Jackson, who was holding the box from my mother¡¯s room. ¡°Whoa there, what¡¯s up?¡± I pointed at the toothbrush. He handed me the box and squatted down to get a better look at it. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure there''s dried blood on it, Jackson.¡± I said, my voice barely above a whisper. He got up and walked past me. ¡°Stay here, I¡¯m going to grab some gloves and an evidence bag, and we¡¯ll get it sent off to forensics to be tested.¡± I could only stand there, not being able to move or speak. He returned with gloves on and a bag. He picked up the toothbrush and placed it in the bag then turned towards me. ¡°Until we get results back in for this, I think we should stop the search of this house here. Of course, since the house does belong to you, you can still search it in your free time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with stopping here. Let¡¯s just get out of here, please?¡± Jackson smiled sympathetically at me. ¡°Today has been a tough day, so why don¡¯t I buy you some dinner?¡± I blushed at the idea. Part of me couldn¡¯t help but think of it like a date. ¡°Yeah, I would love that. Thank you.¡± Little did we know how unprepared we were for the secrets that were lying just beneath our feet. Chapter 9 At a young age I always had a fascination with bones. I loved the way they looked, the way they felt. Father always disapproved of my interest in bones. When I was six years old, I stood in the bathroom brushing my teeth beside my mother. I was staring at myself in the mirror, and stopped brushing my teeth. My mother patted my head, asked me what was wrong. ¡°Our bones are important, right mommy?¡± She glanced nervously out of the bathroom. ¡°Honey, be careful what you say, you know that if your dad hears you asking that he would get upset.¡± I nodded. ¡°I know mommy. I just wanted to ask though.¡± She paused. ¡°Yes, our bones are important. Very important.¡± I opened my mouth and stared at my teeth, covered in toothpaste. ¡°If our teeth are important as well, and we brush them to take care of them, why don¡¯t we brush our bones?¡± I asked. My mother¡¯s face turned into an expression of concern. ¡°Our bones don¡¯t need brushing honey.¡± I scratched at my arm, frowning. ¡°Mommy, I want to brush my bones.¡± She slapped my hand off my arm and grabbed me roughly by the shoulders, staring me in the eyes. ¡°Never say that again, understand? We¡¯ll pretend we never had this conversation. Now rinse out your mouth, okay?¡± ¡°Wow, that was a random memory to have at all times,¡± I said to nobody but myself. I stared in the mirror, I was in the middle of brushing my teeth when the memory hit me. For the longest time I never forgot about my question, or the itch I felt to remove my bones and just scrub them clean. Of course I was never going to tell anyone I thought like that. However, I eventually stopped thinking about it. I was growing up, and the worry of when I would get to eat next or when I would get beat always filled my mind. My mother and I were able to rent out a house in a small city. It had been a few months since we ran from my father¡¯s. We had a hard time settling in. We were constantly looking over our shoulders in fear that one day my father was going to show up, but so far he hadn¡¯t, and we were able to relax more about finally being safe. I was attending the local high school. I had become very popular but I never got close to anyone, I didn¡¯t want the trouble. Especially if somehow my father managed to find me I wouldn¡¯t want anyone else involved. On this day I was heading home from school, but I first had to make a stop at the store for vegetables for dinner. As I had opened the door to my house, food in hand, something felt off. The house was silent, which was unusual. There was always something running for there to be noise. Dread was grabbing me by the throat. I stepped inside, setting the groceries on the tableside set up by the door. I silently closed the door behind me and made sure to walk as quietly as I could through the house. I headed straight to my mother¡¯s room. She wasn¡¯t there. Her room was ransacked. My heart began to race. ¡®Where is she?!¡¯ I was about to run out of her room when I heard the front door open. I froze. I heard footsteps walk into our kitchen. I had no weapon, but I snuck up to the kitchen doorway, sneaking a peek inside. ¡°Mom!¡± I screamed. She turned around, startled. I hugged her tightly. ¡°Where have you been?¡± I asked. She returned my hug. ¡°I went out for a walk, why?¡± I frowned. ¡°Your room is a mess mom.¡± She looked confused. ¡°A mess? I cleaned it up before I left.¡± My blood ran cold. ¡°Go look at your room.¡± My mother was silent as she glanced upon her stuff thrown about. She crossed her arms. ¡°We need to prepare to move.¡± I looked at her with shock. ¡°Why?¡± She stared into my eyes. ¡°Because I¡¯m positive that your father found us.¡± That was enough to make me run to my room and start throwing my stuff into bags. ¡°We¡¯ll stay here for the night and as soon as the sun rises, we¡¯re leaving.¡± I felt uneasy, but it was already getting dark and it would be hard to carry all of our stuff in the dark. ¡°Okay. Should I sleep in your room just to be safe?¡± My mother shook her head. ¡°No, just act as natural as possible. We need to get some rest before we leave in the morning.¡± I should have convinced her to let me sleep in there. I should have convinced her to let us leave that same day. I had woken up to the sound of glass shattering. I shot out of bed and headed towards the source of the sound. My mother¡¯s room. There was glass all over the floor, a man wearing all black was standing against the wall, with a bag over my mother¡¯s head, tying her arms behind her back. ¡°Let her go!¡± I screamed as I lunged at him. I heard him snicker as a sharp pain exploded in the back of my head. My vision was turning dark. Before everything went black, I caught a glimpse of a second figure with a bat in hand. ¡®Shit, I should have known.¡¯ You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I woke up with a throbbing headache. I tried to touch my head, only to find my hands were bound. I looked down and noticed I was tied to a pipe against the wall. The room I was in was dark, it smelled old, there was an overpowering smell of something rotting. I heard a whimper. ¡°Mom?¡± I called out. ¡°Are¡­ Are you okay?¡± I heard her call out, her voice strained, as if she had screamed for hours on end and her voice had finally given in. ¡°My head hurts, but I¡¯m okay. Where are we mom? What happened?¡± She groaned in pain. My heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly. ¡°Mom?¡± I heard her let out a breath. ¡°Sorry, it hurts to speak right now.¡± I could hear the pain in her voice. I wanted to cry. ¡°It¡¯s okay mom, you don¡¯t have to talk.¡± ¡®Looks like it¡¯s going to be a waiting game.¡¯ A waiting game is sure what it felt like. It felt as if hours had passed before light shined into the room. There were stairs about ten feet away from me. The light was coming from there. I heard footsteps walk down the stairs, then a sudden bright light blinded me. The room light was now on. I looked around. I gasped when my eyes landed on my mother. She looked beaten, blood was dried to her head and nose. She was in a fetal position, her expression full of pain. I looked up at whoever walked down and growled. ¡°Father.¡± I spat out. My father stood before me, arms crossed. ¡°I finally found both of you. What made you think that you two could run from me?¡± Hate boiled inside of me. ¡°Let us go! We aren¡¯t yours to control!¡± I saw anger flash in his eyes. He walked over to where my mother laid. Without warning, he kicked her as hard as he could on her side. She cried out in pain. ¡°Stop that!¡± I screamed out. I tugged against the rope binding me to the rope. My father looked at me, his eyes looked empty. ¡°You can¡¯t stop me.¡± I shut my eyes tight, hoping this was just a bad dream. ¡°Shutting your eyes won¡¯t make this go away.¡± I glanced up and my father now stood in front of me once more. ¡°You best behave if you want to live. Of course, I¡¯m going to kill both of you soon for running away, but you can enjoy life a little longer if you behave.¡± ¡®Kill us? Is he serious?¡¯ Before I could speak, he was already back up the stairs, slamming the door shut behind him. ¡°Mom?¡± No answer other than a cry of pain. I slumped against the pipe. ¡°Ow!¡± I felt something prick at my arms. I rubbed my fingertips over what I felt. It was the pipe. Part of it had rusted away, leaving a sharp edge. ¡®This might be my way out!¡¯ I began rubbing my hands against the edge, listening as I heard it cut through my binds. After what felt like forever, my hands were free. I untied my feet and ran over to my mother, rubbing her back. ¡°Mom? I¡¯m going to get you out of here. Okay?¡± Only a groan. I knew there was no way I could escape right now, I had to wait for my father to come back down. I dreaded the moment that he did. Luckily, he never turned the light off when he left so I was able to see around the room. I caught a glimpse of an axe out of the corner of my eye. I grabbed it. ¡®Gotta find an easy place to hide.¡¯ Right at the bottom of the stairs happened to be a crawl space big enough for me to squeeze in without being noticed right away. ¡®Now, I wait.¡¯ I woke up to the sound of the door opening. My heart skipped a beat. ¡®I fell asleep?!¡¯ I gripped the axe tightly. ¡°What the? Where the hell is he?!¡± I gulped as I watched my father approach where I had been tied up. I quickly got out of the crawlspace, careful to not alert him until I was on him. I held the axe up, then brought it down, aiming for his head. I¡¯m not sure how it happened, but he had managed to avoid me hitting his head, but the axe went down into his shoulder and he cried out. He stumbled back. I watched him stumble, then saw the handgun in his hand. I walked closer to him, his eyes widened. He looked behind him, seeing my mother still lying there. He backed up into her then pulled her up, placing the gun to her head. ¡°Drop the axe.¡± He barked at me. My grip tightened. ¡°I won¡¯t hesitate to shoot her, son.¡± I knew deep in my heart that he meant it. I wasn¡¯t willing to lose my mother. Not yet. I dropped the axe. His shoulder was profusely bleeding, The cut was deep enough that I caught a glimpse of his shoulder blade. He was rocking on his feet, he looked ready to fall over. ¡°You¡¯ll die of blood loss. Now, back away from my mother.¡± I watched as he gritted his teeth, either from anger or pain, or both, I couldn¡¯t tell. ¡°You really think I would let her go?¡± He hissed. I had no time to react. The next moment the gun went off. My mother¡¯s body went limp and dropped to the floor. I screamed. Tears filled up my eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll finish you off before I die!¡± My father yelled, pointing the gun at me. I could tell he didn¡¯t have the energy to pull the trigger. I grabbed the axe once more and walked towards him. He backed away. ¡°You die now, fucker!¡± I swung. His head hit the floor. Blood splattered against my shirt. I looked down at my now bloodied clothes, then at his body. Then, the switch was flipped. I remember next peeling back his skin, pulling out his insides, breaking apart bones and separating them. His bones were all I wanted. I felt dirty. I needed to find a way to be clean again. I ran up to his bathroom, grabbing his toothbrush, and a spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide. I also grabbed his phone. The date on his phone showed it had been about a week. Oh well, I had bones to clean. I knew that it wasn¡¯t the proper way to clean bones, but to hell with it. I sprayed the toothbrush, sat next to his body, and grabbed each of his bones and began to scrub every inch of them with the brush. I wanted them to be clean, I would keep them as a way to remember this day. I was also able to do what I always wanted in some way. Brushing bones. Chapter 10 Jackson After we had returned to the department we sent in the toothbrush to forensics. Elisa and I had gone our separate ways after work, but I told her I would pick her up at 6 o¡¯clock sharp for dinner. It was nice being home early and being able to relax before a date. ¡®This is a date, right?¡¯ I felt my face heat up. I was pretty pale, so anytime I blushed I would look as red as a tomato. There was a sudden knock on my door. I frowned. I pulled out my phone, pulled up my security camera footage, and laughed to myself. It was Daniel at my door. After that night with Sarah, I mentioned a DNA test every chance I could when Lucas wasn¡¯t around. She didn¡¯t seem like she was going to, but now I had the chance to at least see if she mentioned it to Daniel. I opened the door. His eyes widened as he saw me. ¡°I uh¡­¡± I smirked. ¡°Here to see my wife? Sorry, she¡¯s not home.¡± The color from his face faded. ¡°I, ah,¡± I raised a hand. ¡°Stop. I know you¡¯ve been coming over when I¡¯m not home. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s for Sarah or Lucas, but regardless I know. I¡¯m guessing this is a time you two usually have set for you to come over?¡± He slowly nodded. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad to see you. I have a question to ask you.¡± He rubbed nervously at his arm. ¡°Has Sarah mentioned getting a DNA test done for Lucas?¡± ¡°Uh, no. She hasn¡¯t. Look, I only come over for Lucas.¡± I doubted it. ¡°It¡¯s true! I¡¯m always here an hour early before he gets home because I clean up your house.¡± He crossed his arms. My eyebrows raised. ¡°It makes sense why I always came home to a clean house. Sarah was never one for cleaning. I appreciate you doing that.¡± He nervously nodded. ¡°Oh, Jackson, what are you doing here?¡± Sarah walked up behind Daniel, guilt written all over her face. ¡°Uh, I live here? Why are you here?¡± She glared at me. ¡°I live here too.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Or, I could kick you out right now. I told you to go get that DNA test done for Lucas, if not, I was going to make you. If he isn¡¯t mine, you won¡¯t be living here any longer.¡± The color from her face drained. I couldn¡¯t help but be satisfied. ¡°Daniel, leave.¡± He nodded at her words and scurried off in the other direction, she pushed past me to get into the house. I followed behind her, closing the door shut. She walked up to my room and I frowned. ¡°What are you doing in my room?¡± She looked flabbergasted. ¡°It¡¯s our room.¡± I shook my head. ¡°No, this house is strictly mine. This is my room. You can have the guest room for now.¡± She crossed her arm. ¡°We¡¯ve been sharing a room up until today. Why the sudden change?¡± ¡°I shrugged. ¡°Well, we aren¡¯t together,¡± ¡°We¡¯re married!¡± She screeched, cutting me off. ¡°The divorce is being finalized so not for much longer. As I was saying, since we aren¡¯t together I thought it would be best to stop sharing a room. Get all of your stuff out by the end of the night.¡± I said. She gritted her teeth, looking at the clothes I had laid out on the bed for dinner tonight. ¡°Are you getting all dressed to take me out?¡± I scoffed. ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± She turned to face me, her face getting red from anger. ¡°Then why are you going to be dressing up tonight?!¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡®Not this shit again,¡¯ I crossed my arms. ¡°I¡¯m taking someone out for dinner.¡± This pissed her off more. ¡°Jackson, we still have time to fix our relationship! Shouldn¡¯t we be working things out?¡± I laughed. ¡°No! I told you that night that I was done. Remember the statement I made you sign? That also said we aren¡¯t together. I¡¯m done with your bullshit. You have Daniel to take care of you, run off to him.¡± Before she could get a word out I was already nudging her out of my bedroom. 6 o¡¯clock came faster than I had expected. I was dressed up in a nice suit, minus the jacket. I had my hair slicked back. Downstairs I heard something shatter. Lucas started crying. I groaned. I ran down the stairs, finding Sarah on the ground, glass in front of her, Lucas crying. ¡°Lucas, buddy, back away please, okay?¡± I gently pushed him away, careful to avoid the glass. I touched Sarah¡¯s shoulder. She looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. Her face was flushed. I looked down at the floor once more and noticed the dark stain. ¡®Great, she¡¯s been drinking.¡¯ ¡°Jackson,¡± she groaned. ¡°Please, please don¡¯t go!¡± She pleaded, reaching out for me. ¡°What¡¯s going on with you?¡± I glanced back at Lucas, his worried expression broke my heart. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to go. I want you to stay and work things out!¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Sarah, pull yourself together. You need to get to bed.¡± I helped get her on her feet and frowned at the shattered glass. ¡°When you sober up, I want you to clean this up. Got it?¡± She nodded, tears continuing to fall down her cheeks. I turned towards Lucas. ¡°Hey buddy, let¡¯s get up to your room, okay?¡± He nodded stiffly, heading off to his room. I followed him. I grabbed his backpack and a bag with some of his clothes inside. ¡°Tonight we¡¯re going to go stay the night with a friend of mine, would you like that?¡± Lucas perked up at the idea. ¡°Yeah daddy!¡± I grabbed his stuff, then picked up some of my clothes from my room, then picked him up and walked back down stairs. ¡°Where are you taking him?¡± Sarah slurred. She still hadn¡¯t gone off to bed like I had told her to do. ¡°I¡¯m taking him with me. You¡¯ve drunk too much for me to feel comfortable leaving him here with you.¡± She balled up her fist. ¡°I can take care of my son! You aren¡¯t taking him!¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°He¡¯s my son too, neither of us have custody, so I¡¯m free to take him.¡± That shut her up, and with that I went out the door with him in my arms. We pulled up to Elisa¡¯s house and I instantly felt guilty. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t just assume that she¡¯s going to let us stay here tonight!¡¯ I bit on my bottom lip. I wasn¡¯t sure of how I was going to ask her. My passenger door opened. Elisa slid into the seat, smiling at me. She wore a lace pink dress that I felt complimented her looks very well. I hadn¡¯t noticed her walk up to the car. She glanced in the back and gasped. ¡°Jackson, who is that?¡± I nervously laughed. ¡°That¡¯s my son, Lucas. Something happened at home so I brought him along. I meant to call and talk to you but I just wanted to get out of there.¡± She looked at me with a questioning look. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when we get back, anyways, could we also possibly stay with you tonight?¡± She stared at me for a few moments, then I started to worry. ¡°Elisa?¡± She blinked. ¡°Oh! Yes, of course. I would love to have you both over tonight!¡± I sighed out of relief. ¡°You¡¯re a lifesaver. Ready to go get that dinner I owe you?¡± She grinned. ¡°You bet your ass I am!¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. The restaurant was small, busy but not too busy. It was a nice, laid back seafood restaurant. We were able to grab a booth in the corner. I wasn¡¯t much in the mood to eat due to what happened with Sarah, but I still managed to order a small salad and eat that while Elisa and Lucas had ordered crab. Elisa engaged with Lucas, which I was thankful for. ¡°Ah, that was some good food!¡± Elisa said, stretching out her arms as we left. ¡°I¡¯m glad you enjoyed it.¡± I said, opening the passenger door for her. ¡°Are you okay? You seemed out of it throughout dinner and you only ate a salad, this was supposed to be a cheer up dinner.¡± She climbed into the car, and the moment I shut my door I let out a sigh. ¡°Just stress. Again, I¡¯ll tell you more at your place, okay?¡± She nodded. The ride back was silent. On the way to Elisa¡¯s place, Lucas fell asleep in the backseat. I picked him up in one arm and carried his two bags in my other. Elisa held the door open for me and led me to a spare bedroom. I laid Lucas down on the bed and rubbed my neck. ¡°Is there any way I could change into some clothes I brought with me?¡± Elisa gestured down the hallway. ¡°Last door on the left is the bathroom, feel free to change in there. I¡¯ll meet you downstairs?¡± I nodded, heading off to the bathroom and changing into more comfortable clothing. I met with Elisa downstairs in her living room. She had two glasses of wine on the table beside the couch. I sat down and nodded towards the drinks. ¡°For us?¡± She nodded as she picked one up and handed it to me. ¡°Yeah, I thought you might want some while we talk.¡± I looked down into the glass, feeling disconnected. ¡°We just had some drinks together the other night. Do you always open a bottle for guests?¡± I meant for it to come off as teasing but from the look on her face I could tell I came off snarky. ¡°Sorry, tough night before I had picked you up.¡± I took a sip of wine. ¡°My wife and I are going through a divorce right now. It¡¯s currently being finalized. One day this guy showed up looking for my wife. Turns out it was an ex of hers that she had cheated on me with.¡± I rubbed my face. ¡°When Lucas was born my aunt and uncle had come over to see the baby. My aunt and I were in the kitchen alone, and she made a comment that she believed that Lucas wasn¡¯t mine. I pushed it to the back of my mind but sometimes it would come to me. One day I made the comment that I wished Lucas was more like me, Sarah, my wife, lost her shit. She would drink and go out all night all the time, it would cause fights, and she started to get a bit controlling, which caused more issues in our relationship.¡± I drank more of the wine, part of me not wanting to continue. Elisa¡¯s wine glass was still full, I felt nervous. ¡°You haven¡¯t even taken a sip of that, are you okay?¡± She blushed then put the glass to her lips and took a sip. ¡°Sorry, I was just concentrating on you. That¡¯s all. Please, continue.¡± ¡°Well, this guy showed up and was saying that Sarah¡¯s family told him that Lucas was his son. I was heartbroken to find out Sarah had been cheating. Also looking at this guy, Lucas looked more like this guy than Lucas looked like me. I told Sarah that I wanted a DNA test done. Earlier today, I told her that I didn¡¯t think it was best that we continued sharing a room and that since it was my house she needed to get her stuff out of the room and move into the spare room that I had. She wasn¡¯t happy. She also noticed my clothes out on the bed and she asked me where I planned on going. I said I was taking someone out for dinner and she got upset, said we have time to work things out, I told her we were over. I made her leave the room. As I was about to leave the house I heard something. I went downstairs, Sarah was on the floor and there was shattered glass on the floor, Lucas was there with her, crying. She had been drinking, was screaming at me not to leave. So I took Lucas and left.¡± I finished my wine in one bug swallow, then stared down at the floor. I jumped at the sudden feeling of arms being wrapped around me. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Jackson. I¡¯m here for you, if you ever need anything, let me know, okay?¡± I smiled softly at her. ¡°Thanks, I appreciate it. Let¡¯s talk about you though. Have you shown Elizabeth the picture? Have you gone back and checked any of your cameras?¡± She tapped on her glass, almost looking ashamed. ¡°You went through all that hard work to install them for me and I haven¡¯t even checked them yet, I¡¯m sorry. I also haven¡¯t shown Elizabeth yet.¡± She mumbled. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s okay. Why don¡¯t we go ahead and check back on them now?¡± She let go of me and got closer, handing me her phone. ¡°I¡¯m sure everything is going to be alright.¡± I really hoped I was right. ¡°There!¡± Elisa practically shouted. I jumped. ¡°What? What¡¯s going on?¡± She pointed at the screen. The footage showed Rachel walking into Elisa¡¯s room, straightening up her bed, dusting off her stuff. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She frowned. ¡°If you look closely, while she¡¯s dusting off near my dresser you can see her slightly open the top drawer and it looks like she dropped something into it!¡± I rewinded the footage and zoomed in closer. ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s go check it out.¡± I waited outside her bedroom door as she rummaged through her dresser. ¡°You can come in here Jackson,¡± she said. I walked inside and saw her holding a small photo in her hand. She held it up and frowned. The picture was of Elisa asleep. The only light was light that came in from the doorway from the hallway light. ¡°I don¡¯t know why she would have had this picture. She always leaves when I come home and I always make sure the house is locked up when I go to bed. She doesn¡¯t even have her own house key so there should be no way for her to have gotten this picture!¡± Her voice was shaky. I pulled her into a hug, it was all I could think to do. ¡°Look, if you want to confront her I¡¯ll be with you when you do, okay?¡± Elisa nodded, burying her face into my chest. ¡°Also, in the morning we need to question your sister about the picture.¡± Elisa pulled away and only nodded. ¡°I think we both need to get some sleep. I¡¯ll see you in the morning, Elisa.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± I crawled into the bed that Lucas was asleep in and covered up. I stared at him while he slept. It was hard to believe that he wasn¡¯t mine. I needed to find out, for my own peace of mind. I remember being shaken awake, but that was it. I couldn¡¯t remember getting out of bed, getting dressed, and going downstairs. I barely remembered Elisa greeting me with a coffee. ¡°What time do you have to take Lucas to school?¡± Elisa asked. I looked over at her, my mind was in a blur. ¡°Huh?¡± She laughed at me. ¡°Your son? The one you have to take to school since you both stayed over?¡± I checked my phone and sighed out of relief. I still had time to get him there. ¡°In about an hour, a little over.¡± I took the last sip of my coffee, not even remembering drinking the rest. ¡°Are you having Rachel come today to watch Elizabeth?¡± She shook her head. ¡°No. I thought about it and I decided it¡¯s best to get Elizabeth back in school. Could I come along with you when you leave?¡± ¡°Of course you can. They may or may not let her start back today, so in case you should bring some stuff with her, okay?¡± Elisa nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t forget about the picture before we leave, alright?¡± She looked down. ¡°I¡¯ll go get it now and tell Elizabeth to come meet me down here.¡± She walked up the stairs, her dread was seeping off of her. ¡°Morning Jackson!¡± Elizabeth sang as she approached me. ¡°Goodmorning Elizabeth, how did you sleep?¡± She smiled at me. ¡°Good! Sissy told me to wait down here for me because she has something to ask me!¡± She sounded excited. I heard Elisa¡¯s footsteps as she came back down the stairs. In her hand she held the photo. ¡°Elizabeth, I¡¯m going to show you something and when I ask you a question about it I want you to be honest with me, okay?¡± Elizabeth looked confused, but eagerly nodded. ¡°Okay!¡± Elisa held the picture up to her sister. ¡°Is this the man who daddy brought home that mommy freaked out over?¡± Elizabeth stared at the photo for a while, looking lost in thought before finally giving an answer. ¡°It¡¯s him!¡± Elisa¡¯s gaze locked onto mine. I knew what she was thinking. We had to find out who her father was, and fast. He was now a possible suspect. Chapter 11 Elisa It was unsettling to know that my younger sister met my own father before I ever had. I had so many questions running through my head. Nothing made sense. ¡®It makes perfect sense,¡¯ a voice whispered in the back of my head. ¡®He left my mother plenty of letters saying that he wanted to see his daughter, that he WAS going to see his daughter. Maybe he befriended my stepfather so he could get close enough to him to be invited over to possibly get to me!¡¯ I looked over at Jackson, he was stunned. ¡°Well, let¡¯s all get ready so that we can head out!¡± I said, trying to sound as cheerful as I could, not wanting my fear to be that obvious. It was surprisingly easy to get both kids into the car without a fuss. I had done as Jackson suggested and grabbed a backpack with stuff in it in case they let Elizabeth start that day. When I told her I was going to get her back into school, she threw a fit. Usually I would do anything to make it stop, but this time I was grateful for it. It was a distraction from what I really wanted to think about. Elizabeth now sat cheerfully in the backseat, as if her fit never happened. Luckily enough, the elementary school was also connected to the middle school. Even when I was in school the two schools were always one building. The High School had its own separate building, but it still was close by, that¡¯s how small the town was. It felt weird walking into the school with my uniform on. Jackson led me into the front desk, he smiled at the woman at the front. ¡°Oh hello Mr. Bridges. I see you were the one who brought little Lucas today.¡± The woman smiled at Lucas, Lucas held his dad¡¯s hand and tried hiding behind his arm. ¡°Yeah, I usually never get to but today I do. Anyways, this is my friend Elisa and her sister Elizabeth.¡± The woman glanced over at me and Elizabeth and she smiled at us. ¡°Ah, yes, I remember you two.¡± I tilted my head in confusion. ¡°You do?¡± She nodded. ¡°Yes, I was the one up here when you came in to pick your sister up from school when your mother passed away. I was also the one who helped you take her out of public school and told you how you could get her enrolled online.¡± It finally came back to me. I smiled wide. This woman had been extremely nice and helpful, it made me feel better to have to deal with someone I somewhat knew. ¡°Well, I¡¯m trying to enroll Elizabeth back in public school. Would that be possible.¡± Elizabeth crossed her arms at my words, her bottom lip slightly poking out as if she was pouting. ¡°Of course I can. Just give me a few minutes and we can start the process.¡± ¡°So, when would she be able to start?¡± I asked, after having finished any paperwork needed to re-enroll her. The woman looked at the time. ¡°Well, she could start today. She¡¯ll be with the sixth graders. Her first period will be Science with Mr. Harper. This is his room,¡± the woman handed me a piece of paper with his room number. I nodded. ¡°Thank you. Would it be okay if I walked her to class?¡± The woman nodded. ¡°Of course.¡± Jackson was standing outside of the front desk, waiting for me. He had already walked Lucas to class a while ago. ¡°So what did she say?¡± He asked. ¡°She said Elizabeth could start today. Her first class is going to be Science with Mr. Harper. I¡¯m walking her to class and then we can go.¡± Jackson nodded. ¡°Sounds good. Mind if I follow?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Of course not. I¡¯ve never had to do this so the support will really come in handy.¡± As we got closer to her class, Elizabeth grabbed my hand tightly. I squeezed it back in reassurance. We reached the door. I looked at my sister and smiled at her. ¡°It¡¯s all going to be okay, I promise that I¡¯m going to be here on time to pick you up, okay?¡± Elizabeth frowned. ¡°Please, be safe sissy.¡±I patted her head, ¡°I will. Are you ready?¡± She nodded, and I knocked on the classroom door. After dropping Elizabeth off at her class, Jackson and I left the school and headed to work. As soon as we walked through the doors we were greeted by one of the front desk officers. ¡°Good morning Officer Bridges, Officer Reynolds. Someone came in not that long ago looking for you two. He said he needed to speak to you both, he was taken into the interrogation room to wait for you two to get here.¡± Jackson nodded. ¡°Alright, thank you. Elisa, go on ahead. I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± Jackson and I went separate ways. Walking into the room I saw a middle-aged man sitting on the other side of the table. He wore a dark purple tee-shirt. His hair was more salt and peppery like. He had brown eyes, eyes that looked sad. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I sat in front of him and he made eye contact with me. ¡°Are you one of the officers I asked to speak to?¡± I nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m officer Elisa Reynolds. What¡¯s your name?¡± The man looked around the room, as if he was worried about someone listening. ¡°My name is Kevin Winters. I¡¯m one of the remaining employees that worked with Caden Hutchins. I just returned to work yesterday when my boss told me that you and the other officer came by wanting to ask some questions, and that one of you left numbers. I decided just to come in person though.¡± Jackson walked in with two cups of coffee and handed me one. ¡°I know we already had some this morning, but I thought we could use another one.¡± He looked at Kevin. ¡°Would you like for me to go get you something before we continue on?¡± Keven shook his head, he placed his thin hands on the table and interlocked them. Jackson took a seat beside me, pulling out a folder from under his arm that didn¡¯t notice due to the coffee. ¡°Do you know why we wanted to talk to you today Mr. Winters?¡± I asked. ¡°Kevin, please. I know this is about Caden though, it seems for once the police are wanting to take his case seriously, so I¡¯m willing to give out any information I have.¡± Jackson slid the folder over to me. I opened it to find statements that had been taken when my stepfather''s case was first being looked into. ¡°So, Kevin, can you tell me why you¡¯re one of two employees remaining, besides the supervisor, since Caden died? From my understanding your job is a really good job to have with great benefits. Why would so many people leave?¡± Jackson asked, taking a sip of his coffee, while also eying Kevin suspiciously. Kevin looked nervous, almost like he wasn¡¯t wanting to speak about it. He took a deep breath. ¡°Everyone knew that Caden was being followed. Many of us reached out to Caden about the situation, me included, and we all made our own reports about it. None of us were taken seriously. When word got out that Caden had been murdered, it set everyone on edge. Everyone got worried that the person following Caden had been the one who did it, and everyone left because they got scared they would be targeted next for speaking out about Caden having a stalker.¡± I frowned. ¡°If everyone thought that then what made you stay?¡± I questioned. ¡°I stayed because I hoped one day that his case would be reopened, and that if whoever took it over wanted to take new statements, I would be at the same place, ready to say what I need to.¡± Kevin¡¯s eyes looked determined. ¡°I want his killer found. He was my friend. He was kind to everyone around him, he was selfless. He would give the shirt off his own back for someone else if they needed it!¡± I noticed the tears beginning to swell up in Kevin¡¯s eyes. I clenched my fist. ¡°Yeah, he was that kind of man.¡± I said through gritted teeth. ¡®He was such a great man, why did he have to die?¡¯ ¡°Did you know Caden?¡± Kevin asked. I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m his stepdaughter. He was there for as long as I could remember, he was basically my father, so I know well enough how much of an amazing man he is.¡± Tears were streaming down my cheek. Jackson handed me a tissue from a side table in the room. I wiped my tears away. ¡°Sorry.¡± I muttered. Kevin bowed his head. ¡°No need for apologies. I¡¯m sincerely sorry for your loss.¡± I nodded gratefully. I then looked back down at the files in front of me. ¡°Excluding your supervisor it appears only you and and a Mr. Jensen were the only two to give a statement when the police had come by to get statements after Caden¡¯s murder. Do you know why that is?¡± Kevin nodded, his face turned sad. ¡°Everyone else was scared. They had already put in so many reports, but when he was actually murdered no one wanted to give a public statement, again, out of fear they might be the next target.¡± It hit me. ¡®I should show him the photo of my father!¡¯ Luckily for me, I had shoved the photo into my pocket as we left the house. I took the photo out and slid the picture across the table to Kevin. ¡°Do you recognize this man?¡± I asked. Kevin stared at the photo then nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve seen him with Caden before. He worked with us. From what I know, he always walked to work. He didn¡¯t talk to any of us besides Caden. I always had this feeling that he was sketchy. A week after Caden was killed he quit his job.¡± ¡°What was his name?¡± I pushed. ¡°Michael Kennings. He never talked much about himself but he was always asking Caden things about himself. He seemed kind of obsessed with knowing about Caden¡¯s life.¡± I for once felt at a loss for words as I took the photo back and shoved it into my pocket. ¡°Is there anything he said about himself before, regardless of how small?¡± Jackson asked. I was grateful for him taking over the conversation. ¡°I do remember once him saying that he was from this town. That he had a daughter that he hadn¡¯t seen since a few months after she had been born and that he always wanted to meet her. That was it.¡± I shuddered. ¡°Thank you, Kevin. I think that¡¯s all we need. If you need anything, or find anything, give us a call or you can come in person and we¡¯ll talk.¡± Kevin stood up. We shook hands and led him out of the building. ¡°I just want to say,¡± Kevin spoke, standing at the front doors of the department. ¡°Caden is a very lucky man to have such a caring stepdaughter that is pushing to find his killer. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s watching you from wherever, being extremely proud of you.¡± I smiled at Kevin¡¯s words. ¡°Thank you Kevin. I appreciate the kind words. Be safe now, okay?¡± Kevin nodded, and he got into a car parked in the front and drove off. I couldn¡¯t help but feel dread creep up on me. After Kevin had left I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something was going to happen. I tried to distract myself by looking back over any evidence we had left on the cases, trying to connect the dots once more to each other. The ending of our shift was finally approaching. Tomorrow the plan was to go to the school and pull up any records on Micheal Kennings, then go back to see William to try and get Micheal¡¯s address. It was a long stretch, but it was one that needed to be done to make sure nothing gets overlooked. ¡°Uhm, officer Reynolds, officer Bridges?¡± A soft voice spoke out. The both of us looked at the girl who was now standing in the doorway of the evidence room. ¡°I thought you two would like to know, but we just received a report about a murder,¡± My stomach churned. ¡°A woman called and said that when she got home she found her husband dead. His skin had been skinned off of him and his bones were missing. It sounded very similar to the cases you both are investigating, so I wanted to fill you both in so that you two can check it out.¡± I swallowed hard. ¡°Did you get his name from her?¡± ¡°His name was Kevin Winters.¡± Chapter 12 Elisa My heart dropped the moment Kevin¡¯s name left my coworker¡¯s lips. Part of me felt responsible. I knew in the beginning of our conversation he seemed weary. I should have questioned him more, asked him if he felt like anyone was following him or if anything suspicious was happening around him recently. I might¡¯ve been able to prevent his death if I had done that! I felt frozen in place, like the world around me was spinning and I had no control over it. Jackson placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t beat yourself up. It¡¯s written all over your face that you feel responsible. This wasn¡¯t your fault. Neither of us could have known this was going to happen.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Jackson, you didn¡¯t see him when it was just me alone with him in that room. He looked like he was watching out, as if he was worried someone would see or hear him that wasn¡¯t supposed to.¡± I sighed. ¡°Are we going to go check it out?¡± Jackson nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go check it out, and we¡¯ll go from there.¡± I felt numb as we approached the other officers on scene. A crowd was forming on the other side of the street. I couldn¡¯t help the anger that boiled up inside of me. An innocent man just died and these people were staring like they never heard of privacy! I realized I had my fist clenched when Jackson grabbed my fist. ¡°Hey, try to ignore them for now, okay?¡± That was easier said than done. The first officer we approached was trying to coax a woman who appeared to be in hysterics. ¡®That must be his wife,¡¯ My heart clenched at the sight of her. Her hair was all over the place as if she had been trying to pull it out. Her massacre was running down her cheeks from her tears. She was sobbing uncontrollably. ¡°Excuse me,¡± I spoke up. The woman looked up at me, tears still streaming down her cheeks. ¡°Are you Mrs. Winters?¡± The woman nodded her head. ¡°Yes, I am. Who are you?¡± I held out my hand. ¡°I¡¯m Elisa Reynolds.¡± She grabbed my hand and shook it. ¡°Mrs. Winters, do you mind if my partner and I ask you some questions?¡± The woman looked puzzled as she looked at me and Jackson than at the officer she was previously speaking to. ¡°Is that not what these guys are here for?¡± ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am, they are. However, your husband¡¯s case seems to have connections with other cases that my partner and I are investigating, that¡¯s why we also wanted to question you.¡± The woman looked down at the ground. She looked like she wanted to give up. ¡°I¡¯ll answer whatever questions you have, just make them quick, please. I hate standing out here, I feel like an animal trapped in a zoo.¡± She glanced over across the street at the growing crowd. I nodded. ¡°I completely understand ma¡¯am. Is there anywhere else we can go to talk without prying eyes?¡± Mrs. Winters led us through her house and out to her backyard, where a garden table was tucked away near the edge of the backyard. ¡°I apologize that we couldn¡¯t talk inside, but as you know, they are still inside trying to gather what they can.¡± She gestured for us to take a seat as she sat down. ¡°What would you like to ask me, officers?¡± ¡°Did Mr. Winters ever talk to you about a Caden Hutchins?¡± Mrs. Winter¡¯s solemn expression turned into one of surprise. ¡°Why, yes, he did actually. Why do you ask?¡± I look over at Jackson then back at her. ¡°Well, Caden was my stepfather. Due to a case that was given to us, his case got re-opened. As part of the job, we went to his place of work to find anyone who worked with him before he got murdered. His supervisor said there were only two left, and so we left our number and told him to tell them to give us a call if he would.¡± Mrs. Winters arched her brows in confusion. ¡°Well, Mr. Winters came into the office early this morning to speak to us. He looked as if he was worried that someone was watching him, and he seemed hesitant to talk to us at first.¡± The woman bit on her bottom lip, tears swelling up in her eyes once more. "Right before we left for the week my husband did start acting a bit strange. He was always asking me if I felt like we were being watched when we went out. I told him he was just being paranoid, to stop worrying. I never should have said that. I should have questioned him about it, I should''ve listened!" The tears streamed down her face. I couldn''t help but pull her into a hug. "It isn''t your fault, you had no idea this would happen. The only one to blame is the who did this, and I swear I''ll catch him." My voice hardened as I spoke, Jackson gave me a curious look. "Anyways," Jackson interrupted. Mrs. Winters wiped the tears from her face. "Did you know that your husband was going to come into the station this morning to talk to us?" She nodded. "Yes, I did. He said that Caden deserved justice, and that if his case was reopened and someone was willing to listen, he was willing to talk. He was really good friends with Caden. It broke my husband when he found out he was murdered." She shook her head sadly, looking down at her hands that now rested in her lap. "Did he ever talk about his other coworkers after Caden was killed?" Jackson asked. Mrs. Winters closed her eyes for a second, seeming to recall the memory. "Yes, maybe a month or so after the news about Caden he came home from work very upset," she paused. "I was in the middle of making dinner, I saw his expression and asked what was wrong and he said that everyone was quitting their job, that they were all afraid they would be the next person to be killed. He was angry that everyone was hiding instead of pushing harder to help find Caden''s killer." She shook her head. ¡°He also made the comment once that he had a feeling that his coworker, Micheal Kennings, was the one behind Caden¡¯s murder.¡± ¡°What did you say to him when he told you that?¡± I asked. ¡°I only said that if he felt that strongly about it, he should go to the police and tell them what he thinks. He gave me a look like I was crazy for even suggesting that. He told me that it wouldn¡¯t help for him to do so because Micheal had already left his job and disappeared.¡± Before I could speak another word, my phone was going off. It was my alarm. ¡®Shit!¡¯ I looked at Jackson with panic, he reached for my arm and gave a slight squeeze. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Mrs. Winters, we have to go, thank you for your time. We¡¯ll be in touch if we find anything.¡± Mrs. Winters led us out. I was practically running to the car. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I let time get away from me like that!¡± I shouted once inside the car. Jackson looked ashamed of himself. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Elisa, I should have been paying more attention as well, then we wouldn¡¯t be in this situation.¡± My alarm was meant to let me know it was time to go get Elizabeth from school, but it was based on how long from my house it would take before I made it there. Being on the farther side of the town meant I would be late, even though I told Elizabeth I would be there. I felt ashamed of myself. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. As we pulled up to the school I saw Elizabeth standing in the front, with Lucas by her side. They were the only two left waiting for a ride and my heart sank. ¡°What the hell?¡± Jackson muttered. I got out of the car and headed towards Elizabeth. ¡°Elizabeth! I¡¯m sorry for being late, I¡¯m here now though!¡± I held out my arms for a hug, she hesitantly gave one. Jackson had walked up beside me and he had his arms crossed. ¡°Lucas, what¡¯re you doing here? Didn¡¯t mommy come to pick you up?¡± I could hear the anger in his voice, I bit my lip. Lucas shook his head. I made eye contact with Jackson, the anger in his eyes was plain as day. "Elisa, would it be okay if I left Lucas with you for a bit? I have some business I need to take care of." I only nodded. The ride back to the house was silent. Jackson didn''t speak much once we arrived at the house other than to ask if I would make sure Lucas got his homework done. An hour passed since he left. Knock knock. I rushed to the door, in hopes Jackson had returned. Rachel stood in my doorway and gave a shy smile. "Hi Mrs. Reynolds," I arched my brow in confusion. "What are you doing here?" Rachel rubbed her hands together. "Well I was here at my regular time to babysit Elizabeth, but no one was home. I waited around for a while and still there was no one here so I left. I was coming by to check up." ''Fuck, I knew I was forgetting something.'' I forced a smile. "Ah, sorry Rachel. Everything''s fine. I meant to get in contact with you," I felt a sudden tug on my arm and I looked to my side. Elizabeth stood beside me, smiling. "Hi Rachel!" She beamed. Rachel returned the smile. "Hello Elizabeth. How was your day?" "I went to school today! I had so much fun!" Rachel''s eyebrow arched up in confusion. "Ah, yeah, this morning I went and had Elizabeth enrolled back in school. I thought it had been long enough since she was last in school, I meant to inform you, I''m so terribly sorry." "Oh, so does this mean you would like for me to come later then?" Rachel asked. I shook my head. "No, it''s fine. I appreciate all your help, but I won''t be needing anyone to watch Elizabeth anymore." For a second I thought I saw anger flash in Rachel''s eyes. "I understand. What about my pay then?" ''Shit, I still have to confront her about being in my bedroom! Dammit Jackson, where are you?!'' "Could you come back tomorrow, around 10ish? I promise to have your money then." Rachel curtly nodded and walked off. Hours passed, it was dark outside. I just finished feeding Elizabeth and Lucas when there was another knock at my door. I got up and opened the door to Jackson looking disheveled. "Jackson! Where have you been?" I questioned. He ran his fingers through his hair that was now a mess compared to earlier. I couldn''t help but find it attractive. "Well, after finding out Sarah never picked up Lucas from school like she was suppose, I finally had enough. I now have a court order requiring her to have a DNA test done for Lucas." He took in a deep breath. "So how has everything been since I left?" I let him walk by and I closed the door behind him. "Rachel came by." I said as I crossed my arms. We walked into the kitchen and I grabbed a plate I had make for Jackson from the microwave and set it down on the table. "You should eat." He took a seat at the table and grinned. "Thanks for the food. What did Rachel want?" "Well I had forgotten about telling her that I was taking Elizabeth back to school so she had came at her regular time and found no one was home, so she waited and waited then left then came back to see what happened." I stared at Jackson as he wolfed down his food. I chuckled. "So what did you tell her? Did you confront her?" He said through his bites of food. "I told her I won''t be needing her anymore and that if she comes by around 10 tomorrow I''ll have her money, and no, I didn''t confront her. A certain someone said he would be there with me when I did, remember?" He swallowed whatever food was in his mouth and looked down. "I''m sorry. If I knew she was going to come I would''ve stayed. I''m sorry." My heart felt like it was twisting. "Jackson, what you had to do was important. I''m sorry for making you feel bad about it." He waved his hand at me. "You have nothing to be sorry about. Hey, how about we put the kids to bed and come up with a plan on how to confront Rachel?" I nodded. That sounded like a great plan. Just like the day before, Jackson and I took the kids to school together. However, today we were off. "So, what do you say to hanging out at your place?" He asked. I agreed and we headed back to my home. We lounged around in my living room watching movies. Sometime during our movies I had fallen asleep and woke up with my head laying against Jackson''s shoulder. "Ah! I''m so sorry Jackson!" I felt my cheeks heat up and he smiled. "Nothing to apologize for. I thought your sleeping face was cute." My heart started beating faster at his words, my cheeks growing redder. ''I have to get back at him!'' I took in a deep breath. "So, I''m only cute when I''m asleep, huh?" I asked cockily. "Elisa, you''re more than cute. You''re absolutely beautiful and I''m extremely attracted to you." After the words left his lips his face turned red. My heart was racing. I got closer. "Is that true?" My voice was barely above a whisper, my hands were shaking. He turned his face towards me. Our faces were so close together that our noses almost touched. "I''m being honest with you Elisa." He leaned forward, as did I. Our lips barely grazed one another when a loud knock interrupted. I jumped back, my face was flushed. "I, uh, should get that." I mumbled and rushed off to the door. Rachel stood with her fist up, obviously about to knock again. "Oh! Rachel, it''s you. I uh, completely lost track of time, I''m so sorry! Come in, I''ll go write you a check, okay? So just hang out in the living room." Before she could speak I was running up to my room to get her check. I returned with check in hand to find Jackson staring Rachel down from the couch. Rachel stood awkwardly, rubbing her hands together. I handed her the check. "Here, I hope this last you a while." She looked down and gasped. "Four thousand dollars?!" I nodded. "I know this was your only source of income and that I''m suddenly cutting you off, so I hope this helps to hold you over until you can get a different job." She smiled. "Thank you, Mrs. Reynolds. I''ll see you around?" I shook my head. "Before you go, I actually have something I want to ask you?" She was silent, waiting to be questioned. While I was in my room I had grabbed the picture she had put in my dresser. I took it out of my pocket and held it up to her. "Do you recognize this?" She shook her head. "Rachel, you should tell the truth." I watched as she swallowed. "I promise I have no idea what that is." I paced back and fourth. "Oh, yeah? Well I have footage of you going into my room and placing this photo in my drawer. So, come clean." All color drained from her face. "I-I swear I never saw that picture!" "Then explain why you had it and why you were in her room in the first place!" Jackson snarled at her, catching us both off guard. She gulped. "The, uh, day I did it, there was an envelope laying in front of my front door. Taped to the front of it was a note. It said that I had to plant the picture in your room somewhere where you''ll find it, but not to obvious to let you know someone was in your room. On the note it also said that they would be watching to make sure it got done, and if it didn''t, there would be serious consequences." I looked over at Jackson, his expression said everything. He didn''t believe her. "Do you really believe we''re going to believe a story like that?" Jackson asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I still have the letter if you don''t believe me!" Rachel blurted out. "Where is it?" Jackson asked sternly. "It''s in my car. I can go grab it!" Before either of us could speak, she bolted out the door. "Well fuck, we let her get away." Jackson muttered to himself. No less than a minute later she came running back in, holding out a slip of paper to me. "I told you I was going to go get it." I took it from her hands and handed it to Jackson. "We''re going to have this sent to be checked, if we find out you did this to cover your ass, I''ll make sure Elisa has charges pressed against you." Rachel visibly swallowed. "Yes sir." "Now leave." He snapped. Without a second thought, she was gone. "Now that that is taken care of," Before Jackson could continue speaking, his phone started ringing. He groaned at the number and mouthed ''work'' to me. "Hello? This better be important." There was a brief moment of silence and I watched as his face turned into a serious expression. "Okay, thanks, bye." "What was that about?" I questioned. He turned towards me. "The results are in for the blood at your mother''s house." I swallowed hard. "What did they say?" He looked me dead in my eyes, seeming to brace himself for bad news. "The blood belongs to Caden Hutchins." My heart dropped.