5th November, 2015 (One Month after the Murder).

12:05 AM.

As Alyson entered Ian’s office, she wondered about the extreme change in temperature from the corridor. His office was stuffy and small, and he clearly needed an AC. She admired him more for his tenacity; she hadn’t known of his office situation, but it was obvious his superiors were punishing him. She understood how hard it must have been for him in that moment, from being a rising star in his career, to a disgraced detective with limited means.

Ian looked up, and a huge grin broke out on his face.

“Ally, have a seat,” he said as he stood up, motioning her to sit. He looked around the office like he hadn’t been there before, and gave an embarrassed smile.

“Sorry for the discomfort. Should we go outside?” he asked.

“I’m good. Your office is nice,” she lied diplomatically as she took the seat she was offered. She was a little afraid of the loud creaking noise the ceiling fan above their heads was making. She sat upright on her chair, and tried not to imagine the fan falling on both their heads. Ian shook his head shyly as he sat down.

“I came to give you something,” Alyson said, putting her hand in her purse and bringing out a flash drive.

“Is that…?”

“Yeah, it is. Bethany gave this to me about two years ago. I believe it was when her relationship with Eric initially began. It was such a long time ago that I forgot about it until days after the attack.”

“This is great,” he said ecstatically as he collected the flash drive.

“Be careful who you give it to though. It has some… sensitive information,” she explained.

“I understand.”

She sighed, “Will this be enough to pin Eric down?”

“It should be.”

“I want him to pay for what he did to Bethany. He took advantage of her youth. I also want him to pay for what he did to me as well. I’ve decided to press charges against him,” she said.

“I’m so glad to hear that. Eric won’t be able to escape this time. I’ll make sure of it.”

They sat in silence, and Alyson decided to ask the question that had been on her mind, “The Beet guy who was arrested, has he confessed to the murder yet?”

Ian sighed in disappointment as he gave his reply, “Beet is dead. He bit off his tongue yesterday in an apparent suicide.”

“Oh my God!”

“All lose ends have been tied up,” he said mockingly.

Alyson stared at him quizzically, “You think it was a conspiracy?”

“It’s possible,” was Ian’s carefully worded reply.

“Do you think Beet killed Bethany?”

“Honestly, not for a minute. Do you?”

“I don’t know what to think, honestly. I just want the whole thing to be over,” she replied as she groaned in frustration.

Ian stood up and paced around the tiny office, “Beet’s involvement makes sense, but it’s too neat. Everything got tied up with a perfect little bow. The narrative is that Bethany was one of his unlucky victims, but there are so many unanswered questions. Where was Bethany killed? How did he get her there? She suffered no head injuries, she was not knocked out with some sort of chemical, so how did he do it?” he asked loudly as he grabbed a fistful of his own hair.

“Take a little break,” Alyson said worriedly.

“It’s driving me crazy.”

“That much is obvious,” she replied. He walked over to her, and sat on his desk, beside her.

“What about Nathan?” Alyson asked.

“His story checked out. He said he was with Sherylyn that night, and on tracking their cell phones, they were in fact together till Sherylyn went back to her place in the morning. Bethany’s DNA was also found in his house and car, which wasn’t unusual because she visited his home often, and he regularly drove her to school. His, Sherylyn’s and Bethany’s DNA were also in his room, along with minute traces of blood, which was consistent with the fight he admitted they had gotten in,” he explained.

“Dammit. So back to square one?”

“Back to square one,” he admitted.

“Do you have any other suspects?” she asked.

“I have a suspicion about someone, but I don’t have sufficient proof to say anything yet.”

“Who is it?” she asked.

“I’ll let you know when I’m sure,” he replied with a smile.

Alyson squeezed his thigh, “Ian, there was another reason I came here today… I can’t breathe in this town anymore, everything about this place literally makes me sick.

“The day Bethany died, we got into a fight. You know how I was in high school, and unfortunately, that side of me came out that day. I thought I had repressed it, but it showed that I was still the mean bitch from before.

“I said so many hurtful things to her. It didn’t hurt that she kissed Bob, I did not like him that much. It was an accumulation of so many things, the fact that she wanted to control everyone, the fact that she owed loyalty to no one but herself,” Alyson said in a rush, and Ian listened attentively.

“She was not a good person, but my words made her cry. Can you imagine? Bethany Cooper crying because someone was mean to her! I told her I would cut her off once she turned eighteen, since she decided to be selfish.”

“Did you mean that?” he asked.

“Every word. I was sick of it,” she replied.

“I literally waited for her that night. I was going to tell her that immediately after her birthday and graduation, I would sell the house, and give her half of the proceeds to do with as she liked. I wasn’t going to live with her anymore. I was so tired of people then, you know. I needed to be on my own, by my choice this time. It was what I planned to do.

“When I got the call that her body had been found, for the first time in my life, I lost all control of myself. That was why I acted like a psycho at the lake. The same shit of losing people happened again. I wanted to apologize, I wanted to tell her she was not flawed, that she was beautiful, and smart, and perfect. She was just acting out because she was a teenager. I certainly did worse when I was her age.” She said.

Alyson hesitated, then asked, “You know what her last words to me were?”

“What?”

“I hate you. Her last words to me were ‘I hate you’. I will never forgive myself, and I will carry that guilt with me for the rest of my life,” she said, as her voice got heavy with unshed tears.

Ian remained silent for a while, as he did not trust himself to speak without getting emotional. He cleared his throat and placed his hand on hers which lay on his thigh, “I will get Bethany justice. Together, we will see the murderer behind bars. I swear it,” he promised.

“Thank you. I would love to see that someday,” Alyson said with a sad smile.

“I’m moving away,” she stated.

“What?”

“I am going to Hollywood to start my life all over again. I need to put all this behind me or I’ll die.”

“But I need you here,” he argued.

“It’s ironic that I am the one doing the leaving this time around right? But for my sanity I have to,” she replied, while placing her other hand on his.

“I need to move away,” she said.

He shook his head in annoyance, “I’m stuck here.”

“Ian, look at me. Solve this case. Do this not just for me, but for yourself as well. Play the loyal dog, do whatever they tell you to do, get in their good books again. Then get reinstated and we’ll find a way to be together again. Heavens know we’ve seen a lot of tragedy in this town already.”

“I love you,” he said. As the words left his lips, he knew that he meant them deeply, and truly. She was the person he cared about the most in his life, and no matter what happened between them, if she felt the same way or not, he would always love her.

“I love you too,” she replied.

Their lips met, and it was like all the time, the distance, the heartbreak and betrayals had never happened. He was just Ian, and she was Alyson, the girl he had always been in love with. He was not sure what the future held, or what surprises life had in store, but he was sure of one thing – his feelings for her would never change.

He was sure they were going to be reunited again, and then nothing could keep them apart – not his ambition, not her ego, or their pride. When it was time, they would give each other everything and start all over again.

They will be together again.

In the next chapter comes the moment of truth!

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