21st October, 2015 (Sixteen Days after the Murder).

04:50 PM.

Alyson came back home drained after a long day at work. She closed earlier than usual, because she decided to treat herself – after all, after a long chain of bad luck, the last thing she needed was to have a stroke. She made up her mind to have a hot bath, watch a show on NETFLIX while helping herself to a giant tub of ice-cream, and later go to bed.

She locked the door, and kept the key on the table in the living room. She was about taking off her shirt, but stopped abruptly when she heard a thudding sound coming from upstairs. She stood very still and listened, as the sounds became louder. It seemed like someone was searching for something, and was not being too careful about it. It was obvious the intruder was not aware she was in the house.

Alyson considered opening the door and running out of the house, but she was not sure if there were accomplices waiting outside, so she resolved to stealthily identify the intruder, and then hide. She slowly made her way upstairs, careful to jump past the stair that creaked. As she reached the top of the stairs, she dialed Ian’s number with one hand, and took a lamp with another. She noted that the thumping noise was coming from the direction of Bethany’s room.

Alyson took a deep breath and went to investigate, as silently as she could. As she reached Bethany’s door, she saw the outline of a male figure searching frantically for something under Bethany’s bed. She was about to back out but unfortunately, the intruder turned toward the door at the exact same time.

He was tall and lean, and wore a black sweater and pants, and black gloves. He had a mask over his face so she could not make out distinctive features except for his eyes, which were a startling grey.

He appeared shocked, and did not react at first, but snapped out of his stupor as Alyson headed downstairs.

“Ally…,” Ian said from the other end of the line.

She was about to yell for help, when the phone was yanked from her hands and thrown on the wall. The intruder grabbed her by the hair, and mercilessly dragged her into the room.

“Where is it?” he yelled as he threw her to the floor. Despite the pain, Alyson could detect a faint British accent in his speech.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied desperately.

He struck her on the face, “Where is the flash drive?” he asked.

Alyson began to scream. She knew it was dangerous, but she had to do something, anything, to save herself.

He slapped her face a few times, pinning her hands down with his knees.

“You wanna play hardball huh?” he asked as he got off her.

Alyson felt a tug of relief which quickly turned to dread as he dragged her out of the room by her hair.

“Please stop,” she cried in pain as he dragged her down the stairs. She could feel bruises forming on her face as her head hit the steps several times as they went down. When they got to the end of the stairs, he yanked her up by the hair so hard, she could feel clumps of it pulling by the roots. He dragged her to the kitchen and threw her to the ground.

“What did Bethany tell you about the flash drive?”

“Nothing, I swear,” she said. The man hissed and kicked her in the ribs.

He went to the knife cabinet and took out a big knife. He got on top of her, and placed the knife on her throat.

“This is your last chance. It would be such a shame for me to take your pretty little self out of this world. Save yourself the pain,” he said and Alyson began to cry. She had imagined a lot of terrible things, but never thought her life would end beneath a man on her kitchen floor.

“Or is it on you?” he asked savagely as his eyes roamed her body. He held her hands above her head with one hand and searched her, slowly, to humiliate her. She stared at him, and felt rage building up in her. She did not survive all that she had been through to go down without a fight. She summoned all the strength that she could, and managed to get one of her hands free. She scratched him on the neck, and spit on him. she noted that her saliva was mixed with blood.

He removed his hands from her and punched her in the stomach. She kneed him in the groin in retaliation, and got up from the floor slowly as he groaned in pain. She felt dizzy as she walked to the living room – she had one goal; grab the keys, and get out. She had barely made it a few steps when the man carried her over his shoulder and threw her on the glass table in the living room. She felt the table shatter, as little pieces of glass pierced her skin.

Before she could comprehend what was happening, he carried her back to the kitchen and threw her on the floor. He got on top of her and punched her hard on the face. Her world went black.

*****

Same Day, 05:35 PM.

Ian made his way to Alyson’s house with a sinking feeling in his stomach. She called him, but had not said anything. He knew he was probably being paranoid, but he found it weird that her number was switched off when he tried to call her back. After seeing that her bakery was closed for the day, he hoped she was fine as he hurriedly drove to her house.

As he got there, the first thing he noticed was that the door was unlocked. He found it strange, because Alyson was usually meticulous about her safety, especially after Bethany’s death. As he stepped into the house, the knot in his stomach tightened. The house was in disarray, with the center table broken, and some chairs overturned. The house had clearly been ransacked. He rushed in, and found Alyson unconscious on the floor.

His instinct kicked in, and he pulled out his gun and searched the house, to be sure that the intruder was gone. After that, he came back to Alyson’s side.

“Babe open your eyes,” he said as he tapped her gently. He breathed a sigh of relief, as he felt a pulse on her neck.

“Ally… please. I’m here now,” he said.

Her eyes slowly opened, and helped her sit up. She looked terrified, and there were several bruises on her face. Her left eye was swollen shut, and her clothes were covered in blood he hoped was not hers.

“What happened here?” he asked.

“There was a man. He attacked me,” She mumbled the best way she could, as her lips were swollen.

“Hang on,” he said as he made a call for an ambulance without leaving her side.

He gave the address and cut the call, as he continued, “Can you describe him? What did he look like?”

“He was masked. But from what I could make out, he had grey eyes…was over six feet. I noticed he had a faint British accent, even though he tried to hide it. I was able to scratch him on the neck.”

“Did he touch you?” Ian asked worriedly as he glanced at her body.

“No, but he hurt me a lot. He said he was looking for Bethany’s flash drive.”

“Why?”

“No idea. He thought I had it.”

“Where’s the flash?” Ian asked.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t have it. I had no clue what he was talking about,” Alyson said. Ian went to the kitchen and handed her a glass of water. His hand shook as he handed it to her.

“Are you okay? You’re shaking like a leaf,” she said.

“I’m good. For a moment there, I thought…,” he trailed off as he could not bring himself to complete the statement. He put his face in his hands and tried to slow his breath. They waited in silence as Alyson took little sips of water.

“He probably killed Bethany,” Alyson stated.

“The fact that he broke in doesn’t mean he’s a killer,” he stated reasonably. Alyson wanted to argue, but winced in pain. Ian moved to her and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into him and breathed in his scent. She appreciated the warmth he provided.

Ian tried not to think about it, but nothing made any sense. He remembered what Bob said about Alyson, and a part of his mind wondered if the intruder had been hired to distract him from finding out the truth. He unsuccessfully tried to rid himself of the nagging suspicion that there was a possibility she set the whole thing up to seem like a victim.

He pulled away and looked at her, “Alyson, you know you can tell me anything right?” She recognized the look in his eyes.

“You think I killed her,” she said with realization.

She moved further away from him, “How could you think I would hurt my very own sister? You think I set all this up?”

“It is just a theory,” he said.

“That I’m some sort of psychopath?”

“I would never think that.”

“Then what are you saying?” she asked annoyed.

“I just want to make sense of all of this,” he said. Their conversation was interrupted by the loud siren of the ambulance arriving.

Her eyes lost all their warmth as she addressed him in a cold voice, “You just proved to me again why we would never work out. Brief the cops will you? I feel broken.” The paramedics walked in through the door, and Ian sat there in silence as Alyson was carried to the hospital. He hated the way she looked at him as she was led through the door. He had handled hundreds of cases, but none as complicated as this. He knew his personal involvement was clouding his judgement. His heart was telling him to trust her, but his instinct was telling him something else.

*****

22nd October, 2015 (Seventeen Days after the Murder).

04:25 PM.

Atwood, like other small cities, had a propensity for gossip. Barely twenty-four hours after the attack on Alyson, it was the topic of discussion on everyone’s lips. Ian kept getting weird glances around the precinct, even though no one asked him how Alyson was faring. She had been discharged a few hours earlier, but after their argument, he was sure she would not appreciate his presence in her house. 

He sat at his desk when he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Come in,” he announced.

Suarez walked in with a scowl on his face. He had been ruder than usual since Nathan was released. Still, he knew better than to cross Ian.

“A girl is here from Barke High. Says she has something to say, and only to you. She won’t speak to anyone else,” he grumbled.

“Let her in.”

Suarez signaled to someone outside, and a young girl entered his office. Suarez glanced at them both, and reluctantly left the room, closing the door behind him. Ian did not recognize the girl, and concluded that she had probably been interviewed previously by someone else on the force.

“Sit down please,” he told her gently. She looked strained, like she was under a lot of pressure. There were huge dark circles under her eyes, and her clothes were rumpled and ill-fitted. She bit her nails unconsciously as soon as she sat down, and glanced around the office nervously.

“Do you want some coffee? Juice?” he offered. She obviously had important information for him, so he resolved to be as nice as possible.

“No. I’m so nervous, I may break the cup,” she forced out.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Cindy Dalton.”

“Can you tell me why you’re here?”

“Please keep me anonymous. If this gets out, my life would be over,” she pleaded.

“I will try my possible best to do so.”

She took a deep breath, “I came here when I heard about the attack yesterday.”

“Go on,” he said.

“Someone lied… during the questioning. He was not being honest,” she said. Her attack on her nails grew more frantic.

“Who is that?” Ian asked. A bunch of names flashed in his mind, but he did not want to be too hasty.

“My History teacher, Mr. Johnson.”

“What did he lie about?”

“Please promise me this won’t get out,” she pleaded desperately.

“I promise,” he lied.

“When he said he didn’t know Bethany, he was not being honest. I think they were in a relationship… like he was with me.”

Ian sat upright in his seat, “Are you saying you had an affair with one of your teachers?”

“Yes. I’m so sorry,” she said as she began to cry. Ian handed her a box of tissues, which she accepted gratefully.

“It was just a crush. He was so good looking and I liked him, same with other girls at the school. He was charming and seemed to care about me. It would have just ended as a crush, but he told me he had fallen for me as well. He made me feel special. He said since I was still a minor, we had to keep our relationship a secret, or he’d go to jail. We started sleeping together; I thought I was the only one until I found out he was sleeping with other girls as well,” her words came out in a rush as Ian listened.

“When I confronted him, he told me I was the only one that mattered and brainwashed me again. The relationship continued. Two days before her death, Bethany saw us together. She was so mad and threatened to expose him… From her reaction, I could tell that he was with her too.”

Cindy wiped her tears and continued, “When I heard her older sister was attacked yesterday, and I heard about the description of the person, I could not keep it to myself any longer. I am sure he’s the attacker. Please don’t tell anyone, my parents will kill me.”

“I will keep your name out of it,” Ian said.

And that motherfucker will pay, he thought.

*****

23rd October, 2015 (Eighteen Days after the Murder)

11:05 AM

Ian read Eric his rights as an officer handcuffed him. He had the option of waiting till the school closed for the day to make the arrest, but wanted to take Eric into custody publicly, when everyone could see what sort of an animal the teacher was. Students came out from their classes when they heard the commotion, to watch what was going on. He noted that some of them were recording the confrontation with their phones. Ian preferred it that way, as it was what a pedophile like Eric deserved.

“Stop pushing me,” Eric said as he was dragged out of the classroom he had been teaching in, and out of the school. As they approached the police vehicle, Ian stepped forward. He could not wait anymore and had to satisfy his curiosity.

He stepped close to Eric and pulled his collar away from his neck. In the harsh light from the sun, there it was – a long, red, scratch mark.

Alright, WLYKites. Who do you think killed Bethany?

Thank you so much for the support

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