Chapter 142: The Demon Behind Me (1/2)
I stomped around my room, trying to compose my thoughts when the phone rang again. I swooped down to the bed and swiped up the phone. It was Sebastian.
”Hi,” I whispered, almost breathless.
”What's wrong?” he asked immediately. ”Why do you sound like that?” I could hear the anxiety in his voice.
”I… ran up the stairs,” I said finally. And I had. I was wondering if I should tell him why I had done it though.
”Sounds counterproductive unless you are trying to increase your physical fitness. Who was trying to talk to you and why did they affect you like this?” Sebastian, always cutting out the bullshit and getting to the point.
I sighed before plopping down on the bed. ”It was Ross Reynolds.” There was silence on the other side.
”I thought he died,” Sebastian said casually.
”No, he is alive and kicking. And still an asshole of epic proportions,” I swore.
”I understand why you have such a violent reaction. What did he want to tell you?” He seemed to have an idea that it wasn't a simple greeting.
”He tried to make excuses about why it took seven months for me to be rescued and why I had to be the one who solved the case and not the police.” I scoffed.
”He came to apologize, then,” he added. He paused for a second, thinking about what to say next. ”People in power don't like to be in situations where their power is taken away from them. Ross was all high and mighty, so saying that he made mistakes would be hard on him.”
I broke out into a humorless chuckle. ”I know that. That's not what pissed me off.”
”What else did he say?” he asked cautiously.
”He said that there was someone helping Alicia on her murder spree and they never found any clue about him. The police wanted to bury their failures and that's why they were trying to pin some blame on me.” I grew silent after that.
”And I never knew about this? Is he kidding?” He was incredulous.
”He gave some instances. About the precision of the murders and the lack of evidence.” I sighed.
”I have the case files.” I heard him push off the surface he was sitting in. ”Wait, I'll get the files and look through it.”
”No!” I said quickly. ”You have so much work on your plate right now. Don't worry about it right now. I'll take the flight late tomorrow night. The plane will land the day after, so… I'll come home and pick up my things before work.”
He groaned. ”I'll pick you up,” he offered.
”Sebastian, catch some sleep. Please.”
”I—” and he stopped midsentence.
”What is it?”I asked with a sense of urgency.
”I think I have a lead. The conversation with you really helped.”
I blinked. ”Happy to be of help?” The words came out more as a question. ”Anything you can tell me?”
”No. Nothing. I got some emails from a government official saying that I couldn't speak about it anymore.”
That was strange. ”It did cause a media frenzy and the government and police were scrambling to make people feel safe. Probably trying not to protect the people from feeling insecure.”
Sebastian hummed. ”I'll call you at night, okay?”
And he did. We spoke about nothing and everything until I felt my eyes droop. Soon, I was drowning in my dreams. Scenes from my captivity resurfaced in my mind.
”Evie,” I heard in the distance. It was a voice I knew and I tried to wade through the water I was drowning in and towards it.
”Evie, wake up.” His voice was gentle. I moaned as it slipped away from it. Realization slowly seeped in.
I was dreaming. I was dreaming all of this and I had to wake up. I calmed myself down and looked around the room I was locked in. I needed to find a location where reality frayed and then concentrate enough to jolt my body into consciousness.
How did I know this? Dr. Knight.