Don't Scream (Complete)

Chapter 46

Eli Bensworth

"Alright, alright, let's unseal those lips, shall we?" Rhonda prompted. 

Matilda Stone sat in the chair in the interrogation room, looking cross. 

"I demand to see a lawyer!" she protested. "This is a ridiculous violation of my rights and freedom!" 

"We have an arrest warrant. Also, your lover, Ben, confessed that he killed Mr Hoskins for you," Eli said tiredly. 

He just wanted to go have a long, well-deserved nap. He'd agreed to come work on this case, but he'd already had to exert himself physically. He hadn't completely healed yet from his time being tortured by Xavier and yet he'd had to go chasing after Ben and then wandering around the airport for Matilda. That alone had caused him immense exhaustion. 

"My lover? Pshh. He's not my lover," Matilda said. "Ben's pathetic. He's not a real man, no woman would love him." 

"Okay, so you're not his lover, but he is yours. He loves you, even if you don't return his feelings. And you used him to kill Mr Hoskins, didn't you?" Rhonda accused. 

"Where are you getting all this from? I didn't kill Mr Hoskins! I didn't even know Ben killed him! Suggesting that I made him kill Mr Hoskins is absolutely ridiculous and you have no proof whatsoever to prove otherwise!" Matilda protested. 

Eli raised a hand and threw down a piece of paper onto the table in front of Matilda. It was the list of financial records. Matilda looked down at her name, circled, in red ink. 

"I think Mr Hoskins would disagree with you on that," Eli said. "We have all the evidence we need to take you to court and land you in prison. So give it up. The game's over." 

Matilda's eyes twitched and her shoulders slumped. She sighed, looking down. "Alright." Her voice was disappointed and dejected. "Alright. dammit. Yes, okay? I told Ben to kill Mr Hoskins." 

"I got greedy. Mr Hoskins trusted me enough to promote me to be his personal secretary so I thought I'd, you know, use the opportunity to steal as much money as I could out from under his nose. When I realized he'd found out, I got nervous. Ben happened to come up to me and I snapped at him. I told him to find me a solution to my problem. I never really expected that he would really have the guts to go kill Mr Hoskins!" 

"That, Miss Stone, is good enough a confession for the both of us," Rhonda said, arms crossed. 

* 

Bani "Ben" Lupus was sentenced to 15 years in jail on the charge of manslaughter for the murder of Edward Hoskins. 

Matilda Stone was sentenced to 10 years in jail on the charge of being an accessory to murder. 

"You're pathetic!" Matilda spat at Ben as the pair of them - both handcuffed - were led away to prison by two police officers. 

"Matilda, I killed for you!" Ben protested, sobbing, his head down. 

Matilda lashed out angrily with her foot as the police officer holding her down fought to restrain her. 

"Miss Stone, calm down!" the officer berated her. 

"This is all your fault! I'm going to jail because of you!" Matilda screamed at Ben, cursing and spitting at him in contempt. 

"I'm the one going to jail for you!" Ben spluttered back. 

"You're pathetic! You're nothing but a loser!" Matilda continued her relentless assault. 

The screaming continued as the two convicts were led down the aisle to their new home in prison for the next decade or so. 

"Can you imagine ever loving a woman like that?" Eli asked Rhonda as the two of them stood at the end of the aisle, almost tempted to laugh. 

"Yeah, well, some people would do anything for love, and some people would do anything for money," Rhonda said, stretching. "You up for dinner?" 

"Sure, but you're paying the tab, because I had to exert myself going after Ben and Matilda," Eli said as the two of them left the station together. 

* 

Cassidy Hoskins 

"Cassidy, hun, you okay?" Sylvia asked as she rushed up to her friend. 

Cassidy stood at the gates of the estate that she now solely owned, greeting her good friend with a hug. 

"I'm doing a little better," Cassidy said with an attempt at a reassuring smile. She sighed. "The detectives working on the case told me they caught the people who killed my father. At least now I know he can rest in peace." 

She subconsciously fingered the silver cross around her neck, exactly identical to the one Sylvia had around her neck as well. 

"Cass, I'm so sorry," Sylvia said. "I know people think that sounds fake, but I'm genuinely sorry for your loss." 

Cassidy smiled, patting Sylvia on the shoulder. "You know what, Sylvia?" 

"What?" 

"Thank you. For being my friend." 

Sylvia smiled. "It has its ups and downs, but I think I sealed my fate by even relenting to talk to you that first day at school." 

"Come on in," Cassidy said, opening the gates and inviting her friend onto the large estate. "The house feels pretty empty without all the servants, but I think Rosa will let you sleepover. We can watch a comedy movie to get our minds off our troubles!"