Fallen Raine {Completed}

Chapter Twelve - Well, Mr. Muscles, You're Certainly Not The Killer

We didn’t question Steve any further, not until we had him back at the food court. Drella, Donovan, Jason, River and I crowded around him, getting him a blanket, a bottle of water and a blueberry muffin that was half-stale. We were trying to get the shock off so that he could function properly. I flitted around, bandaging up any cuts and checking temperatures and making sure he was looked after.

“Steve, you wanna tell us what happened?” Jason asked gently, staring at Steve imploringly.

            Since we had discovered Jess’s body, River had remained silent in his own grieve-filled quiet, and my heart almost broke for him.

“We—we were in the gym, and then Jessica went for a shower and I read the newspaper and kept watch. All of a sudden I felt something breathing down my neck—literally—and I turned around and the killer had a knife.”

“The killer?” Jason reiterated. “Who did you see? Who was the killer?”

Steve pointed a shaky finger at me, and I felt my heart stop. “Her. She’s a monster.”

I reeled backwards, and almost fell out of my chair in shock. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard coming from the middle-aged mall cop’s mouth.

He… He thought I was the killer?!

“Steve, you’ve gone through a lot…” Jason began soothingly, only to be cut off by Steve.

“She’s the killer!” he hissed. “Raine attacked Jessica and I.”

I felt like the world was tilting in slow motion. I knew that I wasn’t the killer—I would never do such a thing—but under his incriminating gaze, he almost had me believing that I might be. But I wasn't! How could I be?  I could barely stand the sight of blood. I could never take a life.

“She’s not the killer,” River piped up, stalking forward and sitting in front of Steve. He sat backwards on the chair, his long legs spread apart and his arms resting on the top of the back of the chair. He was so tall that he seemed almost overgrown in the chair, all long legs and lean, athletic limbs. “Someone’s been with her every time someone has been murdered. She was still here when you guys were taken. And even if it had happened after she went to find you guys, Jason went with her.”

Steve seemed speechless, utterly lost for words at River’s defense. Finally, he muttered dumbly, “I know what I saw.”

“No,” I said gently, feeling the need to say something to make Steve feel better. In fact, there was actually a plausible explanation for what he thought he saw. “You think you know what you saw. When people are in high states of shock, they can make up mirages in their heads—hallucinations that’ll make the situation easier to deal with. You saw betrayal and motive rather than someone who was killing for the thrill.”

When I was met with several blank stares, I shrugged. “My dad was a doctor. I know this kind of stuff.”

River looked like he wanted to question this, but Jason cut in. “Steve, what exactly happened? Tell us everything.”

Steve sighed and began. “We went to the gym, Jessica went in to have a shower, and I stayed in the locker room to keep watch. I was reading the newspaper, and then suddenly I felt someone behind me. I spun around to see who I thought was Raine standing behind me. They had a hoodie that covered their face. I just thought I saw a flash of their face—I guess not. He knocked me out, then ran in and grabbed Jessica. When I woke up, we were in the backroom for some store, and I watched the killer shove razors in Jess’s mouth, gag her, and then torture her. He did this for a while just for the fun of it. Then he cut her throat. He heard noises, so he ran.”