Diamonds in the Rough

5.

There was a woman sitting on a rocking chair on the front porch. The mother of one of the victims.

Lisa turned to Sam "what kind of sick joke is this? You killed her daughter and now you want to taunt her with it?"

Sam didn't reply. She just made her way to the front porch with Lisa following close behind, gun in hand.

Mrs. Wilton's eyes lit up as she recognized Sam. Her face broke into a wide smile, "you came"

Sam smiled back, "of course, I promised I would be here, and I never ever break my promises"

Mrs. Wilton was about to say something when she caught sight of Lisa behind Sam. She stopped, looking cautious.

"Mrs. Wilton, I'm sure we'll have some news about Katie soon" Lisa said, breaking the silence.

She forced a smile, "I know you'll do everything you can to find her"

She turned back to Sam, "do you want some lemonade?"

"Sure" Sam said, before Lisa could say no.

A few minutes later, they were sitting inside eating lemonade and cookies and chatting with Mrs. Wilton, or at least Sam was.

The last time Lisa was here was when she was interviewing Katie's mom to figure out if she had any clues to who had taken Katie. She had been distraught and worried, telling them about a guy who had been stalking her daughter and now here she was, eating cookies with her daughter's murderer. To be fair, Lisa was pretty sure Mrs. Wilton had no idea that Sam was the one responsible for putting her through what had been a hellish week.

She watched as Sam laughed and joked with Katie's mother. Lisa had been friends with her for two years and right now she felt like she didn't know her at all. She'd always known that Sam wasn't the type of person to remain on the straight and narrow for long. But she'd also known that she was a good person. Lisa shook her head, turns out she wasn't a great judge of character.

When she tuned back into the conversation, she realized Sam was getting ready to leave. At the door Mrs. Wilton handed Sam a gift-wrapped box and hugged her. Sam returned the hug and whispered something to her before waving her goodbye and walking to the car.

Lisa got in, "I need to see the bodies"

Sam handed her the box, "open it"

"I'm not playing games anymore, take me to where you buried them"

"I will" Sam relaxed in her seat, "open it first"

Lisa unwrapped the box, realising that she, too, was willing to stall for time. She knew when she found the bodies, it would be over. She'd always valued and cherished her friendship with Sam. Sam, who would show up at the bar at 3:30 to pick her up if she was too drunk to drive. Sam, who would tease her about her dating choices but take her out for a night of fun to distract her from a messy breakup. Sam, who was there for her, no matter what.

She sighed involuntarily as she removed the last of the wrapping paper. The box inside was a simple black one and inside was a silver pendant with a picture of a young girl inside. She looked up, "this is..."

"It's Katie's" Sam started the car, "I told her I would get it for her"

"Wait, she's not..."

"On paper, she's going to be a missing person forever" Sam turned to Lisa, " but as of now, she's on a flight to Australia, with a new identity and a chance to have a proper life, without having to look over her shoulder every minute she's outside. Without having to close her curtains every night and check for cameras. Without having to hear someone tell her that she'll be taken seriously only once he hurts her."

She took a breath, "and Robin, he's going to Spain, where he doesn't have to live in fear every day of his life because he had the courage to blow the whistle on his company and save innocent people"

Lisa swallowed, "why didn't you tell me this?"

Sam chuckled without humor, "you're an officer of the law and I respect your decision to give everything to uphold it but sometimes the law isn't enough, and I know that first-hand"

"So, Mrs. Wilton knows?"

"I told her two days after I helped Katie escape, she'll probably go to visit her in Australia once she's settled"

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because I trust you, I just need you to trust me too"

Lisa looked out of the window as they drove past green fields "there's a guy on the street, they call him 'The artist', he's really good at forging documents"

Prompt retrieved from Wednesday Writing Prompts