Six months have passed since Maria disappeared, and without her bloody mannequin to convince everyone she's dead, the search for her continues. But something is brewing in the darkest corners of Los Angeles. The Doll Collector has fallen dormant, bu...
"You two seem like such a young couple to have such an old daughter." I told her.
Elaine cut her eyes to me in irritation.
"Oh thank you," Mrs. Johnson laughed, beginning to blush.
"You're welcome, Erica. Well, it was good to see you, now I have to get going."
"Where are you off to, officer?" Backstrom asked.
I turned around offering her my most charming smile.
"Goodnight."
I could feel her eyes following me into my car. It was all too clear now. She was Taylor's sister and she was helping him get away with murder. She was keeping tabs on me while I was away, and that's why Taylor was always so confident coming into the house. That's why he wasn't too worried about Maria giving his description.
I turned to look at Elaine who still had her eyes trained on me. Her parents had gone back into the house, but Taylor remained on the porch.
This was the challenge. The three of us knew about each other. I was the real serial killer, she was the big bad FBI agent, and her little bitch brother was the wannabe serial killer. I smiled, as I turned the car on. This was going to be a fun game. I pulled out of my driveway, away from their judgmental eyes. The revelation somehow made everything calmer. I knew who my enemies were, and I knew exactly how to handle them. I had the upper hand.
Eloise pierced the air with her screeches. Oh right, she was in the car. Her frightened yelping was the soundtrack all the way to Maria's parents' home. Finally when I stopped, her yelping curdled into angry growls. I ignored the pain as she swatted at my arms with her claws.
"I swear Eloise, you're going to be a hamburger tomorrow." I told her, holding her close to my chest as I shut the car door.
She squirmed the whole way to the doorbell. Jared opened the door and cast me a suspicious look.
"Hungry, officer?" he asked.
His eyes dropped down to Eloise, who was still trying to wriggle out of my grasp. Suddenly, Maria pushed him out of the way and invited me in. Eloise finally broke free and scurried over to Maria. She picked her up and cuddled her close.
"Aw, is she yours?" she giggled.
"Yeah, her name's Eloise. She's really friendly as you can see." I smiled.
"You just travel around with your cat?" Jared interjected.
"Shut up, Jared." Maria snapped.
"I thought she might make Maria feel better." I told him.
"So you brought a cat with you?"
"Oh! Detective Marner, you're back. Are you hungry? Come have dinner." Mrs. Gonzalez greeted, in her night robe.
"Oh no no, please don't feel obligated. I came here to check on Maria and make sure she's alright. Did anything happen while I was gone?" I asked.
"No, daddy's got the shotguns out." Maria said.
I lowered my eyes to the shotguns sitting on the coffee table. One of those was meant for me. Mr. Gonzalez glanced up at me, a glass Modelo bottle in his hand.
"Maria, if I may speak to you alone." I said.
"Sure."
She led me down the same hallway we'd been speaking in earlier this evening, and into a room towards the back of the house. Maria closed the door behind us and let Eloise explore the new area. I took a look around the white walls that were decorated with strung Christmas lights and family photos. It looked very different from her bedroom in her apartment, but somehow very much her style.
"Backstrom is Taylor's sister." I said.
"What?" Maria gaped at me.
"She was at the neighbors' house and they introduced her as their daughter. She's their eldest, and she changed her last name when she joined the FBI. She knows about Taylor, she knows about me, and she knows about you."
"You seem so calm."
"Why shouldn't I be?" I asked.
Maria was staring into my eyes and I knew that she was analyzing me. What she was finding is what she had surely been avoiding all this time. I was who I was, and who I was, was a cold blooded killer. I'd set my two targets and all of this would go away.
"Kris." she whispered, unable to break my gaze.
"What?"
"I can't see you, I see the serial killer that took me."
"Maria, that's who I am."
"I thought you were better." She said quietly.
"You qualm the urge to kill, but you can't get rid of it. I want to wrap my hands around their necks. I want to skin her and-"
"Just stop it, okay?" She demanded.
I stared at her not blinking. Why was she so surprised? She'd seen what I was capable of.
"I'll leave Eloise here tonight and return in the morning." I said, moving towards the door.
"No, wait."
Her tone was whiny and for a split seconds she reminded me of Mia. She always clung to me, always needed me.
"I don't want you to leave. It's not safe out there. Just stay here, please."
"I can't, your brother is already suspicious of me and I don't need him looking into me. Take care of Eloise will you?"
"Kristopher."
"Goodnight Maria."
I shut the bedroom door behind me and said my goodnights to her parents. Jared watched me as I walked to the front door. I would take care of any problem that stood in my way.
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It's official! Ya girl has graduated from the university!
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It's totally surreal rn haha! I don't think it's gonna hit me until I see people going back to school haha xD.
Not sure if grad school is in the cards rn, but I'll be making that decision soon! I was going to take the plunge and start in August, but honestly I don't think I want more school rn haha. It's been a loooooooong 4 years.
Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I fell asleep after the graduation ceremony. Then I got lit at a soccer game haha.
