Something About Alice Murphy: BOOK 2

P A R T - F O U R T E E N

Chapter Fourteen: Confrontations.
Tuesday 9th April, 8:05am
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"Ma'am, I don't know what you want us to say," one of the young deputies murmured as the mother of Nick Longford stared at them in disbelief. Thunder suddenly roared through the sky, adding to the blurred rushing noise of rain water cascading down over the town of Summerland. "There was no sign of forced entry-"

"Are you suggesting my son did this to himself?" Nick's mother accused angrily as she clutched a tissue tightly in her hand, after watching only thirty minutes before her son being rushed to hospital in severe pain, having woken up in a dried pool of his own blood. "Are you implying that he mutilated himself?!"

"No ma'am, but we've looked around the whole property and there is no sign that anyone forced themselves into the house-"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this." She scoffed, turning her body away as if she wanted to hear nothing else. "I know that my son wouldn't do this to himself. He wouldn't do this-"

"We understand-"

"I don't think that you do!" Nick's mother shouted, causing some of the other officer's to glance over from where they were stood next to their cars with cups of coffee, shielded from the heavy rain under big black umbrellas. They were stood outside now, letting some other officers check for the third time to see what else they could find since they'd turned up empty handed every time. "He will never be able to have children! Do you understand that?! Someone broke into my home and mutilated my child and you're suggesting that I'm lying?!"

"Ma'am-"

"Deputy, I think i'll take it from here." Sheriff Wilson murmured, placing his hand on the deputy's shoulder and almost pushing him away. He'd only just arrived on the scene, having heard about someone's son being castrated in their bed in the middle of the night. "Why don't you tell me what happened?" Sheriff Wilson asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"I've explained this four times already." Mrs Longford sighed, evidently distressed, dressed in her robe and her pyjamas from the previous night. Sheriff Wilson continued to wait until Mrs Longford decided to explain once more. "I woke up to Nick screaming, and when I went into his room he was just sat there in his bed covered in dried blood, all over the bottom half of his pyjamas, just screaming. He said everything was hurting and he was sweating and crying and he looked so pale..." Mrs Longford explained in a quiet voice as her eyes watered. She dabbed the tissue under her eye and licked her lips, tasting the tear that had escaped. "I called the ambulance and they said he..." she paused as the memory replayed in her head, a lump now forming in her throat. "They said that he had been neutered, like he was some kind of dog!"

"And they found nothing in the house..." Sheriff Wilson clarified calmly as Mrs Longford nodded and continued to wipe her eyes.

"Who... who would do such a thing? He's only sixteen," she began to sob, covering her face as Sheriff Wilson sighed, and reached over to place his hand on her shoulder to comfort her quietly. There was a lingering silence after that question... who would do such a thing? Sheriff Wilson came up with blanks, unsure of what to say only moments before one of his deputies approached, shielding his eyes from the heavy rain as it soaked his rain coat.

"Sheriff, sir? Uh, you're gonna want to hear this. Some guy got a weird package on his doorstep this morning... claiming it was, um...you know." The deputy interrupted, turning his body away as another deputy looked over towards them, holding their phone up against their ear...