How They Got Away With Murder | Book Three

Chapter Two-Part One

      TW: Mentions of abuse

      Annalise perched on the back of a truck, tears streaming down her face. Two detectives surrounded her, one holding a notepad and a pencil. Lights and sirens blared around her as firefighters hosed down the house.

      "You're in shock right now. I understand that." A male detective, the one with the paper, said. "Unfortunately, we do need to get as much information from you as possible. Can you tell us where you were before?"

      Annalise simply stared ahead, her face expressionless. He pushed for an answer, so she provided one.

      "The clinic." She told him, her tone void of emotion. "I had to pick up some work."

      "Did anyone else see you there? Someone who can vouch for your whereabouts?"

      It seemed the intention of the detectives became clear for Annalise, as she glared at the man.

      "You're joking. My house is burning down, and now you want to make me a suspect?" At last, a form of emotion shined in her voice. Anger.

      In an attempt to diffuse the situation, the man said, "Now, hold on. No one's saying anything like that."

      "Yeah, be a monster, that's fine. But don't be a dumbass as well." Keating snapped.

      "To be clear," the female detective intervened, "your neighbors saw your car in the driveway all day."

      Annalise glanced between the two.

     "You wanna arrest me for burning down my house. Then do it! Cuff me right here!" She shouted, her words cracking with despair.

      "Arrest me!" She screamed as nobody moved. "Go on, arrest me!"

~~~~~X~~~~~

Two Months Earlier

      Karmen woke up the morning after court feeling more melancholy than usual. Whether it was the usual topic of Frank or the loss of a case, she wasn't sure. But still, she got ready for the day like she always did. As she finished pouring coffee into a mug, her phone rang. She plucked it off the table and read the number. Her brows furrowed as she saw it was an unknown number. She answered the call and held it up to her ear.

      "Hello?"

      Much like those months ago, she heard shaky breathing from the other end.

      "Frank?" She asked hopefully. There was a pause where nothing could be heard, and she wasn't sure if it was him or not. She was ready to hang up when all of the sudden,

      "I didn't want to do it."

      She held her breath. That was the first time she'd heard his voice in what felt like forever. What killed her was how broken he sounded.

      "Do what?"

      "Annalise...she..." he trailed off, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

      "Hey, it's okay. I'm here, you can tell me." She said soothingly. She waited patiently as silence took up his end. She sipped her coffee.

      "She sent someone to kill me."

      She nearly choked. She spit out her drink in shock and began coughing. As soon as she regained her breathing, she seethed,

      "I'm sorry, she did what?"