I marched towards the station entrance with a pep in my step and with one thing on my mind: Mia going down.
I heard the door to my car slam shut, after which it was followed by small tatters of feet rushing towards me. I gazed over my shoulder to see my mom coming after me, but I made no move to stop her. She was, after all, at the scene of the crime.
My heart soared in relief as Tristan bursted through the door as soon as I was about to push it open, and the look on his face mirroring mine was enough to make my legs wobble. Despite the fact that everything might just be falling into place, I needed him to hold me, and it was obvious that he did too.
I rushed into his arms without a second thought, and he caught me just as fast in a tight, warm hug. He kissed my hair and let his lips linger there, and I just knew that he had his eyes closed.
I felt like crying.
Not even thirty minutes ago I had a gun to my head. And the only reason why I'm alive is because of the woman who I haven't seen in years. I knew I was a bad person for thinking this, but I'm glad she had issues with her husband. Because if she didn't then...
"Hey are you okay?" He whispered as he pulled my head away so he could look me in the eyes.
I nodded slightly as I caught a tear, just realising how much all this was weighing on me.
"Shh it's okay" He cooed as he pulled me to his chest again. My tears streamed harder even though I tried to stop them.
I had always been tough, never letting a single tear break free from my eyes. But the pressure of it all just got too much.
Sheldon dying, me being blamed for it, a crazy ex trying to kill me, almost being killed three times--it was just too much for even me to bare. And the small doubt that this new suspect wouldn't lead us to Mia scared me.
I had no clue how much more I could handle before going crazy, or worse, walking right into a trap.
I hated that she made tears come from my eyes, but one person can only take so much before they break.
"I just want it to be over you know?"
"I know baby, it'll be okay. We're gonna get answers now okay?" He assured, and I nodded slowly as I quickly dried my eyes as if they were flowing with lava.
I took a deep breath, ready to head inside when my mother spoke, making me remember her presence.
"Um Cianna? Who might this be?" She asked as we all entered.
Tristan put a few inches between us, making my heart break a bit but I knew how bad it would be for him if they knew he was dating one of the murder suspects of Sheldon's case. Him seeing me as innocent could lead others to believe that he was being irrational due to personal emotions.
"This is Detective Deckor. He's on Sheldon's case" I stated casually, not wanting to pour out my life to her just yet. Tristan had a confused look on his face too, so I clarified.
"Tristan this is my mom." His eyebrows shot up in surprise as he shook her hand with a curt greeting.
"Quite close with the detective don't you think?" She whispered next to me with a hint of disapproval." And what on earth happened to Sheldon?"
"Sheldon is dead mother" I stated flatly, being quite annoyed with her accusation. That seemed to shut her up as her strides slowed and I heard her mumble something under her breath.
I turned the corner with Tristan when I realized she was no longer following us. I spotted Detective Edwards, Tristan's partner and prick, as he exited the interrogation room.
"Detective Deckor, Ms Leir" He greeted as we approached him, and I saw the guy that tried to shoot me sitting with a stubborn look on his face through the window. "I trust you're okay?"
"A little shaken up but I'll survive"
"What do we got?" Tristan asked, breaking Edwards' gaze away from me.
He simply shrugged. "He won't speak. Says he won't answer anything without a lawyer."
"He does realise that he will be going down for attempt murder either way right? Once we get the prints from the weapon and the video footage from Cianna's workplace, there will be no way of getting out of this." Tristan seemed upset- outraged even.
I knew he was upset, but I didn't know he was that upset.
"I know. That's what I told him. I also have him identified. His name is Jason Walters. "
"Wait as in-"
"Yep. He's related to Mia. He's her younger brother" He confirmed, making me gasp in shock. Mia really brought her baby brother into this?
"When h-he had me at gunpoint, he said he needed to be free of her. Why would he need to be free of his own sister?" I asked as confusion dawned on me.
"Well I'm about to find out" Tristan gritted out.
He had an edge in his voice as he pushed through the door, immediately catching the attention of Jason.
Detective Edwards sighed with a look on his face that I couldn't decipher as he stood next to me. I acted like I didn't notice him as Tristan took a seat in front of Jason.
"I already told the other detective. I'm not answering anything without my lawyer, and he's more intimidating than you" He stated stubbornly.
Tristan eased from his chair as he circled him slowly, and I could see that he was scared despite his words.
"Okay. We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way Jason." Tristan stated calmly. "But no matter what you do, you'll still be going down for this... Hard" I saw Jason flinch at the way how he said hard, and even I stumbled a bit.
Jason's eyes flashed to the glass for a second, as if he was seeing me behind the one-way glass before directing them back to Tristan as if he was going to say something, but Tristan continued.
"And I don't care if you have the best lawyer in the country, I will pull so much evidence against you that will send you away for life. You want freedom? Answer. My. Questions" He gritted through clenched teeth as he leaned closer to his face with each word.
Jason gulped, as if contemplating his decision.
"If you comply, the maybe we can make a deal and you get a shorter sentence. But if you wanna play hard, I'll play harder. Don't under-estimate me kid"
I almost swooned at how sexy he sounded and looked. Detective Edwards leaned in closer to my ears, and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes at whatever he'd say, and I didn't even hear it yet.
"I've never seen Tristan so passionate about getting a suspect to speak before. It's almost...personal" He retorted, causing me to turn to face him.
"What are you implying?" I raised an eyebrow at him, and he simply shrugged.
"I'm just sayin-"
"Okay stop" I cut him off sharply. "With all due respect Detective Edwards, Detective Deckor is just doing his job. This man held a gun to my head! He's connected to Mia. If he speaks, I wont have death following me around me around with his evil stick or whatever it's called. So if you don't mind, let the man do his job." I ended, taking him by surprised. "And for the record, instead of treating Tristan like he's some inexperienced kid who will only be a burden, maybe try working with him because he's a damn great detective and a way better one than you in my book"
I knew it was out of line speaking to someone of authority like that, but the man got on my last nerve. He had it coming.
Someone had to say it.
He didn't comment further, and I didn't complain as I focused my gaze back to Tristan who was now sitting his his chair again, leaning back and giving Jason a look that even made me shiver. God is he so hot.
"I have all day" Tristan added casually.
Jason gulped, and I knew that 'And he's more intimidating than you' had already went out the window. He nodded once, and a small smile titled on Tristan's lip before it disappeared completely. He grabbed a pen and note pad from his jacket before starting.
"What do you know about Mia Walters?"
Jason gulped again, fiddling with his fingers between the handcuffs. "She's my sister. She's all I had for three years now after our parents died in a car accident. She became my legal guardian, since we have no aunts or uncles and our grandparents are dead."
"So you guys must be close?"
"We used to be" Jason answered. "Before our parents died we were inseperable. I always knew she was sick, but I looked passed that because-"
"Wait wait wait" Tristan cut him off. "You said she's sick?" Even my interests perked a bit. I knew Mia couldn't have been in her right mind.
"Yea she's always been so..so obsessed with the guys she dated. It wasn't normal. I-I" My heart almost broke for the kid when he broke down. It made me realize that he was sorta a victim in all this too.
"Jason I need you to stay with me okay?" Tristan probed, but he didn't seem sympathetic. "Can you tell me why you said that?"
Jason nodded, sucking up his sobs as he explain. "When she was 17 and I was only 13, she left to go to a New Year's party on a cliff near the Hollywood sign. Our parents were out of town, so she told me to call her if anything changes. At about two in the morning, I was up because I was worried, but I saw her enter looking scared..and-and guilty. She told me that she..."
"That she what Jason?"
"That she killed her boyfriend" He almost shouted, and my heart sank and soared at the same time.
This was all the clarity they needed to know that she killed Sheldon. Even Detective Edwards looked stunned, causing me to hide a smirk.
"She caught him kissing another girl in his car, so she ran it over the clif with them still in it, jumping out just in time before it went over. Nobody saw because they were hidden, and she was never charged because the press, police and everyone just saw it as two teens at a New Year's party with underage drinking and a little intimacy gone wrong, when their hand or foot could've easily caught the handbrake and send them over the cliff. Mia didn't confess and I didn't dear to say anything, but that was the first time she..well ..yea"
"I remember that news" I mumbled to myself.
"Me too" Detective Edwards replied, seeming to be changing his whole view on the case.
"So there has been other times?" Tristan asked to make sure, and he nodded. Tristan looked towards the glass for a minute, though he couldn't see us from his side.
"Can you tell me about them?" He asked again, though there seemed to be no questioning in his voice. He was telling him that he had to answer.
"Yes but it wasn't until like two years ago. When our parents died, she had a boyfriend. Her grieving was apparently too much for him, and when he left, she threatened to burn his house down. Luckily, that guy left town before she could hurt him. But she went to his house and smashed everything, and wrecked his cars that he left in his garage. She was never charged for it because he had no evidence" He ended with a sigh.
"What about Sheldon Myers" Tristan asked, making my heart race a bit.
Jason shrugged, looking down. "He was a good guy. We bonded, but I never thought he would last with Mia. Her obsession with him was a greater deal than with the others. She even- She even tried to force him into marriage" He shocked me by saying.
So Sheldon didn't propose to her? I knew he was more sensible than that.
"What else can you tell me about their relationship? Any fights? Threats even?"
"Not on their part. Only that she would k-k-kill Cianna if he didn't break up with her soon. I didn't think he believed her, but I knew she meant it."
"So why didn't you ever go to the police? Why didn't you try and get her help?" Tristan asked the one question that had been playing over in my mind. He could've on many occasions, so why didn't he?
"I was just a minor. I didn't turn 18 until three days ago and I was scared for her okay? I knew when Cianna killed Sheldon that she'd go after her, but I didn't want her to-"
"Wait. Are you saying Mia didn't use you or anyone else to kill Sheldon because he tried to leave her or refused to break up with Cianna or anything else?" I too was confused.
If Jason didn't kill Sheldon on Mia's account, then who did? Even Jason looked confused at Tristan's question.
"No. No. Not that I know of, and she would've told me if she did. She still tells me everything even if I don't wanna know. She believes Cianna killed him, and she wants her dead too. At first, she kept me out of it, but when she said the cops were after her and asked me to..."
"Take your time" Tristan said, actually sounding calm.
"She asked ME to do it. I said no and we had a fight. I mentioned that I couldn't wait to be 18 so I could be free of her and her obsessive ever looping crap, but she knew how to trap me. She has people in high places everywhere, and she managed to freeze all my credit cards, hold onto my trust fund and I can't leave without money. She said that if I do this one thing, I can go."
"If you do what?" Tristan urged, needing him to say it.
"If I kill Cianna, then I can go." He sobbed again. "I never wanted to. I didn't know if Cianna killed him for real, but I just needed to be finally be free of her. Do you know how emotionally straining it is to be living with someone who is so obsessive and-"
"And you were just planning on running off knowing what your sister is like? How many people do you think would die by her hands? There's an innocent girl recovering from a bullet wound, and traumatized people walking around because you were such a coward and couldn't bring this information to the police. Don't you think we could've helped you? Hell we ARE the people in high places. Mia is a murderer and she needs to be stopped, but you are not so much better than her. You're selfish."
"He was traumatized too" I said, even though he couldn't hear me."Imagine knowing your sister is a murderer when you were just thirteen, then losing your parents to be left in her hands? His loyalty is understandable, but the kid just wants a life of his own without her burdens. I can understand that. Don't you?" I surprised us both by turning to Edwards.
"I suppose, but I have to back Tristan on this one. A lot could've been avoided if he had some balls. He would still be free and his sister would've probably be getting the help she needs right now" He reasoned, and I pursed my lips in thought.
I guess, but I still believed he's a victim too. It's weird how I already forgave the guy who had a gun pointing at my head.
"I know" Jason's shoulder shook violently as he buried his head in his hands.
I felt for him. He was just scared and overburdened. At the same time, he didn't want his sister to be thrown in jail, despite the casualties. Crazy or not, blood is thicker than water.
"But" Tristan sighed, "She did a lot of bad things including attempt murder and breaking and entering. We also have evidence against you attempting a very serious crime and you can go away for a long time. But if you give us Mia's location, we can help you get your sentence reduced, and you plead that you were operating under duress. All you have to do is give me a location and things will go in your favour. But, if you don't, you can go down for this. All of this"
Jason still looked skeptical, and it showed me that he was still protective of his sister, despite her actions towards him and everyone else.
"If she is sick as you implied, then we can get help for her. Jason, don't you want her to be better? Don't you want to move on one day with a family of your own, knowing you did all you could to save your sister and a lot of innocent people?" Tristan asked, and even I was convinced.
He took a while before he nodded in response, and I knew we had her.
"Sh-she's at 124 Imperial Street. She's staying at an old cottage our parents owned. You'll find her there"
Bingo.
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