"Hey, Paul, are you ok? You sounded kinda weird on the phone."
Paul let her in.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I just really need to talk to you."
"Ok. What about?" She asked as she took a seat.
Paul precariously looked in the direction of the kitchen.
"No, not here. Let's go to the basement."
Camila blinked.
Paul had never even spoken about their basement before.
"Why the basement?"
"I just....I really have to show you something."
"Ok."
He led her down the basement and stood at the bottom of the stairs with her, as she took in the whole scene.
Someone must've designed the basement and turned it into a very luxurious man cave.
She knew it wasn't Paul when she realized most of the furniture was baseball-themed, Paul wasn't a baseball fan.
Her boyfriend led her over to the couch and sat with her.
"I haven't been entirely honest with you."
"About what?"
"About Silko. When I first told the guys about Silko working with criminals, I said I just overheard it. But I was actually looking for this information."
"Why?"
"I had to find something to show my mom so she would know that he was a bad guy."
"But why? As far as I know, Silko seemed fairly nice until you found that information."
Paul sighed and gestured to the room.
"This used to be Silko's man cave. He designed it when he started living with us. Just took everything like it was his house."
"Asshole."
"Mom was so crazy about him, she didn't even mind, she made him feel invincible and eventually.....he started acting like it."
Camila stayed silent, she knew he wasn't done.
"One day I was playing and broke a lamp. He got so mad, dragged me down here and.....beat me up."
"Oh my God."
"I don't know how long. He just kept hitting me, and when he was done, he just left me here."
"Jesus, Paul, you should've told your mo—"
"I did!"
He snapped, making Camila jump.
"I did...." He repeated softly.
"....But Silko always got away with it, he really knew how to play with her mind. So that's why I started spying on him."
"I don't understand, what were you hoping to find?"
"Something that would make my mom see this guy for what he really was."
"I'm so sorry, Paul.... He was a monster."
Paul got up and slowly paced the room.
"He was.....Silko's death was a good thing. Why can't we just let it go?"
Camila frowned.
"How can you even ask that? The same person who killed Silko killed a whole bunch of people we love."
"Yes, but none of that would've happened if we just let it go!"
"Paul!"
Camila sat up, surprised at how swiftly this conversation had escalated.
"Do you hear yourself? It's the job of the police to investigate a murder, no matter who was actually killed. The killer has to be pay for everything he's done."
"Doesn't change the fact that we wouldn't be in this situation if they didn't investigate Silko's death."
"It doesn't matter anymore. The Slayer's killed six people after Silko, and none of them deserved to die, not even Clarke."
Paul stopped pacing.
"NOT EVEN CLARKE?!"
Camila stood up, stunned and a little scared.
"Paul, what the hell is wrong with you?"
Paul stopped and took a deep breath.
"Look, I just....I'm not sure, ok, I think something's wrong and it's been wrong for a long time."
"What do you mean?"
"Dr Fellers tried to help but I think they stopped her."
"Who stopped what?"
He resumed pacing, more frenzied this time.
"You know what happened to my dad, some punk drug dealer murdered him just because my dad caught him commiting a crime.....People like that are callous, they don't deserve to live. Silko, Clarke, they're all just like him but....FUCK!"
Camila, now shaking, slowly inched towards the steps, for some reason, her instincts were telling her to get away from Paul as fast as possible.
Unfortunately, her small steps did not go unnoticed.
Paul stopped and stared at her.
"What are you doing?"
She felt bile rising up her throat and swallowed.
"I just wanted to get some water."
She lied.
"I'll get it for y-"
"Paul,"
Her voice trembled as she looked away from Paul to the stairs and subconsciously noticed the baseball bat that hung on the wall next to the open door at the top.
"I know where the kitchen is, I can get it myself. Just stay where you are."
She turned and felt her heart stop.
Paul Diaz did not look like Paul Diaz.
He looked angry.
The only time she'd seen Paul like this was when he pulled a gun on Julian, and that knowledge scared her even more....
Mostly because he was holding a knife.
"Paul...." She started, unsure how to continue.
"Paul, stop it. Is this some kinda prank?"
But deep down in her heart, she already knew it wasn't.
Paul seemed to have read her mind, he chuckled and gestured to the knife.
"Don't act like you don't recognize it, Camila."
His voice was calm, confident.
He knew he was right.
She did recognize it.
Thanks to her sessions with Dr Fellers she'd become well-acquainted with the familiar weapon in his hand.
It was the exact same knife that went through Julian Norman's heart.
"Paul, why did you bring me down here?"
Paul winced like he was having a migraine, and his voice went back to match the nervous, shaky demeanor he'd shown earlier.
"I just...wanted you to understand that this isn't my fault."
"Then whose is it?"
"This isn't what I want."
Paul crumpled to the ground and started sobbing and started murmuring gibberish.
Paul, still sobbing and ranting, paid no attention to Camila as she placed her foot on the first step.
But he definitely heard the wooden stairs creak when she placed her other foot on the next step.
He stopped ranting and slowly stood up, never breaking his stare, still holding the knife.
The calm voice was back.
"I can't let you leave, Camila."
Camila whimpered and bolted up the stairs with Paul immediately going after her.
She stopped in front of the door, grabbed the baseball bat, turned around and swung wildly without even looking.
There was an audible crack followed by a grunt as Paul went rolling down the stairs.
It took a second before she realized the bat connected with Paul's head.
Camila ran out the door, her mind pushing her to go for the shorter exit; the backdoor in the kitchen.
She raced through the kitchen and stumbled on something soft but slightly hard.
Camila groaned and turned around to see what made her trip.
And that's when she let out a blood-curdling scream.
******************************
"What the hell was that?" asked Lara.
"It came from the back!"
Giovani pulled his gun out of his holster and sprinted towards the back.
He was about to turn into the corner but stopped when he heard footsteps fast approaching.
Camila turned the corner first and ran straight into Giovani, she was still screaming and kicking as the detective tried to assure her she was okay.
"Camila, what the hell happened?"
"Paul.....kitchen....OH MY GOD!"
She broke down crying.
Karen felt her chest tighten, she decided to ask even though she already knew the answer.
"It's Paul, isn't it?"
Camila nodded.
Just then, Paul burst out the front door, slightly bleeding from what looked like a head wound, looking mad as hell.
He locked eyes with the group of people standing near the side of his house.
And then he bolted onto the street.
"Paul, stop!" said Giovani, already chasing him.
The detective heard an engine and was stunned to see his own car hurtling past him and going straight for Paul.
He also caught a flash of blonde hair.
"Jesus Christ, Lara!"
Paul heard the car and turned around just as she was right behind him......
She hit him, hard.
So hard he went tumbling up and over the car before crashing to the ground, unmoving.
Lara jumped out of the car to look at him, but Giovani was already there, ready to rain hell on her.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?! YOU ALMOST KILLED HIM!!"
"Camila just told us he's the Slayer, if anything, I'm disappointed he's still alive!"
They heard sirens approaching just as a cop car stopped in front of the house, the cops came out and jogged towards them.
"Are you crazy? There's no way that's what she meant. He's not the Slayer!"
"Yes he is." A cracked voice interrupted them.
Karen walked towards them with the two cops.
"Karen, this—"
"Go look in the kitchen."
"Why?"
"Just go."
Giovani turned to the cops.
"Call an ambulance."
"Already did, sir."
Lara and Giovani ambled towards the kitchen, while Dr Fellers sat next to a trembling Camila on the lawn.
Giovani opened the back door and Lara walked in first, her alert brown eyes locked with dormant green ones.
"Oh my God."
Paul's mother, Ella Sabe laid sprawled out on the kitchen floor, in a pool of her own blood.
Giovani felt his chest clench at the sight.
The detective left Lara there, walked out and made a beeline for the spot Karen sat with Camila.
He stopped in front of them, his shadow looming over the pair, making them look up at him.
He narrowed his eyes at the psychologist.
"I think you have a lot of explaining to do."