August 6th 12:12 p.m.
Spencer stared at Ashley as she looked around the airport nervously. Kyla's plane landed twenty minutes ago and they'd been waiting for the arrivals to come up the escalator from the train that brought them from the terminals.
"Ashley, I'm sure she's fine. You don't need to be so worried." Spencer said and placed a comforting hand on Ashley's back and rubbed small circles.
"Why is he threatening her? She hasn't done anything. I don't care if he comes after me but he's attacking the people I love and I don't..." Ashley trailed off and turned to look at Spencer. "I can't protect everyone I love from this guy, and he's already taken Bryce from me and now he's coming after Kyla. And I just... what if he finds out about you Spencer. What if he finds out about you and comes after you next? I can't even..." Ashley shook her head.
Spencer stared at her trying to hide the shock she was feeling. Ashley had just mentioned protecting the people she loved and then immediately said she wanted to protect Spencer, so did that mean she loved Spencer?
"Ashley." A voice pulled them from their staring match.
"Kyla." Ashley sighed relief and rushed over to her sister, pulling her into a hug.
Kyla chuckled. "Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything, but I thought I told you I'd catch an Uber. You didn't have to."
"I did." Ashley nodded quickly and grabbed Kyla's suitcase from her hand to carry. "I'll explain on the way."
Kyla knew better than to ask questions. She nodded and headed back towards Spencer with Ashley.
"You must be Spencer." Kyla smiled as Spencer nodded and tried to hide her shy smile. She'd never met a family member of a girl she really liked before. This was a first for her. "Good job, sis." Kyla leaned over and whispered to Ashley before shoulder bumping her. Ashley could only laugh and shake her head at her sister.
"It's nice to meet you Kyla." Spencer held out her hand for Kyla to shake.
Kyla looked at Ashley. "Is she serious with that?" She asked gesturing towards Spencer's hand. Ashley shrugged. "Come here." Kyla pulled Spencer into a hug. "You make my sister really happy Spencer, thank you. She hasn't stopped talking about you for weeks now." Kyla whispered as she hugged Spencer. "But as her sister, I'm obligated to say that if you hurt her, I'll have to hurt you." Kyla added then pulled back from the hug with a bright smile on her face.
Spencer was doing her best to keep a straight face. The guilt was starting to really eat at her.
"Are we ready to go?" Ashley asked lifting the handle on Kyla's suitcase to roll it.
"No, I've actually got two bags I have to get from bag check."
"Two?" Ashley asked with wide eyes. "Kyla why do you need three suitcases? How long are you staying for?"
"Later?" Kyla offered, getting a worried look from Ashley. She could tell something was going on with Kyla she just wasn't quite sure what it was yet.
"Okay." Ashley nodded. Kyla turned and headed towards baggage claim.
"So that's your sister huh?" Spencer turned her head slightly to look at Ashley as they intertwined their fingers.
"She's something else isn't she?" Ashley smiled.
"Mhm." Spencer nodded. "I like her though." Spencer added after a moment. Ashley turned to look at her with the brightest nose crinkling smile.
"Good. I'm really happy to hear that." They stared at each other momentarily, both grinning like idiots. "We should probably go help her. There's no telling how much those bags weigh she's grabbing." Spencer could only nod as Ashley pulled her towards baggage claim.
"So are you going to tell me why you had to pick me up from the airport when I told you I'd get a ride?" Kyla asked as they headed towards Ashley's. Ashley glanced at Spencer through the rearview mirror. Spencer tried to reassure Ashley with her eyes. Ashley gave her a small smile then turned her head slightly to look at her sister in the passenger seat.
"You know about the CFK right?"
"Yeah." Kyla nodded. "That's psycho has been national news for weeks now."
Spencer cringed at her words. Not that she didn't know her brother was crazy, it just... it hurt to hear it from a perfect stranger.
"Yeah well, you also know that I'm the lead detective on that case and over the past couple of weeks things have been getting a little crazy. Last night he took Bryce." Ashley said softly. Kyla's head snapped in Ashley's direction quickly.
"Oh my God, Ashley. I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me?!" Kyla placed a comforting hand on Ashley's shoulder.
"I don't know. You called and said you were coming and I just didn't want to-"
"Ashley I know what Bryce meant to you..." Kyla paused and looked over her shoulder a little towards Spencer. "I'm sorry Ash." Kyla finished quickly. Spencer narrowed her eyes wondering what that was about. Was Ashley keeping a secret?
Couldn't be any bigger than the secret she was keeping.
"That's why I wanted to pick you up. CFK is getting bolder. He texted me last night, threatening you."
"Oh." was all Kyla said.
"I would never let anything happen to you Ky. I promise."
"I know." Kyla smiled at her sister and squeezed her shoulder gently.
"So are you going to tell me why half of your life is packed in my trunk right now?" Ashley quirked a brow and glanced at her sister.
Kyla dropped her hand from Ashley's shoulder and turned forward in her seat. "Well, um... you see..."
"Kyla, stop doing that thing you do and just tell me what's going on."
"Jonah and I are getting a divorce." Kyla rushed out quickly. Ashley's head snapped in her direction. "I know you tried to tell me about him Ashley and I didn't listen to you but I was young and I thought I was in love I was stupid and stubborn and I just wanted to prove mom and dad wrong and you and everyone. He wasn't a good guy." Kyla said sadly.
"Did he hurt you?!" Ashley asked quickly. Spencer smiled. She was enjoying the interaction between the siblings. It was normal... unlike anything she'd ever had with Glen.
"God no. He's not an idiot Ashley. You made it perfectly clear that if he ever put his hands on me he'd have to answer to your service weapon. He cheated on me. He's been cheating on me since before we got married. I don't even understand why he wanted to marry me in the first place."
"Guys are idiots." Spencer chimed in, hoping she hadn't overstepped.
"Amen." Kyla and Ashley said in unison after a moment.
"So are you moving back to Atlanta?" Spencer asked Kyla.
"I don't know." Kyla shrugged. "I was thinking about it, but I wouldn't have a job or a place to stay and I really don't wanna start over. I just wanted to get away from Jonah first and foremost. I couldn't even bear to look at him anymore."
Ashley glanced at Spencer in the rearview again. Spencer knew what her eyes were asking. She nodded and smiled at the brunette.
"You're more than welcome to stay at my place with me and Spencer until you figure it out Ky. Spencer and I have discussed it and she's-"
"What!? When did you two discuss it? Spencer has barely said anything."
"We had an eye conversation." Ashley shrugged.
"Oh, so you two are at that level now huh?" Kyla quipped and turned around to grin at Spencer who looked away with red cheeks.
"Kyla leave my girlfriend alone please." Ashley smiled. Her phone rang and she pulled it from her pocket. "Davies."
"I've told her a million times how weird it is to answer your phone that way." Kyla turned and said to Spencer with a smile and head shake. "She's your girlfriend."
"She's your sister." Spencer replied without missing a beat.
Kyla cackled and nodded. "Touché."
Spencer really liked this. It felt amazing to have this with someone. The feelings Ashley gave her were unlike any she's ever felt and to also connect with her family is something she never even dreamed possible.
"Okay, yeah. I'll be there." Ashley said and hung up the phone.
"What were you two just talking about?" Ashley asked, glancing back and forth between the two.
"Nothing." Kyla shrugged and shook her head. She turned and gave Spencer a sly smile like they had a secret they both had to keep now.
Ashley rolled her eyes at the pair. Kyla was already rubbing off on her girlfriend and she wasn't sure she liked it. "So that was my partner, I've gotta get down to the lab. Will you two be okay at the house for a couple of hours?"
"I think we'll manage Ashley. Spencer and I are both big girls I'm sure we can figure it out." Kyla joked causing both Spencer and Ashley to laugh.
"I really missed you sis." Ashley shook her head at the smaller brunette.
----------
Ashley had been in the lab now for over 45 minutes waiting for the results of the analysis.
"How much longer is this going to take?" Ashley asked impatiently as she paced the floor in front of the evidence tech.
"Longer every time you ask me that." He looked up from the microscope and said. "I'm moving as fast as science will allow me, detective Davies. I promise you'll know the second I do."
Ashley sighed and rolled her eyes before giving him an apologetic look. She was just hoping that this would be the break in the case she was looking for. The thing that catches the bastard known as CFK.
She watched as the tech compared fingerprints they'd found at each crime scene with the partial they'd gotten off the lock in the victim's apartment, he also compared DNA samples ruling out the possibility of the DNA being anyone's that the victim knew, he then grabbed the slide and took it over to the computer. He placed the slide in the DNA sequencer and allowed the computer to do the rest of the work. After twenty minutes of waiting the computer started beeping.
"It's beeping what does that beeping mean?" Ashley asked, closing the distance between her and the lab tech.
"It means we have a match to the sample we found and the scene." He answered. She stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate.
"And?" She urged him on.
He pressed a few buttons on the computer which pulled up a different screen. A screen with a picture. A picture of a girl she knew. A girl that she not only knew but was falling for.
"A one Spencer Carlin." The tech said and turned to look at Ashley. "Was she a suspect?" He knitted his brows.
Ashley could only shake her head. Her eyes, ears and mind all had to be playing tricks on her. There was no way this was happening. This was all a bad dream.
"Detective Davies." The lab tech called to get her attention.
"Yeah?" She replied absentmindedly.
"I asked if you wanted me to send this information over to the precinct."
"No." Ashley shook her head. "Can you copy all of the information you found onto a drive for me. I'll take it over myself."
"Yeah, sure." He nodded and turned back around in his chair.
Ashley grabbed her phone and stared at it. She wanted to call Spencer, to outright ask her what the hell her DNA was doing at the crime scene. Did she know the victim? There had to be an explanation to all this. But she would be breaking protocol yet again for the woman she was falling for and she wasn't sure how Avery would react.
Ashley looked through her call log, found what she was looking for and pressed the call button. The phone rang 3 times before it was answered.
"Can you meet me at the police station?" was all she said before hanging up and stuffing her phone back in her pocket.
"Here you are, Detective Davies." He said handing her the drive with the evidence on it.
"Thanks." She smiled and quickly made her way to the exit.
---------------
"Hey, what's up? You sounded weird on the phone is everything okay?" Spencer asked as she reached Ashley who was waiting for her right off the elevator.
"Where's Kyla?" Ashley asked in a distant tone catching Spencer off guard.
"She's downstairs talking to your partner." Ashley nodded and wordlessly pulled Spencer towards a hallway. "Ashley what's going on, you're freaking me out." Spencer admitted truthfully. Was the jig up? Did Ashley know everything? Was she about to arrest her? "Ashley?" She asked again when Ashley didn't answer. Ashley gave her an almost apologetic look before escorting her into a room with a table and three chairs. Two on one side and one on the other and what looked like double sided glass. "Ashley?"
"Sit down Spencer, please." She gestured towards the single chair. Spencer stared at her for a moment but took a seat.
Spencer was convinced that this was it. This was the moment she had been dreading for months. The moment when her entire world would come crashing down around her and all she could do was watch as it did. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would somehow escape her chest. That or she'd have a heart attack. Then again that would be better than prison.
"Spencer I'm sorry that I have to bring you in like this but I'm just doing my job." Ashley said as she took a seat across from the blonde. She tried as hard as she could to not show how much this was affecting her. To pretend as though it didn't hurt like hell to have the girl she was falling in love with across from her as a potential suspect. The thought was incomprehensible.
"Just tell me what's going on Ashley."
Ashley cleared her throat and tried to look everywhere but at Spencer.
She might as well just get this over with. "I was at the lab earlier and they found DNA evidence at the last crime scene. Spencer I-" Ashley trailed off.
"Ashley just say it." Spencer was sure she was about to tell her that they found DNA evidence that linked her brother to murder and that coupled with him being identified by a witness leaving the building Glen was for sure going to be arrested.
"We found your DNA at the crime scene."
"What?" Spencer nearly shouted. She moved her head until she forced Ashley to look at her. "What do you mean my DNA?" Spencer hadn't cleaned up this crime scene for Glen. One because she wasn't aware there was a scene to clean up until the police had already shown up and two Glen cut her out of his life basically. So that could only mean one thing... if her DNA was found at the scene it was because Glen put it there and if Glen put it there it means he's trying to frame her. The man that once vowed to always protect her was now the one hurting her.
So why was she still protecting him? Or was she just protecting herself at this point? She was just as culpable as Glen in all this.
"Spencer did you know Caitlyn, the victim? Did you maybe go on a date with her or go over to her house for coffee or something, anything that can explain why your DNA was in her house."
"No." Spencer said quickly. "I don't know this woman Ashley and I certainly never went on a date with her. You're the only person that I've been out with in a long time and I'm wondering if I should stop talking until I get a lawyer." Spencer said and sat back in her chair, folding her arms over her chest.
She wasn't angry with Ashley, she knew she was only doing her job. She was mad at Glen. She had spent the better part of her adulthood protecting him and this is how he repays her.
"Spencer I don't want it to come to that. I just wanna talk to you." Ashley reached across the table and tried to grab Spencer's hand, Spencer pulled back and there was a knock on the glass. Ashley sighed and stood up from the chair. "I'll be right back." She said and left the room, entering another door directly beside it.
"What are you doing Davies?" Avery asked as they both turned and looked at Spencer, whose demeanor remained the same.
"She didn't do this Avery. I know her. I've been getting to know her. Avery I know that this isn't her, you've gotta trust me on this."
"Then how did her DNA end up at the crime scene?"
"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to figure out. But I'm sure that she didn't do this."
"You've gotta take your feelings out of this Davies. Sometimes we have to make tough deci-"
"Don't give me that Avery. Look at her." Ashley turned and pointed to Spencer. "Does she look capable of murdering all those women, cutting their faces, pulling their... look at her Ave... she didn't do this. This wasn't her. She couldn't have." Ashley stared at the blonde as Avery stared at her.
"Do you need me to do this Davies? I can do this for you."
"No." Ashley shook her head without turning to look at him. "I have to." She said simply and turned to leave the room. As she was exiting Officer Scott entered almost bumping into her.
"Detective Davies this just came over for you from the lab." He said handing her an envelope.
"Thank you Officer Scott." She forced a smile and opened the envelope as Officer Scott exited.
"What is it?" Avery asked coming up next to her.
"A second DNA analysis of the crime scene." She said reading over it.
"What's it say?"
"The lab thinks that the DNA was placed at the scene after the fact and not actually excreted during the commission of the crime."
"Someone planted it?"
Ashley turned to look at Avery. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would someone plant evidence to frame Spencer?"
"Did you ever find out about her brother?"
Ashley shook her head. "With all the madness going on today I didn't really get around to it."
"You take your girl and sister home, I'll get the brother in here for questioning."
"Okay." Ashley nodded and started heading towards the door.
"Davies." Avery called, causing her to turn and look at him. "I'm glad that the evidence was wrong. I love how happy you are." He said and smiled a small smile. Ashley nodded and returned the smile before leaving and heading back into the interrogation room where Spencer was.
"I'm really sorry about this Spencer, we can leave."
Spencer stood up and stared at Ashley. She wanted to be upset at Ashley for even thinking for a second that she could have been the one doing all this but she had no right to be. In the beginning, she might not have been doing the actual killings themselves but she was helping her brother clean up his messes and that is just as bad.
"Everything sorted?" Spencer asked calmly as she walked around the desk towards Ashley.
"Mhm." Ashley forced a smile. She couldn't tell if Spencer was mad at her or not and she really couldn't blame her if she was.
"I'm not mad at you Ashley. I know you were only doing your job." Spencer said once she reached Ashley. She leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. "I'd really like to get out of her now though if that's okay with you."
Ashley nodded. "More than okay." She laced their fingers together and they headed towards the elevator. Kyla was sitting in a chair by the elevator waiting.
"What took you guys so long?" She asked, hopping up from the chair.
"Why do you look guilty of something, Ky?" Ashley asked once they reached her. Spencer knitted her brows, Kyla looked normal to her. Must have been a Davies sister thing.
"Nothing. No reason. I didn't do anything." Kyla mumbled out quickly.
"Oh that was convincing." Both Ashley and Spencer chuckled at the smaller blonde as they entered the elevator.
"Fine." Kyla rolled her eyes and smiled. "I may have agreed to go out with your partner Avery."
"What!" Ashley turned to look at her sister. "Kyla you're just coming out of a freaking marriage for goodness sakes and Avery's a great guy in all but he's my partner and what if you two don't like each other after the date? I'd be the one to have to deal with the fallout and I don't think it's-"
"Let her have this, Ash." Spencer leaned over and whispered in Ashley's ear, cutting off her rant. "She just wants to get her mind off of everything, just let her." Spencer bit her lip as Ashley slightly turned her head to look at her.
"Fine. Go out with him. But if you two don't-"
"I'll tell him that you don't want any weirdness." Kyla smiled and side hugged her sister, then looked around her to Spencer and mouthed a 'thank you.'
"When is this date?"
"Tonight after he questions some guy for the case you two are working on. He said it shouldn't be long."
"My brother?" Spencer asked looking at Ashley.
"Just about the sketch, I never got around to it so Avery is gonna take care of it for me. We just wanna rule him out." Ashley answered. It wasn't a complete lie. She didn't want to tell Spencer that her DNA was somehow planted at the scene. She and Avery needed to figure out what was going on first because nothing was making sense anymore.
"Oh okay." Spencer nodded, putting on her best unworried smile. Her phone buzz in her pocket. She grabbed it and opened it to see a text from her brother as they exited the elevator and headed towards the exit.
'Little does she know, this little interrogation is gonna be my alibi for every murder I've committed... and all the ones to come.'
'Glen please stop this! You tried to frame me! How could you?'
'We don't seem to be a family anymore Spencer. You chose her over me. Now you've got to pay too.'
'I've done nothing but help you.'
'Watch your back big sis. Little psycho brother wants to play. My game. My rules. My way.'
Spencer stared down at her phone, unsure of how to even respond to that.
"Spencer are you okay?" Ashley asked as they stepped out into the cool summer evening.
"Yeah." Spencer forced a smile.
"Spencer you've gotta help me pick out something to wear on this date. I'm sure you have better taste than my sister." Ashley feigned insult as Kyla chucked.
"Yeah I'm sure we can come up with something." Spencer tried to take her mind off what her brother had just said but she couldn't. She knew something big was coming. Something Glen had probably been planning since she decided that Ashley was more than just a mark she had to get information from.
Spencer's phone buzzed one again. She reluctantly pulled it out and read the message she knew would be from her brother.
'Oh and don't even think about confessing big sis. You talk, they die.' Read the message, attached was a picture of them all right now in this very moment. He was watching them. He was always watching them.
"Hey Spencer you with us?" Ashley turned to look at her girlfriend who'd stopped walking and started looking around for her brother. Spencer wordlessly nodded and caught up with them.
Glen was making this impossible for her. Soon she would be at the edge of a cliff with nowhere to go but down.