Love Beyond Death

Chapter Three

"Feels good to be outside again," I said to Doug. Today I finally got out of that germ infested hotel. I spent a day or two in that place. Apparently when I blacked out, I hit my head on the pavement. So just to be safe, they ran some tests to see if I had any serious head injuries. I didn't have anything wrong with me, just a little in denial, about... her.
I hated thinking about what happened, so I tried to talk to my dad. When we started walking down the sidewalk from the hospital door to the car, I tried to poke some conversation in the moment. I soon regretted that decision.

"I can't stop thinking that maybe it's all a dream," I said to Doug.

"Yeah, it's hard champ. But things always happen for a reason I guess."

I stopped walking. "A reason? Dad, she was killed! By another human!" Or another thing...

"Alright, calm down, you know what I meant."

"No dad, I don't. Who the hell says something like that? Murders happen for a reason? Everyone loved her, I can't think of anyone who wouldn't care about her this much," I stared at him. No reaction from him but a face of regret.

He finally spoke. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I'm still trying to get a grip on my own mind. It's not just you and Charles. I just hide my emotions better."

I looked away from his face and we started walking back to the car. I didn't say another word the whole way home.

•••

"There he is!" My mother exclaimed with a white, toothy smile. We had just walked in the door and in the doorway stood my mother ready to hug me. Which she did. I have to admit, it felt good to be comforted. Especially from someone who treated me with affection and respect.

"I know it's been a couple of days, but I really missed this place," I said to everyone. Everyone, which would be Charles, my mom, and my dad. My parents nor I had any relatives close by, so we didn't see them often except by the occasional video chat. All we had was the four of us. At one point five.

They all just smiled and everything seemed happy. But there wasn't any real happiness. They had fake smiles. I realized that I too, was wearing one. A big, toothy grin, to mask the sadness in our eyes. But you can't hide the pain when it's revealed in your eyes. Not even a smile is that powerful.

My mother hugged me and made a big deal of my coming home. It wasn't that important. So I fell and knocked myself out. Right after... Alice died... Okay so maybe this was a somewhat big deal. They all tried to believe that nothing happened. No one really knew what happened so of course they couldn't flop around. They needed to stay strong. For them. For me.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Charles gestured me to follow him into the other room. My parents own a small ranch house. Not a big mobile home, a ranch house. It had about 6 rooms, one bathroom and two bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and a living room. They all greeted me in the living room.

Once Charles and I were on the opposite side of the wall in the kitchen, so no one could hear us, he started talking.

"Listen. We need to figure out what happened. The police in our town don't really know what to do. For the first time, they're looking in our direction and the public's for a solution. Are you in?"
Charles looked at me with pleading eyes. He and I both needed to find this out. If we failed Alice again, neither one of us would be able to live with ourselves.

"I'm in," I finally said. Was this journey going to be exciting, or terrifying? I had no idea what I was in for.

"Good. We start tomorrow morning. Meet me in your front yard at 6am with the evidence your mom showed you in the hospital. She still has it in her purse. If you can somehow sneak it out, that would be perfect. Neither one of our families think we should be doing this, only because they think it's too dangerous." Charles looked at me as if asking if I understood the plan. I did, so I nodded.

"Okay good. You will tell no one we are doing this. This case is special in some way. Not just another murder." And with that, he left the kitchen and said good bye to my parents in the other room. Then left. I just stood there. Looking at them else with the best fake smile I could manage. I told them that today was a bit off for me and that I was going to go to my room.

"But you just got home. Don't you want to stay for another minute and talk?" My mom always wanted to talk. I always wondered if that's what all women did. Talk.

"No mom. I'm just a little, um, shaken. You know, from everything." I started walking to my room. It's already been a few days since the murder. Who knows where the killer could be by now. I needed to know everything that happened to her. Every. Detail.

"Alright. But don't fall asleep. Dinner is in an hour and it's only 4 in the afternoon," Doug yelled down the hall to me.

"Okay!" I yelled back, shutting my door softly. Finally. Alone with my thoughts and ideas of getting the evidence out of my mom's purse. Wow, sounds a little devious when put that way. Anyway, an hour is all I had. And within half of that hour, I had my plan. A devious one.