Smoke and Mirrors (DE)

7. Saw a ghost

Graces french tip manicured nails made tapping sounds against the mousepad of her MacBook Air as she scrolled through crime scene photos— the Browns family quadruple homicide crime scene photos.  It was as if the photos got progressively worse and worse the further into the album she got. Working on the NYPD homicide squad she had access to this information that wasn't available to regular civilians or the media. This was the first time since everything had happened that she'd taken the time to look into the case because she couldn't stomach to do it before, she didn't want to know.

Grace just couldn't fathom how the same arms that she always felt so safe and secure in could reek so much havoc and cause so much harm. She couldn't understand how the same person that was always so sweet and gentle to her and would never harm a hair on her head could do such things to someone, how he could kill an innocent child.

Looking at how gruesome those photos were she literally just could not image Joseph doing such things. Thinking about the fact that he probably murdered those people and came straight home to her and touched her with those same hands and acted as if nothing was wrong like he didn't just execute a whole family made her feel physically sick.

Grace spent all day working with sinful twisted individuals like that but it hit differently to know that she laid her head next to one of those people every night. It scared Grace to think about how easily Joseph was able to switch his different personalities on and off like a light switch— how easily he was able to lie and manipulate Grace and pull the wool over her eyes so that she didn't suspect a thing of him for a whole year. Joseph had Grace wrapped so tightly around his tattooed fingers never in a million years would she ever think he was capable of doing something so sinister. The worst part was that Grace knew for a fact that wasn't Joseph's first time, he was too smooth and experienced— he's had to have killed before.

Joseph crossed Grace's mind at least once a day but he'd been more heavy on it recently after learning about his release. She had strong mixed emotions about it, so strong to the point it gave her anxiety and made her want to cry out of confusion. On one hand she still loved him so dearly, but on the other she despised him for lying to her and causing so much drama in her life. Grace was in a great deal of despair and anguish after he'd gotten arrested, her depression getting so severe that she'd contemplated suicide few too many times because the sickening truth of her new reality was just too much to handle.

It broke Graces heart to learn of Joseph's true identity, it distorted the image she had of him in her mind— her super hero had turned into a villain. Grace felt like she didn't even know Joseph for real anymore and the fairy tale life she'd lived for the entirety of their one year relationship was a lie— it was all one big lie. She felt betrayed and disgusted more than anything. Grace never put much thought into what she would say to him if they were to ever cross paths again— she didn't think this day would come so soon. She wanted to know the truth more than anything, and why.

Nearing the end of the photo album Grace paused on a photo of the male victim hanging from a noose. Though the body was in early stages of decomposition and the face was badly beaten something about him looked familiar. Double tapping on the mousepad to zoom in Grace stared at the gruesome photo, a chill instantly running down her spine recognizing the dead body, it was Unique.

Before her train of thought could take off from the station, a light knock on her office door startled her prompting her to look up from her laptop screen.

" I got you something," Malik said, standing in the threshold of her office holding a drink from Starbucks. " I figured it's too hot out for coffee right now so I got you a kiwi starfruit refresher with lemonade how you like," He smiled letting himself in. Grace quickly closed her laptop mustering up a smile as she accepted the drink from him. " Thank you," She said sweetly.