Always, Darling

Chapter 36

~ Ｔ Ｈ Ｅ Ｏ Ｄ Ｏ Ｒ Ｅ ~

I looked awful in orange, but that was the least of my concerns. I had been separated from my daughter for over twelve hours, and I had no idea where she was. Without a way of contacting her, my worry only grew.

I had been transferred to prison immediately upon my arrest and had spent my first night in a cell. Sleep hadn't come to me as I thought of where Nadia could be. My family was not even in the state for them to take her, and I doubted the authorities would hand her over to James for the night until they could fly in. She was probably with a foster family, and I prayed it was a nice one.

As soon as morning arrived, I was brought into an interrogation room, but no one had come in yet. My hands were handcuffed to the table, so tight that I knew my wrists would be bruised when I returned to my cell.

I was staring at the clock when the door to the room opened and in stepped Wyatt with a thick file in his hand. My friend had a hardened look on his face as he took the seat across from me, the same look he held back on the beach when he ordered me to be handcuffed.

"Theodore Russo," he said. "You've been quite busy, haven't you?"

"Excuse me?"

Wyatt opened the file and pulled out three photos, sliding them towards me. The dead bodies of Joseph Cruz, Dr. Henry Augustin, and Maria Cadet. Their stomachs were cut open, their intestines spilling out. The sight made me sick to my stomach. Even though I was a doctor, there were certain atrocities I hoped never to bear witness to, and this was one of them.

"These murders, of course," Wyatt said dryly. "Now, I got to admit, Teddy. You did well in the first two murders, but the last one was sloppy. You left too much evidence on Joseph's body."

"Wyatt, come on, man," I said, swallowing hard. "We're friends."

Wyatt ignored my statement, instead continuing on. "Your fingerprints were everywhere, but that tends to happen with serial killers. At some point, they lose control. Now I'm guessing this was a crime of passion rather than a premeditated one."

"How long have we been friends?" I asked. "Wyatt, I would never hurt someone, especially in such a brutal manner. Just the thought of it makes me sick."

Wyatt scoffed. "I thought that too, but the evidence tells a different story."

"Someone is framing me! Why can't you see that?"

Wyatt paid no attention to my comment and instead pulled out another picture from the file, a zoomed-in picture of the cuts on one of the victims. Which one, I couldn't tell. "You see this? See how the cut is precise and not jagged? This is the kind of skill you learn as a doctor."

"And it's also something you can learn online," I rebutted. "The internet can teach this fucking shit too."

Before Wyatt could respond, the door opened, and in walked Eden. "My client will not be speaking with you anymore, Detective. Now unless you have questions to go along with your accusations, I suggest you leave my client and me to discuss his case."

Wyatt clenched his jaw as he stood up, gathering the contents of his file and storming out of the room.

Eden took the seat where Wyatt once was, a sad smile on her lips. She called a guard to uncuff me, and I rubbed the sting out from my wrists.

Once we were alone again, my cousin turned to me. "Hey, Teddy. How are you holding up?"

"Fucking incredible," I sarcastically replied.

"Sorry, stupid question," Eden said. "As your lawyer—"

"I don't need a lawyer. I didn't do this."

"You think I don't know that?" Eden asked. "I know you would never do something as twisted as this, but you were arrested, and they'll be taking you to court. Even innocent people need lawyers, especially when there's evidence tying you to these crimes."