Robin Jenkins and Christina Clark find the dead body of Violet Hayes in their apartment. They strike an investigation of their own and enlist the help of their neighbor, Finn Dallas.
[Full summary inside]
#1 in edgeofyourseat
#6 in murdermystery
#8...
tw: violence, deaths, mild description of human remains.
Remembrance by Balmorhea is the perfect song for this chapter! + make sure to pay attention to the years as there are lots of time jumps! deep breaths here we go.
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November 16, 1994
The Battle of the Darwin Bridge
THE DARWIN BRIDGE WAS PAINTED RED.
Gunshots erupted, tearing through Naomi's ears and she ducked down, a sharp scream tearing out of her throat without her control. Her hands covered her ears, her dark hair wet through her shaking fingers, and she couldn't tell if they were soaked with her own blood or someone else's.
She would rather not find out.
Her back spasmed from the harsh pain of her position, and she cradled her grown belly protectively with one hand, the other wiping the cold sweat that trickled down her forehead and burned the corners of her eyes.
She felt the salty taste of tears against her tongue, as well as the acidic taste of bile threatening to gush out of her stomach. Her raging heart pounded against her ears and the tip of her fingers as she rested them against the cool metal of the wrecked car she had been hiding behind.
She didn't know whose car it was, but she could smell the strong stench of blood wafting from it - there were people inside. A part of her wanted to open the door and help them in case they were still alive, but a rational part of her knew she would be of no help, and that being in her eighth month of pregnancy would only slow them down - and worse, kill them.
She couldn't even understand how all of this happened.
One minute she was crossing the Darwin bridge to get back to Burlington after her doctor's appointment, a trolley cart trailing behind her containing ingredients she planned to use to bake a sponge cake she had been craving-and the next, chaos had ensued around her, thrusting her to the ground along with the trolley, all the groceries she had bought scattered and crushed.
She had found herself sprinting without a second's hesitation at the sound of the first gunshot, spurred by people's gut-wrenching screams. She had found a spot inside Maurice's parking lot, behind a giant boulder, and had hidden until there was a ghostly silence outside, occasional gunshots tearing through the wind, a painful reminder that this silence had left death in its wake.
Naomi was wheezing, and she was aware that she was growing louder as panic gripped her body at the idea that she might be caught and shot dead. She forced herself to calm down, needing to push herself to safety, if not for her then for the body already grown inside of her. She feared for a split second that she might be going into premature labor from the sudden exertion she had undergone.
Breathe.
In. Out. Breathe. Deeply.
The sound of a high-pitched whistle yanked her out of her panic. She craned her neck to catch the source of the noise, squinting her eyes when she caught movements in the distance, at the entrance of one of the dwellings ahead, still on the right side of the bridge.
