Snakes In The Grass

Chapter 16

I felt anxious as we sat on the couch. Tasha, Christian, Eddie, Adrian and I were all quiet as we waited for Guardian Croft to come in.

"Does anyone know what this is about?" Adrian asked a slight slur to his words.

"No," Christian said tiredly, "But I don't have a good feeling."

I swallowed thickly and sat up straighter when Guardian Croft walked in, Guardian Hathaway on his heels. She stood behind him with a stoic look on her face, one that I was used to seeing on all Guardians, but there was something about her eyes that seemed off.

"Guardian Croft," I said politely as he moved a chair so that he was sitting in front of us.

Guardian Croft's eyes flicked over all of us before he cleared his throat, rolling his shoulders back and nodded to himself.

"At eleven thirty-six a.m., Guardians Hathaway Jr., and Belikov signed out a vehicle to leave court with their daughter, Briar," he began and I nodded.

"Yes, I saw them shortly before they left. Around ten," I supplied and he nodded.

"At two fifty-six p.m., a gasoline tanker truck drove into their lane, pushing their vehicle off the road and into a ditch. Because of the impact, the tanker leaked and a spark set the gasoline on fire. I deeply regret to inform you, that all three of them were pronounced dead at the scene," Croft continued and I felt a lead weight fall into my stomach as he spoke. I had always been able to take bad news with poise, but right now, I felt like I wanted to vomit.

"No," I whispered, "That's not possible!"

Guardian Croft glanced at Guardian Hathaway before reaching out to her. Guardian Hathaway swallowed thickly and pulled something out of her bulging pocket and when I saw it, I knew.

Guardian Croft held the stuffed animal out to me and I felt my heart break into a million pieces.

"This is one of the few things that we were able to retrieve from the scene," Guardian Croft said solemnly and I took it from him, a broken cry coming from my lips.

"What is that?" Tasha asked.

"It belonged to Rose," Eddie whispered, sagging back into the seat.

I clutched it to my chest and sobbed.

"I put this in Briar's car seat before they left," I blubbered, "I had joked with Rose that I was going to buy all the Stitch animals I could for Briar."

"How do we know that it was really Dimitri?" Tasha asked and a part of me boiled with rage.

"Ibrahim identified the bodies," Guardian Hathaway whispered from where she stood, "We confirmed it with matched the markings on their necks to their personnel files. Briar was the only one that was easily identifiable," she continued, choking up at the end.

I turned into Christian and clutched to him, the temperature in the room plummeting as the severity of the news sunk in for everyone. Eddie excused himself after a moment, tears rolling down his face. Adrian leaned forward and held his face in his hands. After a moment I pulled myself from my spot and walked over to Guardian Hathaway, wrapping my arms around her small frame.

She stiffened for a moment before returning my embrace, hugging me tightly as I rested my head on her shoulder.

"Janine, I'm so sorry," I whispered.

"I am too, Princess," she responded, trying to keep her emotions at bay but couldn't.

"What else did you retrieve from the car? Anything to truly prove it was Dimitri?" Tasha asked, her voice sounding indignant. I lifted my head and glared at her as Guardian Croft cleared his throat.