Controlled

Chapter 10 - Sophie

Chapter 10: Sophie

I sat next to the wooden desk and glanced around the room. It looked like a scene from TV; detectives and police officers rushed around the room, answering phones, talking to civilians, and some were at desks clicking rapidly on a mouse and staring at a computer screen. I pulled the over-sized jacket closer to me and looked at the paperwork scattered around the desk.

"I hope decaf is okay," a deep voice said. I looked up to see Darius holding out a small coffee cup to me. I nodded and took it in my hands. The warmth from the cup felt nice. I inhaled deeply, loving the scent sneaking out from the lid.

"Thank you," I said, forcing a small smile.

"It's only from the machine, but when you work long nights like this, you learn to be grateful for any coffee you come into contact with," he sighed, sitting in the seat. He put his head in his hands and rubbed his forehead, then glanced at me. "How are you feeling?"

I couldn't answer. I just stared at the tan coffee cup in my hands, then glanced at the clock. It was almost four in the morning. A little over three hours ago, I was being attacked in my house by a strange man claiming to love me. If I said 'fine' or 'okay', I would be lying.

"I called your mom when you were at the hospital getting checked out," he said, picking his head up. I looked at him nervously. He must've known by my expression as to why I was nervous. "She was frantic, and said she would be on the next flight home."

I cringed inwardly. I knew she was my mom, and she had a right to freak out over this, but sometimes she took it a little bit too far.

"I'm going to get Amber. She's our forensic sketch artist. You've been the first one to have an encounter with him and..." he trailed off. I knew what he was going to say though. I was the first one who survived an attack from him and made it as far as to make it to a police station. "I'll be right back."

I couldn't fight the yawn that escaped my mouth as he disappeared through the sea of busy police officers. Naomi rested her head on my knee and let out a sigh. A few minutes later, Darius returned with a petite lady with long, red hair and black, thick-rimmed glasses. Darius motioned for her to walk in front of him. She walked up to me and smiled sympathetically.

"Hello Sophie, I'm Amber Fritz. I'm a forensic sketch artist for the FBI. I've been with Darius on this case for a while now. Despite the circumstances, it's a pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand and I shook it gently. "Now, if you'll follow me."

"Come," I said softly to Naomi. I got up and followed her to a room with a huge computer on one side. Corkboards and whiteboards filled the walls of the room with pictures of dead bodies and crime scenes, newspaper clippings, and scribbles from a black marker. My eyes found a familiar face and I almost dropped my coffee. I slowly walked towards one of the corkboards and felt tears form at the edges of my eyes. Kimberly Wilson laid on a silver table, covered by a thin, white sheet. In the previous pictures I'd seen of Kimberly, she'd been smiling or laughing with her friends on the cheerleading team from the school. Now the life was drained from her face and she was dead. I started trembling. I could've been the next one up on that board, next to Kimberly.

I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and I jumped. Amber was looking at me, concern plastered on her face. Her green eyes flickered with understanding behind her glasses as she looked from me to the board. She didn't ask if I was okay, or how I was feeling. She already knew those answers. "Come on, let's get started," she said gently. I nodded and followed her to the set in front of the computer.

For the next hour, we went over what I remembered about his appearance. His face shape, nose shape, eyes, hair, and even height and body type. By the time she was finished, the computer-generated picture on the screen was a spitting image of the man that attacked me.