A Heavy Rain fanfiction

Chapter 4. Ann Sheppard

Max? Who the heck is Max? That's a stupid question. The dog's name is Max. But who wrote that? Carter looked at the back of the book. It said the author's name.

Ann Sheppard. To my dear John.

Could that be the next clue? Carter shivered as he realized that he was getting closer to the answer. He took the book and made his way back to the cashier. He thought of some questions.
"Do you have many customers?" He asked.
"No." The cashier shook his head. "This place isn't very popular with the Killer thing going on."
"Hmmm..." Carter hummed, "What about this book? Did a lot of people buy it?"
The cashier looked at the book. He blinked a few times, trying to remember.
"Oh!" He exclaimed "I think Ann Sheppard herself bought it for her son."
"Ann Sheppard?" Carter asked. "The author of this book?"
"Yeah. It happened a very long time ago, but I remember it clearly..."

-FLASHBACK-
Cashier's POV
I was doing my usual job, helping customers and working in the store, when a woman entered the store with two little boys. She looked at me and I recognized her.
"Are you Ann Sheppard?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.
"Yes." She smiled. "I want to buy my book."
"Aren't you supposed to have your own copy?"
"Well, yes, but they didn't give me one."
As we were talking, one of the boys released his mother's hand and walked along the shelves. He found a book, grabbed a pencil out of his pocket and started flipping the pages and writing stuff on it.
"I'll take a look around." Ann said.
She turned around and saw her son writing something on the book.
"John!" She exclaimed, making him almost jump. She quickly walked to him and grabbed his hand. "You can't write on books that are not yours!"
"Sorry..." he mumbled. He found an eraser in his pocket and started quickly rubbing off the things he wrote. When he finished, he put the book back, remembering where it was. They DID come to buy that book and he wanted the one he wrote on.
"Come on, let's look at other things." She said, and the two boys nodded. They turned around just when the book that John wanted fell with a loud 'thud'.
"Oh gosh, I-" Ann started.
"It's okay, it's okay!" I said, walking to the book and picking it up. I put it on the shelf, but it wasn't the same place where John put it.
* * *
"Thanks for coming!" I said and waved as Ann and her kids walked out of the door.
-END OF FLASHBACK-

"How long ago was it?" Carter asked.
"About... thirty-something years ago." The cashier answered. "You think her son may be the killer?"
"I'm not sure yet." Carter sighed. He was surprised that the cashier worked here for so long, but didn't say anything. "So you're saying that this book has been here for more than thirty years?"
The cashier nodded.
"That's weird, but okay." Carter shrugged. "Thanks for your time."
He opened the door and left the store. He sat in his car, then put ARI on.
"So I think I have the next-" Carter started.
"I heard everything." Jayden said calmly.
"Oh really?"
"We're going to look for Ann Sheppard."
"...Yeah" Carter said. "Is there any information on her?"
"Well, I believe she is in the city's hospital." Jayden thought aloud. "Maybe we should check it out?"
"Okay." Carter said and started the car engine.
* * *
"I'm here to see Ann Sheppard." Carter said to the receptionist.
"Oh... I'm sorry, but she passed away just a few hours ago." The receptionist sighed sadly.
"Well, that's bad. I wanted to ask her about her sons."
"I think I know something." The receptionist said thoughtfully. "Yes, that's right. One of her sons died thirty years ago. The other one was given to another family."
"Uh, thanks. That's actually useful." Carter turned around and left again. He got into the car and drove to the graveyard.
It was a place that no people would like. This gloomy, sad atmosphere always hung there. Every time anyone passed the place they'd each feel differently. Some started just feeling weird. Some remembered someone they lost. Some were sorry for the people that were there. Some even felt guilty that they have everything they ever wanted. Nobody really liked this place.
As Carter was looking for the Children's Plot he glanced at one particular grave. It said a familiar name.
Ethan Mars.
Carter thought that he was the killer, even though Jayden didn't. He killed himself in a motel the day his son died. Carter reached the Children's Plot and saw Shaun Mars's grave. Carter sighed and continued looking for the right grave. After a few moments, he found it.
John Sheppard. Carter kneeled down and saw origami figures and fresh flowers. Perhaps his brother put it there? Carter put on ARI to scan it. Jayden watched him. There was something in his eyes, but Carter couldn't understand what it was. Carter scanned the flowers and the figures. There weren't any fingerprints: the killer used gloves or the rain washed them away. Or both.
"There isn't anything useful here." Carter stood up. He looked at Jayden. "We should get going."
"Okay." Jayden said and they started walking.
The almost left the graveyard when suddenly Jayden realized something.