26. Pearl
Pearl
“Ms. Meadows, do you need me to repeat the questions?”
I blinked hard, my mind coming back to the present. The two blobs in front of me came into focus. Police officers. The same ones who had been bothering me for days about the same thing.
My head was pounding. Tiredness was taking over my entire being, sinking into my bones.
“How long are you going to keep bothering me?” My voice was devoid of emotion. I couldn’t bring myself to pretend for them.
“Until you give us an answer on where James Blackwell went,” the one on the right said. His hat hid an obvious balding, and his face was greasy, the harsh fluorescent lighting making it look worse than it probably was.
“I told you I don’t know,” I spat. “My answer isn’t going to change. You’re wasting your time.”
“Do you know what happened to him or not?” the one on the left intervened. My eyes shot to him. His hands rested on his belt, and he was giving me a look that told me he thought I was nothing more than a bug under his foot.
“I’m not answering anything else without a lawyer.”
He tilted his head to the side with a cruel smirk.
“Well, I don’t see one here for you. Come on, just tell us what you know. How about this: we will take you down to the station just for a few questions, and then you can get back to your friend—”
“She’s my girlfriend, you prick,” I hissed.
He visibly puffed. His fellow officer stiffened.
“That’s it, I’m taking you—”
Perfectly manicured hands and a business card were forced in front of him. All our eyes shot to the woman in a dark red pantsuit and matching heels. Her blue eyes were narrowed at the officer, and her jaw was set.
“Oh Jesus fucking Christ—”
“Sorry, no, it’s just little old me. Now stop bothering her unless you want another misconduct lawsuit on your hands. Funny, should you even be out in the field right now? Aren’t you on an involuntary leav—”
The officer turned and left with a huff. His partner gave me a look.
“If you find out anyth—”
“She knows who to call. Now leave.”
The mystery woman watched him with a narrowed gaze until he left, then she turned to me with a sigh. From my vantage point on the hard hospital chair, I had to crane my neck to look at her. The lights caused my eyes to tear up.
Just the lights… Right.
“Jax sent you, I’m guessing.”
Her eyes looked me up and down.
“A fellow acquaintance of Jax,” she replied. “I’m Laura. Now, can I suggest you take me to your girlfriend’s room so we can discuss your side of the events?”
Girlfriend. It had slipped out so easily when I was talking to the officers, but hearing it from her made heat rise to my face.
I nodded and led her to the room right next to us. Making out the form on the bed, just lying there, hurt my heart every single time.
I closed the door behind us.
“We only have a half an hour left for visiting hours, and I would like to spend some more time with her, so—”
“Don’t they let you stay?”
I shook my head.
“I’m not family,” I whispered, finally forcing my eyes to look at the bed.
Emerson was nothing more than a lump covered in white hospital garments and scratchy blankets. Wires were attached to her, and the breathing machine covered a good portion of her lower face.
The doctor had told me that if she didn’t wake soon, they would put a tube through her trachea. The thought alone made me nauseous.
“That’s interesting, since her family tried to kill her,” she said, a cutting edge to her tone. “I will fix that. Now tell me everything.”
“I killed him.”
Sorry, not sorry, Emerson. But I’d gotten my hands dirty for her. She deserved that, and so much more. And I refused to feel bad about it.
“The body?”
“Gone.” My eyes went to Emerson again. Guilt racked me. If only I’d killed him sooner. “Burned in a group cremation with his ashes spread in the beautiful tunnels of the city’s sewers.”
“Creative,” she praised. “But I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear any of that.”
I actually wished I could take credit for it, but it was all Jax. Well, Jax and whoever was in her cleanup crew.
“Am I going to jail?” I looked at Laura, but her expression hadn’t changed, even if I had just confessed to murder.
“Unlikely,” she said. “The people you’ve been working with have great connections—and money. Just don’t go growing a conscience on me and confessing it to the police. Whatever happens, you ask for me, okay?”
I nodded and accepted her card as she handed it to me.
“I have many more questions, but I can tell that tonight is not the night for them. I’ll visit again tomorrow, okay?”
I gave her a grateful smile.
“I would appreciate that, and if you could convince someone to let me stay here…”
She nodded.
“Consider it done. It’s the least I can do. You get comfortable. No one is throwing you out of here.”
She turned and left the room, leaving me alone with Emerson.
Alone with Emerson… but it didn't feel much like her anymore. I knew it was still her lying there, but without her voice, without her soul, it just felt weird.
I rounded the bed and sat down on the hard chair that I had pulled up right to her bedside. I took her hand, trying to keep it warm. She always felt so cold here. Since I was too tired to sit upright, I opted for laying my head on her stomach, watching as the ventilator helped her breathe.
Her chest moved up and down. That and the steady beeping of the heart monitor were the only two signs that she was still in there.
She's going to wake up. I know it.
I allowed myself a moment of weakness and let my tears fall onto the scratchy blanket below.
I felt so alone. It wasn’t the first time I was by myself, and even growing up it had happened often, but this loneliness was different. More painful. My chest felt empty, like someone had reached in and taken out a piece of me.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered, hoping she could hear me. “I should've pulled the trigger sooner. He won’t hurt you anymore. Come back to me.”
I would never regret my decision to kill her father. A part of me wished Emerson had been the one who pulled the trigger, finally getting revenge for everything he had done to her.
But knowing he was dead and that he couldn’t come back to hurt her anymore would have to be enough.
I faintly heard the door open and Laura's voice filter in, but my eyes were already closed. I didn’t remember the last time I slept more than an hour at a time. I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.
Something warm was placed over my shoulders, and I told myself I should thank whoever it was for it, but the words never left my mouth.
I fell deep into an uneasy sleep.
And I hoped that when I woke up, Emerson would be opening her eyes as well.