14. The Police
“Why can’t I just find a nice normal life to switch into without so much baggage?” Darla groaned, as she looked around at the hundreds of pictures of Doug staring back at her.
When she had chosen Darla as her next body, she had assumed she was selecting a normal sweet girl, not one obsessed with anyone, much less Doug.
She thought about how the old Darla was now stuck in the body of the person who had shot and killed her one true love, and would likely spend the rest of their life locked away.
She shook the thought out of her head and immediately set out to locate towels and pajamas. Once dried and dressed, she began ripping the photos from the walls. After the third trip to the trash bin in the kitchen, she dragged the bin back to the room with her to save time.
She was halfway through the third wall, when a knock came from the front door, followed shortly by the doorbell ringing. Darla glanced down to make sure she was decent and then spotted a cotton robe strewn on the armchair in the corner. She hastily put it on as she made her way to the door.
“Who is it?” She asked, hand on the door handle.
“It’s the police,” a man replied. Darla cracked the door open, checking behind her to make sure the bedroom door was closed.
“Good evening officers. How can I help you?” Darla asked, inviting them in with a swift motion of her hand. “Would you like some refreshments?”
She tried to think how a grieving woman might act in her situation and was able to access past memories to help with the right tone and calmness.
“No, thank you, ma’am. We are sorry for the late visit.
We just wanted to return your personal belongings that you left behind at the park today.
” The first officer, whose name tag read Johnson, turned his head to the second officer.
His name tag read Wagner, and he was holding the picnic basket and her purse.
“We also need your statement, but given the hour you can stop by the station tomorrow,” Johnson said.
“That is kind of you gentlemen. Thank you for stopping by. You can place the items next to the door, Mr. Wagner, and I can walk you both out. As you can imagine, I’m quite tired after the events of the day, and I’m still processing the loss of my dear companion, Doug. ” Darla took a step to reopen the door.
“Actually, ma’am, could we have a seat? I know it’s late, and we are sorry for the loss you have endured.
We just have a few questions before we go.
” Officer Johnson motioned for Darla to join him in the seating area.
Darla moved slowly and deliberately, attempting to remain calm and to hide the panic flowing inside her.
“Could this wait until tomorrow?” Her shoulders sagged as a new wave of exhaustion hit her.
“We’ll be quick,” Wagner offered.
“Of course.” She sat on one of the pale yellow chairs as Officer Johnson sat on the couch. Officer Wagner stood behind the couch but took out a small notebook and pen.
“We spoke to the man who shot Mr. VanHugh and Mr. Tiller. He is claiming he didn’t do it, that he used to be you, actually, and that somehow, he ended up in that body after the shooting took place,” Johnson said.
Darla froze.
“We just wanted to ask you if you have ever met this man before?” He asked.
“Before today, I had never seen that man in my life.”
Officer Johnson cleared his throat. “I understand this is pretty far-fetched, and the man is obviously not all there in the head. We think that maybe he had a plan to kidnap you for a deeper and darker purpose.”
“What do you mean?” Darla leaned forward, keeping herself open to show as much of herself and retain innocence.
“Well, the shooter knew a lot of details about you, personal details. We think he had been stalking you for a while and singled out your group today. The men you were with were the only victims, and with everything he told us, it seems he has been obsessed with you for quite some time,” John continued.
Darla relaxed. “Well, I am glad the police arrived when they did. There is no telling what he would have done to me if successful with his plan.”
My secret is still safe.
“Right, well if you remember ever seeing him lurking around in your past, please contact me at the station. We have enough on him to keep him locked away for a long time, but any additional charges we can put on him will ensure he gets no chance of parole.” Johnson tipped his hat as he stood.
Wagner closed his notebook and returned it to the pocket it came from, and the two men made their way to the door.
“We truly are sorry for your loss, and please let us know if we can assist you with anything.” Johnson opened the door.
Darla considered for a moment asking for their help with retrieving the vault key that would allow her to access the VanHugh fortune. But a precinct full of men made her uneasy.
I have learned that men hold all the power, she thought. Then again, they always have.
Darla put her hand on the open door allowing the officers to pass through and for her to close and lock it behind them.
She sighed in relief that they were gone. This was by far the most complicated switching yet, and she knew that she would need to be more careful if she were to make another switch in the future.
The past ones worked pretty seamlessly since the other party involved were able to disappear so to speak. Now that the accusation was out in the world, she knew more in-depth planning would need to take place for anyone she needed to take the place of.
After climbing into bed, she allowed the soft sheets to caress her youthful skin. She yawned as her body physically reacted to the late hour and from the traumatic events of the day.
“I’ll take Meg up on her offer. Then I will go to the key location, then off to the bank to claim what is rightfully mine,” Darla whispered softly into the dark as she drifted peacefully to sleep.
Meg and Darla rode in silence on the way to the park the next morning. Darla was thankful for it. She wasn’t in the mood to converse in a menial way. Her head ached from tossing and turning all night.
What began as a peaceful night of sleep turned into nightmares as the faces of those in her past jumped and danced around changing from one person to the next in a mutilating fashion.
She was deep in thought on how she would handle getting to the VanHugh fortune. The war on the horizon had left the VanHugh corporation in a state of stalemate.
Their orders were business as usual, but with war efforts, the government was attempting to secure new contracts, and no one was authorized to execute them on behalf of the company.
It was going to be a struggle to be taken seriously once she did lay claim, being the tender age of twenty years old.
They arrived at the park in less than fifteen minutes, and thankfully Meg pulled right up to Darla’s car so that she wouldn’t have to try and guess which one was hers.
She had very little details about the new life she had stepped into, and the sooner she could take her place in the inheritance, the sooner it would be accepted that she had little knowledge about her life.
“Darla,” Meg put her hand on Darla’s arm as she made her way to exit the vehicle. “I really am sorry about everything you went through yesterday. You know, us librarians are our own little family. If there is anything at all you need, please let me know.”
Darla smiled softly at the old woman who offered condolences to the wrong person.
“Thank you, I will,” Darla replied before opening the car door all the way to get out.
The sun was bright, unaware of the horrors that unfolded just one day before at the same place she was now at. She took a deep breath before putting the car key to the door.
She had never learned how to drive, but she hoped that she had watched her previous driver enough to know how it was done.
The car unlocked easily. She wasn’t sure why she thought it might reject her, as if it knew she was a fraud. She climbed in quickly and placed her hands on the wheel. Darla didn’t make much money, but she seemed to own quite an array of nice belongings.
She reached over to grab her purse from the passenger seat, a thought suddenly striking her, and shuffled through until she found her wallet.
Inside was the checkbook and deposit slips.
Luckily, it was the same bank she did business with in her previous life.
The checkbook balance page showed that her bank account held just under $900,000 dollars.
The amount itself didn’t shock her. The VanHugh fortune, estate, and company altogether amounted to over $50 million. She was shocked to see this amount for a lowly librarian, though.
She flipped back through until she found where a large deposit had been made, and she thought back to how the old Darla reacted when asked about her parents.
Must have been an inheritance from them.
She turned the car on and carefully entered the roadway. It was still early, which reduced the number of other drivers on the road.
She slowly made her way toward the location where the key was located. She noticed after a few turns from leaving the park that a familiar looking car was behind her. The hairs on her neck prickled and she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.
It was Richard’s town car.
I’m being followed. I wonder if it is my old driver who wants my inheritance, she thought as she turned right on Main Street instead of left toward the key. If he wants to follow me then he can join me at the police station.
She parked in a spot close to the entrance and got out. The town car drove past before she could get a good look.
There was a decision to make, to either ask the police for protection in retrieving the key or to attempt to do it on her own and risk another run-in with Richard’s driver. After a few moments, she sighed and hung her head in defeat.