Cry For Help by Clara Lewis (books for students to read .txt) 📕

drive to the hospital first? My mother would want to meet you first.”

Evelynn nodded. It was no problem to her. She got into her rented car and waited for Astrid to lead the way. The hospital was situated far from the center of the town. As Evelynn observed its surroundings, she understood why. It was calming to be here.

Astrid led them across the lobby and greeted the nurse with a nod of her head. The nurse smiled at her and pointed to a door down the hallway.

Before she could open the door, Astrid laid a hand on Evelynn’s arm.

“My mom doesn’t have much time to live. I won’t hold it against you if you don’t find the killer.”

Evelynn looked at her in confusion.

“Why am I here then?”

Astrid misunderstood her question and gave a light chuckle.

“This isn’t some sort of prank. We—I will pay you your fee when you’re done.”

Evelynn shook her head.

“I don’t really care if I get paid or not. I’m just wondering why you contacted me. “

Astrid gave her a small, sad smile but said nothing. She simply pushed the door open and beckoned Evelynn to follow.

Sunlight gently streamed through the open windows while a light breeze stirred the curtains and brought the smell of flowers from the fields outside. By those very windows, an old woman looked out with glassy eyes.

This must be the grandmother.

At the sound of the door clicking closed, the old woman turned her head to the door. She smiled at Astrid but the moment her eyes landed on Evelynn, her breath caught. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.

“Cassie?”

Evelynn stood, frozen in her spot as Astrid rushed to her mother and consoled her. As Astrid explained in soft whispers that she was not Cassie but someone who was able to find who killed Cassie, Evelynn saw the old woman’s face fall. Evelynn forced herself to take a deep breath while she patted her heart. It was starting to hurt.

She walked to the old woman’s bedside and held out her hand.

“I’m Evelynn,” she said, “I’m here to help.”

The old woman nodded earnestly. She reached over and grabbed a book from her nightstand table.

“You’re not Cassie; I apologize for the mistake earlier. You can call me Lucille,” she simply said.

Evelynn shook her head.

“No, no, it’s all right.”

The old woman opened the book. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a book but an album. From one corner to another it was filled with pictures of Cassie. The moment she saw Cassie’s dark hair and features, she understood. They didn’t all that much alike, but they had enough features that were similar enough to get people to look twice.

Lucille loved to speak about Cassie, but there were moments when she would pause on a picture. Evelynn would hear a soft gasp and she’d catch Lucille’s hand start to shake. She did this most often when she encountered the pictures where Cassie would be smiling. Evelynn chose to pretend she didn’t see it.

Astrid stood in the corner, refusing to look at the album. Instead, she looked out the window. She had accepted her daughter’s death many years ago, but that didn’t mean seeing her daughter’s face wouldn’t tear her apart. As immovable as she wanted to look, Evelynn heard a sniff every once in a while.

Hearing Lucille speak so lovingly about Cassie caused a wayward tear to slide down her cheek. Evelynn wiped it off immediately and decided that she’d had enough. There were only three of them in the room. The nurses had left them alone, out of respect for their privacy. However, the tension had become so thick that it would take only one person to burst into tears before everyone would follow suit.

Evelynn didn’t want that to happen. She abruptly stood, taking Lucille out of her nostalgia. With a fierce determination, Evelynn took Lucille’s hands in her own.

“I will make sure Cassie gets her justice; believe me,” she said, looking straight into the old woman’s eyes.

Lucille nodded and Evelynn let her hands go. She grabbed her bag and nodded at Astrid who looked at her with eyes full of gratitude. Lucille lay back in her bed and smiled to herself.

The moment Evelynn reached the car, she allowed a few tears to escape. She couldn’t help it. Sure, she had worked countless cases where she had to help find a missing person or even consult on a few murder cases. It’s just that she had pushed the emotions of the victim’s family out of her head so that she was able to focus. This time, she was unable to do so, and the full force of Lucille and Astrid’s grief hit her.

In a way, her trip to the hospital had given her a push of motivation. Evelynn headed straight to the police station.

*****

The police station was almost empty.

Evelynn ignored the front desk and headed for the back. She needed to talk to someone in charge. Most police stations had more or less the same layout anyway, and even if they didn’t, they had signs everywhere. She’d get to wherever she needed and that was the chief’s office.

A hand grabbed her arm and turned her around roughly. Panic flared up Evelynn’s spine and she began to struggle. Still, the hand held fast.

“Let go of me!” she yelled.

Immediately the pressure was gone. Evelynn decided to get a good look at the man just in case she ever needed to report this to the police. He was tall, and her eyes landed straight on the badge on the front left side of his uniform.

Evelynn went still. The man glared at her and kept his hand on the gun in his holster.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” he said.

Evelynn shrugged. She was still buzzed from the adrenaline rush, but he was exactly who she wanted to talk to.

“Who’s in charge here?”

The man held out his hand. Evelynn reached her own hand out and they shook.

“I’m Alec. You are?”

“Evelynn. Who’s in charge here?”

Alec pointed at himself.

“At the