The Dark Places by R. Whitfield (novel24 TXT) 📕

waved sadly from the front patio, before closing the door. He felt sorry for her. Clearly, Eamon had been her entire world and still was. He reached into his pocket, grabbing out his car keys when a taxicab came to a stop directly beside where he was parked. Looking up casually, he watched as Madison exited the car and slammed the door. They stared at each other in confusion for a full minute before anyone spoke.

“Stalk much?” she said with a grin.

Parker frowned. “What the hell are you doing here?”

She walked towards him, subtly increasing the swing of her hips. Shame rushed her face when she realised, he knew what she was trying to do. “Relax,” she said. “I’m following the flimsiest of flimsy of leads,”

Parker was in no mood for her games. “Madison, tell me what you’re doing here.”

She took the hint and explained. “A kid called Alexander Dellion was accused of animal cruelty, the charges were dropped, but the local sheriff wanted tabs kept on him because he was, and I quote, ‘weird’ so here I am.” She shrugged and dropped her arms to her side. Parker nodded, waiting for more. “He lives and works in the city, but he grew up here,” she said, pointing over her shoulder to the slightly dilapidated house directly next door to Eamon Sutherland’s.

***

Surin stared into the blackness and closed her eyes, but Parker’s face forced its way into her mind. A tear slid down her cheek. Please don’t hurt him, she said to herself. The problem with being alone and in constant mind-numbing fear is that you can’t control your imagination. She thought about the first time she saw Parker, sitting stiffly in the chief’s office, a crooked grin on his face. The memory almost made her smile. She thought of his touch, his kiss, and shook her head. Why the hell was I running away from this man? Just as she began to drift off again into the abyss of her mind, the door creaked open gently.

“Wakey, wakey,” he said in a creepy sing-song way. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, Sury,” he added and sat down beside her. “But you will never guess who’s in town!” He laughed. Surin tried to look nonplussed, but it didn’t work. “Oh, don’t be mad at me,” he whispered, leaning towards her seductively. “I don’t like competition, never have, and I see the way he looks at you.” She turned her head away from the warmth of his breath. “And most importantly, I have seen the way you look at him.”

She closed her eyes and replied through gritted teeth, “He will fucking tear you apart.”

The sound of the slap registered a split second before the immeasurable pain. Stars burst behind her eyes, and tears poured down her cheeks as her skin felt engulfed in fire.

“Don’t you ever fucking talk to me like that again,” he yelled, so close to her face that she felt his spit hit her mouth. “I’m going to make him watch us, do you hear me?”

Surin whimpered, trying to turn her entire body away from him.

“Then you will see him die and then finally you’ll understand that you belong to me.”

***

Parker sat on the lumpy sofa and pretended to sip the tepid tea that had been placed in front of him.

“Oh yes, my son is a fancy lawyer, quick as a whip and makes real good money, Detective,” the lady sitting opposite him said and smiled, displaying a set of slowly rotting teeth. “All those folks thought we were no good, eating their words I tell ya,” she added and sipped her own beverage loudly.

Parker sidled forward and smiled kindly. “Your son went to high school with Eamon?” he asked innocently, glancing briefly at Madison who looked extremely uncomfortable perched on the edge of what was once a chocolate-brown La-Z-Boy.

“Yep, a few grades apart. Of course, real sad what happened to him,” she said without a morsel of sympathy in her voice. “Everyone assumed he would be the town success story; little did they know.” She smiled menacingly.

Parker nodded like he understood. “What about Surin Elliott?” he continued casually. “Remember her?” It was minor, but Parker immediately noticed a change in her demeanour.

“Sure,” she said cautiously. Madison must have noticed the shift as well because, out the corner of his eye, he saw her sit forward slightly. “Eamon’s girlfriend, vapid cheerleader type,” she said and waved her hand dismissively in the air before casting her eyes downwards.

“Actually,” Parker continued shrugging his shoulders, “we’ve been told she was the opposite of the stereotype: kind, popular for the right reasons.”

The lady in front of him tilted her head. “Maybe at first, she did defend my boy once.”

Parker held his breath.

She looked around as if she were afraid someone might hear. “He got in trouble, some stupid thing with an animal, and she stood up for him.”

Madison and Parker exchanged momentary glances.

“After that, he told me she looked out for him, that they were friends.” She smiled. “Then, Eamon and her became an item, and she went back to ignoring him, like the rest of the town.”

Parker pulled out his notebook. “Mrs Dellion—”

“It’s Ms,” she added quickly, “the Mr left long before Alexander was born.”

He nodded. “Ms Dellion, have you seen Surin Elliott lately?”

She paused and stared at them, not entirely sure how much to say.

Parker leaned forward. “Ms Dellion, I am a homicide detective, you understand that, right?”

She fidgeted with her cup. “I don’t know what the hell you want from me,” she replied.

“My question was very simple,” he said. “Have you seen Surin Elliott?”

She looked at him with venom, her entire composure slowly slipping before them. “I saw the bitch yesterday,” she growled and sat back, entirely happy with herself. “Alex was very amused to hear