by Brian Ewing
Sitting back down, Laura already had the cap off and poured them another round.
“What are we celebrating?” Sisto asked, noticing her pace was above average.
“You remember I was trying to get that local company to make those chips for me for the years of taking accountability for one’s mental health? They accepted my bid and the first shipment should be here next week.”
“Wow, very cool,” Sisto congratulated.
They took another shot and upon replacing the glass on the desk, she filled up the glasses once again. Instead of raising the glass however, she had that look in her eye again. She leaned forward to kiss Sisto. Physically, he would have loved the interaction, but it was the wrong place and wrong time once again. His mind and heart had solely been with Camille Caden the past week and it wasn’t fair to lead Laura on in any way. He spoke gently and looked her in the eyes, causing her to pause.
“Laura, I can’t. I am so sorry. My heart would not be fully yours and that’s not fair to you.”
Sighing in dismay, she said she understood and handed Sisto the third round of drinks.
“To good friends.”
“To good friends,” Sisto repeated.
Finishing the shot and thankfully, slowing down, she did not pour another round just yet.
“Oh my god, I forgot I have the sketch of how the chips are going to look. Do you want to see them?” Excitement filled her inebriated words.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Sisto said, starting to feel woozy after the three shots back to back. He realized he hadn’t eaten anything all day and would have to make sure he got something on his way home.
She rummaged around a mountain of files, realizing she’d taken on way too much that day and would never get to all of it.
“Tom, can you grab those files and put them back in the cabinet? I got no room here and will not get to those at this rate.”
“No problem.” Sisto grabbed the manila folders, each named last name first, first name last, and opened the army green, dented filing cabinet behind him. He had four files and his buzz was definitely making the task harder than it should have been. The first file had a last name ending in A. Sisto opened the top cabinet, sifted through and had to remind himself that T came after S and placed the file in its correct location. He completed the second file with the same over-focused precision.
“Do you want another drink?” Laura asked, sounding far away.
“I don’t think I should. I haven’t eaten today and it’s hitting harder than normal.”
He took the third file which held the last name Dabney and opened the second drawer. He started to ensure Miles Dabney was located in the correct spot when he noticed something that disrupted his focus. Sisto turned his head slightly, squinting as he wasn’t sure if he’d read the name correctly the first time. He pulled the cabinet out slightly further to see a familiar name. The name didn’t have any correlation to C.O.S. as far as Sisto knew, which is why it took him a minute to figure out where the name had come from. Dropping the Dabney file in its place, his fingers ran past the others and landed on a folder for a Michael Dyer. Sound ceased as Sisto removed the folder with name of Carson Vinnova’s partner. He opened the file and saw a page of notes including first visit, progress, and handwritten notations by Laura herself. He flipped the page and saw a photocopy of a driver’s license with a man’s face he had seen many times before. Take away the leather outfit and ball gag and that was plain as day a photo of Mickey.
Not sure how long he had been in his own thoughts, Laura broke his concentration.
“Here it is. I drew it myself. It’s supposed to represent how we all lean on each other and if we all pitch in, we can build and rise up,” she explained, her words slightly slurred.
Sisto broke away from the picture of Mickey to see a circle to encapsulate the chip that people would get. Lining the edges of the coin was the title “Circle of Survival,” accompanied with a number on the lower center, the example being the number one, and behind the number were numerous arms reaching up and connecting in the center, forming a pyramid. Sisto felt sick to his stomach. He felt The Reels kick in as he grabbed for the sketch. It drew Sisto back to the statement the badly-burned Carson Vinnova had made in his final moments.
“I gave you all the clues, but you still can’t see. That is why you couldn’t beat me.”
“Jesus,” Sisto said aloud. “You’re the partner.”
CHAPTER 32
Confused by his accusation at first, Laura asked, “What?”
“You are the partner,” Sisto repeated.
Sisto recapped The Reels brief but informative presentation. Laura had sent Carson the article to lure him back to his hometown and try to finish what his father could not. Carson wanted to let him know who was really pulling the strings, setting up the human pyramid at every scene.
“I don’t know what you mean, Tom.”
“I kept racking my brain, trying to figure out how Carson Vinnova would know I was alive. He had been gone so many years, not having any ties to the city, but somehow got that article that came out last year mailed directly to him. I thought someone sent it to Jackie, but he was already dead a month ago. You did all this?”
Sisto knew that Laura had read the article when it first came out and she had tried her best but couldn’t help displaying a visible hurt within her face the weeks following. Expecting more denial, she did something Sisto hadn’t expected. She sat down in her chair and sighed deeply, almost in something resembling relief.
“Tom, do you remember when we first met? Your first time walking through those doors?”
Sisto couldn’t wrap his head around anything in that moment. His legs started to wobble, and he reclaimed his seat.
“Did you, did you drug me, Laura?” Sisto asked, baffled that it was even a possibility.
“You came in here and told me you found my flyer while getting something from a food truck,” she said, ignoring his question.
“American Sammy’s.”
Nodding, Laura continued, “I have been in love with you since the day I met you. I felt so lucky that you found C.O.S., and as the days and weeks went on, we grew closer. I know you felt it too.”
A cocktail of barbiturates and alcohol, paired with his empty stomach, served to be quite the incapacitating combination Laura had desired, so she could continue down memory lane.
“After a year of knowing each other’s souls, we got to be together physically. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.”
“Laura, we decided back then, staying friends was best for us.”
“You decided that,” Laura snapped back. “I couldn’t risk losing you, so I went along with it. I played it over in my head over and over again. I realized you only said that because you were getting over the loss of your brother and niece. You were healing and one day wouldn’t need me anymore.”
“That’s not true,” Sisto fought to speak, feeling his eyes starting to get heavier.
“It was true. I started dating people to try and get you off my mind but in the end, it always came back to you, Tom.”
The insanity, sitting so comfortably on her tongue, started to scare Sisto. He was in a situation where he was no longer in control.
“Once I saw that article, a light went off. All I had to do was bring the trauma back to you, just enough to make sure you needed me again. I started to follow you and pick up your routine, who you hung around with. You only had one friend, really.”
“You intended to have Carson come down here and kill Craig and put me in a downward spiral? Do you know how fucked that sounds?”
Shame presenting over her face, she continued, “It made sense at the time, Tom. Believe me, no one can make you feel better than me. I love you and I know you love me.”
“I don’t love you, Laura. I loved our friendship, but that was it. You think I want anything to do with you now? I am going to help SCPD lock your ass up. You are the reason Craig and Caden are dead.”
The look of shame was swiftly replaced with anger.
“That bitch was not good enough for you. I can’t believe you thought you would kick me to the curb and start shacking up with that whore.”
The statement put a click into place for Sisto.
“You were watching us that night?”
“You broke my heart, Tom. All I wanted was for us to be together, but instead of running into my arms, you ran into hers.”
“She is dead because you pointed Vinnova in her direction. All of this is your fault!”
Sisto, with his last burst of effort, stood to exit the office and get out of the building so he could at least attempt to scream for assistance. Laura stood up, blocking him and putting her hand to his chest. The Reels paused the moment and brought Sisto to a place he had not recognized. The vision he was in had someone approaching a door. The hand, Laura’s hand—once he saw the manicured, long fingers balled in a fist—knocked twice. There was a slight delay, then Sisto saw the knob of the door turn. Oh my God, Sisto internalized outside the moment. Camille Caden opened the door, hair down, smile beautiful as he remembered. He had to focus in on the conversation but even then, it was still only three-quarters where it should have been if it were the actual setting.
“Hello. Can I help you?” Caden spoke.
Sisto felt Laura’s voice before hearing it. “Yes, I am Laura Saunders. I run a non-profit support center in downtown. We have a mutual friend, Tom Sisto.”
Sisto watched through Laura’s eyes as Caden’s face lit up at the mention of his name. That made Sisto’s heart hurt but the only thing he sensed in that moment generated from Laura. An overwhelming scent of garlic invaded Sisto’s senses. Jealousy, Sisto determined, after previously recognizing it on Ted’s aura. Caden stepped back, allowing Laura into her apartment.
“Is Tom okay?” Caden asked in concern.
Laura dressed her voice up with professionalism as she replied, “I am slightly concerned about him. I am a clinical psychologist and Tom has been visiting the center for years. He is a very special addition to the group, and I feel, as of late, he is dealing with some dark issues surrounding his work.”
“Well, you aren’t wrong there,” confirmed Caden.
“He had mentioned he was a consultant for the SCPD and directly mentioned he worked with you and felt comfortable confiding in you. I hope you don’t mind I looked you up and just showed up like I have?”
“Anything I can do to help Tom, I am happy to do it. What is it that you need?” Caden asked, as she made her way to the kitchen to get them each a glass of water.
“I think Tom could benefit from taking a leave from his position.”
Sisto saw Caden pause, then bring the glass of water over to give Laura.
“Have you talked to Tom about this?” Caden asked.
“I was hoping it would come from someone that cared about him within his work environment.”
Sisto could feel the struggle of composure she had been attempting while lying to Caden’s face.
“I’m really sorry, Ms. Saunders, I don’t know if I believe that would be what’s best for him.”
“Oh?”
“Tom has confided in me a lot, as I am sure he has in you, and it seems the good he does on the job is what makes what he considers a curse, bearable. I think taking that away from him would do more damage than good.”
“I see,” Laura replied coldly. “I do hope you will reconsider. Tom deserves to be happy.”
Picking up on the vibe, Caden countered, “What would Tom say if I told him you were here?”
Exhaling with her back turned to Caden, Laura responded, “That is not a nice way to act.”
Sisto felt the spin as her foot pivoted in one motion, slamming the glass against Caden’s head, jarring her back from the living room to her kitchen. Caden, dazed, stood up and charged at Laura. Sisto dreading what he knew to be coming, felt Laura’s hand, which was in the purse to her right side, grip the handle of a knife, letting Caden charge right into it, giving Laura the momentum to angle it at an upward angle, entering above her belly with tip guiding towards the lungs and heart. It stopped Caden cold. Sisto felt the face he wore smile in a demented satisfaction. Grape flooded his senses, indicating the jealousy had been replaced with pure excitement. Using the handle of the blade to guide Caden back to the kitchen, he watched as the mocha hand pulled out the knife, causing a cough of blood to come out of Caden’s mouth. The hand Sisto wore rose and, with intense rage, plunged into Caden over and over, creating new wounds and having her shirt saturated in blood within a minute.
Thrown out of the memory, Sisto looked into the eyes of the woman, hand still on his chest in an attempt to stop him from leaving the office.
“Carson didn’t kill Caden before meeting me. You killed her. He had been trying to give me hints with every kill that you were the one that set this in motion.”
Until the current moment, there had always been a bit of skepticism on Laura’s part about Sisto’s ability, but after the statement he just spoke, she raised her eyebrows, impressed to discover the stories had been real.
“I tempted him by finding Cameron Coleman. After serving him up, I told him to find a random person to throw him off. Little fucker took our conversation about how you found C.O.S. after getting a sandwich from the fucking food truck and went after Aguilar. That was sloppy. I told him I would be having someone drive him and help him moving forward.”
“Mickey,” Sisto said.
“Mickey was an unfortunate means to an end. I let him fuck me once and I had him wrapped around my finger. I told him I was in trouble with a loan shark and needed him to drive my cousin to his place so he could scare him away from threatening me.”
“Mickey’s work had nothing to do with the Vinnova family?”
Laura shrugged as she threw Sisto’s weak self back into the chair.
“Not that I am aware of, but who really cares. Both Mickey and Carson were the worst of the worst. Don’t you see all the trouble I went through to show you how much I love you?”
“I fucking hate you,” Sisto said, starting to fall in and out of consciousness.
A fiery calm entered her tone. “What did you say?”
“I will take you down if it is the last thing I do on this earth.”
In a sudden turn of events, she started to hit herself in the head out of frustration, mumbling things to herself.
“Tom Sisto, we are meant to be together. If I can’t be with you, there won’t be a . . . you.”
“Do it then, you fucking psychopath,” Sisto stated with full sincerity in that moment.
He was tired of the whispers as he walked through the precinct. Sick of the expectations The Reels brought upon him. He was so drained from having to get up every morning, knowing his niece was not going to age another day. He was stripped of the privilege of seeing her grow up. No boys coming to the door to take her to a dance. No celebration of hard work at her graduation. No joyful tears to be had at a wedding that would no longer ever happen. Aside from his years of bottled emotion, the more recent losses of Craig and Caden had proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Sisto welcomed death. He was ready to rest. Ready to reunite with the people that mattered most to him, every one of them ripped out of his world by the dark reasoning of unstable people.
A knock on the entrance door of the non-profit sent an echo through the empty building.
“Sisto?”
“Bell! I am in here.”
Laura, enraged at the personal blow she felt she had endured as her plans crumbled around her, reached over and opened the center drawer of the desk. Sisto could hear glass shatter out by the front of the facility as the old, veteran detective came to save him from the clutches of a madwoman. Sisto heard the clink of the deadbolt unlock and the creak of the front door as he entered. Sisto knew Bell would not show up in time, even though it was just seconds away. Laura’s hand, which had disappeared into the drawer, had beco
me visible with a gold-plated letter opener. She lifted it above her head with the same rage in her eyes he assumed Caden saw before having her life stolen and jumped towards him to drive the tool into his chest. Sisto with his deteriorating cognitive senses gave an agonizing push of focus to lean to his left to slide to the ground. While he avoided six inches of metal to the heart, her momentum outweighed his reflexes, landing her strike below his right shoulder, going through the muscle and avoiding any bone. The burning of the wound could still be felt even through the heavy intoxication, and Sisto fell to the floor with the tool stuck, protruding out of his arm.
“Put your hands up, bitch,” Sisto could hear Bell shout.
Laura rose from her hovering stance over Sisto, whispered the words “I love you” to him, and turned to charge Calvin Bell as he relinquished three bullets directly into her chest.
That was the last thing Sisto remembered before blacking out.
CHAPTER 33
Sisto had no idea how long he had been unconscious but was roused awake, courtesy of an annoying beeping sounding off in consistent intervals. He ran his tongue across the roof of his mouth. It was dryer than the desert. He opened his eyes, trying to focus on his surroundings as his vision was blurry. After a minute of isolating his vision to one spot, the blur slowly converged into its normal sharpness. He looked around to see that he was in a hospital room. The annoying device was a monitor capturing his vitals. He saw that some savage had stripped him of his clothes and replaced them with a standard hospital gown. Sisto wondered how many perverts volunteered around the hospital, just trying stare at the tits and junk of people that were incapacitated. The thought of the invasion of privacy he may have endured angered Sisto slightly more than it should have. He looked under the sheets to ensure no tubes had been inserted in his dickhole. Thankfully, he was spared of such tortures.
