by N. M. Brown
“Fair.” Sam had seethed in disgust when Echo, at a tender age of seven had asked why Archer couldn’t steal money, and Gala never actually ate anything. “Blame our makers. They made the laws. We can’t kill, only influence to. We can’t force them to eat, only make them hungry. We can’t love, only make them lust. We can’t take, only receive what is given.” Sam rolled her eyes to Echo and smiled, “Gala can’t eat, Mara can’t kill, Archer can’t steal, Nic can’t rest, and myself for example, I can never love.”
“Would you want to fall in love though Sister Sam?” Adin had asked sat on the floor with Echo as they dissected the puppy spread out before them. He had a mop of silver blonde hair that tickled his ears, falling in his bright blue eyes and dimpled cheeks. He was adorable and if he and Echo ever walked on the street, he had every mothers head turning to look at the adorable angel. Now however, he had blood spattered on his face and a wicked knife in his hands. Little dots scattered his cheeks like freckles where he’d pulled apart the rib cage a little too hard.
“No darling.” Sam sighed pleasantly. “No, I would hate to fall in love. It’s so binding and full of expectations.” Sam arched her back, her hand sliding down her body to the head that bobbed between her legs. “Yes, just there.” She ordered, and the man who was kneeling in front of her moved himself closer with renewed energy. Echo watched as the man’s naked body shined with sweat and Sam threw her head back in passion.
“Do you want to fall in love?” Adin smiled, pointing his bloody knife at Echo “I think you do. I think you’ll want a charming Prince to come and save you and sweep you off your feet.” He swooned, putting an upturned bloody hand to his forehead.
Looking to her brother Echo frowned. “Do I fuck.” Her tiny, high-pitched voice answered. “I can fucking save myself. Better than you could dick-wad.” And she proceeded to punch him hard in the arm.
Adin retaliated aiming for a kidney shot, scalpel still in hand. Before long they were in an all-out brawl, their ting feet kicking out and chubby hands pulling at hair.
“Adin! Echo!” Mara had shouted as she walked in on them, ignoring Sam as she clamped her thighs around the guy’s head groaning. “What have I told you before?” Adin was currently sat on top of Echo one hand fisted in her hair while the other was raised to punch her in the face. Echo had her legs ready to rap around his neck while her hands were poised to take a fist full of his junk and pull. Samantha had taught her that a man’s ‘family jewels’ were their weakness in more ways than one. “I told you if you’re going to fight at least warn me, so I can judge.”
“Sorry Sister Mara.” They said in unison smiling as her eyes flashed red with anger.
“And don’t call me sister. I’m not a pathetic servant of that ass upstairs.”
Echo and Adin had laughed and quickly untangled themselves from each other. Adin was going to have a black eye, and Echo found it difficult to breath, but they smiled at each other in their own secret way. Blood smeared their skin, Adin was missing a tooth, and they looked wild and barren. Two adorable, twisted little monsters: one white and sun kissed like an angel, one dark and pale like shadow. Two of a kind.
✽ ✽ ✽
Sat, bored and pathetic in the police station, tears threaten to fall but Echo bit her lip hard instead. That was then, this was now. Time had passed since then, and they had both changed with it. Now was now and what was done was done. She didn’t need to wander down the path to past memories, that wasn’t going to help.
The shrill sound of a phone ringing brought Echo back to the present and she wondered how much time had passed. Her eyes searched for McQueen in the hive on buzzing cops. Full night had fallen. She’d been there for twenty-four hours and she could have screamed. She was starving too; the granola bar had been a pin drop in a sea. Echo was always grouchy when she was hungry.
“What are you frowning at?” McQueen had returned, his expression a little lighter but a heavy weight still rested on his shoulders.
“I’m fucking hungry.” Echo answered simply.
“Being hungry makes you cry?” A quick finger scooped a single tear off Echo cheek making her jolt in shock. McQueen shook his head, flicking through some paperwork. “That’s weird.”Echo fumed in silence, but it got her thinking about Adin again while McQueen went on ignoring her.
Adin had been different too. They’d been inseparable as kids; learning together, fighting together. As they grew older they drifted but remained close enough. Adin would tell Echo about what he’d discovered at school, about his class mates and how he sneeked around telling lies and rumours. The chaos he created was a sight to see. Friends fell out, teachers got the sack. Even families moved away from the shame of a secret when it had been revealed or created. No one ever suspected him.
Echo had done much the same in her own school. Hers had been a Catholic all-girls academy, full of nuns and sweethearts. She’d been pissed when Archer said they were going to different schools but Echo soon fell into a feverous roll of sinner and criminal. The Nuns despised her, and the kids feared her. Her presence in some classes alone made parents remove their children. But as none of the Nuns could summon the courage to call Archer or anyone else in the family about her behaviour, they made it their mission to save her. But Echo never played well with others.
Everything in her life had always been a game. Looking at McQueen, he was now a game too, to be completed and then thrown away. “Stop it.” He ordered as she continued to watch him. Adin was dead, and she didn’t have a play mate any more. Maybe she could make a new one?
“Stop what?” she threw him a sly grin.
“Stop whatever thought is running through your head.” He frowned at her. An officer had dropped a fresh folder on his desk and once he checked it, he slipped it into another folder she could see was clearly marked with her name. “You are under lock and key for second degree murder. There’s nothing to smile about.”
“Whoever said I was smiling?” But Echo straightened, eyes going around the room. At their last encounter, he’d called her a rapist and had condoned her as a murderer. Now she was sat beside his desk and they were… chatting. Broken and more of an argument than chatting, but something had changed. Echo hadn’t expected McQueen to suddenly allow himself to even be in the same room as her. Did this mean he’d changed his mind? Had she pulled him deeper into the shadows than she thought? Could she draw him further in?
Eyeing the detective with a curious gaze, she rested her arms on his desk, the cuffs only allowing for so much movement. She softly tapped her fingers close to his, her black lacquered nail striking hard, and gauged his reaction. McQueen, for the first few strikes, ignored her, but when she moved even closer, he shuffled away, distancing himself.
Ah, so she was wrong, but something had changed if he was willing to speak to her that was for sure. Pulling him back might be harder than she thought. The bastard Hale had really flipped him to think she was a murderer. She schooled her face; he couldn’t know his distance bothered her. It would only make him pull back more. He was a male after all; the aloofness of the female will always be what draws them in.
“So…” Echo smiled at him, playing pleasantries. “To what do I owe this pleasure of being sat out here?”
Clearing his throat, he finally looked at her, pulling a glossy photo that had just been dropped on his desk. No small talk then. “I need you to look at something for me.” The reflected piece of paper was pushed closer to Echo and she refrained from making a dirty joke.
She looked upon a familiar face instead, grainy and blurred, the quality to be desired, but she could still see the wicked scar that ran down the right side of his chin. “Do you know who he is?” McQueen asked.
“Why?” Echo instantly asked, “You going to accuse him of murder too?” McQueen didn’t blink, just held the photo in front of her waiting. Echo quirked an eyebrow and quickly thought it over before deciding to proceed. Helping, for now, would get her in his good books. “I might know… maybe…His
names Liam. Liam Night. He dead too? Killer or killed? Which is it?” Echo asked but McQueen didn’t answer, instead he quickly sent off Liam’s name into the database, getting a number of pings.
“No. He’s just someone we are interested in asking some questions.” Cold, hard Detective McQueen, all work and no play. “Tell me about him.” Note pad out, pen poised Echo almost laughed at the similarities to his idol, Detective Hale. What to do though? McQueen was an all-saintly, holier-than-thou Catholic Detective bent on finding this killer. She could help them? She could hinder them too. She needed to pick an end game…
“Liam is a stalker.” The sound of the pen nib scribbling on the paper sounded deafening in Echo’s ears. “He was one of Lizzy’s customer’s, going back a year, maybe two. He grew… attached.” And Echo was being polite. The guy had become unhinged. Twilight had enjoyed twisting him over and over, making him see flirtatious smiles and ‘screw-me’ eyes that were never there. “Sydney had been more engrained in the events as they occurred than I was.”
“Sydney…” McQueen checked his file, “Sydney Summer’s, the other bartender?”
“The only bartender.” Echo corrected. She didn’t serve the masses.
“And how was she a part of it?” Yet even as he asked the question, McQueen pulled the desk phone to his ear, asking an Officer Ramirez to also call Miss Summers in to answer some questions.
“Lizzy started to cut Liam off. He was monopolizing too much of her time. A rich fluff had all daddy’s credit cards and such. He was… a favourite in the House for a time, however, the… atmosphere got too much for him. Seeing Lizzy play with other customers became an unstable environment for him. He snapped; pulled a knife on someone who was too friendly with Lizzy for his liking.” That grabbed McQueen’s attention. His eyebrows flickered up and had begun to scribble extra hard. Echo though he looked… endearing, like he was a kid at school trying to ace a test.
“A knife?” McQueen confirmed making Echo roll her eyes.
“No, sorry, my mistake, I meant a wooden spoon.” McQueen didn’t appreciate her joke, and instead just waited for her to move on. “Archer threw him out. Cut him off from the House which, in turn cut him off from seeing Lizzy. He lost his money and inheritance and became a drunken rage. Spent time in jail, started using drugs. Understandably, Lizzy cut him off completely and he lost it, bat shit crazy style. Broke into the House one night, smashed it up; swinging bottles around and chairs. Sydney had Jacob throw him out, but he lurked outside every night until he saw Lizzy leave with someone else. That’s when he got the scar. Lizzy’s client was a cop. He was carrying a knife and sliced up Liam’s face. Haven’t seen him since.”
“That simple, huh?” McQueen asked. “You know a lot to say you weren’t there?” Echo could hear the question in his tone. She rolled her eyes.
“Sydney is a bit of a star seeker. She likes to make a big deal out of little things. She was telling everyone the story over and over. It’s a rather dull one.”
“Right.” But Echo didn’t think for a second McQueen believed her. “Well it seems despite losing his fortune, he still has a registered address.” He spoke to himself. Echo’s eyes raced around the room. She needed to keep his attention.
“Where’s your boss?” Echo asked. To get free, he was her jailer. “Why is he allowing you to be alone with me?” Echo took a long, dragged out look down McQueen's body.
McQueen stilled, looking at her confused. “Why are you the second person to ask me that today? Hale has other obligations.”
“Well he is your partner?” Echo stated like it was obvious. “You do tend to come together.”
“He’s hunting a suspect.” McQueen answered dismissively. It made Echo wonder if that was what he was really doing, and who else had asked about the missing Detective.
Instead of asking, she gaped her jaw was exsaggeration, “What? Another suspect? You mean to tell me I'm not your one and only true criminal?” Echo pouted, “I’m hurt.”
The Detective might have said something, but they were interrupted again. “McQueen?”
Looking up both McQueen and Echo gave a surprised start as Hale walked over to join them. Speak of the devil…, Echo thought. He looked better than Echo had ever seen him. His jaw was freshly shaven, clean and to police standard. His suit was pressed, the brown trousers matched the brown suit jacket. His shirt was white, and he’d even picked a matching tie; a simple green one.
“Detective Hale.” McQueen smiled though still looked a bit confused. “I thought you’d be still hunting Maddock?”
Hale growled deep in this throat. “It’s on going. Until we get a hit as to which direction he took, I’m better used here.” Hale’s eyes flickered to Echo as he sat at his desk and she gave him a megawatt smile and raised a cuffed hand in a wave. “Ms. Headly.” He didn’t smile.
“We’ve had a new lead.” McQueen said, though his eyes bounced back and forth between Echo and Hale. Echo forced her hands not to clench at the sudden thought they’d throw her back into that tiny cell for more hours of the day.
“I was just telling Queenie all about him.” Echo threw out. She was not going back to that cell if she could help it. Help. Help. Help.
Hale sat at his desk and regarded Echo with hooded eyes. Whatever decision he came to, he ground his teeth together hard. “Well, don’t hold back. What do we have?”
“Right. Well we found some more on the latest deaths; Cassie sent the files over this morning. Their names are Amelia Bowheart and Colin Pimm.” McQueen turned to grab one of the many files on his desk to run through everything, but Hale stopped him.
“That’s all great but keep it short and sweet McQueen. Is there anything new that helps the case?”
“Ah…” McQueen stumbled, “Not- not so much, no. Same dog DNA found, same generic tape and rope. Both deaths were due to exsanguinations.” McQueen sighed. “Nothing on the bodies that the killer left behind. Not on the bodies at least. The Tech forensic report has yet to come through.”
Hale growled, grabbing his desk phone. “Well, they need a kick up the ass because I wanted that file yesterday.”
Echo finally laughed out loud causing both Detective’s to look at her. “Man, you guys are slow. No wonder the body count is piling up.” Neither Detective gave her the honour of a response.
Speaking only to his partner, McQueen waved a file in the air, “We do however, and also have a new suspect. I think he might be a keeper.” McQueen handed over the picture.
“Name?”
“Liam Knight. Miss. Michael’s stalker.” The corner of Hales mouth, flickered in a smile. “Two found our latest victims off a street corner camera and followed them. He spotted Liam via traffic cams all the way back to Miss. Michael’s place. There could be more evidence to find.”
“Sounds promising.” Hale nodded, looking at the file containing Liam’s photo
Once again, Echo couldn’t help but butt in. “Are you crazy? Liam didn’t do this.” Again, she was ignored, but she needed to be back in the good books, well-… McQueen’s good books at least. “Look, Liam is a scrawny, punk, with enough coke up his nose to fall an Elephant. There is no way he’s smart enough to be responsible for these murders.”
“And I assume you know all about murderer Ms. Headly, don’t you?” McQueen mocked, narrowing his eyes at her. “Almost as if you had planned them all out?”
It was a weak attempt at a confession, but Echo suspected they all knew that. So, she smiled, and mocked him right back. “If I had planned these murders, Queenie you wouldn’t even have a file on your desk to investigate.”
“Enough.” Hale barked, drawing the two of them from their spat. “McQueen put Ms. Headly back in the cells, -, “
“What! No?” Echo cried. She wanted out. Now.
“…and then we’ll follow Mr. Knight’s trail, find where he and our victims went. Find Ramirez. We’ll take him as back up.” Hale ordered.
“I am not going back to that fucking cell.”
“Alright.” McQueen agreed. For the third time, Echo was ignored. She could have screamed. “What about the-… other matter.” McQueen asked. He shifted on his seat and Echo felt sharp pricks down her neck, especially when Hale’s eyes darted to her. There was something going on she didn’t know about. She hated not knowing everything!
“Later.” Was his only answer. “For now, find me Liam Knight.
XXI
McQueen was still shaking as he placed Echo back in her cell. She wasn’t happy about it, trying to whisper sweet encouragement in his ear; to let her out. In truth McQueen did want to escort her to the hospital to see Lizzy, but his mind wasn’t up to defending against her manipulative tongue. He needed a breather. He needed some time to process. Hale was bringing the car round and Ramirez had said he’d be more than willing to assist. Maybe, finally they had found their guy.
“I’m going to get out of here Queenie, and when I do, you’re going to regret it.” Echo seethed as he locked the cell door behind her. Within twenty-four hours, one of two things would happen; either Echo would be escorted to prison to wait out her time until trial for her second-degree murder charges, or she’d be walking with him to the hospital. McQueen didn’t quite know which one he hoped for. “Give Liam my love.” She shot over her shoulder as she walked to the back of her cell.
