Sleep Tight

by BJ Hyman

  The scream tore from her throat as she scrambled from the bed. Her bare foot hit something on the floor that slid under her and she fell, her head hitting the wall beside her. When she shook off the stars, she saw what had caused her to slip. It was a white piece of paper that now had a red partial footprint on it nearly obscuring the words. It was surrounded by a mound of bright pink hair. Charlie felt as if her heart had stopped in her chest.

  She knew that color of pink.

  YOUR SISTER SLEEPS ALMOST AS DEEPLY AS YOU DO.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Seeing Red

  Charlie cried out in desperation. Snatching her cell phone from the nightstand and a handful of the pink hair, she dashed toward the bathroom. On the way, she grabbed the back of the chair that sat at a brand-new vanity set that Eli had bought for her and dragged it along behind her into the bathroom. As soon as she closed and locked the door, she shoved the back of the chair under the knob for extra security.

  Despite being frantic to contact Kellie, she knew the police had to be called first. When a 911 operator answered, she could barely find the words. “She’s dead. They killed her in my bed. While I was there and asleep. She’s dead. Detective Brooks. Send him. Send police. Kick the door in. I don’t know if I’m alone. I think he’s hurt my sister too. I’ve got to call her.” The operator had to stop her to get the address and her name, but, as soon as she gave that information, she hung up. Her fingers fumbled across the screen as she tried to dial Kellie’s number. It rang with no answer and went to voicemail.

  Charlie sat on the floor sobbing as she dialed over and over. She could think of nothing else but hearing her sister’s voice.

  The loud crash of her front door being kicked in made her shriek as she scrambled backwards closer to the tub. She heard movement in the bedroom and tried to hold her breath. Someone tried the door knob and it rattled uselessly. A male voice called through the door. “Miss Ray? It’s the police. Detective Brooks is on the way. We need to get you out here. Can you open the door for me?”

  Her hands shook as she tried to climb up from the floor. “I need to see ID. Put it under the door.”

  After a moment, a police wallet with badge and ID card was forced under the small crack of the door. She inspected it before pulling the chair aside and letting him in. When she pulled the door open, a large policeman whose picture was on the card stood blocking her view of the bed. “Ma’am, I’ll help you to the kitchen.”

  She obeyed while he provided a shield to keep her from seeing anything further of the carnage behind him. She still clutched his wallet in her hand and absentmindedly kept hitting redial on Kellie’s line. She looked up at him with pained eyes. “My sister. I can’t get her on the phone. Go to the other side of the bed. He left a note…and…” She gasped for breath as she started to hyperventilate… “Her hair. He left some of her hair.”

  He got her to a chair in the kitchen and gently took his badge from her hand. “Lean forward and put your head between your knees. You’ll pass out if you can’t catch your breath.” He put a heavy hand on her back as she leaned over. “Breathe in. Breathe out. That’s it. Keep breathing. Breathe in. Breathe out.”

  The calm way that he spoke and the comforting warmth of his hand soon had her breaths coming in and out normally. She was vaguely aware of the other officers circling the apartment in surgical shoe covers. They were all she could see from her bent over position. When she felt like she wouldn’t pass out, she sat up but felt cold. Her teeth began to chatter. “Let me go get you a blanket. You’re going into shock.”

  He disappeared and returned shortly with the blanket she always kept on her couch. It was the same one Sabrina had wrapped around herself when she felt a chill earlier in the evening. After he put it around her, she tucked her nose into the soft fabric and could still smell Sabrina’s perfume in the fibers. Her shoulders began to shake with her sobs of grief. She could see the blood on her pajamas peeking out from under the blanket. Pulling the ends tighter around herself, she cried into the folds.

  She had no idea how long she had been sitting there crying when a hand landed heavily on her shoulder. She looked up into the haggard face of Detective Brooks. “I’m so sorry, Miss Ray. I know she was your friend. I have some, I hesitate to call it good news…but it’s better news. Officers have gone to your sister’s home and found her alive but shaken. She swears she had her ringer turned up on her cell phone, but she found it in another room with the sound off. It was probably to keep her from waking while our perpetrator cut off her hair. It confirmed that whoever it is made two stops last night. One to her home and then…well, you know where. The police are with her now and are doing many of the same things there as they are here. You and she are both going to be questioned.”

  Her head dropped as more tears flowed. She heard her refrigerator opening and closing before a cold bottle of water was pressed into her hand. Brooks had concern etched into his features. “Make sure you drink all of that. Grief will dry you out.”

  A loud commotion in the front hall drew their attention. He put a firm hand to hold her down because she was getting up to investigate. Raised voices could be heard. Once she understood he wanted her to stay put, he pulled his weapon from under his coat and walked toward the door. He found Kyle standing with a bag of biscuits and a drink carrier of coffee that he was spilling everywhere. “Where’s Charlie and Sabrina?” An officer had a hand up and jostled him as he tried to force his way into the apartment. “Don’t touch me. My girlfriend is in there. I’d like to know what’s going on.”

  Brooks put his gun away and walked up. “Let’s go into the hallway.” Kyle seemed confused, but since he knew the detective, he followed his request. It was part of the job that Brooks hated…informing loved ones of what has happened. There was nowhere to sit down in the hall, but he knew that Kyle couldn’t be allowed into the apartment. “Sir, there was a death last night.”

  Kyle dropped the coffee and it splashed over the walls of the hallway like brown gore. His hands shook as he looked down at the hand still holding the bag of breakfast. He found his voice. “Who? Was it Charlie or Sabrina?”

  Brooks kept his voice soft. “Sabrina. I know that you and she were dating. I’m sorry.”

  Kyle looked up at him in shock and retreated until his back struck the opposite wall. His legs gave out and he slid down to the floor. A low moan escaped as he crumpled in half with his face in his hands. Brooks hated to leave the man in the state he was in but he was needed inside. He tapped a nearby officer to come over. “I can’t let you in. It’s an active crime scene. Officer Kehn will stay with you for now. I’m truly sorry.” He nodded at the officer before turning to go back into the apartment.

  When he returned to the kitchen, Charlie looked up at him with puffy eyes. “What was that all about?”

  Brooks pulled out a chair and sat next to her. “It was her boyfriend.”

  Charlie looked surprised. “How did he know?”

  “He didn’t. He was bringing breakfast, it looked like.” He watched as her face crumpled as new tears began. She hiccupped and gasped into the folds of the blanket. Sometimes he hated this job. "Charlie, we need to get you down to the station. But I don't want you to be alone. Is there somebody you want me to call?"

  Without a moment's hesitation, Charlie said, "Dean." But then she stopped. She looked at her hands in her lap twisting the ends of the blanket. "Wait a minute. No. Eli. It should be Eli."

  Detective Brooks nodded. “I'll have him meet us down there. I think I have his number.” He walked away while pulling out his phone. He looked at his contacts and pressed the touch screen before placing the phone to his ear. He stepped into the living room.

  Charlie sat at the table wondering what was going to come next. Nothing felt real. Pretty soon a female police officer carried a pile of clothes to her. They were clothes she hadn't even worn yet. The young woman looked at her and said, “We need the clothes you're wearing for eviden
ce. I'm sorry. But I also know you don't want to be stuck wearing that. I took the liberty of picking out a comfortable outfit for you. It's just jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweater. If there's anything that you would rather wear, please let me know. I'm afraid we can't allow you to go into the bedroom. Not right now.”

  Charlie shook her head. “Trust me, I don't want to.” She took the clothes from the officer. “Thank you. Is it okay if I change in the hall bathroom?”

  After the officer nodded, she draped the blanket over the chair she had been sitting in and walked down the hall to the small half-bath. There was only a toilet and a sink and not much room in which to maneuver around. But she was glad that she didn’t have to go through the bedroom to the full bath.

  She sat the clothes on the lid of the toilet seat and began peeling the drying bloody clothes off over her head. As she was beginning to fold the stiff clothes with the care due to it being Sabrina’s blood, she caught sight of herself in the small mirror over the sink. Red smears streaked parts of her face, her neck, shoulders and chest. She looked down and saw that it was everywhere. Sabrina was all over her. Another wave of grief shook her and she held on to the sides of the sink as she cried bent over the basin. It was almost too much to hold in.

  She was so grateful that Kellie wasn’t dead too. If she had been the one to take the first night Charlie, it would be her in there being processed by strangers. It would have been Kellie with her throat slit and all her blood spilled out into Charlie’s bed. The feelings of grief and joy intermingled with guilt were clashing around in her brain like a cymbal.

  She grabbed the decorative washcloth from the towel rack and ran warm water over it. Lathering up with the liquid hand soap, she scrubbed at her face viciously. She stripped her shorts and panties down with a desperation to get it all off and away from her as quickly as possible. The water ran hard as she scrubbed and rinsed. She tried to ignore that the washcloth turned the water pink every time she returned it to be refreshed. Once her body was red, but clean from her scouring, she looked in the mirror. To her horror, she missed that the blood was also in her hair. It was easy to miss with the cherry cola hair color that she currently sported, but the drying, almost dreadlocks-looking mess couldn’t be denied.

  The shell shaped sink wasn’t very deep, but it had a high arching faucet that was just high enough to nearly get her head under. She unscrewed the pump from the liquid soap and poured a measure into her hand. Leaning over the sink, she shampooed as best as she could. A fleeting thought passed unbidden about how the soap she was using was meant to make your hands lemony fresh after cutting up onions. She would come out of the bathroom smelling like a citrus farm. As she shoved her head as far as she could under the sink, she let out a gasping sound that was drowning in sorrow.

  Once she had dried off with the small hand towels, she dressed and brought her bloodied clothes to the woman officer who waited in the kitchen. Her hair hung wet and cold against her neck. After putting the clothes into a large plastic bag, the officer gave Charlie a sympathetic look. “I might be able to get your hair dryer. Let me go see if I can.” Charlie just nodded mutely in response.

  Detective Brooks stepped into the kitchen. “I’ve talked to Eli. He’s going to meet us there.” He made busy work with his small notepad to give him time to consider his next words. “It’s going to take some time today. Now that there has been a death, there are going to be a lot of questions. We’re getting your security camera footage, but, right now, you were the only one here.” Charlie looked up at him with dawning recognition of what he was trying to say. Her eyes grew wide with shock. He pushed forward quickly with a hand up at her as if to stop a flow of words that had not actually begun. “It’s just part of the process. Until we clear someone, everyone is a suspect. Everyone. Eli and Kellie will be questioned too. Don’t take it personally. It’s just what we have to do to solve a crime.”

  New tears filled her eyes as she nodded. “When do we go?”

  The female officer returned holding the hair dryer up like a prize. “I got it. Now you don’t have to go around with wet hair all day.”

  Charlie took it and turned toward Brooks. He nodded at her. “Go dry your hair. There’s time.”

  Her shoulders slumped as she left the kitchen with the cord trailing behind her.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Questions and Accusations

  At the police station, Detective Brooks took Charlie straight to where they were holding Kellie. She had on a baseball cap, leggings, a sweatshirt, and running shoes. Her face was swollen and red from fresh tears. When she saw Charlie, she jumped from her chair and ran straight into her arms. As they hugged and cried, the ball cap came loose and fell to the floor. Kellie gasped and grabbed at her hair as if to hide it. Charlie leaned back and saw how hacked the bright pink hair was. There were spots it had been cut so short that her scalp could be seen. Charlie put her hand to the side of her sister’s head. “You’ll be adorable with a pixie. You have the right face for it.” Kellie’s face crumpled with grief and she clutched at Charlie fiercely as she sobbed into her shoulder.

  Kellie’s voice was muffled against Charlie’s sweater. “It’s just hair. I know. I just feel so violated. And then, Sabrina!” For a time, there were only tears, but it subsided enough for her to finish her thought. “It could have been me. I keep hurting that she’s gone but I’m so glad the intruder didn’t kill me. If I had been in the bed with you… And the murderer was in my house too! What if Mitchell had been there? Would he be dead like Sabrina?” A fresh wave of sobs took her words away in a sea of tears.

  Charlie settled her head on her sister’s shoulder. “Has Mitchell heard?”

  Kellie nodded with a hiccupy sniff. “He’s on his way back.”

  Detective Brooks hated to tear the sisters from each other, but he had to. “Ladies, we need to go back for questioning now.” Charlie and Kellie reluctantly pulled away from each other but held hands like it was the only thing holding them to the earth. Charlie reached down and picked up the baseball cap and handed it to Kellie, so she could cover her indignity. She pulled it back on with her free hand.

  They followed Brooks down a drab gray hall until he came to a door on the right that led to an interrogation room. He stood beside the door and waved a hand to go inside. “Charlie.” They both started in. “Not both of you. I’m sorry. We have to separate you to ask questions. It’s procedure.” Charlie kissed Kellie on the cheek before going into her room alone. As she sat down at the table, Detective Brooks quietly closed the door.

  After several moments, she heard an agitated voice in the hall. It seemed familiar. The door flung open and slammed against the opposite wall as Eli rushed into the room followed by a male officer. “Charlie!” He ran to her side and collapsed onto his knees as he wrapped his arms around her. She ran her hands along his back as she looked up at the irritated policeman. Eli leaned back and cupped her face in his hands before kissing her hard on the mouth. A warmth flooded her. It was comforting and confusing. The officer reached down to tap him on the shoulder. Eli pulled back to search Charlie’s face. “Are you okay?” She nodded but tears filled her eyes again. He pulled her face back to his as he kissed her more tenderly. He spoke against her lips. “I love you. I don’t know why they want to question us, but I love you. Don’t forget that.”

  “Sir, if you don’t release Miss Ray and come with me now, I’m going to have to take action that neither one of us want.” The man’s voice was troubled. Eli pressed his forehead to Charlie’s and she saw that his eyes were burning with tears as well. He turned to look up at the officer who gave a quick flick of the fingers that plainly said come here.

  He gave her one last kiss that was even softer than the last before bracing himself on the arms of the chair to stand up. He ran a hand over her hair before turning to the officer. “Lead the way, sir. I just had to see her.”

  As they walked away, Charlie shot from her seat and pulled Eli into an e
mbrace. She whispered feverishly against his ear. “I love you too, Eli. I do. I’m sorry. I love you.”

  Strong hands pulled at her to peel her body from Eli’s. “Ma’am, I need you to sit back down. Please. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” She kissed his mouth before stepping away and walking backwards to her seat so that she never took her eyes from his. Eli watched her as he walked from the room and the door closed. She could see him still straining to see her through the small square of security glass in the top of the door.

  The next few hours were an exhausting mix of questions and waiting. The security footage had gaps. It was enough that they could not say that Charlie didn’t kill Sabrina. They didn’t tell her what was happening with anyone else. They did say that the figure that had been seen before was in the footage. As they questioned everyone, their homes were searched. Charlie found out that Craig, Megan, Dean, and Kyle were also brought in.

  Craig and Megan had been released quickly. Seemed that there was evidence that they were together all night. Even in the midst of all the pain and fear, a joy filled Charlie at the thought that what Megan had hoped for for so long might be coming true for her. She and Craig were perfect for each other and Charlie said a silent prayer that someone was finding a corner of happiness in this whole mess.