Chapter 10 - The Face of a Monster
The holding cell at the county precinct was damp, smelling of disinfectant and despair.
Claire Davies was sitting on the edge of a steel cot, wrapped in an orange jumpsuit, her hair tangled and devoid of the expensive styling from yesterday’s aborted wedding.
When the heavy metal door buzzed and swung open, she looked up, expecting her defense attorney.
When she saw me standing in the doorway with Detective Miller standing guard behind me, her eyes widened, and a pathetic, defensive smirk crept onto her lips.
“Daniel,” she whispered, standing up and walking toward the bars, clutching the cold steel with her manicured fingers—now stripped of their diamond engagement ring.
“I knew you’d come.
They’re lying to you, Daniel.
The police, my mother, even those ungrateful kids.
I did everything for you.
I loved you!”
I stopped two feet from the cell bars.
I didn't yell.
I didn't raise my fist.
I simply reached into my breast pocket, pulled out Laura’s original cream-colored envelope, and slid it across the concrete floor until it stopped against the metal bars of her cell.
Claire stared down at the envelope, her face draining of all color.
She recognized the handwriting immediately.
“What… what is this?” she stammered, her voice rising in panic.
“This is Laura’s letter,” I said softly.
“And down at the bank, I opened safe-deposit box 412.
I listened to the voice recording of you standing over my dying wife’s bed, switching her medication and plotting how to steal my children.”
Claire’s knees buckled.
She dropped to the concrete floor of the cell, clutching her head with both hands, letting out a high-pitched, hysterical wail that echoed down the concrete corridor.
“She ruined it!” Claire screamed, clawing at her own hair.
“I was supposed to have everything! I deserved it!”
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I turned my back on her without another word, walking down the long corridor toward the exit.
The nightmare was finally over.
