Many of those who greeted her said they knew her family from their partying days before Charla was born. Those who came from Charla’s work were able to be a small comfort, but she glazed over most of their conversation and sympathy, and found herself staring at her mom’s casket when the funeral director approached.
“Your aunt, Carole, has arranged for your family to be buried at the Crown River Cemetery this afternoon. I’ll have the pallbearers lead them out at the end of the service.”
Charla nodded.
“Visitation’s almost over. People will be taking their seats soon. If you’d like to say your final goodbyes to your loved ones, please take your time and we’ll begin afterward.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded slightly, and walked back down the short aisle. He walked past Inspector Cotter, who surveyed the crowd, and it was the first time she felt conscious of the possibility her uncle could try to…
She couldn’t let her mind wander there.
When she turned her attention back to her mom’s photo beside the casket, she stared at her face, and waited for the tears to come.
She felt guilty that she wasn’t crying, and even worse for the cold stares they exchanged the last time they saw each other.
She walked over to the casket next to her mom, where her dad’s picture stood beside his. Her eyes welled up as she remembered their warm embrace that night before she went to work. She started to cry and wished she could have hugged her mom one last time.
She felt the eyes of the room on her, as she side stepped from her dad’s casket, to Aunt Maggie’s and cried out loud.
Their relationship had always been close, and when she moved into their home, she hoped she was able to provide some emotional support to her in her final days.
Aunt Maggie thought she was safe at their place.
With family.
The word stung to think about.
A flash of the bloody hand print flew through her mind, and she took a step back. If she let it in, if she let even a little piece in, she was afraid she might drown in it.
She felt someone rest their hand on her back, and swung around to see an older woman, who wrapped her arms around her.
“Oh Charla, I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.” Charla stepped back, and pulled out of the embrace, with a quizzical look on her face.
She saw Inspector Cotter walk toward them.
“I’m so sorry, of course you wouldn’t know who I am. We only met once when you were a baby. My name’s Patty. I’m so sorry for your loss, Charla. Your mom was such a kind woman.” Patty stepped around her, and looked over all the caskets.
The Inspector stood by the first row of chairs, and kept his eyes on the woman.
“Thank you. How did you know her?”
“I was her midwife.”
“Oh. I didn’t even know she had a midwife.”
“Hmm.” Patty bit her lip, and her eyes shifted to the floor. “Well, she meant a lot to me. I thought of you often. She was so proud of you. She sent me a Christmas card every year with your picture in it. We kept in touch until about a year ago. Then they stopped.” She shook her head, and wiped a tear from her eye. “Wonderful woman. Strong.”
Charla smiled and nodded. “She was a strong woman. You sound like you knew her well.”
They were the first truly kind words uttered about her mom, other than she was “fun”, or always ready to party in “those days”.
“I like to think so.” Patty smiled, walked to Maggie’s casket, and turned back to her. “I bet you didn’t know you had a home birth then.”
Charla shook her head with a small grin. “I almost can’t believe it.”
“Maybe she was stronger than you even knew. Take comfort in that.” Patty turned to look at Maggie’s picture beside her casket.
“Thank you, I really appreciate that Patty.”
“You look so much like her.”
“My aunt? I get that a lot.” Charla smiled.
“Your mom. Look, same eyes.” She pointed to Aunt Maggie’s eyes, and smiled back at her. “So green. So bright.”
Charla took a step back, and crossed her hands over each other in front of her.
“Patty, that’s my aunt— Maggie.”
The colour drained from her face, and she took a double take between the picture and Charla. Her eyes opened wide, and she started to shake her head.
“It’s okay.” Charla shrugged, and noticed the inspector still watching. “They kind of look alike. Looked alike.”
Patty kept shaking her head. “I’m sorry Charla.”
“Don’t be. Easy mistake.”
“I didn’t know she went through with the adoption.” Patty covered her mouth with her hand, and kept shaking her head.
“What are you talking about?” Charla watched Patty walk back to the aisle, beside the inspector, and pressed her fingers to her lips.
“I’ve made a mistake. I have to go.” She closed her coat over her chest, and slipped her hand in her pocket.
“Patty, please, what are you talking about? I wasn’t adopted.” She took a few steps forward, careful to keep a bit of distance, and raised her voice, “Patty.”
Patty brought out a card from her pocket and handed it to her.
Charla took it and realized it was a business card.
“It has my number on there. You come talk to me when you’re ready, alright?”
Charla stared up from the business card, and all the faces in the room blended together, and faded into the background. Her face flushed, and she tried to catch her breath, but before she could say anything, Patty rushed down the aisle.
Charla stood at the top of the aisle, and when she was able to make sense out of Patty’s words, the card slipped from her hand.
Aunt Maggie was her mom.
And her dad—a killer.
Coming in 2015
The Avery Hart Trilogy, Book Two
Books by the Author
Don’t miss these suspenseful reads by Emerald O’Brien.
Expect Mystery, Suspect Everyone.
*
Darkness Follows
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What if the hiding spot you escape to becomes more dangerous than the place you ran from?
*
Aurina Patrick is an ambitious young woman, whose only mistake was letting someone get too close. The day she is brought into the police department for questioning, her life changes forever. When Aurina discovers that someone she trusts has involved her in a series of murder investigations, her sister Ryanne joins her in a search for the truth. As the situation unravels, the Patrick sisters realize their lives could be in jeopardy.
*
When the sisters are taken to a remote location, the struggle for safety truly begins.
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“This novel is simultaneously fun and suspenseful. The plot twists keep you on your toes but O’Brien’s writing style draws you in…As a whole, this was a brilliant debut novel from a Canadian author I hope to be seeing more of in the future.”- Jonel Boyko, Pure Jonel
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“Make sure you add this fast paced mystery to your TBR list and leave plenty of time to read it as you won’t want to stop once you start. Happy Reading, or in this case Happy Mystery Solving. ” – Stephenee Carsten, Nerd Girl Official
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Shadows Remain
The Sequel to Darkness Follows
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“O’Brien does it again with this original and creative novel that really makes you stop and think. Her smooth style and captivating voice will keep you hooked while you go on an original and haunting adventure with the main character.”- Jonel Boyko, Pure Jonel
Excerpt from Darkness Follows
Chapter One
First, she was screaming. The sound stuck in her throat as smooth hands squeezed around it.
She wanted to kick, and push and punch, but as hard as she tried, she could not move an inch of her body. The stranger leaned down unt
il their noses were almost touching, his breath hot on her mouth. She squeezed her eyes tightly, as tears streamed down the sides of her face onto her pillow.
She wanted her Mom.
He shook her like a rag doll, and her eyes popped open to see his smiling face leering out of the dark. Panting and gasping noises rang in her ears, though she was unable to identify who was making which sound. Everything was running together.
The stranger turned, searching for something over his shoulder.
She heard a deep sigh, and her vision became fuzzy. Her eyes began to close.
Then there was silence.
In a haze, through her tears, she watched a shadow hover over the stranger’s shoulder. It was the last thing she saw.
Excerpt From Darkness Follows
Chapter Two
The room was dim and hard and cold. Aurina wished she had asked the man on the phone more questions, but his tone made her nervous. It was also the first personal call she had received at Johnson and Stewart, which completely threw her off. Now, as she waited, shivers ran down her spine.
The room was much smaller than Aurina had seen in the movies. There was no one way mirror, only a small black video camera with a blinking red light. She sat at a square metal table and tapped her high heel compulsively against its leg. She tried to take deep breaths, but her heart continued to race.
She folded her sweater over itself, trying to fight off the chills consuming her body. She had tried to call David before she left her desk at the law firm, but he hadn’t picked up his cell.
Just as she thought about going to the door, and peering out the small glass window, it opened. A large man in a brown blazer waddled into the room slowly, plopping his note pad on the table. The metal chair legs squealed against the cement floor as he yanked it out and plunked himself down on the seat. His round face wrinkled as he skimmed his notes.
“Ms. Patrick, my name is Inspector Daniels, we spoke over the phone.” He picked up his well-used Metro Toronto Police pen between yellowed fingers, and notes of cigarette smoke wafted towards her. “You’re here because David Matthews has been arrested on suspicion of murder. I know you haven’t been told much, and after I interview you, I’ll see about filling you in.” Daniels didn’t look up from his paper as he seemed to write a header at the top.
“David?” Aurina asked more quietly than she expected. She thought this had to be some sick joke, but then she remembered that she was being questioned by a police inspector. The gravity of the situation began to pull at her stomach and made her heart flutter. “That can’t be right…David’s been arrested for murder?”
“Ms. Patrick, I’ve told you all I can at this point.” Daniels voice droned in a monotone, “He has not been charged; he has been arrested, and please keep that in mind as you answer my questions. We are trying to get this sorted out, and we’ll need your cooperation to do that.” Daniels raised his brow, and Aurina knew it wasn’t really a question. She straightened her glasses, which she always felt slanted to the left, and nodded. The faster this man’s questions were answered, the quicker she would be able to convince them they had the wrong guy.
“What is your relationship with David Matthews?” Daniels asked.
“He’s my boyfriend. We’ve been together for almost a year now.” Aurina had to fight to keep her heel from shaking again. She wondered where David was at the moment, if he was in the same department being interrogated as well. It explained why he hadn’t answered her call.
“Do you live together?”
“No.” She took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, trying to keep calm. Daniels made a quick note.
“Where were you on the night of Saturday May 14th, 2011?” Daniels looked directly at Aurina and her eyes widened.
“I don’t know…that was over two years ago.” She stammered trying to think. “That’s right around my Sister’s Birthday.” She dug into her large black purse, and retrieved a red day planner from the bottom. As she flipped through the worn and dog eared pages, she stopped, and looked at Daniels. “The Saturday, yeah, I was out with my Sister Ryanne for her birthday. At a pub here in Toronto called Luck. I remember I was with her all day and night.” She swept her side bangs behind her ears.
“I’m assuming your Sister can corroborate that?” Daniels asked without looking up as he jotted down notes.
“Yes, she can. So can all of her friends who were there.” Aurina began to put her planner back in her purse, and gave Daniels her sister Ryanne’s cell phone number. “But, what does this have to do with David?’
“Where were you on Saturday May 12th, 2012?” Daniels asked, ignoring her question. Aurina sighed, thinking that it was lucky for Daniels (and her) that she was a little compulsive about her planner. She opened it again, quickly skimming through the pages. As she flipped to the right date, she suddenly realized that because there were multiple days in question, there may be multiple murders surrounding this investigation.
“I don’t have anything for that specific date. But, last year around this time, I was finishing up my last in-class semester of college.” She cocked her head to the side and straightened her glasses, again wishing she had changed into her contact lenses before leaving work. May last year was a busy time filled with exams and assignments. Also, it was then that Aurina had begun applying to Law Firms looking for Legal Admin placement students. “I must have been studying, or working on a paper.”
“We are going to need you to be sure Ms. Patrick. Can you be sure?” Daniels raised an eye brow and kept his pen on the paper.
“I’m sure I stayed in most nights in May, and I always spent weekends studying during exams. I know I didn’t go out at night until the last weekend in June to celebrate with my classmates. I even missed Ryanne’s birthday celebration last year. I must have been at my apartment studying.” Daniels wrote this information down nodding.
“Can you please tell me what this is about?” She crossed her arms in front of her chest. She was tired of answering all his questions, without having any of her own answered. “Are you implying that I could be a part of this murder you have David pegged for? David is not a murder Mr. Daniels, and neither am I. I didn’t even know David on these dates in question .There’s got to be some mistake.”
“Were you alone on the night of May 11th this year?” Daniels raised his voice quickly, “You were in a relationship with David at this point. Do you remember that Ms. Patrick?” If he was trying to keep her focused on his questions, it was working. Aurina took her glasses off and dropped them on the table.
“That was like a week ago. I was in my room alone, but Corrine was probably in her room studying too, that’s my roommate.” Aurina gave Daniels Corrine’s cell phone number. “I have answered your questions, now please, what has all this got to do with David?” She decided she would say no more until she discovered what was actually going on, and if he asked another question, she would ask for her lawyer. She wondered if it would have been smart to do that in the first place, but they had caught her off guard.
“Alright Ms. Patrick, I need to confirm this information, and I’ll be back.” Daniels stood slowly, and pulled his pants up over his rotund belly. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me before I go?”
Aurina pursed her lips and shook her head. Daniels shrugged and took his papers out of the room with him.
*
She waited for what seemed like an hour, although there was no clock in the room. They had taken her cell phone and a few other things from her purse and put them in a basket at the front desk soon after she had come in. The air conditioning was being pumped into the room, and she tucked her sweater around her like a blanket. The cigarette smell lingered after Daniels left, which added to her impulse to simply get up and leave, but she knew she had to be patient.
David was a sweet man, selfless and thoughtful. To think he could have been involved with a murder or murders made Aurina feel light headed. David was kind almost to a fault and could even be a bit
of a push over. She liked to be in control most of the time anyway, and David gladly let her lead in their relationship. To think David, the man she stayed up hours with, having deep conversations about life plans and dreams, could have killed anyone was bizarre. Killers were cold, and calculated. David was warm, and sweet. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. The police had made a mistake, a big one. She hoped her polite cooperation thus far would help to rectify their error.
Aurina jumped in her seat as Daniels suddenly re-entered the room with another man. He looked much younger than Daniels, maybe roughly her age and had an air of intensity about him. Freshly shaven and in a tailored black pinstriped suit, he was as well dressed as most lawyers she knew.
“Your alibis have checked out, not that I had any doubt, and we can now elaborate on your boyfriend’s situation.” Pinstripe smiled. “We thank you for your cooperation Ms. Patrick.” He gestured for Daniels to have a seat, but Daniels leaned his weight over the back of the chair and stared at Aurina. “We understand you have not known David long, but you should prepare yourself for what we’ve discovered.”
“That’s right, we’ve been together for less than a year now, so some of those dates he asked me about were irrelevant if this is truly regarding David.” It was time for Aurina to learn the truth, and she was stalling. She couldn’t help it. Both men were quiet, and neither one had taken a seat. She stared up at them, wide eyed.
“Ms. Patrick, David Matthews’ DNA was found at the site of a murder that occurred just last week on May 11th. You may have seen it on the news. The victim’s family and friends believe she did not know David, and we have not yet traced him back to her life in any way. The murder resembles two previous murders that took place around the same time both in 2011 and 2012. All three of the murders were committed just outside a school campus.” Pinstripe told her. He gestured with his hands a lot, and Aurina suddenly felt overwhelmed. “So you see Ms. Patrick, we have proof that David was with the victim at her apartment.”
Lies Come True Page 22