by J. Valentine
“It explained where the money from dad’s account went,” Layla added.
“There’s no way to know who was really driving. If it was Barry, he’d never tell the truth. He’s a liar,” Anna said.
Layla added onto that with “I still think he killed Maryam!”
“I don’t know about that,” Olivia said. Hold your tongue, not yet, she told herself. “It’s still a mystery.”
“It’s a shame you couldn’t solve it,” Anna said nicely, but Olivia knew there was spite behind her teeth.
“Yeah, a shame,” she looked down before continuing, “but even if Barry was driving, Maryam never said anything.”
“She would have tried her best to protect him,” Layla defended her dad.
Anna nodded.
“Yeah that makes sense,” Olivia agreed.
“So what did you want to say exactly?” Anna asked her.
“I just wanted to clear the air. I wanted to tell you both, that whether Maryam was driving or not, I forgive her. I hope she is in a better place now, and happier now,” Olivia told them, passionately.
“Thank you Olivia,” Layla said.
“Yes, thank you. We miss her so much,” Anna added.
“There was something else too,” Olivia told them.
“What?”
“I was thinking more about Maryam’s death… she was a hunter right?” Olivia asked them.
“She was,” Anna agreed, squinting her eyes suspiciously judging Olivia.
“It sure can be hard to get around the winter forest up here can’t it? My brother actually uses a side by side to get to his hunting spots,” Olivia nodded at them.
Anna looked at her daughter, worried. Nervous. “I’m not sure what this has to do with Maryam’s death. Our reputation has already been damaged enough, and we don’t appreciate all these questions.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to bring up bad memories, I know you and Maryam had a tenuous relationship,” Olivia told her.
“Their relationship was great,” Layla argued.
Anna gave a mean stare towards her daughter, telling her with her eyes it was time to be quiet. “Yes, Maryam and I were great.”
“I can tell by your reaction that you know that I know,” Olivia told Anna.
“It’s time for you to leave,” Anna demanded.
Olivia sat back in her chair. “I don’t think I will. I want to know the truth, Layla, will you tell me what really happened to your father?”
“She was murdered! We don’t know by who. You couldn’t solve it and neither could the police!”
“I couldn’t solve it?”
“That’s right!” Layla was getting upset.
“Well I have a new theory,” Olivia stated.
“What exactly do you think happened?” Anna asked, stifling her daughter.
“Maryam was upset that you didn’t invite her on the girls trip to the cabin. Especially so close to the holidays. She got drunk, and made her way up to the cabin. Things went well at first, but soon, she got violent. Anna, you reacted and accidentally killed her. You cleaned everything up, loaded the body and all the evidence onto the side by side, then dropped off the body in the forest for some unsuspecting hunter to find. Then you had to get rid of the side by side, and all the other incriminating evidence. So you parked it on a lake somewhere, and now you’re just waiting for the ice to melt, and all the evidence to sink away.”
They stood up from their seats, eyes widened and astonished, at the accusation. “You can’t prove any of that!” Anna shouted at her.
“Not yet. But as soon as I find the side by side, I’ll tell the police and they’ll arrest you,” she pointed at Anna.
Olivia began to walk out of the house.
A gun cocked.
“I had to kill her!” Layla shouted, pointing the gun at Olivia. “She was horrible to us! Beating us! Mentally fu*king with us, she was evil!”
“Layla please don’t, not again!” Anna shouted at her daughter.
She pulled the trigger.
***
Olivia’s ears were ringing, and her head was pounding. Her heart was pounding. She saw the hole in the wall in front of her. Did it go through and I’m in shock? She asked herself. She turned around to see Anna wrestling the gun from her daughter. Olivia looked down over her body, and saw blood pouring down her shoulder. Her hand covered the wound, and the pain hit her all at once, like her shoulder was on fire. She felt nauseous from the pain, and seeing the blood.
Her hearing was slowly beginning to come back, as she heard Brad’s foot thud across the door, kicking it open in one motion, and rushing inside, gun drawn. Olivia wanted to pass out, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins was too high. Her arm felt numb and weak.
He shouted something that Olivia assumed was him ordering Layla to drop the gun, and something about them being under arrest, but her hearing couldn’t quite make it out.
It wasn’t Anna, it was Layla. Her own father.
Chapter 31
The cavalry arrived not long after that. Anna, and Layla were put in separate squad cars, and brought in for booking. Olivia sat in the back of an ambulance, the paramedics checking her out, and doing necessary first aid before getting her to the hospital. The young man was kind, helping Olivia feel calm, as he applied his knowledge and prepped her for the hospital.
“I’m fine. I need to stay here and answer everyone’s questions. I solved this case,” Olivia told the paramedic.
“I understand that, but we need to get you to the hospital. Even if you seem okay, it’s standard protocol for gunshot wounds,” he tried his best to reason with her.
“Olivia, you need to go, I’ll meet you at the hospital. Trust me, you and me both are going to have a lot of questions to answer. I wasn’t exactly allowed to do what I did in helping you,” Brad told her.
“What are they saying?” Olivia questioned him.
“The mother’s denying everything, but the daughter’s quiet. They’re both pretty shaken up.”
“Yeah me too,” Olivia gestured her shoulder towards him, “Ow!” The pain shot down her back and through her arm.
“You’ll probably need surgery for that,” Brad told her.
“He’s right. You’re still very lucky it went in and out,” the paramedic told her, doing his best to stop the bleeding.
“I’ll see you at the hospital okay?” Brad asked her, as he started to walk away.
“Okay. Will you hug me first please?” She begged.
Brad walked over, giving her what she wanted, doing his absolute best not to hurt her shoulder, avoiding it at all cost. He couldn’t imagine the pain she must have been in, and he knew when the adrenaline wore off completely, she’d be in far more pain.
They loaded her into the back, and began the bumpy, painful drive. The paramedic did his best to talk with her, and keep her calm, before handing her off to the capable doctors of the Red Arch hospital.
***
She woke up from surgery later that night surrounded by her friends and family in the hospital room. Brad was there, Max and Stephanie, and somehow they managed to get Alvi in her room, who perked up excitedly when she awoke. She looked at each of them, and a tear came to her eye, feeling so loved by everyone, the morphine drip helping her be a bit more emotional than usual.
“Have they found the side by side yet?” She asked Brad.
Brad laughed, “that’s really the first thing you ask, not “was the surgery successful?””
“Oh… was it?”
“It was Olivia,” Max held her hand.
“They have a chopper out looking for it now. They’ll find it, don’t worry,” Brad told her.
Olivia felt relieved. “What all happened after I left?”
“Well we brought them in, and charged them. Layla seems to be cooperating, but I think Anna is going to try to get her a plea on the basis of temporary insanity or maybe battered syndrome. We’ll see,” Brad explained.
“You
explained everything to the chief?”
“I did. They were pretty upset we’ve been working together, but I think we’ll be okay. It might affect the prosecution a bit, but it’s nothing the attorneys can’t get around with a taped confession in the moment, and a confession in an interrogation room.”
“Good, good,” Olivia began drifting, the morphine coursing into her.
“I can’t believe you got shot, Olivia, I was so scared,” Max told her, beginning to cry.
“Don’t cry, you’ll get me started,” Olivia told him, tears now running down her face.
Stephanie put an arm around Max’s shoulder, “we’re so proud of you, Olivia.”
Max nodded his agreement.
The doctor walked into the room. An older man, but well versed in his medical knowledge and expertise. Grey balding hair, glasses, chubby, a bit short. “Glad to see you’re awake Olivia.”
“Thank you for saving me, doc,” she told him, “can I get out of here soon please?”
They all laughed.
“Soon, Olivia. We just want to keep you overnight for observation. We need to make sure you stay okay. Besides, you seem to be enjoying the morphine drip,” he said, noticing her dumbed smile.
“Okay doc.”
He filled out a few notes on her chart at the edge of her bed, “if you need anything, press the buzzer and a nurse will be here right away.”
She nodded, before drifting back asleep.
***
The following morning, Max came to pick her up. Brad was in the office filling out and working on paperwork regarding the case, doing his best to paint himself in the least unprofessional light as possible. Max brought her breakfast from Tim's. A breakfast wrap, hashbrown, and tall cup of coffee. She ate it quickly, inhaling the coffee. Surgery took a lot out of her. Max brought her back home, where she quickly fell asleep back in her own bed, a bottle of painkillers next to her, ready for the onset of a painful post shooting recovery.
Brad came by to see her, touching her shoulder to wake her up in bed. Max letting him inside, and upstairs. He hoped that Olivia wouldn’t be too upset, but Max figured she would be happy to see him.
She opened her eyes and looked up at him, feeling loved and cherished by the man of her dreams. She wasn’t sure if it was a hallucination at first, but quickly realized it was far too real to be another figment of her imagination.
“Brad,” her voice smoothly said.
“Olivia.”
Chills ran down her spine. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“I’m glad to see you too Olivia,” he placed a hand gently on her arm.
They looked into each other’s eyes. Olivia thought of how handsome he was to her. He leaned in and gently kissed her lips.
“I’ve missed you,” she told him.
“I missed you too.”
“Any updates on the case?” She asked him.
“They just got a location from Layla this morning, it’s why I came by. I felt like you should be a part of the hunt. The chopper is taking off in fifteen. Are you strong enough yet?”
“No, she isn’t,” Max said, standing in the doorway behind him.
Olivia leaned up to defend herself, “of course I’m strong enough. Brad, just help me change, my arm is still sore, then we can go.”
Max knew there was no stopping her. She had come too far. He understood her need to go, and backed off, walking away from the scene to let Brad help dress her.
***
They got to the police helicopter just in time. Brad held her torso, as they ran to catch it, ducking down as instructed by the pilot. Once inside they put on their headphones and took to the air, flying atop the beautiful northern environment. Plenty of snow was still covering the land, and they would likely have a few more snow falls that season, but with shorter and shorter winters, they knew they only had so much time until the ice began to melt, and the side by side would be gone. Still possible to find, but scuba divers, and more expensive search teams would be required.
Olivia and Brad both had binoculars around their neck, waiting to use them until they got a bit further north, close to the cabin, and where the body was found. Any tracks of the side by side would have quickly disappeared in the fallen snow, especially after this season’s epic blizzard. Olivia looked down to see another family of deer galloping through the woods. She thought of Max, and hoped that he would have a good hunting season this year. The north was healthy and well managed, so many hunters would likely get tags this year.
“See anything yet?” Brad asked her through the crinkly headphones. It was difficult to hear. Olivia still had a hint of tinnitus from the gunshot, but here hearing was mostly back to one hundred percent.
“Nothing yet!” She responded.
The helicopter was open, they had secure seat belts holding them in place. They both gazed out the door, doing their best to focus even though the noise from the blades was overpowering. The area was pock marked with lakes, and it was unlikely the girls would park it right in the middle of one. It would likely be off on the side in an area where it would still sink deep enough, but would be semi obscured.
It was a smart idea to hide the evidence up here, but not that smart. They may have gotten away with it. They just had to hope no hunter or hiker would come across it, and not let it slip to any private investigators like myself. I’m sure they were quite worried when a hunter found Maryam’s body so quickly. I can’t imagine how much guilt and pressure the girl was under. Unstable, and manipulated for years by her father. I hope she gets the help she needs. Thank God she didn’t kill me.
“Hey I think I see something!” Brad shouted, “can you get in a little closer?”
Olivia looked, but didn’t see anything. The pilot turned the chopper around and flew in closer.
“There it is!” Olivia shouted with glee.
The side by side sat on the lake, abandoned. Surrounded by brush, and snow, it’s green paint blending in with the branches they’d thrown over it. Olivia couldn’t see any evidence on the vehicle, but if it was used to move Maryam, the crime scene investigators would definitely find something. Blood, spit, hair, bullet casings, anything else the girls were smart enough to get rid of.
“Can we go down and take a look?” Olivia asked.
“There’s no room to land, and we can’t disturb the scene. I’ll note down the coordinates and we’ll send the team in on snowmobiles,” Brad told her.
Chapter 32
Olivia’s face was freezing even though she was tightly wrapped in a scarf covering, goggles, and toque. Her arms wrapped around Brad’s waist, as they flew by the trees of the forest on the police snowmobile. The surgery had been a great success, and she would have no lasting damage to any of the nerves or tendons in her shoulder, but it still hurt when she held onto him. It was worth the pain for her to see the fruits of her labor in the side by side sitting on the frozen lake.
The forensic crime scene investigators followed Brad’s lead. They loaded up all their kits and necessary tools of the trade to investigate the vehicle. Black lights, blood spatter analysis gear, high definition cameras to document any evidence found, and everything else they needed. They groomed a path through the snow so that more police terrain vehicles could get through.
“Is the ice strong enough for us all?” Olivia asked.
“I think we’re good. As long as we don’t bring too much stuff over there.”
Another officer interrupted them, “a civilian won't be able to come any closer. She could interfere with the investigation,” he said, sternly.
“Olivia was an intricate part of the investigation, and we wouldn’t have found this side by side without her, and we wouldn’t have two murderers sitting in lock up. She’s coming,” Brad’s foot was down.
Olivia felt chills go through her body, seeing her man defending her like this. She knew she wanted him one last time before leaving. If he would have her that is. She wasn’t sure if he’d want to go down that difficult roa
d again.
They walked onto the ice, Olivia watching carefully, scared of causing a break. They watched as the investigators went over the scene, snapping pictures of every angle possible, before actually touching the vehicle.
A bullet casing stuffed into the wheel well. That was smart, Olivia thought. The entire vehicle was washed, so that any unsuspecting person who stumbled upon it wouldn’t think anything of it. It lit up like a christmas tree when they went over the side by side with the blacklight. Blood, and biological matter everywhere. They took samples to be sent back to the lab.
“You were right about transporting a body. There’s a lot of evidence left behind,” Olivia noted.
“Yeah, this is going to be pretty open and shut,” Brad told her.
“Do you know where they shot Maryam? It couldn’t have been in the cabin, you guys would have found that wouldn’t you have?”
“We’re pretty sure it was outside the cabin, and I guess they saved the bullet casing,” Brad pointed to the bag holding the evidence found in the wheel well, “It was smart. Then they probably panicked for a bit, loaded the body in the side by side, dropped her off in the snow, and drove the vehicle north to this lake.”
“Monsters.”
“Definitely,” Brad agreed.
“I can’t help but feel sorry for Layla though. What she went through,” Olivia told him.
“You’re too compassionate Olivia, she tried to kill you too. You’re lucky to be alive still,” he wrapped his arms around her, “I would have been devastated.”
Olivia leaned into him, smelling the scent of his after shave. He was warm, and inviting. She held on tight, ignoring the pain in her shoulder.
“You should come by my place before you leave Red Arch. We can have some wine, and celebrate,” Brad asked her.
“That sounds wonderful,” Olivia agreed, giddy with excitement.
The side by side would be wrapped and airlifted out of there via chopped. It was the most valuable piece of evidence in the case. It seemed open and shut now, but with the Cartwright’s resources and knowledge they’d likely be hiring the best lawyers they can afford. Everyone in the station, Olivia, and the people of Red Arch were worried about what would happen to them, and wondered how long it would be before they were back. If they were to ever return after prison that is.