“What did he look like? Do you know who he was?” Emily asked, sitting up straight.
“Well, from the way they were hanging all over each other, I just assumed it was her boyfriend.” Greg shrugged.
“Wait,” Emily said as she pulled out her phone from her pocket and opened her Facebook. Emily went to Cole’s profile and handed her phone to Greg. Greg took the phone, studying Cole’s profile picture.
“No,” Greg said, shaking his head as he handed the phone back to Emily. “That wasn’t him. This guy was older. He was pretty stacked, a pretty big dude. His hair was combed back.”
“Alden,” Kate said as her face lit up.
“What?” Emily asked.
“I remember now! I asked her who he was. I told her he was cute. I thought he was her new man, but she said no. She said he was just a friend. She called him Alden.”
***
“Professor! Professor, open the door!” Emily demanded as she pounded her fist on the wooden door. Emily stepped back, examining the tiny one-story home in front of her. The painted yellow siding was chipped and cracked. The white front door, peeling and covered in dents and scratches. She was picturing a lavish condo, not a run-down dump like this. Emily sighed as she stepped back up to the door, pounding on it once more. “Professor!” Emily yelled as the door slowly opened a few inches. Emily’s eyes widened as she swallowed hard, staring back into the dark living room inside. “Professor?” Emily called out.
Silence.
Emily proceeded with caution, making her way into the messy living room as she stepped over a pile of sneakers beside the open front door. She winced in disgust as she examined the empty, grease-stained pizza box and empty beer bottles scattered all along the coffee table in front of the peeling, torn black leather couch.
“Johnathan, are you here? We need to talk!” Emily said as she turned to her right, making her way into the small kitchen. Dishes were piled high in the sink, the plates and crusty pans resting against the edge. “Johnathan?” Emily called out as she turned, examining the tiny card table beside the far wall covered in test papers and essays. She turned, making her way back into the living room as she stared down the long corridor to her right. “Professor?” Emily called out as she inched forward, making her way down the dark, silent corridor. She swallowed hard as she glanced at a door to her left. She pressed her ear against the door and heard running water. “Johnathan?”
Emily’s trembling hand wrapped around the doorknob and turned. The wooden door creaked open as she stared down at the large puddle building up along the base of the door. She peered into the bathroom before fully opening the door. Emily reached forward, flipping the light switch on as she heard the water running louder and louder. The light filled the tiny bathroom as Emily stared down at the soaked tile floor. Her eyes lifted, settling on the bathtub ahead, the black shower curtain closed. Not knowing what she might find, she hesitated, trying to summon the courage to look behind that curtain. Taking a deep breath, she tugged at the edge of the curtain.
“AH!” Emily screamed as she stared down at the horrific scene in front of her. The tub was filled to the brim with bloody water. The small trickles of red slowly curled over the edge, trickling down the white sides of the tub. Professor Alden’s head was resting against the edge of the bathtub, his hands floating on the surface, two large gashes slashed across both of his wrists. “Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” Emily cried out as she backed away from the bathtub and ran out of the flooded bathroom.
motive
Emily’s eyes stared down at the top of the metal table in the interrogation room as Sheriff Alan Ross sat down across from her. The image of Professor Alden’s body still swirled in her memory, the blood seeping from his wrists and the cold, blank expression on his face as his open eyes stared back at her. It was like a movie she couldn’t turn off, reverberating on a continual loop.
“He confessed,” Sheriff Ross said, cutting through the silence. Emily glanced up from the table, staring back at the sheriff blankly.
“What?”
“There was a note on the bathroom counter. He said that he killed Blair and that he couldn’t live with the guilt; he couldn’t live with what he had done,” Sheriff Ross said.
“I knew it.” Emily sighed, shaking her head as she buried her face into her hands. “All this time, I knew it.”
“I’m so sorry you had to see that. I know you’ve been through a lot.”
“When I saw him, I knew.” Emily nodded. When I saw him in that tub, I knew that’s why he did it. Blair was such a sweet girl and she didn’t deserve what happened to her, but he did. I hope he burns in hell and I hope he feels every ounce of pain that she felt.”
“We found her purse stashed under his bed. Of course, you can have it back if you’d like.” Sheriff Ross nodded.
“That’s all I have left, isn’t it? A purse,” Emily said as she tilted her head back, her teary eyes staring up at the blinding fluorescent light above.
“You were a good mother, Miss Keller.” Sheriff Ross nodded. “Don’t ever second guess that. I know that Blair is gone, and I know you’d give anything to have her back. But now you have closure.”
“There won’t ever be closure,” Emily said, shaking her head. “He took everything from me. He stole everything from me, Sheriff. I’ll never be able to watch her walk down
