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My fingers tremble against the knife, blood pooling around my knees as his cornflower eyes sear through my flesh with his anger. "I think we know who the real butterfly is, don't we?"
I shake my head, dropping the knife as I stand in the pool of blood, slowly eating up my kitchen floor. "It's not like that. This was an accident."
He laughs, a cruel, loud sound that vibrates in my ears. "An accident? How the fuck do you stab someone that many fucking times and it be an accident? Fucking damn it, Hadley!" He steps into the blood, one of his sneakers kicking Kyler's body between us. His hand snaps out, grabbing my cheeks painfully in his hands. "What did I fucking tell you? Huh?" He throws my face away, and I stumble backward, catching myself on the counter. "What did I tell you at the diner?"
He pulls out his phone, angrily dialing while I watch. "If you lose it, we both do." He brings the phone to his ear, "77843 E Redburrow St. You’ll find the Butterfly Killer and the newest victim." He ends the call, tossing the phone onto the floor. Any minute now, my house will be swamped with every police officer in Rivercrest Landing.Part of me feels oddly relieved, while the other is screaming. Rhys's hands grab at his hair, eyes landing on me. I don't need to look at my ring to know he's disappointed. "I didn't kill those women."
His hand drops from his head, eyes narrowing on my face. "Then who did?"
I swallow, eyes falling to Kyler's body. "You."
He laughs again, and the sound bounces off the wall. "Bold, coming from the woman who just stabbed her casual fuck to death in her kitchen."
I wait until his eyes find mine, "Now what?" His gaze shifts over my head, and I look with him, red and blue lights reflecting off the trees outside of my bay window, signifying I've run out of time to figure this out.
He doesn't answer me.
My door is kicked down within a minute of seeing the lights, officers shouting to get on my knees and put my hands in clear sight. I drop down, my black denim soaking up the blood off the tile as I watch Rhys drop to his. His gaze meets mine for a mere second before officers are swarming me, making me lose sight of him.
My hands are slapped with cuffs, an officer in my ear barking so loudly I can't hear anything else. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you..."
I’m walked out of my house and toward a waiting patrol car. I try to look for Rhys as we move, my head swiveling, but I can't see him. I'm pushed down into the car, and my door is slammed shut. It's moving almost the second I get in, my eyes stuck on my house and the second patrol, thinking maybe that's where they put Rhys. I stare until it's out of sight, and I'm forced to face forward. My hands are still trembling; my mood stone a mix of blues. I don't know what to expect, and it's unnerving.
"Why'd you do it?"
My attention is drawn to the officer in the passenger seat. He’s facing me, waiting for me to answer. When I don't, he shakes his head, turning back around. I rest my head against the window, the glass cool against my head. I didn't answer him, because I don't even know. Why did I do it?
I'm hauled out of the police car by my elbow, a hand pressing down the top of my head, so I don't hit the lip of the frame. Despite officers lining the outskirts of the building, news crews are lining every available corner, lights flashing, and people shouting questions I can't quite hear. A female detective steps in front of me and I look at the officer holding my cuffs briefly, before she meets my gaze over her shoulder, waving toward some other officers. They swarm around us, creating a barricade of bodies to block me out of sight.
Once inside, they split off, leaving me with my bodyguard and the detective once more. I'm brought into a bright room with ugly mint green walls, where I'm patted down by two female officers, stripped of my clothing, and handed a very drab tan uniform. Once changed, my fingerprints are stamped and pressed, my mouth swabbed for a DNA sample, and I'm stuck in front of the camera for mug shots. I'm then very unceremoniously dumped into an interrogation room and left to twiddle my thumbs. It's all unremarkably drab and unexciting.
The same detective as before steps into the room, smoothing out her crisp white button-up as she sits in the chair opposite
me. "I'm Detective Porter. I've been following your case for some time, Hadley."
I don't say anything, just turn my face to stare at the one way mirror and my reflection looking back at me. I can feel their eyes on me, the other officers and detectives chomping at the bit to know more about the infamous Butterfly Killer.
"I have to say, we didn't expect the Butterfly Killer to be a woman."
My eyes flick to hers. "It's not."
Her lips part, head tilting ever so slightly with confusion. Her eyes dart between the mirror and me. "Are you not the Butterfly Killer?"
I lick my lips, raise my cuffed hands to brush away a stray hair that was tickling my cheek. "No."
Another quick glance toward the mirror and back. "Then who is? We know you were the one that killed Kyler, Hadley. We know you made the pho..."
"Rhys Elliot. He is the Butterfly Killer, and he called Kyler’s murder in."
She shakes her head, clearly confused with what I'm telling her. She must be dense. "You're trying to tell me that you did not kill the women that were murdered in Rivercrest Landing?"
I don't answer her, not right away, making her sit in my silence as I link my fingers over the table. "You're not going to get the answers you're looking for."
She lets out a loud breath, head ducking down for just a moment. "We don't have to be enemies here, Hadley. I just want to get to understand you. Why can't you answer me?"
I turn my face to look at my reflection once more. "Even if I wanted to tell you, Detective Porter, I can't."
"This is a safe space, Hadley. It's just you and me here. Help me, and I'll help you."
