(Chapter 4: https://saragawde.com/chapter-4/)
Olivia
Yesterday, Asher had called it a day as soon as animal control had left. She’d returned that same night to clean up the lakehouse. The next morning, she had found him and Liam missing. She had to wait for them to return for lunch because they’d taken the only legal boat on the lake to the lakehouse. She’d tried not to seem as furious as she had been, but now, after joining them at the lakehouse after lunch, she wasn’t so sure. Olivia had a headache bad enough that it caused her head to loll over her shoulders unsteadily. The Sun silhouetted flashes of red on her eyelids. She shrunk further back on the hot marble floor of the terrace, pulling the visor of her cap down before she looked up at the 2 overly energetic boys snooping around, reviewing the crates like they were hunting.
Last night, Olivia had tried to clean up the house as best as she could, going through every possible nook and cranny in a span of 5 hours, because she’d been too nervous about the current state of the investigation. In her mind, she had successfully cleared out every piece of evidence in the house. Every single thing that could’ve connected her existence to reality, but cleaning out a place she’d lived at for 20 years, in an attempt to erase any trace of her, all in the midst of a crime scene, was not something she’d ever prepared to do. And now she was doing just that, infact, she had already done it.
“You alright there Jones?” Liam asked, bending over her, his blue eyes reviewing her with more curiosity than concern. “You look like you’re terminally ill and forced to exercise.” He scoffed a snicker, before crouching to retrieve his bag which was seated next to her. He pulled out a bottle of aspirin and held it infront of her. “Here, it’ll help.” He dropped it into her lap, before spinning on his foot and pacing to the pool. “Poor girl, probably stayed up finishing off an article. This is exactly why I didn’t choose journalism as a career, too brutal.” His thoughts echoed.
Olivia took out her water bottle from her own bag, slightly surprised at how warm it had become, she unscrewed it and swallowed the pill in consequence. She leaned back onto the crate at her back, closing her eyes for a moment. She felt a gentle breeze, and the world seemed to get calmer, for a moment. Until that horrible voice croaked: “Liam! Let’s begin!”
Olivia turned to the source. Asher Jackson. He wasn’t the cause of her troubles, her ability (more of a disability) to craft crime scenes, was. Maybe if she’d planned out the bear foot prints better, laid them out in other parts of the forest too, or destroyed some tree stumps, maybe they would’ve believed that bear. But she’d failed, and now Asher was out to find another lead. she was left hoping and struggling to erase every track his train of thought could take to the truth. She’d have to find him a new lead by tonight.
After the bear prints, Asher’s first idea had been to recreate the crime scene, which was what him and Liam were doing then- from the red and blue crosses, circles, and lines, taped on the floor; Olivia could tell. But it would be pointless. Even if they considered Rebecca to having been murdered, the most they’d come to conclude would be a very keen burglar since no one else would cross an entire forest to get here, or sail a lake in the middle of the night. But Rebecca was rich, who knows how much money she might’ve kept hidden in cash somewhere in her house, or artifacts, maybe Olivia could convince them that it really had been a burglar who had killed her.
“Olivia!” Asher barked. She turned to him, the agitated expression on his face turning to masked sternness. She had a feeling this man hated her. “Could you help me out here for a moment?” He asked calmly.
She walked up to him, she was just a few steps away when he pulled up her palm and placed a gun in it. THE gun. Her breath hitched. “W-what?” She asked, stunned, her fingers wrapping around the grip involuntarily. “It’s empty,” He said, pulling her onto a red spot on the ground. “You’re sure this is the spot, right, Liam?” He asked, his voice intended across the terrace.
Liam nodded, his hands on his hips.
“You’re almost as tall as Rebecca was.” Asher whispered in Olivia’s ear, sending a chill down her spine. Another horrible thing she’d ‘inherited’ from her mother.
He grabbed the gun back from her. “Watch this.”
Olivia watched him part his legs, his hands wrapping around the hilt as he still pointed the gun downwards. “Both hands on the hilt, and fingers no where near the trigger, just really close to it. Don’t want you shooting Liam’s head off. Straight back, head steady and facing that tree.” He pointed. “Put your dominant foot ahead, so that its shoulder width away from the other foot. Still try to have your chest slightly parallel to your target.” He handed her the gun, taking a step back as he did.
“I thought you said the gun was empty.” Olivia said, remembering the remark he’d made about a squinting Liam on the other side of the terrace.
“Sarcasm, it is empty.” Asher answered. “Now, grip.”
Olivia looked down at her hands, trying to enact the entwinement of fingers she’d seen Asher have while holding the gun. She felt like she’d done a pretty good job when she announced that she was ready but Asher still corrected her pinky finger and left thumb, pushing her arms down slightly so the gun was aimed down at the ground almost. “Good,” He announced. “Now,” He pushed her back, forcing her to straighten it before he gently tugged at her chin so she was staring at the matt black gun, observing every groove in its structure. “Foot.”
Olivia placed her right foot infront of her, shoulder width apart, she told herself. Asher pat the air above her knee. “Relax.”
After a moment, he spoke again. “Liam!” Olivia felt him waving his arm right and left, to navigate Liam infront of her gun. “Aim up at his head.”
She lifted her gun, her body stiffening. She was still staring at the gun, unable to want to see his blonde head on the other side. And then, Asher was behind her again. He bent his knee a bit, until she could feel him breathing on her neck, the sensation chilling until she was holding her breath. He moved her arms downwards a bit. “Less stiff at least.” He said, and she tried to relax. He pushed her arms down further until she was aiming for Liam’s chest instead of his head. She didn’t see how that was good guidance.
He moved back. “Liam!” He yelled, making her jump. “Thanks, now can you please go there and check if she’s got the right stance?” Asher moved to her left, while Liam moved further off to her right. “Yeah!” She heard his voice in response.
“Pretend to fire, and move onto the next red spot, its to your right.” Liam added.
She followed his advice, this time hearing no protesting criticisms. She moved onto the next red spot, a few inches off of the first. “Aim again.” Asher said.
She re enacted the stance she’d taken earlier, Asher interrupted her just before she pretend-fired again. “Wait.” He walked to her side, facing her arms and he pushed them down a bit. He gave Liam a thumbs up, and assuming he’d seen Liam repeat the gesture, he took a step back. “Pretend-fire.” She did, feeling the recoil like it was more real than her own body.
Except for the part where it was. In the back of her mind she could still see Rebecca, on that windy night, her blonde hair whipping in her face as she’d lifted that gun to aim it at her head, her eyes empty of humanity.
“Third spot.” Asher said, and Olivia stumbled onto the next red print on the ground.
She had run behind the beach chair behind the pool, it had glowed that night exactly as it did right then, rippling and awake. The first and second bullet had fired, and then the third, disappearing behind her. Right before she’d got behind the wooden table, her hand going into her pocket for her own ‘weapon’.
“Fire!” Asher screamed.
She had turned back to Rebecca, terrified, as she’d pulled back her slingshot, aiming it at her wrist, just before the 4th bullet echoed and she’d had no choice but to duck behind the table again- right after the rock in her shot had successfully piercing through the air, followed by a bone chilling scream.
Olivia dropped the gun, her voice coming out choked as she opened her mouth. “I can’t-” Her breath hitched. She heard the gun clattering still, as she kept walked away and towards the ground near the pool, where she sat staring at her battered reflection and her baggy eyes in its aqua exterior.
“Woah.” She heard Liam say in wonder, behind her. She turned around, and saw Asher, who had been standing behind her, crouched over a crate, the crate that had been on top of it placed on his side. He reached in, his hand emerging holding a pebble that glinted in the sunlight, equally aweing him and Liam.
Olivia got up, her eyes narrowing to catch a glimpse of the little dot in Asher’s fingers. When she saw what it was, her eyes went wide in shock. It was the rock that had shot Rebecca.
(Chapter 6: https://saragawde.com/chapter-6/)