Chapter 2

2: 2

After the call, my heartbeat finally began to settle, bit by bit.

I sat in the corner with my arms wrapped around my knees. I don't know how long it was before the elevator chimed on our floor.

Then the doorbell.

I opened the bedroom door. Edgar saw me standing there fully dressed and his face darkened.

"Damn it, I was wondering who's ringing the bell in the middle of the night. This is your doing again!"

"You ordered delivery, didn't you? You little brat, you're asking for it!"

His hand was already rising when my mother's startled voice cut in.

"O-officers? What are you doing here at this hour?"

The lead officer flashed his badge.

"Dispatch received a report. You're suspected of murdering your own daughter."

Edgar and my mother froze for a beat, then whipped around to look at me.

"Claudia, did you call the police?"

"Officer, please don't listen to her nonsense. This daughter of mine, there's something wrong with her head."

"Besides, she's the only daughter we've got. Look at her, she's standing right here, perfectly fine, isn't she?"

I threw myself forward, right up to the officer.

"Officer, they're lying. I have a sister, and today she suddenly disappeared!"

"Her phone's disconnected now too. They must have killed her!"

"My stepfather has always been violent. He's already—"

"What the hell are you spouting!"

Edgar roared, his arm swinging up before he caught himself and remembered the officers were there.

"Officer, she doesn't have any sister. She's been babbling like this ever since she got home today."

"I scolded her a couple of times, that's all. She's throwing a tantrum on purpose."

Edgar forced a smile at me.

"Claudie, if you didn't want to cook, you could've just said so. Why put on this whole show? The officers here are very busy—"

But there was fear buried in his eyes. I could see it clearly.

I ducked behind the officer, my whole body shaking.

"I'm not lying, Officer. I have proof. I saw blood under the kitchen cabinet, only my mother wiped it away—"

The officer followed me to the kitchen. I dropped to the floor and pointed for them.

"Right here. There was a little pool of blood here during the day!"

My mother shot me a vicious glare. "Didn't I already tell you? That was chicken blood!"

"Officer, don't listen to her. I was chopping a chicken during the day and some splashed on the floor by accident."

An officer in white gloves crouched down and sprayed something onto the floor.

A minute later, he called out.

"Captain Lambert, we've got a blood reaction. There was definitely blood here!"

My mother started. "I told you, it was chick—"

The officer cut her off sharply. "Quiet! Not another word from you from now on!"

The officer took a tool and scraped at the floor a couple of times.

Captain Lambert gave my shoulder a reassuring pat.

"Don't worry, kid. Even if it was wiped up, we can still detect it."

"Blood isn't that easy to clean off completely. There's always some residue left behind."

The white-gloved officer bent over his work off to the side, running the test.

"Captain Lambert, the results are in!"