Chapter 9

Archer had been asked to leave the observation room an hour ago so that Maxwell and Rukelle could interview Emilia Gardiner a.k.a Elaine Barker.  He was sure that this was one of Maxwell's fantastic ideas to get him out of the way because apparently he was emotionally invested in the case. Was he emotionally invested?

Yes, yes he was. He couldn't lie to himself anymore. He liked Emilia more than he wanted to. Her past didn't appall him it attracted him the more. Her past only showed that she was strong and that she was a survivor.

He was about to go back into the interview room when Emilia walked out, more like stormed out. She pushed passed him and she set off at a jog, her heels clacking vigorously on the tired linoleum floor of the station. Archer called after her but this only served to increase her pace.

Emilia stopped a weary eyed police officer and asked for directions to the women's restroom. She followed the directions until she reached the very cliche pink door of the women's restroom. She slammed the ugly door shut and looked at herself in the mirror, hot tears were streaming down her cheeks. For the first time in eight years someone besides Margaret and the awestruck doctors at the Boston State Hospital had seen her scars. The handiwork of Evan's best friend and trusted sidekick, the whip. Thanks to that whip her back looked like a mosaic piece. Pink lines ran across her back but there were four longer and deeper scars that formed four black tentacles across her back. She was grateful that Archer had been sent out of the room otherwise this would have felt a billion times worse. She washed her face, fixed her makeup and schooled her features so that she didn't look like a bushbaby who was high on weed then got out after she was sure that Archer was no longer outside.

She walked towards the interview room while checking her phone for new messages and informing her three friends of her eventful day. First, she texted Gregory and Andrew informing them that she was alright, then there was Margaret, the woman who had found her bleeding out on the road after her father had shot her in the face. The same woman who was responsible for building the Emilia Gardiner that everyone knew. She should call her and tell her she was fine but she couldn't stomach the guilt that the phone call would cause so she just sent a text saying she was fine and requesting for an overnight bag. She was waiting for a reply when a deep feminine voice interrupted her.

"Why did you come back?"  Emilia turned mid stride and a thin young woman with blonde curls stared at her. She was in baggy sweatpants and a huge pink hoodie. She was holding herself tightly around her waist. The only thing that made Emilia realize that this was her sister was the crystalline blue eyes staring back at her.

"Eliz, I have missed ...." Emilia tried to reconnect with the only family member she had pined for for the past eight years.

"Answer my question. This is not the time to fix broken bridges."

"Elizabeth, you don't know the truth."

"What truth? That you fucking killed my brother, made my father resort to drinking after he lost everything? Tell me, what truth?" She was shouting like a drunken lunatic and the entire police force was now watching them like this was a weekend soap opera.

"Evan was a monster. He...he..." Emilia tried to speak over the tears that were choking her throat.

"Shut up. Just shut up. You destroyed our family." She was pointing at her now and from where Emilia was standing she could clearly see the round bulge of Elizabeth's baby bump. Emilia's mind was a rollercoaster  in her head. She was now in big sister mode. Who was the father of this baby? How had she gotten pregnant? Did dad and mom know? She tried to walk away from Elizabeth to get space to think before she spiralled out of control but Elizabeth held her hand so tightly that she felt the bones in her hand shift. That's when Emilia finally got it. This tough facade of Elizabeth was not aimed at hurting her but it was her surreptitious plea for help. Emilia looked at the reception of the police station where Craig was smiling triumphantly.

"Please. He will kill it."  Elizabeth whispered tears streaming down her cheeks.

Craig was a bastard without the alcohol but now with the alcohol he was probably a blood thirsty murderer and she was not going to fail her baby sister now but what was she going to do. She should have filed charges against Craig but she lacked evidence. It was only he said, she said. The hospital records would only show that she was shot in the face but it wouldn't prove that it was Craig who did it. She had nowhere for Elizabeth to stay, her home was a crime scene and she was staying in a safe house for the night. She was going to panic but the smell of  strawberries and aftershave calmed her. Archer was now at her side blocking Craig's view of Elizabeth.

"What did you do to get a detective in your pocket. Did you sleep with him too,  Lainzy? " Craig asked from his spot on the chair. Emilia held Archer's fisted hands to stop him from pummeling Craig's face to a pulp even though she would have loved to see that.

"She is staying with me." Emilia tried to look as strong as possible but Craig was laughing at her. Archer's hands vibrated under her palm.

"Where is she going to stay Elaine? In your apartment? Or maybe in that hospital where you work." Craig said with a sneer.

"She will stay with me, Craig." Margaret was at the door. She walked towards him and whispered something in his ear and his face paled. He grabbed Gertrude who was now standing by his side and walked out of the station. Emilia had never been more happy to see Margaret. Emilia hugged Margaret then introduced her to her sister.

"Where is the bag?" Emilia asked after the pleasantries were over.

"Gregory is bringing it in." No sooner had she said that than Gregory walked in, the black overnight bag was slung on his back. He grinned when he saw Emilia and once again Archer's hand vibrated under her palm. Emilia seemed to realize that she was still holding Archer's hand and she hastily let it fall.

Sensing that he was intruding, Archer moved to the side. Gregory hugged Emilia rather tightly and Archer was on the verge of pulling out his gun and firing the entire cartridge of bullets into Gregory. Archer took deep breaths to calm himself but he couldn't help but feel that something was not right with this man. He was too perfect, from his brown quiff hairstyle to his well pressed black suit and heavy gold watch. Nothing about this man was out of place. A long time ago, Archer had learnt that a perfect person was normally one who had a lot to hide. Archer called the IT guy at the police station and requested a thorough background check on Gregory and to be sure sent him a picture of Gregory Willard.

Archer walked back to where a haggard looking Emilia was standing and took the overnight bag from Gregory. Emilia hugged her sister goodbye and they left leaving Archer alone with Emilia.

"You must be tired. Let's get you to the safe house so that you can sleep." Archer said when they were alone.

Emilia was not looking forward to sleeping because she knew she was going to have more nightmares and wake up crying again. They walked out and Emilia noticed four police officers standing sentry besides their squad cars. Two other officers joined them. This was her security detail? She was leaving the station in a convoy. She laughed. This was Emilia's problem. Ever since she escaped Evan, she tended to turn everything serious or sad into a joke. Archer and Emilia entered a bullet proof black SUV with tinted windows that smelled like roses, a special treat from Maxwell. After making sure everyone was  settled in, Archer began the drive to the safe house.

Emilia had dozed off when Archer suddenly swerved off the tarmac road into a narrow dirt road. Emilia jerked awake, her heart was racing. She could feel it hammering in her head. Was Archer a serial killer? Her thoughts were not helping her calm down instead she was choking up yet again.

"Sorry, someone was following us." He said as he continued to drive down the narrow dirt road until they came back to another highway.

"Do you even know where we are going?" Emilia was not going to trust this very good looking man again.

"Yes, I do, very well actually. We are going to my house." Archer grinned.

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Hello readers, thank you for journeying with Archer and Emilia thus far. For purposes of continuity of this book, I am changing the year that Elaine was kidnapped to 2010 meaning that this novel is set in 2018. Sorry for all inconveniences caused.