Chapter 19: A LIE
Abigail
My throat went dry as a desert as I read the words on the screen. There was a picture of an old newspaper.
LOCAL COUPLE KILLED IN TRAGIC ACCIDENT.
The headline scread across the page in bold black letters. Under it, was a photo of my parents, so young, so happy. My Dad’s arm around Mom’s shoulders, both of them looking at the cara like they had their whole lives ahead of them.
My vision blurred.
I blinked. Big fucking mistake. The moisture gathered at the corners of my eyes, threatening to spill over.
"I know they died in an accident, Annette," I said thickly, swallowing a laugh. "Everyone knows that,"
It was raining that night. I had been in the back seat of the car, playing around with my stuffed bunny, while mom and dad talked in the front seat. They said my parents were speeding above the limit and the bad weather conditions contributed to the single-vehicle accident.
I was nine. My mories of the accident were pretty hazy but it was what, fifteen years ago?
"Why are you showing
this?" I asked Annette and she sighed.
"I found this, linked to the address on the package. There was a dummy website and well," She tapped on the down arrow button, pushing the page up and on the screen was another docunt that had the official letterhead of the police departnt seal embossed at the top.
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT - CASE #04-7721
The words swam on the page.
"Brake line tampering... evidence of forced entry... The existing damage is inconsistent with impact... recomndation for further investigation..."
There was a photo attached. It was black and white, and grainy, but I knew it was a picture of my parent’s car crumpled like a crushed soda can. Glass scattered across asphalt like diamonds. Dark stains...Blood. Their blood.
My stomach lurched, acid rose up my throat.
I couldn’t look away. The passenger door hung open, all shattered to bits and the front of the car was completely destroyed, where my parents were.
"Conclusion: Strong indication of vehicular homicide. Case transferred to Homicide Division for further investigation."
Homicide? What the hell did they an by homicide? Were the papers in the box right all along?
A sound escaped my throat. My chest constricted, tightened until I couldn’t breathe like there was a fist gripping my lungs.
"Abby-"
"No, okay, this is probably just another prank," I muttered, shaking my head.
"I ran the dates and checked the database-"
"No, okay, Annie-"
"It’s real Abby!"
I closed my eyes and I was back there again in the car that night.
The windshield wipers going swish-swish, catching the droplets pouring from the sky.
Mom’s laugh from the front seat, Dad saying sothing I couldn’t hear over the radio. My fingers gripping a stuffed rabbit, watching sothing out the window.
Then suddenly we were spinning.
Glass exploded, tal scread and groaned as the car turned upside down. My head hit sothing hard and Mom’s weak voice called for
as I sobbed in the backseat. My seatbelt cut into my chest, holding
suspended in the air, Dad gave a low groan and finally went quiet.
Even in my mories and dreams about that night I couldn’t see the images of my bloodied parents. The therapist emaw made
see all those years ago had said it was my brain’s way of coping through trauma by blocking those awful mories.
There were footsteps on the shattered glass around the car. Soone, a man, crouched down by the car. I couldn’t see his face, just darkness where his face should be and he was backlit by headlights from another car.
My eyes snapped open and I gasped for air. A motherfucker killed my parents, it hadn’t been an accident. Annette dropped her laptop on the desk before us and pulled
close in a hug.
"Shit, Abby, you need to breathe," She rushed in a breath, running her fingers down my back.
There was another car.
There was definitely another car. The newspaper report had said it was a single car accident but there was another car back then! I turned my eyes to the laptop and forced my eyes to finish reading the words.
Homicide. My parents were murdered. It wasn’t a car accident. Then why would it be announced to the public that it was? And why did my grandparents tell
it was a car accident?
"Status of investigation: CLOSED"
"Reason for closure-"
The next line hit
straight in the gut.
"Case closed by order of Chief of Police Robert Morrison. Evidence deed insufficient and the family declined to pursue further investigation. It is ruled as accidental death."
My grandparents’ signatures sat at the bottom of the page. It was them. They were the ones who stopped the investigation and had it written off as an accident. A little laugh left my lips.
"Abby?"
"This is definitely so bull shit. Why would they... why would emaw and Gramps lie to ?"
Annette’s eyes flickered with worry. "I don’t think anyone would go through this length just to stage a prank-"
"I’m calling them. I have to get to the bottom of this," I grumbled, snatching my phone off the couch.
This had to be wrong. My vision blurred and I blinked rapidly, rereading the nas at the bottom of the page.
Gerald and Marissa Kellerman.
Gramps and emaw.
Fifteen years. For fifteen years I had believed it was an accident, I had thought maybe, just maybe Dad had been driving too fast in the rain and if he had just been more careful, if the weather had been better, if we had stayed ho that day, I would still have my parents.
But it wasn’t raining. It wasn’t bad luck or poor timing. Soone had killed them. Soone had ramd into our car on purpose, forced them off the road, and watched them die.
And my grandparents knew all along.
Why would they lie? Lie to ?
The question circled in my head like vultures squawking over their next al. emaw and Gramps had raised
through nightmares, panic attacks, through every single thing.
How could they have lied to my face for fifteen years? Why would they call off the investigation? Why do I not get a say in any of this? They were my parents.
My thumb swiped over the screen to unlock, while Annie kept urging
to calm down. I tapped on emaw’s number, pulling my brows in a frown, fighting the urge to cry so bad.
"emaw-"
"Hello my little Abby-" My grandma’s voice cut off mid sentence, suddenly going high pitched. "Abby, what’s wrong? Are you crying? What happened?"
"Why did you lie to ?" The words ca out broken as I desperately fought the sob that welled up my throat. "Why would you lie to , emaw?"
"Lie?" She yelled on the other end. "Baby, what are you talking about?"
"I know." My voice cracked, grip tightening around the phone. "I know they were murdered. I know it wasn’t just an accident, why didn’t you tell ?"
A loud gasp filtered through the receiver. "Oh no. Gerald," emaw shrieked on the other end. "Gerald, co here. Now!"
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