Toby stopped me, his hands cupping my face, forcing me to meet his gaze.His hazel eyes were fierce, a mix of determination and his own anguish.“But you were fast enough.The knife never touched anyone.You were brave.And because of it, you’re still here with us.Janice is safe.You did it.”
His words crashed into me like a wave, cracking the dam holding everything back.The last thread of control I had snapped and I sobbed.Hard.The tears flowed freely and I broke apart.
Toby pulled me to his chest, holding me tightly.
“It’s okay,” he whispered the mantra of the day.His voice was steady even though I could feel him trembling against me.“It’s okay.”
Janice joined us and we adjusted to welcome her into our little bundle, gripping tightly to each other once again as Toby kept reassuring us that we were okay.
~*~
Davies stared at me.I stared back at him.Once word got back to them who was involved in the attack, both Davies and Officer Brelly showed up.There was no question in anyone’s mind that this had to be related to the Ryder gang.That was the only thing that made sense.
So now I was having a staring contest with Davies, unable to form any words.My eyes ached and exhaustion pulled at me.I wanted to take a hot bath and then crawl into bed and never move for the next week.
“Once we get your statement, we’ll let you head out with your gang outside,” Davies said.
My lips twitched at the thought.Toby’d called in the cavalry.All of them were outside waiting for me now, fighting with anyone who would listen to let them see me.
“Can you walk us through what happened?”Officer Brelly asked.His gentle gaze didn’t waver as he waited for my response, his notepad in hand, ready to write down what I had to say.
“I’m not sure how much help I’ll be,” I finally said, my voice cracking from overuse and exhaustion.“It was fast.”
“That’s okay,” Officer Brelly said.“Let’s take this one step at a time, from the beginning.Any bit of information that you can think of.”
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to focus through the fog in my mind.“The power went out while we were visiting Erica.She asked me to check on her neighbor.When I opened the door, he was just...there.”
“What did he look like?”Davies asked.
“Tall.When I looked straight at him, I was looking at his chest.Black clothes, a black ski mask.Lean.”My voice wavered, and I had to clench my hands to keep them steady as a shudder hit me.“Dark eyes.It took me a moment to even realize he was dangerous.I thought I bumped into a doctor or something.By the time I realized what was happening, he’d shoved me back into the room and pulled out the knife.He didn’t say much, just that he was there for Janice.”
“What did his voice sound like?”Officer Brelly asked.
I thought back to it.The very little bit he did say.“Low and husky.Not overly deep.It was a cold voice.Detached.Like this was just a job to him.He didn’t sound angry or anxious or anything.”
“And the knife,” Davies spoke up.“Can you describe it?”
I furrowed my brow as I tried to recall the details.“Maybe a little longer than the length of my hand.The part he gripped was like a reddish brown.Looked well taken care of, or maybe new.Sharp.”
Davies nodded as Officer Brelly scribbled the details.“You said he wanted Janice, did he give you a reason?”
“No,” I said quickly.“But it seemed like...I don’t know.Like his only goal was to kill her and that was it.He was just focused on killing her and didn’t like that I got in the way.I think...I think if I hadn’t stepped in, it seemed like he’d just kill her and then leave.He had no interest in hurting Erica or me.He even said as much.”
“What do you mean?”Officer Brelly asked.
I scrunched up my brow as I tried to remember his exact words.“He said I wasn’t supposed to be there, so if I stayed out of his way, he wouldn’t kill me.”
The two of them glanced at each other before Officer Brelly made another note in his pad.
Davies’ jaw tightened as he pieced things together.
“And then what happened?”he prompted.
I hesitated, the memory still raw and surreal.“I tried to stop him.To distract him, I guess.I don’t even know what I was thinking.Erica got his attention and I grabbed the coatrack.He swung at me and somehow I managed to block him.The knife hit the coatrack.”My voice cracked and I looked down at my hands, suddenly unable to meet Davies’ gaze.
“You did good,” Officer Brelly said, his voice supportive.
I nodded weakly.
