Page 61 of Little Twisted Things

“What are you talking about?”

“I need you to listen to me very carefully, Detective Walker. Please. Can you do that?”

“I’m listening.”

“I didn’t murder all those men. Dahlia did.”

“Who is Dahlia and where is she?”

“She’s in the cottage, sleeping, inside my mind.”

“Excuse me?” My brows furrowed.

She stared at me for a moment and slowly closed her eyes.

“Katherine?”

Her eyes opened. “Hello, Detective Walker. My name is The Librarian.”

Her voice. It was completely different from just a few moments ago. What the hell was happening?

“The Librarian?”

“Yes, that is correct,” she said.

“Where is Katherine?”

“She’s resting for a while. That poor girl is so afraid right now.”

This was completely unexpected and caught me off guard.

“Okay, Librarian. Help me understand what’s going on here,” I said.

“I’ll do my best. I keep records.”

“What kind of records?”

“Memories. The facts others forget.”

“I don’t understand?” I said, resting my hands on the table.

“When everyone else is overwhelmed by emotion, someone needs to remember what actually happened. That’s where I come in. I’m the protector of memories. Katherine’s memories.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” I said.

“Katherine suffered a traumatic event when she was a child. Her mother killed her father in front of her while Katherine cowered in the corner. Katherine begged for help, and we were formed.”

“Who is ‘we?’”

“The others.”

“The others?” My brows furrowed.

“When one person can’t carry the weight anymore during a traumatic event, fragments of their mind break off into pieces, forming others to protect them. We’re a system.”

“A system? How many of you are there?” I asked.

“Many.” She smiled. “After the last murder in New York, Dahlia sent Katherine away. She tucked her safely inside the cottage by the ocean and took control. Katherine had just learned the truth about what happened to her as a child through therapy. It was too much for her to carry. So Dahlia did what she had always done. She took the pain upon herself and locked Katherine away where she couldn’t hurt anymore until it was safe. But then Dahlia’s mind became twisted. She absorbed what Mother had done and believed she was right in doing so. She loved Katherine so much that she couldn’t bear to see her hurt. That’s why she killed her boyfriend and her husbands. But when Katherine started practicing divorce law, and almost every case was because of husbands’ cheating, Dahlia’s needs grew stronger. She had seen what affairs did to a family. The disaster they’d left behind. Whenever she’d hear about a cheating husband, her mind would go back to that night. The night it all happened. The night Dahlia was born. She’d stare at little Katherine in the corner, shaking and frightened for her life. In Katherine’s mind, her father destroyed the one place she believed she was safe.”