Disclaimer - I don't own it…of course
A/N - I wasn't sure whether to put this up or not. It seems like it could be a little confusing but oh well. I'm not sure if I'll keep going yet so please review.
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Lilah sat at her desk, unable to concentrate; she just knew something was wrong. Why hadn't Eva shown up at school? She knew she should have gone with her the night before. This wasn't like Eva at all. Something must have happened.
Lilah was suddenly snapped from her thoughts and she realised it was her teacher, Mr. Thorne.
"Lilah, we have an exam in three days. Do you care to tell me what's more important than that right now?"
Lilah opened her mouth to apologise but before she had the chance there was a loud knock at the door. It was the deputy principal, Ms. Lee.
"Sorry to interrupt," she started, "but Lilah Harison is needed urgently at the admin building."
Lilah rose from her seat, the anxiety in her stomach rising with her.
"Bring your things with you."
Stopping, Lilah took a large breath and looked into the office as Ms. Lee opened the door. Standing in the foyer were two women wearing all black and there were another two police officers standing behind them. As soon as she stepped into the room the two women in black approached her.
She heard them introduce themselves as Samantha Spade and Elena Delgado but as soon as Lilah realised they were detectives her heart started pounding.
"Why don't you sit down Lilah? We need to ask you a few questions about Eva Ross." The blonde detective, Samantha, said.
Lilah sat down as did both the detectives. She was nervous and scared but her blue eyes attentively switched between those of both detectives.
"Lilah, is Eva living with you at the moment?" Elena asked.
"Yes." Lilah nodded.
"Why is that?"
"Her mom passed away and her dad is in jail. She doesn't have any other family and my sister said she could stay with us." Lilah fidgeted nervously as she spoke.
"And when was the last time you saw her?"
"Last night at about eight o'clock." Lilah replied. "Sorry but what is this about? I mean, is Eva ok?" Lilah's face was now completely betraying the fear she was feeling. Samantha reached out and put a hand on Lilah's shoulder.
"A girl was found this morning by the river. She was shot. We have reason to believe that it was Eva." Sam said gently. Tears started spilling from Lilah's eyes.
"What reason? Why do you think that? She's not dead!" Lilah shouted and pulled away from Sam.
"The girl from the river was a Jane Doe. Shortly after she was found, Eva was reported missing by her boyfriend. The description he gave matched that of the girl we found."
"There are heaps of girls who look like Eva. If she's missing then you should be looking for her." Lilah was standing by now. Tears were pouring from her eyes and she was trembling all over. Elena stood in front of Lilah and put both her hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down.
"Lilah, that is why we're here. Eva is your best friend and we know this is hard but we need you to identify the body." Lilah started to shake her head vigorously.
"No, no it's not going to be her. You're wasting your time." Samantha stepped up now also.
"Sweetheart, we really need you to help us out ok?" Sam looked into Lilah's teary eyes and nodded gently. In turn, Lilah's crying slowed to hiccups and she slowly nodded her head.
"Alright."
The two detectives and Lilah pulled up at the hospital half an hour later. The lady at the reception pointed them in the direction of the morgue.
"I'm going to ring your sister to pick you up Lilah. If you like we can wait for her before you go in." Elena said, pulling out her cell phone.
"No, it's ok."
Sam and Lilah left Elena behind at the front desk while they headed off toward the morgue. Neither of them spoke, Sam just rested her hand caringly on Lilah's shaking arm.
The morgue was cold and Lilah couldn't tell if that was causing her to shiver or the nerves that racked her body. A somber looking man wearing scrubs led them over to where a body covered with a sheet lay. Sam reached out to hold Lilah's hand as the man folded down the sheet. Lilah gasped and turned away quickly, tears escaping her eyes as she searched for her breath. Sam cupped her face in her hands and looked into her eyes.
"You're alright, sweetheart, its ok." Lilah started shaking her head.
"It's not her. It's not Eva." She said in a hoarse whisper, still choking on sobs.
