From beneath the tree in the yard, with the sunlight dotted through the branches, Leigh kneeled in the dirt, and pushed the last flower into the ground. She smiled, and tossed the now empty container into the trash, before stepping back to examine the small gathering of flowers she'd planted.
"Leigh!" She turned around, and raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah?" The man in the doorway held up the cordless handset, waving it slightly.
"You got a phone call – someone named Kevin, says you know 'em." Leigh jogged up to the house, and took the phone, ducking into another room.
With a small smile, she placed the phone on the hook, and poked her head into the kitchen.
"Don?" The young man turned from his place at the counter. "You didn't happen to grab the trash bag I left outside, did you?" He chuckled, but shook his head, turning back to the counter.
"No," he smirked. "Of course not. Got busy makin' dinner." Pulling her hair out of the ponytail, she nodded.
"Alright. I'm gonna grab it. Can you do me a favor? Kevin Martin needs a small loan…so…grab my check book and dig out a contract for me?" she asked, heading out the door without waiting for an answer.
Leigh picked up her trash bag from near the tree, and moved to the curb, dropping it into her garbage can. As she closed the lid, a sound from across the street startled her, and she jumped, turning to see. A few houses down the street, she spotted someone race out, and climb into the waiting car at the curb. Glancing around, Leigh crouched some behind the trash can, watching as the SUV peeled away from the house, and sped off down the street. As they passed her, she stood, and watched the car, before heading down the street, and knocking on the front door.
"Katy? Everything okay?" There was no answer inside. She waited, and dug her phone from her pocket to try calling. Leigh could hear the phone ring and ring on the other side of the door. Gulping slightly, she reached up and pushed the door open, glancing around.
"Katy? It's Leigh…I heard a noise, I just wanna make sure you're okay…" she said, biting her lip. Still no answer. She glanced around, making her way towards the kitchen, but paused when she saw the living room. Furniture had been thrown around, pictures broken, the table snapped in half. Leigh felt herself pale, but turned away, and started for the stairs.
Upon reaching the top, she peeked around the corner, avoiding putting her hands on anything. A door at the end of the hall was kicked in, broken wood visible on the frame. Without hesitating, she moved down the hall to the room, calling out Katy's name. Her feet stopped; her skin so pale she practically blended into the white walls behind her. The carpet at her feet had bloody tracks in it. As Leigh entered the room, she fumbled with her cell phone to dial 911. Her screams and sobs filled the dispatcher's ears, the panic fully evident, as Leigh dropped her phone, and begged for it not to be real.
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Leigh sat down in the kitchen, her head down, her body shaking, as the officers traveled the stairs more than Katy had in her five years of living in that house. She couldn't move her eyes from the floor, from her feet, as the NYPD moved around her, talking and taking photos, and notes.
"Are you Leigh?" a kind female voice asked. She lifted her head, very slowly, tears still running down her cheeks, and nodded.
"Y-Yeah…Leigh Karlana…" she replied softly. The woman reached out her hand, smiling slightly.
"I'm Stella. Why don't you come outside with me, so we can talk?" Stella asked. Leigh, sniffling, took Stella's hand, and stood, following her out the door into the yard.
The women stepped off the sidewalk, and moved towards a small iron bench in the garden, where Stella let go of Leigh's hand and let her sit.
"So…Leigh…I know this is difficult…but why don't you tell me what happened? You can be brief – we can get full details at the station," she explained, crouching. The young brunette cleared her throat, and sniffled.
"…I live just down the street, right over there," she said, motioning to her house. "I was planting flowers under the tree, and had come back out to put the garbage in the can…I heard some loud noises coming from down the street, and when I looked up…someone was running from the house….I crouched so no one would see me…when they had passed, I came over…the door was open, so I walked in. The living room looked like that, and I went upstairs. I kept calling for Katy, but no one answered. At the top of the steps, I saw her door, and that it'd been kicked in…there was blood on the floor…that's when I called the cops."
"Do you have any idea who would have wanted this to happen?" Leigh thought, but shrugged.
"She used to have an abusive boyfriend…but she left him last year, I don't know why he'd hold a grudge so long," she answered, uncertain. Stella nodded, and glanced around.
"Why don't you rest out here a little longer, and I'll come get you before we head to the station, okay?" Leigh simply nodded, and lowered her head again, focusing her unsteady attention on the dirt in the garden. Stella stood, and headed back into the house, slightly shaking her head.
PAGE BREAK
"Just have a seat, I'm going to go get you some water," Stella said, waiting for Leigh to take a seat at the long table before closing the door. She moved through a series of desks and yammering officers, stopping at the water cooler to fill up a cup for Leigh, before turning back towards the desks. One young man stood beside his desk, glancing through papers on the corner of it, not realizing Stella was watching.
"Hey, Flack…" He lifted his head, and smiled.
"Hey, Stella. Heard you got a case this morning?" She nodded.
"The only witness is waiting in the other room…" He nodded, and pulled his jacket off his shoulders, slinging it over the back of his chair.
"How's she doing?" Stella sighed, and shrugged.
"So far…I guess as good as can be expected."
Her fingers traced small patterns across the top of the table, pausing only when the door opened, and she heard Stella's voice entering.
"Alright, Leigh…let's start from the beginning, tell me as much as you can about what happened today, and in a little bit, we'll head back out to see if we can give the man you saw leaving the house a face," she said, closing the door, and setting a file and tape recorder down upon the table.
"I, uh…I really didn't get a great look at him, so…I think I'll only be able to give you basics," Leigh spoke, biting her lip as she looked at Stella.
"Whatever you can give us will be better than nothing. We have better luck having something, because when we release that we have a witness, more people who may have seen something tend to step forward," Stella replied, as the door opened again. Leigh raised an eyebrow, tilting her head as an older gentleman rounded the table, and leaned against the wall. "Leigh, this is Detective Mac Taylor, he's heading the investigation. Mac, this is Leigh."
"Nice to meet you, Leigh."
"You too, Detective…" she replied, nodding some as she glanced between them, and then down at the recorder. Stella reached down, and pressed her finger into the buttons.
"Whenever you're ready, Leigh. We'll stop you if we have any questions," Mac said, clasping his hands in front of him. Leigh cleared her throat, and laid her hands out on the table, before taking a breath, and telling them the details of what happened that morning.
PAGE BREAK
Flack turned away from the window that peered into the interrogation room, and nodded his head at the younger man moving towards him.
"Hey, Danny." Danny looked up, and nodded.
"Hey, Flack…Stella and Mac in there?" he asked, motioning towards the window before looking back down at the photos in his hands.
"Yeah…with the witness from the Meeker case," Flack answered, leaning against the wall. "Whaddaya got there?"
"Oh, just some shots from the house – Lindsay printed 'em out so I could come find the others," he replied, stacking the papers up and looking up into the window.
Flack turned his head, looking at the interview, and watched as Leigh slid her hands across the table, pushing onto her fingertips to describe the way something looked, before flattening her palms against the table. She was still shaky, and visibly pale, but the slightest hint of color seemed to be returning to her face.
"She seems to be doin' well, all things considered," he said, shaking his head and looking over at Danny. "…You, on the other hand, got a look of familiarity on your face." Danny glanced up, and shrugged.
"And if I do?"
"Just pointin' it out. You know her, Danny?" Flack asked, eyebrow raised. For a moment, Danny just watched through the window, watched Leigh's hands move across the table, her eyes darting from Stella, to Mac, to the recorder, and down to her hands. He finally nodded, and looked over at Flack.
"Yeah…I did know her. Haven't seen her in a few years, though," he finally replied, shrugging a little before moving from the window. "Tell Stella to swing through when she's done," he added, heading away from Flack.
