Jareth only had to look into a few more minds of people who were involved in the events on the night of the murder before he knew what had happened. Assured that Sarah was safe, he went to bed, planning on telling her what he had discovered the next day.
*. *. *. *. *. *. *
This time, Sarah had finished her tea before Craig came barging in the next morning. She was sitting on the couch in the living room, and he sat down next to her.
"So, where were you all last night?" he asked, cutting to the chase.
"I went to the theater and dinner," she replied.
"Oh, really? How could you afford it?"
"It was Jareth's treat," she said.
"Oh, so the man moving in on my girl has a name!" he said bitingly. "Well, fine. He can have you. We're through!" he shouted, jumping up and walking out the door, slamming it behind him.
Sarah just sat there for a while, wondering why she wasn't more upset at what Craig had said. More than that, she seemed relieved that he was gone. Shrugging her shoulders, she got up to go work on her book, when she noticed that Craig had left his wallet there. So, she looked through the phone book until she found the company he worked for.
"Hello, Ads With a View. Whom may I connect you to?"
"Can I just leave a message for Craig Nichols? He left his wallet at my apartment."
"I'm sorry. Craig Nichols hasn't worked here for a year. We had to fire him."
"A year ago? Well, thank you anyway."
"You're welcome."
Okay, so he hasn't worked there for a year. Maybe he has a business card of where he works now, she thought, opening his wallet.
When she did, she was amazed at how many pound notes he had in it- nearly a thousand! She had pulled a card out, thinking it might be his business card, when a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. She bent down and picked it up. It was a withdrawal slip, dated two months ago, and the account number on it was hers, but Craig's signature was on there!
Just then, Craig burst back in. "Where is it, you bitch?!"
"What? This? Here, take it!"
"Why were you looking through my wallet?" he demanded.
"Because I was trying to contact you and let you know you'd left it here, but the company said you hadn't worked there for A YEAR! So, I was figuring you probably had some business cards on you, and was looking for one, and I found this," she said, holding up the bank slip. "How long, Craig? How long have you been taking money from my account? Why? I trusted you. You could have just asked."
Craig's response was to backhand her, knocking her onto the couch. "BITCH! You wouldn't have given me the money for all the shit I needed! You'd probably want to put me in a rehab clinic, just like your mom!"
Realization dawned on Sarah in a sickening rush. "It was you. You killed Mom! That's why you didn't want to go to the funeral! She must have confronted you about stealing the money to pay for your addiction, and you killed her."
"Brilliant, Sarah. But, that means I'm also going to have to kill you too. You know too much," he said, coming toward her with murder in his eyes. He picked up a nearby figurine, and was raising it over his head to ram it against her skull, when his hand was caught. The figurine was taken out of his hands, and placed back on the table. Craig tried to turn around, but Sarah's protector wouldn't let him- yet.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Jareth in a deceptively calm voice. Inside, he was shaken at how close Craig had come to ending the life of the woman he loved. Crysta had been right. He did love Sarah- wholeheartedly.
"So, let me guess," said Craig, struggling to get out of Jareth's steel-like grip. "You're Jareth, the bastard who stole my girl."
"Actually, I've known your 'girl' for longer than you have. Right Sarah?" he asked, looking over at her for the first time since he had come in. He winced inwardly when he saw what shape she was in. Her lip was split, and her cheek was rapidly turning different colors. Sarah nodded her head, but he could tell it hurt to do so.
"So, I was right. He is the reason you won't sleep with me. It's 'cause you already slept with him!"
Jareth jerked his hands back. "That's not a nice way to talk to the lady, especially when what you say isn't true!" As he said this, he threw a crystal at Sarah, where it burst, healing all her wounds. Thankfully, Craig didn't notice. "Sarah, go call the constable. I'm sure Mr. Nichols has some answers to some questions they might have."
