A/N: I am really sorry it took me more than a year to update this story. I have had a major case of writer's block and also didn't have much time to read or write anyway.
Almost the only reading I've done was beta read for a friend (check out Nascar3L) and even that was difficult because I lacked time. This week I found some inspiration and I finally finished this chapter which I'm now sharing with all of you. I hope you still enjoy my story. New readers, welcome!
I'm not going to make promises on when the next chapter will be out but this is a nice long one to try to make up for the wait. Because not all of you might remember what has happened so far I added a "previously".
Previously: Regina woke up in room 108 and later discovered that she had been murdered but was somehow still "alive". However, not everyone could see her, only a handful of people could:
Sheriff Keith Nottingham, the corrupt sheriff of Darkton and Emma's foster dad.
Zelena, her stepsister.
Cora, her alcoholic mother.
Kathryn, her best friend, who was involved in a drug deal.
Cruela de Vil, an obscure figure (whom you'll learn more about in this chapter).
And Emma, someone she hadn't met before the night of her murder but instantly shared a deep connection with...
The FBI (SA's Belle French and Ruby Lucas) took over the case and Regina followed the investigation as closely as possible because she was trying to uncover the truth. While doing this she learned how corrupt Sheriff really was, he even deleted a part of the video surveillance from a gas station where Regina had last been before she ended up dead.
The night of the murder Darkton had its annual Archerfest; Regina attended the festivities and she broke things off with her boyfriend Leo. She decided to enjoy herself and somehow drugs had ended up in her system which was weird because Regina was a professional BMX racer and would never touch the stuff.
In the previous chapter Regina had learned that Cruella de Vil was a person of interest so she went to a party at Cruella's sister's house to find out more... There she discovered that Cruella was able to see her as well.
"I see you're not dead." Cruella stated calmly. Behind her the party was still in full swing.
Regina was appalled by the statement and the calm way in which it was uttered, like her not being dead was somehow disappointing for this person. "Fuck you!"
"Well well, I see that smart mouth of yours hasn't improved much, darling." With that Cruella rounded the table Regina was standing behind, when she was close enough she grabbed the brunette's arm and pulled her away from the party. Due to the alcohol in her system her movements were a little harder than she had intended and Regina struggled against them to get away but wasn't very successful.
Cruella added, "If you came here to start a row, you better piss off then."
"Let go of me!" Regina shouted and spat in Cruella's face.
"That's no way to treat people, darling. You have the audacity to come to my sister's wedding, uninvited, to spit in my face? How did you even get here?" Cruella might be drunk but she wasn't letting this ruffian threat her like that in her own house.
Cruella's sister chose that moment to check up on her and wondered out loud what she was up to. "Cruella, what are you doing here? Let's dance." And she gently took Cruella's arm to lead her back to the dance floor.
"Let me introduce you first, dear." Cruella said and gestured at the wall. "She forgot to bring a gift, I'm afraid."
Her sister glanced at the empty spot and asked, "Who?" Blaming this on her sister's state of drunkenness she tried again, "Come, sis, let's get back to the dance floor."
Cruella didn't immediately follow her sister but glanced with a growing look of apprehension back at Regina, who asked her in a broken voice "What have you done with me after our little trip?"
"Look, this is a party. That means I drink until I'm unable to stand on my feet. I don't have bloody time for this... whatever it is. You can either join the party or get out of here! The choice is yours." With that Cruella turned and left Regina leaning against the wall.
Regina let out a long breath she didn't know she had been holding. She watched Cruella get onto the dance floor and started enjoying herself like nothing had happened. The confusion within Regina grew even more until she noticed a stray cell phone on one of the tables. She grabbed it and dialed the only number she could think of.
"Hello?"
"Emma, I'm at Cruella De Vil's place." Regina informed her.
"What the hell, Regina?"
"Emma, listen, you have to get the police here." Regina went on to give Emma the address.
"Hold on a moment, what am I supposed to tell them?"
"I don't know... you figure it out." Regina said and Emma told her she would. She repeated the address and Regina confirmed before she hung up the phone.
~~~oOo~~~
Special Agent Lucas was walking towards her desk when she noticed a brown envelope lying on top of it. She quickly checked if it was intended for her and when she saw it was she opened it and found a flash drive inside. Without waiting for anyone, lest there be someone else who tried to interfere with this already complex case, she put it in her computer and opened the file that was on it. Just one file, weird.
The image in front of her made her gasp; this was a piece of the footage from the gas station's security cam. The Panther De Ville, in which they thought to have seen Regina Mills, stopped to get gas. Inside an eccentric looking person was having a heated discussion with a much younger woman. The driver got out and seconds later also the younger woman got out. The argument continued and the young brunette pushed the driver, who had gotten closer to her, away before turning to face the camera confirming that it was indeed none other than Regina Mills. After that she walked out of view, but clearly walked back in the direction of the road.
Ruby went back until she got a clear view of the license plate and immediately started a database search for a name and address. Within minutes she had what she was looking for. She grabbed her cell and dialed Belle informing her of what she had just discovered. They agreed to check it out as quickly as possible with the right paperwork of course. Ruby wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.
~~~oOo~~~
Meanwhile in interrogation room 2 Officer Jones was interviewing Kathryn about her involvement with the drugs. He told her he was pretty sure she was in it for the money, working in a grocery store while trying to get yourself through college couldn't be easy and drugs were a lot more profitable than vegetables.
The entire time though his eyes kept glimpsing at her bosom, Kathryn didn't particularly like this but it gave her an idea. "So Officer, if I let you cup a feel... is there a chance you'll release me without all these questions?"
"Hmm... interesting offer." He replied, an eager tongue licked his lower lip and it was very obvious he was indeed seriously considering her offer.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! I AM a suspect. Isn't there a law against this, I'm pretty sure I should file a sexual harassment complaint against you!" Kathryn yelled.
This shook Jones out whatever boob infused trance he was in and he started stammering. "Please... I'm... I'm sorry! You're right that was totally uncalled for! I was only joking, I'm sure you knew that."
His lame excuse wasn't bought in the slightest which he noticed; at least he wasn't that dense. He tried again, "Please, I'll help you... Say you were just visiting, had no knowledge your cousin was involved in any of that. With your perfect record the DA will very likely believe you and you'll get off with a warning... plus a tear or two wouldn't hurt either."
Kathryn wasn't sure if she was less appalled by this or not but it was actually a good idea she realized. No one was expecting her of running their little operation and if she played this innocence card well she could get off with nothing at all. She didn't really have another choice if Regina found out her best friend was involved in selling drugs it would ruin their friendship that was a given.
The blonde thanked Jones and did exactly as he had told her.
~~~oOo~~~
The next morning Regina woke up at the dining table in Cruella's mansion. The eccentric woman was too busy making pancakes for her niece to notice her. Regina grabbed another cell and tried to dial Emma who didn't pick up. Cruella chose that moment to walk into her living room and noticed the brunette trying to make a phone call. They made eye contact and Cruella realized in that moment that she had indeed seen Regina, that it hadn't been something her drunken mind had made up. "Oh good, you're still here... So it wasn't the gin."
Regina turned around and asked in a tone lacking any form of patience, "Are you going to tell me what you did with me or not?"
"Do you want one?" Cruella asked casually as if it was the most normal thing to do.
Regina just stared astonished at her remaining quiet. Cruella walked back into the kitchen to retrieve the stack of pancakes and offered one to Regina who eagerly grabbed it, she was beyond hungry. "I wonder why dead people always wander around... wouldn't it be much nicer to just go to a better place or whatever awaits us after we die..." Cruella continued, Regina wasn't sure if she was even addressing her or just voicing her inner thoughts.
Before either woman had the chance to say more there was a knock on the door. Cruella's niece skipped to the door and opened it. "Hello, can we ask whose awesome car that is there on the driveway?" Regina recognized Agent Lucas's voice immediately and looked pleased when she saw both SA Lucas and SA French walk into the mansion.
They immediately flashed their badges while making introductions, "Good morning, Special Agents Lucas and French. We're sorry to interrupt but could we ask you some questions about a case as a witness?"
"Darling, Bizzies."
Cruella's sister stumbled into the living room as well, a glass of water and some aspirin in her hand. She casually took the medicine before asking them if they had a warrant to search her house. Lucas informed her they weren't there to investigate just wanted to ask her sister some question involving the dead of a young woman in Darkton. Cruella looked at Regina and decided to go with them.
~~~oOo~~~
Henry was pacing around in his kitchen, realizing little by little he had no other option than to call Cora. Which he really didn't feel like since the scene she'd made last time around... He sighed and picked up his phone to dial her number. After a couple of rings came a distant hello from Cora.
Knowing they first had to talk about what had happened Henry decided to cut right to the chase, "Yes, Cora, look I never want something like what happened the other day to happen again, okay? We talked with Zelena and came up with a solution by ourselves and I never want to discuss this with you again."
"Will she continue the lessons?"
"No, but that wasn't your call to make."
"I know, you're right."
Cora's tone was deflated but at least she was compliant and that was all Henry wanted right now, all he could handle really. "Okay, so it's Sebastian's birthday and I wanted to make an apple pie like the one Regina used to make... She had her own special recipe that she wrote down somewhere but I can't find it anywhere. Is it possible it's at your place?"
"I don't know... I only own the one cookbook but I'll look for it if you want."
"Oh, that would be very nice of you. Thank you, Cora." Henry's heart felt a lot lighter. They said their goodbyes shortly after.
~~~oOo~~~
Zelena was a bit bored; luckily she had found a rather interesting box of old photos to rummage through. She knew her mother wouldn't approve and maybe Henry wouldn't be too pleased either because the box didn't belong to her, it belonged to her parents and she hadn't exactly asked permission to look at it.
Sitting in the semi-dark kitchen she opened the box carefully and looked at the first picture she encountered. There was an old model of a Subaru on it; in front of the car were standing two men, both held a bow. Although their faces were barely recognizable Zelena clearly made out her late father's face. The other man she didn't know. They looked really happy both were sporting a huge smile.
Unconsciously she ran a finger over Robin's, her father's, cheek... letting out a deep sigh.
"Whatcha got there?" Sebastian had crept into the kitchen and nearly gave Zelena a heart attack.
"Fucking little dipshit! Can you never behave like a normal human being?" Zelena attempted to strike Sebastian but he ducked away just in time. Meanwhile she did her best to hide the picture she was holding.
"I don't think you should be looking at those..." He said matter-of-factly pointing a finger at the box with photos.
"And I think Henry asked you to get dressed like ages ago and you're still not ready..." the redhead replied smugly, "Maybe I should call him... Henry! Heeeennnnnrrrrryyyyy!"
Hastily Sebastian made his way upstairs to get dressed before he was caught by Henry and Zelena stayed behind sporting a huge smirk. Momentarily enjoying her triumph before returning her attention to the shoebox in front of her. She put the photo back and pulled out another one. The same car was in it but this time the two men with the bows were joined by two women. Looking more closely Zelena discovered one of the women was her own mother, Karen and the other was Leo's mother, Mal.
This little piece of information shone a light on the other man's id; it was none other than David Nottingham, Keith's brother and Leo's father. The four friends were all linking arms and laughing, they looked really close. Zelena wondered what had happened that was so horrible that Karen and Mal didn't talk anymore. She desperately wanted to ask her mother but she feared she wouldn't give her any information about the matter. It already was a forbidden subject.
Later that day Zelena and Sebastian were looking at the rest of the pictures. Zelena felt sorry for leaving him out, it was his father in the pictures as well so she opted for some bonding time with her little brother. After putting away the boxes with apples they sat down on some empty crates and Zelena showed him the pictures she had been looking at.
Karen chose that moment to walk in and although it was clear she wasn't too pleased she refrained from commenting on it. Zelena said "I have some questions."
"Sebastian, honey, go to the shop there should be someone in case a customer walks in and needs help."
When the boy had disappeared Karen let out a sigh, "I thought you would have..."
Zelena handed Karen the photograph with the four friends next to the car, she gave her mother a moment to look at it and asked "What happened between you and Leo's parents? Why do you never talk about dad?"
"I do talk about him." The older woman answered, smiling nervously.
"No, you don't... not really. Leo mentioned something had happened between our parents." Zelena continued. Karen was looking for an easy escape but started to realize there wasn't one. When the redhead showed her the picture and started pointing out everyone in it and how happy they were Karen sat down next to her daughter and patted her thigh briefly.
"The only thing I know is that dad got into an accident and died... and that you were very very sad until you found Henry. But what happened exactly?" Zelena tried again.
"I never wanted to tell you when you were little..." Karen started, "...but your dad was having an affair." She paused and took a deep breath, "With Leo's dad."
"Huh... how... and... When was that?" a startled Zelena asked hesitantly.
"Before the accident. A couple of years ago." Karen answered, willing her voice to be steady.
"And for how long?"
"I don't know... really." This time Karen's voice audibly broke, she turned away from her daughter to collect herself. "Listen, at the moment of the accident your dad was in the car with Leo's dad. I didn't know it, Mal didn't know it... nobody knew." An escaped tear rolled down Karen's cheek and she took another deep breath.
"And who knows this?" Zelena paused before asking, "Did Regina know?"
"Regina was told by Henry. We thought it would only confuse you and your brother unnecessarily."
"I didn't know dad was such a slut." Zelena walked away angrily.
"I don't want you to talk about your father like that!" Karen shouted after her.
~~~oOo~~~
Sheriff Nottingham walked up to the reception desk and announced his reason for visiting. The clerk asked his ID and Keith showed it without delay. "Can you tell me how to get to the classroom then I can start working a bit?"
"Sir, this is a place where sensitive forensic materials are kept... You can't possibly believe we let people just wander around here?" the clerk said matter-of-factly, not believing what he had just heard.
Sheriff nodded and the clerk continued, "You can sit in our waiting area over there, someone will come shortly to get you and show you the way." Without further ado Keith did what he was told, a bit unsettled hoping his stupid remark hadn't made the clerk too suspicious.
Twenty minutes later a group of police officers was lead by the female teacher to the classroom. She was running a little late and had yet to pick up her folder with the handouts. She informed them "Just continue down this hall then to the left follow the grey arrows. It's room C248."
When she turned her attention from the group Keith ceased the opportunity and quickly disappeared inside a random lab. Inside he spotted a lab coat and a mask and swiftly donned both. Walking out of it a bit more confident he went in search of the lab labeled "DNA". He observed the lab rats working inside, beads of sweat started to form on his forehead. His breathing was rather labored and his heart was beating dangerously fast. Hoping they would soon leave, he nearly had a heart attack when his cell phone started to vibrate inside his pocket. Luckily he had remembered to put it on vibrate, yet the vibrating sounded too loud to him. He took it out and hastily glanced around him before looking at the caller ID 'Agent Lucas'. He ended the call and looked up just in time to see one of the lab rats had come dangerously close to his hiding spot. Losing his nerve entirely he ran out of there and didn't stop until he was safely in his car.
Beating his two hands on the steering wheel hard, berating himself and the failure that he was until he was distracted by his cell phone again. Agent Lucas was adamant about reaching him apparently. "Nottingham."
On the other end Ruby informed him they had brought in Cruella for interrogation and also mentioned the time lapse on the surveillance feed.
"Does she say anything?" he paused and waited for the answer then he told her, "I'm sorry, Agent Lucas, but I logged the time lapse per protocol. Yes, I'm coming in... there was some trouble at home."
~~~oOo~~~
Inside interrogation room 1 SA's Lucas and French sat at one end of the table, at the other end Cruella was sat. A laptop in front of her, on it the surveillance feed that showed her giving Regina Mills a lift.
"Look, Ms de Vil, you take Regina Mills with you in your car and a couple of hours later she ends up murdered a couple of miles away from the place you were last seen with her. Care to elaborate?" Agent Lucas spoke in a firm voice. Regina was also sat on the table directly facing Cruella.
"She wanted a ride." Cruella said matter-of-factly.
"We have a feed of the gas station you stopped at; this crucial moment was originally deleted. Any idea how that happened?" Lucas asked her.
"I have no idea how that happened." Cruella replied a bit defiant.
Ruby asked Belle to hand her the flash drive and Regina saw this as her chance to address Cruella. "Do you know Keith Nottingham?"
Cruella was a bit perplexed, she had tried to ignore Regina but it was particularly hard when she was spoken to. "Why are you sitting there, Conscious? Are you trying to trick me?"
Regina smirked at the unease Cruella was showing, hoping she would shed a light on what had happened. She didn't care one bit if she had to trick Cruella a little; she just wanted to know what had happened.
"Luckily for us the crucial moment was sent to us via this drive. Which was put inside this envelop," Ruby put the drive and said envelop in front of Cruella before continuing, "Can you tell us why your sister's address is on it?"
This piece of information unsettled Cruella even more but she was careful not to show too much emotion at this news. She cautiously glanced at Regina who was just staring at her. "I'm not saying anything without my lawyer present."
"Well if you don't want to help us you are only incriminating yourself. Which could become rather annoying but as is your wish." Both agents got up and left.
"Just tell what you did... You can't keep this to yourself much longer." Regina said to Cruella.
But the older woman ignored her and took out her cell phone; she opened it and removed the battery pack. Regina watched her closely and noticed the phone was a dual SIM. Cruella took out one and put it inside her shoe.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Regina asked flabbergasted. "Where are you putting that?"
"I'm done helping you, darling." Cruella said and Regina's only choice was to look at her in total confusion.
While waiting for Cruella's lawyer to turn up, Agent Lucas and Sheriff Nottingham were at his desk. She was showing him the footage with the time lapse and indicated when it happened exactly. "Look, Nottingham, here it is. Exactly 12 minutes are missing, how's that possible?" she straightened and put her hands inside her pockets.
Keith, who was still sat at his desk, held up his hands. "Have you looked in your drawer?"
"My what now?" she clearly wasn't following.
"When I was done with the analysis I put the footage in your drawer and I reported this." Sheriff said as if he was talking to a slow person.
"What you should have done, was report this time lapse DIRECTLY to me. You only told me nothing of importance was on it." Ruby had had it with this man, she suspected he might have something to do with it but without concrete evidence there was little she could do.
"There was nothing of importance...only that little time lapse." He was acting as if that wasn't a big deal at all. "It's nothing, really. Old shit like what they use at the gas station always malfunctions, we should be lucky there was footage to begin with."
Ruby barely contained an eye-roll and shook her head slightly, Keith was so sure of himself but the man was just full of shit. "Did you upload the footage to the central database?"
"Yes, that was me."
"Then what is this?" she took her hand from her pocket and in it she held the flash drive.
He took it from her hand and studied it carefully. "This is not the flash drive I used. The one you gave me didn't have this silver key chain."
She took the flash drive from his hands and narrowed her eyes at him, "Yes, there most definitely was a silver key chain on the one I gave you! According to you, where is this original flash drive?"
"That should be in my desk."
"Okay, show me."
He opened his drawer which was full of clutter; he rummaged through it until he found a red flash drive identical to the one Ruby had shown him. He wordlessly put it in his computer and clicked to open the files. The screen was immediately filled with half naked babes on bikes and vintage cars. "Oh, this is clearly not the one. This is Killian's research of the car."
"I have had it with your amateurism! Is this a joke to all of you? A young woman is dead might I remind you!" Ruby could have smacked him, she was that angry.
He started to apologize but Lucas cut him off midsentence, "You know this looks a lot like obstruction of justice."
"Obstruction? I can assure you you are wrong! Regina was the girlfriend of my nephew, everyone knows her and her family around here." He looked at Ruby who's jaw clenched but she remained silent, he asked "So what do you know about this Devill?"
"Nothing! If we don't find anything, she'll get off with a fine for driving without a license plate. That's it."
About an hour had gone by before Cruella's lawyer showed up; when he was there they showed him the way to his client and gave them a couple of minutes. After that both agents returned to the interrogation room where Regina was leaning against a wall but only one person in the room was aware of her presence there.
"I'm going to make this quick, if I notice that my client's rights are in any way violated this interview ends immediately. I hope that's clear."
"Ms de Vil," Agent Lucas addressed Cruella as if the lawyer hadn't said anything, "What are we looking at?" with that she hit play on the laptop and the video feed started playing.
"That's very simple, darling. I was meeting a client, client cancelled the meeting and I returned home. On my way there I encounter a young woman. I offer her a ride. At the gas station she becomes difficult which was more than I was willing to handle so I left her there. End of story." Cruella told them very businesslike.
"Okay, again but slower. You own a business that handles in party equipment, right?"
"Yes. "
"Does everyone in your sector drive without plates?" Agent French asked.
"Right, the license plate... Give my client a fine, will you?" the lawyer interrupted. "I think my client is being criminalized here while we do nothing but cooperate. She gave you her cell phone voluntarily."
"Ah yes, the cell phone that was conveniently turned off at the night of the murder." Agent Lucas replied sarcastically. "How did your client cancel exactly? Smoke signals? Carrier pigeon?"
"Okay, time-out, my client is not saying another word until she has had that tea she was promised." With that the lawyer got up and left the interrogation room, both agents in tow.
"I never hitchhike." Regina told Cruella when everyone had left.
"I knew it was a bad idea to take you with me." Cruella sighed.
"Where was I hitchhiking then? What was the exact spot I was standing?" Regina's voice grew louder, she still refused to believe she had been hitchhiking; she left her spot at the wall and put her hands on the table leaning close to Cruella but she wasn't impressed.
"Piss off!"
A very angry Regina left without another word.
~~~oOo~~~
"The images aren't enough to hold her?" Emma asked while picking up a crate with fruit and putting it on the stack with other crates. Regina was sitting nearby cross-legged, watching the stills which clearly showed Cruella's face at the gas station.
"Apparently not... they're looking at who altered the surveillance feed. That's it?" Regina stated.
"But why would Sheriff protect her?" Emma asked and briefly paused replacing crates.
"Maybe he's afraid..." Regina shrugged before studying the still again. "But what's the link between the 5 see-ers and Cruella de Vil?"
Emma looked at her and simply stated, "You."
~~~oOo~~~
Keith Nottingham rushed home and frantically started searching his desk in the garage. He was trying to find the flash drive, but it was not there. Somehow he expected this but it still pissed him off. He cursed and banged his fists on the desk. He calmed down for a second, went to his secret hiding place and briefly feared it might have been discovered too. Upon checking it he noticed everything was still in the small box, the grey hound key chain and everything else he needed to hide. He was a little relieved.
He went back to the kitchen where Sarah was cutting some vegetables and said, "Where is Emma? She has to find her own place; I've had it with her!"
Sarah didn't even bother to turn around and yelled, "Dr. Lucas is convinced she's doing better, Emma stays! I have had it too, you hear me!"
Keith's brow furrowed, he had no idea what Sarah was on about or why she was so mad. He slowly approached her and asked her what was wrong. She put down the knife, which was also a relief, before telling him she saw him with Mal. He immediately went on to defend himself, claiming nothing happened but Sarah wasn't convinced because he'd lied about it.
"I knew if I told you, you would make a scene." Keith paused, "And that's exactly what you're doing."
"I saw her lying in your arms..." Sarah sighed before resuming cutting the vegetables.
"There's been a murder in that place, they are suspecting Mal and Leo... she was scared I tried to comfort her. That's all. You know what; I will accompany you and Emma to Dr. Lucas next time."
He put his arms around her and although Sarah was still angry, she opted to believe him one last time. He even offered to help her prepare dinner but that was a bit too much and Sarah declined. Having nothing else to do he decided to drive to Emma's working place.
Emma was coming out of the store carrying a crate when she noticed Keith's squad car pulling up. She barely suppressed rolling her eyes.
"It was you that sent the flash drive to the feds, wasn't it?" It was neither a question nor a statement but something in between so Emma decided the safest option was to just stare at him and refrain from answering.
"Answer me, goddamnit! You have no idea what you're meddling with!" Emma turned back around but just kept staring at him, "Was it that little girlfriend of yours, is she the one that's whispering in your ear? Did you even tell her where you've been these last couple of years?"
Still Emma refused to answer him and this made Keith furious, he grabbed whatever piece of fruit he could get his hands on and started to throw them at her, "Answer me, you fucking psychopath!"
One tomato flew past Emma but the second and third one hit her and something just snapped in her. Just as she was about to let her anger out on Sheriff, Sebastian showed up out of nowhere.
"Are those rotten? They aren't, are they? They're good."
The appearance of Sebastian and his simple question defused the situation and Keith just got back into his car and drove off. Emma patted Sebastian on the shoulder. That boy had just saved her from a lot of trouble and she couldn't have been happier.
~~~oOo~~~
Cora was working on her laptop when she heard Regina coming in; she smiled at her and asked, "Do you remember that recipe for the apple pie you used to make, dear?"
"Do I look like I'm in the mood for apple pie?" Regina sighed and sat down on the coffee table.
"Okay... what's wrong?" Cora asked a bit confused.
"Do you know this person?" Regina asked and showed Cora the still, who took it to examine a little better.
Regina went on to explain how they arrested this de Vil person and that she wasn't cooperating, even lying about the hitchhiking and everything. Cora gave her a sympathetic look, "Why did you even go with her? Someone with a face like that isn't trustworthy."
"Spare me the lecture, okay, mom. Do you know her or not?"
"No, don't even know where I should know her from."
Regina told her mother in a small voice how this de Vil person was also able to see her. "I don't know, dear, but it's high time people start being honest with you."
A look of puzzlement crossed Regina's face, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Zelena for one... did she tell you she took your racing gear and wanted to take over your lessons? And don't get me started on Kathryn who got herself arrested for selling drugs."
Regina's jaw hit the floor; she closed her mouth and hastily left the house.
~~~oOo~~~
On their way to the police station Special Agent Lucas received a phone call from the DA's office.
"Lucas." she answered, "uh huh... okay we're on our way."
She looked at Belle, "de Vil is a drug dealer."
"What?"
"Ecstacy."
Belle let out a low whistle and smiled widely, was this finally the break-through they needed?
At the same time Regina arrived at the police office, she heard Sheriff Nottingham's voice. Walking in the direction of the noise she could overhear what he was saying.
He was leaning into a wall with his back turned to Regina talking to Jeffrey, Kathryn's nephew. "Goddamnit, Jeffrey, I'm sick and tired of these games... Listen, we both know you bought the drugs from de Vil."
"I never said that." Jeffrey sounded angry.
"Yes, you did and that's exactly what you're going to tell Special Agent French."
Regina wasn't interested in the conversation; the only thing she was interested in was Kathryn's involvement. She still couldn't believe her best friend could be the reason she was drugged on the night of her murder. She slipped past Sheriff Keith and into the interrogation room. Kathryn was sitting on the windowsill but immediately noticed Regina's presence.
"Please, Regina, don't get mad."
"No, of course not." Regina replied. "I just want to know what happened."
Kathryn dropped her gaze to her lap and her shoulders hunched, "I was with my nephews when the police barged in and found the drugs."
"Nephews?"
"Yeah, sons of my father's brother. The 3 bears." Kathryn explained.
"Does one of them call you 'Goldilocks'?" Regina got up, suddenly feeling hot.
"Yeah, why?"
"Are you fucking kidding me, Kathryn! Those guys are involved with Cruella de Vil, the bitch that gave me a ride home on the night of my murder!"
"I honestly don't know anything about all that, I'm sorry." Kathryn pleaded genuinely with her friend.
"What were you even doing there?"
"I needed money."
"Drug money?"
"I didn't know that..." Kathryn shrugged.
"Tell me it wasn't you that gave me the drugs that night?"
"No, of course not!"
"Or your nephews?"
"Again no, you were with Zelena and Leo the entire night..." Kathryn's sentence was cut of by Sheriff and Officer Jones entering the interrogation room.
"You're in luck, the DA's forgiving... it seems." Sheriff said.
"You will get a fine, of course. Come, I'll bring you home." Officer Jones continued.
Kathryn grabbed her jacket and left with Killian. Sheriff watched her leave the room then smirked at Regina and got closer. "Are you glad we caught de Vil? We didn't have much but thanks to Jefferson's confession we're able to hold her a little longer."
"Is that why you deleted the footage?" Regina asked, suspicion growing once more.
"What do you think happens when a person like that sees herself on tv... but thanks to you we were able to find her and now the FBI can do their job."
"You're trying to manipulate me again." Regina said and ducked under Keith's arm to leave the room.
When she made it just out of the door, he added "Did anyone tell you you have some serious trust issues?" The brunette didn't answer him; she turned around and walked away.
~~~oOo~~~
Emma and Regina were walking side by side, the brunette had her hands deep inside her pockets, and her shoulders slumped. She was dragging her feet a little and Emma couldn't help but notice something was going on. Her normally talkative friend was also unusually quiet.
"Is everything alright?" Emma asked.
Regina just shrugged.
"I take it that as a 'no'." Emma continued.
"Hmm."
"They didn't release her, did they?" Emma asked, wondering if Cruella was somehow the reason of Regina's brooding mood.
"Nope, they've caught her. Thanks to your dad." Regina paused briefly, "I just don't get any of this you know... me being here..."
They stopped walking and turned to each other. Emma waited but when it was clear Regina wasn't going to continue she dropped her bike and said, "You know what I do whenever I get the feeling it's me against the world?"
They were standing very close and Regina didn't know who had initiated this closeness, not that it mattered. She was able to feel Emma's breath on her face and just that small thing made her pulse pick up a bit. Her eyes dropped involuntarily to Emma's lips and for a moment she expected to feel their obvious softness on hers.
However she didn't want to look too desperate so she looked back up to Emma's eyes and they briefly locked their gazes. A smirk formed on Emma's face before she moved and ran away from Regina screaming at the top of her lungs. It was a quick and forceful scream and the run was short, she turned around and watched Regina watching her with an amused expression on her face.
"Come on, it's your turn." The blonde said.
"My turn?"
"Of course!"
Regina embarrassedly looked left and right to make sure they were indeed alone and then ran towards Emma while screaming, feebly.
"Not bad, not bad, but you have to really feel the scream you know. It has to come from deep within you before you unleash it." The blonde pulled the brunette closer to her and added, "You have to really feel it, down here." With those words she placed her free hand on Regina's diaphragm.
Regina's breathing momentarily hitched and she was sure she felt that touch deep within her, much deeper than where she was supposed to feel it. "Together on three?" her voice was huskier than she had ever heard it.
"Okay, one... two... three..." they both started running but only Emma screamed, Regina was too busy laughing at the goofy blonde.
"Miss funny-pants, it's your turn now, okay." Emma said and linked arms with Regina and pulled her forward. This time they both screamed, repeating this the entire length of the field.
~~~oOo~~~
Sarah checked her watch for the umpteenth time and sighed. She crossed and uncrossed her legs nervously a couple of times before checking her watch yet again. She was sitting in the waiting area at Dr. Lucas and they were already five minutes late for the appointment, still there was no sign of either Keith or Emma. She wasn't surprised Keith hadn't showed but Emma was unexpected, the young woman had been very serious about her recovery and Sarah was worried something might have happened.
She took out her phone and dialed Emma's number but the call went straight to voicemail... "Emma? I'm calling because we had an appointment with Doctor Lucas... You're probably on your way, can you let me know something when you get this. Oh, try to reach Sheriff please because I can't reach him. Okay, bye."
Emma and Regina were sitting outside the trailer where they had built a small campfire to fight off the chilly night air. Emma's phone had died hours ago and was left charging inside. Sitting there with Regina had made her completely forget about her psychiatric appointment.
They were just watching the fire; at least Regina was Emma was mostly watching Regina watching the fire. Just looking at the brunette brought a smile to Emma's face and filled her with this warm feeling. She felt happier than she had in forever, making her wish she had met her before that fateful night.
"So, let's review..." Regina said. "What if de Vil didn't kill me, but just saw something?"
Emma thought about it, "You think we all just saw little pieces and together we are supposed to see the big picture that will eventually lead us to the killer?"
"Maybe..." Regina answered.
"Then you'll have to ask all of them."
"I don't know... they all act so weird around me, like they keep stuff from me." Regina said sullenly.
"I don't keep stuff from you..." Emma said and nudged her gently trying to lighten her mood.
"No, not you..."
Regina's mood wasn't improving much though, she was deep in thought Emma noticed. She was staring at Regina but the brunette was just staring in the distance. The blonde nudged her again and said, "Aren't you afraid you'll disappear when we solve this?"
This snapped Regina out of whatever funk she was in, she looked at Emma wide-eyed. She hadn't really considered this, and suddenly she was afraid of what that meant. Emma added, "Because I am..." before turning her gaze back to the brunette.
Their eyes locked, everything around them disappeared leaving only them in this moment. Regina smiled slightly, the thought of disappearing frightened her too but hearing those words out of Emma's mouth made her cheerful. The blonde really felt something for her, something deep. It sounded weird but it felt like they had known each other for years and this wasn't the first time Regina felt their connection.
She shifted her gaze to Emma's lips; Emma had licked them unconsciously. Her gaze traveled slowly back up and locked with Emma's again, her heart was hammering in her chest which was a weird sensation for someone who was supposed to be dead. What she felt was real and she had never wanted to be kissed more badly than by the blonde right now.
Emma was feeling similar things, besides being afraid she really wanted to kiss Regina... again, for real this time. She bit her lip briefly before closing the distance between them and softly but surely kissing Regina who was momentarily stunned but regained quickly and deepened the kiss tangling her hand in blonde locks pulling her impossibly closer. Emma put her arms around Regina and they both quickly lost themselves into the kiss.
Emma backed Regina up never breaking the kiss until Regina's back connected with the trailer door. With intense dark eyes she looked at Emma and said, "I have never done this..."
Emma smiled understandingly and kissed her softly, "I won't hurt you... unless you ask me to."
The little joke broke Regina's nervous tension and she hungrily kissed the blonde, who managed to open the door and maneuver them inside until they fell down in a heated tangle on the bed. Clothes disappeared quickly, hands and lips discovered new places while moans of pleasure spread far over the fields that surrounded them.
~~~oOo~~~
Keith Nottingham still hadn't answered his cell, he was still working. Officer Jones was driving and Sheriff was in the back with Cruella de Vil transporting her to jail. Sarah was livid, she called him again and this time let all her anger out. "You know what FUCK YOU and your stupid sister-in-law with her stupid B&B!" She assumed wrongly that Keith was at Mal's place helping her out again. Sarah frantically drove through the streets, nearly running over Henry but she was too angry to notice.
Henry furrowed his brow and quickly jumped out of the way, he shook his head at the driver's behavior but didn't think too much of it. He made his way over to Cora's house and rang the doorbell. A surprisingly sober Cora opened the door almost immediately. "Come in." She said gently.
Henry was hesitant, not sure why he was there in the first place but since Cora was at least making an effort to stay sober he agreed. Cora asked him if he wanted coffee and he nodded. A steaming cup was set in front of him before long and they both sat down at the kitchen table. They were engulfed by an awkward silence until Henry started talking about Regina; their child would always be something between them.
"It's just... it's not because Regina did all these things... that she was like that. I'm really trying to wrap my mind around it, to make sense of this all without judgment. Maybe she just used drugs for one time, drove off with a stranger this onetime..." his voice broke.
"I understand you..." Cora touched Henry's arm but quickly pulled back not wanting to give the wrong impression. "You just want to know, don't you? You want to understand who she was."
Tears were running down his face, "Sometimes I drive by the archery and just sit there... a couple of hours or half a day; just listening to the radio. To her favorite show." Henry cleared his throat and started to get up. "I should leave. Did you find the recipe between your cookbook?"
"No, Henry, to be honest I haven't searched for it yet."
"Then why am I here?" Henry was clearly upset.
"Wait, I wanted to tell you something about Regina." Cora earnestly replied.
"We haven't done anything else, Cora! Do you have any idea how difficult this has been for me... coming here, talking about her... with you?"
"I know and I'm sorry but there's something else." Cora said apologetically, "I don't really know how to tell you this but... Regina, our Regina, is still here."
"I know that, somewhere..."
"No no no, that's not what I meant..." Cora got up and grabbed a scrapbook from the cabinet, without saying anything she opened it searching for something. "Look, here."
Inside was a picture of Regina at Cora's table but when Henry looked at the picture all he saw was an empty chair.
"An empty picture?"
Cora was confused and thought Henry just didn't want to believe but she stayed remarkably calm, "Look, I know this is hard and it sounds questionable but sometimes Regina comes here to talk. She's really here."
Henry blinked a couple of times finding all of this extremely hard to believe, it confused him beyond reason. "What do you mean exactly?"
~~~oOo~~~
Zelena and Leo were in his room talking about their fathers, David and Robin.
"I understand now why you reacted like that." Zelena informed him.
"I assumed you already knew..."
Zelena shook her head and they both remained silent for a short while. "There's something else actually..." Zelena began, "BMX racing is not for me, I only wanted to be close to you. I assumed that by being more like Regina you would like me better. I know we cannot... I just don't want things to be weird between us."
Leo got up from the floor and sat down next to Zelena; he gently clutched her hand in his and said, "I like you better than Regina. You are friendlier, sweeter and more attractive. And I think we are a better match than Regina and I ever were."
Leo tried to close the distance between them but Zelena pulled back shyly. She wanted it yet something was blocking her, she tried to voice her fears but Leo assured her this was the right thing. He gently touched her cheek and pulled her into a warm kiss. The kiss quickly turned into uncertain touches until they both grew confident enough to shed their clothes... They were so lost in each other they had forgotten to close the blinds.
Sarah was creeping around the B&B stealthily; still convinced she was going to catch Keith and Mal in a heated state. When she noticed a light in one of the rooms and saw movement that looked suspiciously like people being intimate she took out her phone and gradually crept closer, filming the entire spectacle. When she realized she was not filming Keith and Mal but Leo and a redhead that looked like Zelena she stopped filming. She looked at her recording again and was surprised to see it was indeed Zelena and Leo in an intimate pose... Luckily they were both of age or she would have broken even more laws than she already had. Still, Sarah didn't erase the video... she put her phone away walked back to her car and went home.
~~~oOo~~~
Emma and Regina were lying in each other's arms, still very naked. They were both exhausted from their lovemaking and were just enjoying the feel of the other's skin on their own. Emma was slowly running a finger up and down Regina's arm and it was tingling in a most perfect way. If she had had the energy Regina would have touched Emma in all the places she knew the blonde liked and in places she had yet to discover but she couldn't. She turned her head and kissed Emma softly.
They were both just so happy and wanted to stay there forever, if the crime wasn't solved they could, couldn't they? But the blonde soon realized that thought was pathetic because no one could live like this, not even them. The realization hit her hard and with it she remembered she was supposed to be at Dr. Lucas's.
"Shit!" she grunted.
"What?" Regina asked confused.
"I forgot I had an appointment! My mom is going to be pissed..." Emma reluctantly got up and started to dress herself, "I should probably go home before she's worried, it's really late."
Regina understood but wasn't necessarily happy about the abrupt ending of this perfect moment. She dressed herself as well and said goodbye to Emma, careful not to let things get out of hand again.
She went to her mother's place because she wanted to be around someone who could see her. While Regina was getting in, Cora walked towards her and said "Finally you're here. I thought you would be here earlier, dear."
Regina was unsure of what was going on, why was her mother behaving more erratically than usual? She didn't get a chance to ask because Cora turned towards the kitchen and said in a loud voice, "Henry, it's okay. Regina is here."
"What the h..." Regina stormed into the kitchen and was surprised to find her dad sitting there.
Cora pulled her back and whispered "I have told your father everything and he's really looking forward to this. Can you understand how much he needs this?"
Regina visibly calmed down but was still appalled by the news; she went to the kitchen table and sat down next to her father who was talking to Cora "Look, I understand how much you want to believe this... need this even and it's okay."
Regina said, "Two eggs whisked together." And Cora repeated these words to Henry.
"Wha... what?"
"Add vanilla essence and cinnamon." Regina continued and again Cora repeated the words to Henry.
"And a bit of rum essence."
"That's it!" Henry said impressed, some part of him wanted to believe it yet another part was still doubtful. "Okay... What did I put on Sebastian's cake last year?"
Cora looked at Regina; she had heard the question so there was no need to repeat it. Regina only needed a second before answering, "To our sweet, little rascal but then you replaced rascal with piccolo."
Cora carefully repeated this to Henry whose smile grew wider while his eyes filled with fresh tears. He had no other choice than to believe Cora because there was no way she could have known this without Regina being there. Regina touched her father's arm and put her head on his shoulder in a loving embrace that she hoped he somehow was able to feel.
~~~oOo~~~
Somewhere in Darkton Officer Jones was still driving the police car with Cruella De Vil. Sheriff Nottingham was also there and everyone was sat in utter silence until Sheriff started coughing violently, gagging a little. "Fuck, Jonesie, did you fart?!"
"No, Sheriff, I swear I didn't... I think." Jones replied sheepishly. "I don't think we have any air refresher left either."
"Well, you know the rules... the one that did it, has to pay for it." Sheriff told him.
Jones shrugged and drove straight to a night shop to buy some air refresher. The fact that he hadn't smelled anything hadn't even occurred to him. He got out and Keith waited until he had disappeared inside the shop entirely before turning his attention to Cruella but she was the one to speak first.
"I was afraid you were going to let me rot in here, uncuff me, darling."
"And then what?" He asked her.
"What are we doing here if that wasn't the plan all along?" Cruella asked, growing more suspicious. "I need to make a phone call so they can come pick me up." She bent over and grabbed the SIM card which she had hidden in her shoe.
"Why would I consider letting you go?" Sheriff asked.
"What do you think will happen if I end up in jail, darling?" Cruella scoffed. "If I go down, you go down don't ever think otherwise."
Sheriff lunged forward, grabbed Cruella's collar and pulled her close "I don't respond well to threats, darling." He spoke in a low tone before releasing her again.
"And I don't like that attitude of yours."
Sheriff pulled out his gun and pointed it at his captive, "Didn't you lose a necklace hanger? Did you really think you could change my mind by killing that girl in a hotel room?"
"I don't know what you think you know, but I have never set foot inside that hotel and you aren't going to frame me!" This time Cruella lunged forward and tried to get the gun but her still cuffed hands made it rather difficult and a struggle ensued.
Officer Jones had just decided which air refresher he wanted when a shot was heard.
I have read a lot of guesses and I can tell you some of you aren't that far of... of course #nospoilers is still in place ;-). Feel free to keep guessing, this time not only on who the killer might be but also who got shot?!
Reviews are always welcome too :-).