Chapter Twenty-One: Spelling It Out

Day Twenty-Three:

Things were going… surprisingly well.

Cases were running smoothly.

Victor was convinced that within the next few days, he would have something for Jessica to try.

As for Kilgrave…

*****SPELLING IT OUT*****

Kilgrave was normal.

Well, not completely normal. He was still a man with incredible abilities, but he never used them to hurt anyone. Always to help someone else. Rescuing people… the works.

Every now and then, he'd do something sneaky like have someone give up their flowers but it was always for Jessica. Because he loved her. And when she saw him do this, she'd shake her head and roll her eyes, but a smile would come through eventually. He didn't need to keep taking anymore, but sometimes it was a nice gesture so Jessica let it go. Besides, Kilgrave had a job. He could pay for things now.

Oddly enough, she felt… safe around him. She'd never experienced romantic love before, so she couldn't be certain on how to define it. But it was something. And it was strong.

When he got home from work today, he cupped her cheeks and kissed her quietly. "I missed you today." He said against her lips.

"Really?" Her eyelids fluttered open.

"Yes. Why? Because I love you Jessica Jones." He smiled as he looked down at her.

"I -" She wasn't allowed to give a response before he kissed her again.

And then again. And again. Until they were back in the hospital elevator together. The metal cage that made it harder to breathe.

"Kilgrave…" She moaned and the noise echoed on for eternity. It wouldn't leave.

In here, she had no strength, so she was completely at his mercy, and there was no escape from his relentless kisses. But she wanted it… because Kilgrave was good. As close to normal as he would ever get. It was all she wanted.

So she didn't stop him when he quickly unbuttoned her jeans, both of them eager like two teens about to lose their virginity.

He lifted her up completely so she was pinned to the wall, and when he started to fuck her, she whimpered in sweet surrender and clutched the back of his jacket.

As their bodies moved up and down in sync, he kissed her chest, indulged in the fact that she wanted him, and whispered her name to her in that sultry way. "Jessica… Jessica…"

*****SPELLING IT OUT*****

"Jessica!" Kilgrave was kneeling beside the sofa, shaking her shoulders, in an attempt to wake her up. She had been restlessly turning for the past few minutes ever since he woke up, groaning, breathing heavily, and tugging at her clothes.

She startles away and scrambles away from him, pressing herself into the back of the couch. She was still extremely frantic and detached from reality as she looks down at herself. Besides having sweat through her clothes, her tank top was torn from pulling on it so hard.

Trying to calm her down, he moves his hands away. "Jessica… hey. I think you were having a nightmare. Are you okay?"

*****SPELLING IT OUT*****

Jessica was far from okay.

And it didn't help that she couldn't remember what her dream was about. Whatever it was, she didn't tell Kilgrave the minor detail that it probably wasn't a nightmare considering there was a familiar wetness between her legs when she woke up.

She tries not to let it confuse her or fuck with her mood as she heads to work. When she opens the door, Anna jumps to her feet.

"Oh! Jewel, thank God you're here! Can you take this please?! Talk to her or… something. Do whatever it is that you do! You're good with this kinda stuff, right?!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Jessica asks, trying not to get annoyed.

"Take this case, please? Her case." Anna points at a woman in the chair in front of her desk.

Jessica pushes past her and takes Anna's seat behind the desk. The client was a young woman who had clearly been crying, as she fiddles with the tissue in her hand. There were a couple handwritten notes on the desk that Anna had scrawled out before she seemed to have given up. The client's name, age, a few other names and the address of an apartment building.

"Diana Lezon, is it?" Jessica says, to which she receives a hesitant nod.

"Y-yes. And… who are you?" Diana snivels and turns back to look at Anna, but her and Jack have already disappeared into the kitchen.

"Since those two are completely useless and don't seem very interested in taking your case, then right now, I'm the only one who can help you."

It was all business today for Jessica, and getting that vibe, Diana just nods again, quickly.

Referring back to the notes, she goes on, "Who are these people? Lily and Harold Robinson?"

"Oh… those… those are my parents." She chokes back tears and grips the crumpled up tissue harder.

"And?" Jessica presses, unsympathetically.

Trying to gather herself, she goes on to say, "My… my dad was murdered… last week… and… and my mum… she confessed to killing him…"

Wishing Diana would hurry up and get to the point, she huffs, "And? Is there more to this?"

"Yes… well I believe so. Because… because I know my parents. And they loved each other… and they would never fight… and I know -"

Jessica sighs loudly and stands up, slamming her hands down on the desk. "Anna! Why are you wasting my fucking time!?" There is no response, so she rolls her eyes and looks back at the startled woman. "Listen. People fight, people kill. Could surprise you. And your mom confessed so… not much you can do about that. If there is a different explanation, I'm sure the police will take care of it. I'm a P.I., but just let the police do their job. Goodbye." She steps out from behind the desk, fully prepared to walk away, since Dumb and Dumber didn't seem to have a real case for her.

"Please! Wait! I… that's just the thing… the police aren't doing anything about it and I -"

She stops. "What do you mean they aren't doing anything about it?"

Diana dabs under her eyes. "I mean… my mum confessed but she doesn't remember doing it, and -"

"She doesn't remember?!"

"No." She shakes her head. "She… she said she went to see my dad… and then he was dead and she had blood all over herself. It didn't make sense."

"So why did she confess is she doesn't remember doing it?" Jessica sits back down, slightly intrigued.

"I don't… I don't know. She said she felt like she needed to. It was hard for her to describe."

"Did she tell all of this to her lawyer?"

Nodding, she shifts in her seat. "Yes… but he's not very bright. And with her confession on record, the best he'll probably get her is a plea deal." Before another question is asked, she goes on, "So… I went to talk to the… the head detective on the case… you know? To see if they had other suspects or… or evidence or something. But he said… he said that the case was closed…"

"He said what?!"

"He… he said the case was closed. It doesn't make sense to me. I don't see how the police could close a homicide so quickly, even with a confession."

"No. What did the officer say exactly?" She stresses the word.

"Oh." Diana pauses, blinking a few times. "He said 'The Robinson case is closed'. Just like that… it was weird."

"Why was it weird?" At this point, it was obvious that something about this was off, but she needed all the details.

"I… I don't know. Just the way he said it I suppose. He sounded so… robotic… it's hard to explain. And even stranger… every one of them said that when I asked about it…"

"What?!"

"Every detective I talked to… the all said the same exact thing. 'The Robinson case is closed'... all of them…"

Yeah. Something was up.

"What's this address here? This apartment complex?" Jessica asks, referring to the note on the table again.

"Oh… that's…" Diana looks down, whimpering a little. "Umm… that's… my dad is… was the landlord there… that's where they found his body…"

"Great." Jessica wasn't trying to be rude, but more like she was saying 'Thanks for the information'. Picking up a pen, she tears a corner of the paper off and scribbles down her number, sliding it over to Diana, before putting the remainder of the note in her pocket. "If something changes, or you have something else to tell me, call me." She stands up sharply and heads for the exit.

"So… so that means you're going to help me?" Diana turns, watching her walk away.

"Yep." Jessica says, before slamming the door closed behind her.

*****SPELLING IT OUT*****

It was much earlier than their agreed upon time for Kilgrave to show up at Ruby's place. Besides, Kilgrave had a key. So who was it that was knocking at her door?

She didn't get visitors, so her first thought and fear was that it was someone from her ex-gang. Was Alex out of the hospital?! Was it Sherry? Maria? Wilson? Jacob? Sam? The list was endless and anyone of them could be here now, asking questions.

Very cautiously and quietly, she stands up, straightening her red dress, and tip-toes to the door. When she looks through the peep-hole, she frowns. Oh. It was just some random lady.

Opening the door, she leans up against the frame, and with a calm voice, she says, "Yes?"

This woman looked vaguely familiar. Kind of like the 'We-reached-for-the-same-box-of-tampons-at-the-store' familiar. The uncomfortable familiar.

She was unusually tall, with pale skin and contrasting black hair. After having been with Kilgrave for a number of weeks now, Ruby could say that the woman had no fashion sense at all. Ripped jeans, boots, a gray top, leather jacket, and an infinity scarf. Hardly an outfit to be proud of. Still, if she wasn't so horribly dressed, then she could be considered attractive.

When Ruby looks at her, it was like she might recognize her too, because there's a certain look in her eyes. How odd.

As she responds, the woman tries to smile somewhat, but smiling looked entirely unnatural on her. "Hi. Are you Victoria Griffith?"

Ruby's eyes narrow immediately. "Who's asking?" No one called her Victoria. No one. The last people to call her that were her demented parents. The only time that name appeared was on official government documents. This woman didn't look like the police, so who was she?!

Putting her hands in her pockets, she hesitates to respond. "I'm a local private investigator."

Really?! Ruby thinks to herself. A local private eye with an American accent? Possible, but unlikely. "A P.I. huh? What's your name?"

There's hesitation again. "My name's Jewel."

"Jewel… what?" Ruby tilts her head, a habit that she picked up from Kilgrave.

She can't stop her eyes from rolling, as if she gets that question a lot. "Just Jewel."

"Huh. Well Jewel. No one calls me Victoria. Call me Ruby."

"Okay Ruby." There's no formal greeting. They just look at each other. "I just have some things I'd like to ask you. Can I come in?"

Keeping the door mostly closed, she ignores that question and asks her own. "What's this about?"

"I'm sure you're aware of the murder of your landlord, Harold Robinson?"

"Oh, yes." She figured that's what this had to be about. But she wasn't scared or nervous, knowing very well that Kilgrave would take care of this little problem the moment he heard about it. In the meantime, she does her best to pretend and frowns. "Yes… that was rather unfortunate."

"Yeah." Jewel's eyes narrow the slightest bit as she goes on. "Were you late on paying the rent for last month?"

"Just a little. You see, I got laid off, but he was nice enough to let me pay it late. We were good friends… Harold and I." Ruby smiles sadly, a natural at lying.

"Uh-huh." It didn't seem like she was buying it however.

"So… is there a problem here? Don't the police already have the murderer in custody?"

"Do you think I'm here to question you as a suspect?"

"No. You would have no reason to."

There was immediate tension as both of them were trying to get a read on the other.

Jewel says slowly, "I'm just here, talking to some of the residents to get a general impression on him. That's all."

"Well then. If we're done here, I'm quite busy today." Ruby responds, already stepping back into her flat.

"Of course… uh…" Reaching deep into her pocket, she pulls out a sticky note with a number on it, handing it to her. "If you happen to think of anything you want to tell me, call."

"Sure…" She takes it from her, skeptically. As she's about to close the door, she says, "Nice to meet you Jewel." But her tone is shallow and insincere.

"Likewise." She responds with the same tone, just as the door clicks shuts.

The first thing Ruby does is trot to her bedroom to retrieve her mobile. Kilgrave was called on speed dial.

"Hey Ruby." His voice is light, pleased to hear from her.

"Hey… I know you weren't gonna come 'round til later, but we might have a problem."

"A problem?" He's serious now. "What's wrong?"

"It shouldn't be that big of a deal, but a private detective just showed up at my place asking about the landlord."

"A private detective?!" There's no hiding his shock.

"Yeah. She's kinda weird… her name is Jewel."

"Jewel? Jewel what?"

"That's what I said! But apparently it's 'just Jewel'. She was very adamant about that."

She could hear the frown in his voice. "Hmm. Sounds like a stripper's name."

Ruby can't stop herself from giggling. "It does, doesn't it!"

"Yes it does." He laughs a little now too. "Did she give you some way to contact her?"

"Yeah, she gave me her number."

"Alright. We'll call her back over, find out who's asking questions, and all parties will be dead before the end of the day. Fair?"

"Perfect." Ruby smiles through the phone.

"I'll be over in an hour."

*****SPELLING IT OUT*****

So the woman that Jessica saw at the store last week was connected to this somehow?! It was hard to forget the first time she saw her. No wonder she was so fucking suspicious!

That lying little bitch!

'We were good friends… Harold and I.'

Ha! What a load of bullshit!

Outside of work, Harold didn't interact with people much, meaning the most logical place to start was that apartment building. Jessica had gone to the complex with a list of people who had some reason to dislike the landlord. Late on rent, disputes and so on. Despite being late to pay, multiple residents confirmed that Victoria or 'Ruby' had several violent arguments with him in the last couple of weeks. Her neighbors also said that Ruby was quite intimidating. Small, but intimidating. Luckily, no one intimidated Jessica, and now she had a primary suspect.

How was Ruby connected? Was she the murderer, an accomplice, or did she just know something and wasn't saying? Even if that was the case, it didn't explain the wife's blackout, or why she confessed, or why the police were being so unusual about it. This case was getting stranger and stranger, but now she had a place to start.

After retrieving her computer, she goes into some research. Finding out who Victoria Griffith was and understanding her history was priority. But she doesn't get very far before her phone rings.

*****SPELLING IT OUT*****

As promised, Kilgrave was there an hour later and they sat down on the sofa together.

"I think I got it." Ruby says as she squints at the paper and dials the number.

"Put it on speaker." Kilgrave replies, wanting to get an idea of who this woman was.

She nods, unable to stop herself from smiling. It was going to be fun watching Jewel kill herself.

They wait, listening to it ring. When the other end picks up, no one says anything, as they were both waiting for the other person to talk first.

Kilgrave nods at Ruby to go ahead, so she says, "Umm… it's Ruby. This is Jewel, right?"

"Yeah. That's me. Do you have something you want to tell me?"

Kilgrave would have recognized that voice anywhere, anytime, on any occasion. But Ruby doesn't seem to notice his body language change.

"Actually, I was going to ask if you could come back over to my place."

"For what?"

At this point, his heart was pounding furiously, as he clenches his teeth and lets out a low growl, which finally gets Ruby to look up at him. When she does, she frowns. She's never seen him this… frantic before. He's shaking his head and mouthing to her, 'Hang. Up.' He seems furious and panicked and anxious all at once. It confused her. And frankly, it scared her.

Looking back the the phone, she fumbles, "Uh… umm… never mind. Forget it… goodbye!"

"Wait, what -"

But Kilgrave had already snatched the phone and ended the call before anything else could happen. "Jesus! Fuck, Ruby!" He stands up and throws the phone back on the sofa. Chaos. Chaos was raging through his emotions and he couldn't think straight.

"What?! What's wrong?!" She gazes at him, but doesn't stand up. Her heart is racing now too. Had she done something wrong?!

"I need to see the paper." He barks, not bothering to slow down or answer her.

"Huh?"

"The paper with her number!"

"Oh…" Wincing at his harsh tone, she hands him the note that was given to her.

Her voice was proof enough, but he needed something else. Something to prove him wrong. Yes. He was desperately hoping for this to contradict his fears. But this only verified them. He had texted that number enough to know who it belonged to. Pacing back and forth, he crumbles the paper and throws that on the floor too.

The longer he didn't answer and behaved like this, the more worried and concerned Ruby became. Watching him pace and run his hands through his hair, she whimpers quietly, "Kilgrave… what's going on? Please tell me…"

"My god, Ruby! Did you not think it was important to tell me that the P.I that showed up at your door was American?!"

"What? Oh… no… but I -"

"Let me guess! She had on a leather jacket and jeans, right?!" He was basically yelling at her.

"Yes… but… so you know her?! How did you know -"

He laughs sarcastically, and bitterly. "Do I know her?!" Tired of trying to spell it out, he says slowly, and almost painfully, "Jewel. Is. Jessica. Jessica. As in, my Jessica. As in, this private investigator, who is now suspicious of you, Is. Jessica. Jones."

Authors note:

First, let's address Jessica's wet dream ;) I'm very aware that people are gonna have mixed feelings about this. However, let's refer back to the first three chapters of the story, shall we? If memory serves, Jessica admits that if Kilgrave can be normal, she could fall in love with him. Yes, yes, I know that she also said that requires him not to use his powers. But over the past few weeks, Jessica is learning that using his powers for good is as close as he'll ever be to normal, as she states in her dream.

Besides, women have needs to! And sex is sex… so… But it's not like JJ will be running into anyone's lap, considering she's still herself and she doesn't even remember the dream. Plus, it's not like anything can really happen between them with all this Ruby bullshit happening :D

I told you the murder would be relevant! Now Jessica has unknowingly, officially met the Devil's mistress, and it's up to Kilgrave to try and deal with this mess now. Haha! I know this meeting is not what you were expecting, but if this story was predictable, would it be fun? Nope. Don't worry, this is not the end of our girls encountering each other. I have a plan! Should be interesting!

As always, thanks for the support :)