Truth
"Ok, just down the hall here." Karen smiled, walking Thea down the station as she followed.
"Don't worry, not my first time being in here." Thea assured her.
"Oh, yeah? You got a record?" Karen asked.
"Yeah, for trespassing when I was like seventeen." Thea nodded, "And then again, when I was eighteen, disturbing the peace or whatever they call it." She said as Karen nodded.
"Well that's better than murder." Karen smiled as Thea fake nodded, widening her eyes as Karen turned back around, "In this room, here." Karen opened up the interviewing room as Thea nodded, walking on in and taking a seat at the table.
"How long will this take? I'm going to see Jude after this and Dominic is outside waiting in the car." Thea nodded.
"Just as long as the questions I have for you." Karen nodded, sitting down at the table, "How is your family doing?" She asked.
"They're ok. Getting by, I guess." Thea nodded, "Jude is staying with my parents for a little while. I think she wants to be home right now, and I think it's good she stays around people." She said as Karen nodded.
"Yeah, that's a good idea." Karen nodded, "And how have you been doing?" She asked.
"Me?" Thea questioned as Karen nodded, "I'm… I'm fine." She shrugged as Karen nodded, looking across at her.
"Ok." Karen said, "Just walk me through what happened that night that Jackson came to your house. Every little detail. Things he said. Things he did. The more you tell me, the more I have to work with so I can appeal that Dominic shouldn't stand before a judge."
"Well Dominic had gone out to get us dinner. I was having a cigarette at the back door when I heard James crying from upstairs." Thea said, "So I put my cigarette out and went to go check on him." She said, "I left the back door open. Didn't think at the time, I guess. It's not like I was expecting anyone to come in." She shook her head, "Went up and checked on James. He must have just had a bad dream or something. He fell right back asleep once he saw me." She smiled to herself, "So then I went back downstairs, into the kitchen and… he was standing there."
"Now correct me if I'm wrong but this was before you even knew he had raped your sister, right?" Karen asked.
"I never knew it was him until he told me that night." Thea nodded.
"Ok." Karen nodded, "What'd he say to you?"
"I can't really remember everything he said. There was a lot." Thea nodded, "He brought up my drinking problems, trying to get in my head." She said, "Spoke about his dad and how they'd spent some good time inside." She shook her head as Karen nodded, "And then he went onto confess about Jude and what he'd done." She said, "I just… I couldn't believe it." She shook her head.
"Did he… happen to say why he did it? I know that you or I… most people in the world wouldn't be able to understand such a thing like that but… did he?" She asked.
"Not really but he did say that he was gonna disappear, and we wouldn't know when he was gonna come back, and that Jude would have to live with knowing he was still out there, and that he could come back any time and…" Thea paused, looking down for a moment, "God knows what he was insinuating." She shook her head as Karen nodded.
"At one point did he put his hands on you then?" Karen asked, listening specifically for this part.
"Well he was getting progressively closer to me as he kept talking. He just grabbed me out of nowhere." Thea nodded, "I just…I didn't know what he was gonna do. I tried fighting back but he had his hands around my neck." Thea said, "Then Dominic came in… he grabbed a knife from the drawer and…" She said, "That was it."
"He took the knife from the drawer?" Karen asked, looking down at Dominic's statement.
"Yeah." Thea nodded.
"Dominic said he took it from the kitchen sink." Karen looked at Thea.
"Y-Yeah… that's what I meant." Thea nodded, her heart starting to race as Karen looked across at her, "Look, God knows what he was gonna do next and… and my sister wouldn't' have been safe with him out there, no woman is… and he felt no remorse, he didn't care about what he'd done and someone like that just-"
"Thea." Karen said calmly over Thea's panic, "Thea." She said again as Thea stopped rambling and looked over at her, "I've been a detective for over ten years now." She nodded, "I know things."
"W-What are you talking about?" Thea shook her head.
"Are you telling me the truth?" Karen asked as Thea stared at her, "You'll be in a lot less trouble if you tell me now, rather than later." She made clear, "Did you kill Jackson?" She asked.
"Chips for breakfast, huh?" Punk nodded, walking into the kitchen where Jude was sitting eating some chips.
"I couldn't be bothered making anything." Jude shrugged as he nodded, sitting down at the table across from her.
"How'd you sleep?" Punk asked.
"I don't sleep. It's more of a… dozing off and then waking up all of a sudden, every hour." Jude said as Punk nodded.
"That'll get better." Punk assured her, "I was gonna get ready and go to the store, you wanna come? Mom has gave me a big ass list. I could do with some help." He nodded. He figured he would just treat Jude the same as he normally would. He didn't want to tiptoe around her because he knew she hated that sort of treatment.
"I think I'll pass." Jude nodded to him, "I mean… I know I have to go out at some point and start living again but… I just don't feel up to it right now." She said.
"That's ok." Punk assured her, "Whenever you're ready. I'm sure I'll need to go to the store again in my lifetime." He said as she smiled.
"I don't know if part of me wanted to see him." Jude said, "Jackson." She nodded as Punk looked across at her, "Ask him why. What did I ever do to deserve… that?" She shook her head, "But… part of me is just so glad he's gone, and he can't hurt anyone ever again."
"I don't think he could have gave you answers to your questions anyway. He wasn't human. He had no remorse and… seeing him would have probably hurt you way more than it ever would him." Punk nodded.
"He was around me when I was like… six." Jude shook her head, placing her hand over her forehead, "I can't stop seeing his face."
"It is gonna get better." Punk nodded, "It might not fully leave you, ever, but… one day it's not gonna hurt as much as it does right now." He said as Jude nodded, "Maybe when you're feeling up to it, some counselling or therapy might help." He suggested.
"Yeah, no thanks." Jude shook her head.
"It's just a suggestion." Punk said.
"I don't even think I can face going back to college." Jude sighed, "I'm supposed to go back next week."
"You don't have to. I'm sure if you explained to your teachers, they'd understand." Punk said, "Is there someone you can go to? Like a guidance counsellor or something? To discuss maybe getting some more time off? They could give you some work to do at home."
"Yeah, maybe." Jude nodded, "I've tried to draw and… take my mind off of things but, I can't. Nothing is coming to me." Jude shook her head.
"It'll come back to you when you least expect it." Punk nodded.
"I hope so." Jude nodded, "So what do you think about Cassie wanting to be a cop?" She smiled a little.
"Why is everyone asking me about it?" Punk laughed a little, "She can go and be whatever she wants to be, as long as she's happy."
"This is where if Thea was here, she would suggest being a stripper." Jude said as Punk nodded.
"Yeah, of course she would." Punk shook his head, "Always got jokes."
"I think it's because we know you hate cops." Jude said.
"I don't hate cops." Punk scoffed, "I just… I've lived a life where they've always been on the other side. They've never wanted to help me or your mom." Punk said, "And yeah, I… maybe I've held a grudge." He said, "But my whole perspective on them have changed. They've really helped you. Especially Karen." He said.
"She's been so good to me." Jude agreed, "She's badass. She really helped me feel like they were doing everything they could to help me." She nodded.
"To be fair, they were." Punk nodded, "And they helped shut Rio down for good. He's never gonna have connection to the outside world ever again." He said as Jude nodded.
"How'd you feel about that?" Jude smiled.
"Pretty good." Punk said, listening as there was a knock on the door, "I'll get that." He said as Jude nodded.
He got up from the table and headed out of the kitchen, walking down the hallway and opening up the front door where Dominic was standing with James.
"Hey, I thought you weren't coming until later?" Punk shook his head as Dominic walked into the house.
"Thea's just been arrested." Dominic said as Punk raised his eyebrows.