Chapter Two

Red … red … red.

Lily had her face in her hands and was rocking back and forth slightly as she sat on the park bench.

She was a bad detective. She hadn't gotten any answers. She had only made Jonathan red.

She was a bad girlfriend. Maybe Aiden would be red too. This made Lily even sadder, even though she couldn't quite imagine Aiden as red.

"Lily? Are you okay," the voice was soft … not red.

She looked up. Bianca. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Bianca sat down next to her … close but not touching … the way she liked. "What's wrong?"

"I'm a bad girlfriend," Lily said dejectedly.

"I'm sure Aiden thinks you're a great girlfriend," Bianca smiled, "He says so all the time."

"He does," Lily brightened for a moment. But just as quickly, she deflated. "Aiden and I are working on a case. He's a detective, and I'm helping him. I'm his partner … his partner and his girlfriend."

"Well if you're helping him, then it sounds like you're being a great girlfriend, Lily," Bianca said soothingly.

"No. No, no, no," Lily shook her head quickly and vigorously. "There was a puzzle, and I helped solve the puzzle. But there was more. Aiden had questions, but no answers. He needed answers, and I had to find them. But I didn't find them." She looked up at Bianca with imploring eyes, "You can't be a detective if you can't find the answers, can you Bianca?"

Bianca instinctively reached out to pat Lily's arm, but caught herself. Instead she tried to find words: clear, logical, straightforward words. "No detective finds all the answers, Lily. And just because you didn't find them today doesn't mean that you and Aiden won't find them later, together."

Lily seemed bolstered as she considered Bianca's words, but only for a moment, "But he won't answer my questions. Not ever. That's what he said." Lily stopped and wiped away a tear, "And I can't ask him again. He's red. I made him red. Very red."

Bianca's eyes went from amused to concerned. Lily did not like red. It meant loud or angry or scary or all three. "Who did you make red, Lily," Bianca asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

Lily, embarrassed now, spoke into her lap, "Jonathan."

Bianca grabbed Lily's arm before she could stop herself, and Lily jumped in fright. "Did Jonathan hurt you, Lily?"

"He yelled at me," she said quietly. "He said I was a bad detective." As she continued, her words got faster and faster. "But I asked the questions, and that's what detectives do, right? They're supposed to ask the questions, and suspects are supposed to answer the questions. And I asked the questions, but he didn't answer the questions. So if I'm a bad detective, it's only because he is a bad suspect, right?"

"What did you ask Jonathan?" Bianca asked, half not wanting to hear the answer.

"I asked him the questions Aiden didn't have answers for," she responded matter-of-factly, and began ticking them off on her fingers, "I asked him who he really was. I asked him if he had another name. I asked him if he had drugs. I asked him if he was hiding something." Lily paused briefly, and Bianca felt her stomach drop. "But he wouldn't answer the questions. So then I asked him if Maggie was home … if I could ask her the questions since he didn't know the answers. And then he turned red. He was very red. He grabbed my arm. I don't like when people touch me. I screamed, and he let go, and I ran away." She looked sadly into Bianca's eyes, "Detectives aren't supposed to run away."

"Detectives are supposed to run away if they are scared," Bianca said reassuringly. "They are supposed to go get their back-up."

Lily's face brightened. "Aiden. Do you think Aiden will still want to be my back-up?"

"Sure, he will," Bianca tried to keep her voice steady. "In fact, why don't we call Aiden right now, okay? We'll call him before Maggie gets home," Bianca was already reaching for her phone, already dialing.

"Maggie is home," Lily corrected her, "I saw her going into the building as I was running out."

The color drained from Bianca's face. She tossed Lily her phone, "Call Aiden," she instructed Lily, "Have him meet me at Jonathan's house."

Lily caught the phone and looked up, but Bianca was already gone.

Red. It was everywhere. Splattered on the far wall and across the couch. Creeping towards her in a pool from the crumpled mass across the room.

She lifted her head, and pain seared through her. Her hand instinctively reached up and covered the spot where the pain was coming from … her chest. That only made it worse. She held that same hand in front of her face. It was covered in blood. She tried to look at her other hand, but it was tangled up in something. Maggie. Bianca squeezed the hand she was holding. There was no response.

Bianca tried to scream for help, but all that came out was soft gasp. She felt cold, and like she was floating. "Maggie," she called quietly. Her vision was going fuzzy now. She was even colder. Lily was right. Red was terrible … frightening … loud. She wished Miranda was with her.