Chapter 16

"You took your time," Cutter grumbled as Lester got into the drivers seat next to him in the car.

"I needed to find the address," Lester answered. "And while I was there, I asked Lorraine to find out some information about this Brookes - look at this . . ." he handed Cutter a piece of paper.

Cutter looked down at it to see that a photograph of a woman had been printed out on it; he had to double take - she looked remarkably like Jenny. Just how many of this woman were there out there? But upon closer inspection, he noticed the woman in the picture was slightly chubbier than Jenny, and she had blue eyes, as well as a much more pointed chin. Still, the resemblance was uncanny . . .

He looked back up at Lester.

"Who is this?" he asked, holding up the photograph.

"That," Lester began smugly. "Is Brookes's fiancee, Susanna. Do you notice anything about her?"

"She looks like Jenny," Cutter replied numbly. "Where is she?"

"She's dead," Lester answered abruptly, clicking in his seat belt. Cutter looked at him in surprise, and he elaborated, "Car accident."

Cutter looked back down at the picture, feeling everything click slowly into place. So that's why he'd started stalking Jenny; he had seen in her the woman he had loved and lost so tragically. In spite of himself, Cutter felt a tiny sliver of sympathy for Brookes, but he shook it away mentally - just because he had lost a loved one didn't give him the right to attack anyone. And just because the woman Brookes loved looked like the woman Cutter loved, it didn't give him the rights to her.

"Come on, lets go," Cutter said to Lester.


They had no problem gaining access to the hospital, even though Cutter was sure that they were doing something illegal . . . the word 'intimidation' seemed to spring to mind. But this is why he had brought Lester with him; no matter how much he detested the man, he had to admit, he had power, which was something they had against Brookes. When they got to his room, he was asleep, and by the look of him, he was in a right state - Cutter couldn't help but feel a twinge of satisfaction that his girl had managed to defend herself to such a degree, as if she hadn't, she would probably be the one in the hospital bed, or worse.

Lester took a seat on the chair next to Brookes's bed, lounging back on it as though he sat with borderline psychopaths everyday. He glanced up and Cutter and nodded. Cutter picked up a glass of water that was perched on the bedside table and poured it on directly onto Brookes's face. The man awoke with a start, spluttering.

"Oh good, you're awake," Lester drawled casually.

"What - ?" Brookes began angrily, but Cutter cut him off by grabbing him by the collar of his hospital gown.

"Shut up," he snarled.

"Now now Cutter," Lester sighed in a mock-disappointed voice. "Lets not resort to violence . . . lets let our little friend here explain himself first."

With a dramatic growl, Cutter let go of him. This was their plan - a little good cop, bad cop.

"So Timothy, I hope the hospital food's up to scratch for you," Lester continued, examining his fingernails as though he was bored with the proceedings. "It's probably much better than prison food - "

"What do you want?" Brookes croaked, wincing in pain as he heaved himself up onto his elbows.

"I wanted to tell you that if you ever go near Jenny again, you'll be sucking the hospital food through a straw when I've finished with you," Cutter said in a dangerous whisper, desperately trying to control his anger - but what he wouldn't give to hurt him more so than he already was . . .

Brookes laughed slightly; a cruel raspy cackle that for a second turned Cutter's blood cold.

"You don't scare me," he stated. "When I get out of here, Jenny and I will be together again . . . I love her more than you ever could."

"Is that so?" Cutter exclaimed.

"Yes."

"Tell me then," Cutter demanded. "What's her favorite colour?"

"Excuse me?"

"What is her favorite colour?"

Brookes was silent for a moment, looking slightly confused.

"It's pink," Cutter answered his own question. "Although she'll never wear it; she thinks it makes her look like a teenager - she prefers to wear black. What's her favorite film?"

"I - " Brookes began.

"It's The Way We Were," Cutter interrupted. "She cries every single time she watches it. Where is she ticklish?"

"Okay, now you're making me sick," Lester chimed in, but Cutter ignored him.

"Down the back of her legs . . . her thighs in particular," he answered before Brookes had even had a chance to guess. "What's her favorite hobby?"

Again, Brookes said nothing, but only stared back at Cutter with deep loathing in his eyes.

"If you asked her, she'd say shopping," Cutter began truthfully. "But it's really going down to the shooting range. She's a crack shot - "

"Why are you asking me all this?" Brookes asked quietly.

"Doesn't it strike you as odd that you love her so much, and you two are made for each other, and yet you know nothing about her?"

Brookes looked away from him for a second. "You wouldn't understand."

Cutter reached into his pocket and pulled out the folded up picture, and gently opened it; holding it up to Brookes.

"What was Susanna's favorite colour Tim?"

His eyes darted back to him, and rested on the photograph, the colour draining completely out of his already pale face.

"Don't talk about her," he whispered.

"What was her favorite film Tim?" Cutter persisted. "Where was she ticklish - ?"

"I said shut your filthy mouth!" Brookes yelled, screwing up his eyes as tears streamed down his face.

"I bet you know all these answers, don't you?"

Again, Brookes looked away, wiping his wet face. Cutter didn't think he'd ever seen a man look so broken . . . so pathetic . . . and the problem was that a tiny part of him could relate to what he was going through. After all, he had lost Helen and Claudia.

"I know that you miss her," Cutter said in the softest tone he could muster, whilst still feeling a mixture of disgust and anger at the man. "But you have to understand Tim - Jenny isn't Susanna. She can't be Susanna for you. No one can."

"I . . ." Brookes croaked, looking up at the ceiling as fresh tears fell fast out of his cold grey eyes. "I can't bare living without her . . . I loved her . . . "

"I know how you feel," Cutter continued, placing the photograph of the woman down on the bedside table. "Believe me, I do. But what you did was despicable; there's no excuse for attacking a woman you were supposed to be protecting."

"I know," Brookes replied quietly; the realization of what he had done seemed to be finally taking hold of him. "I know . . ."

He put his hands over his face and sobbed loudly, between every breath he'd murmur, "I'm sorry . . . I'm sorry . . ." over and over again.

Cutter straightened up and glanced at Lester, who was watching the man break down with cool impassiveness. As Cutter caught his eye, he stood up and cleared his throat.

"Mr Brookes," he began clearly. "I shall be seeing to it that you get dealt with in the harshest manner possible. And if by some miracle you manage to snake your way out of it, rest assured that if you ever come near any of my staff again, be it Miss Lewis or Dr Paige, then I will have you dragged off and locked in a secure government vault for the rest of your days. Do I make myself clear?"

After a slight pause, Brookes nodded, his hands still plastered to his wet face.

"Lovely," Lester said cheerfully, buttoning up his blazer. "Shall we Cutter?"

He made his way towards the door, and after a slight pause, Cutter followed, glancing back at Brookes briefly as he did. The man was holding the picture of his dead fiancee in front of him, staring at it with such sad tenderness that Cutter was forced to think back to what he had put Jenny through to stop himself feeling sorry for him. And with that, he walked out and left the man to his grieving, quietly confident that they would not be hearing from him again.


Alright, the next chapter will DEFIANTLY be the last lol! Please let me know your thoughts, as comments (be it constructive or otherwise) will really help when it comes to me writing my next fic, as previous reviews have helped me with this one x