MAP OF THE PROBLEMATIQUE

Chapter 17: Glorious

"Down on your knees, hands behind your head. Do it!"

Eddie did as he was told, and Owens cuffed him. "Edward James Bevins, you are under arrest for the murder of Samantha Bevins, the kidnapping of Lydia Burton....." His eyes fell to me and I nodded. "And the battery of Wendy Bur-- ah, Porter. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do or say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attourney. Should you not be able to afford one, the court will appoint one to you......"

Detective Bellamy fished the keys from Eddie's pocket and crouched down next to me. "God, Miss Porter..... We gotta get you to a hospital."

"That bad, eh?"

"Yeah," he cracked the faintest of smiles. "That bad."

"Well, I didn't hear anything break, so I have that going for me."

"Yeah? That's good."

"Mm-hmm. Detective?"
"What's up?"

"I want to see Lydia."

Bellamy sighed. "Miss Porter--"

"Wendy."

"Wendy....." He looked me directly in the eye. "We're looking for her as we speak. She's obviously here, but we haven't found her yet."

I nodded, reaching out for him to help me to my feet. "Ow," I winced, finding new bruises in new places as I moved.

"Careful. C'mon, I'll help you outside. Now, we're going to pass a bodybag in the living room; don't worry, you won't see anything.... looks as if ol' Eddie offed his accomplice....." He put an arm around me to support me, and he guided me through the house and to the exit. On the way down the hall I passed a long mirror that stretched for about six feet. I barely recognized myself; my wavy, near-shoulder length hair was a mess, and the one eye that wasn't black, blue and the size of a baseball had dark circles under it. Cuts and gashes adorned my face and lips, and blood spilled down the side of my face and busted lip. I reached up to touch my swolen eye.

"Come on, Wendy." Detective Bellamy smiled sadly and took me away.

"Sis?"

I heard her voice before I saw her face, and when I turned, she was running up to me with Joe hot on her heels. She stopped in her tracks when she saw my face, her hands flying to her mouth. "Oh, God!" Tears spilled down her face. "Sis? Oh, Wendy..."

I hugged them, and it was then the sobs came back. "We've gotta find Lydia, Sallie..... Oh, Joe, I'm so glad to see you guys....."

"We'll find her, love."

There was the sound of a commotion behind me. I turned to find Lieutennant Owens taking Eddie to a cruiser. Not fully understanding what was happening, I watched as Joe stalked over to the group. "Wait!"

Owens turned, and Eddie did, too, making a face of disgust when he saw Joe. "Oh, what, ya junkyard? You mad I beat your girl--"

WHAM!

"Oh, my God!"

"Joe!"

"Alright, boys! Alright! That's enough." Hamilton held onto Joe's arm.

"A heart is not required in order to recognize true evil."

Hamilton was silenced for a moment by the impact of Joe's words. "Joe, I'm sure you didn't need to slug him like that. Let's just hope you didn't break anything."
"Don't worry, Captain Hamilton. I made sure not to."

It was apparent Hamilton was trying to stifle a laugh. I knew we had a trusted alli in Captain Hamilton. "Alright. Take him away."

"C'mon, Sallie. Joe! We're going for Lydia."

I started walking. There was so much...... what if there were a basement? An attic? A shed, anything....

"Lydia? Lydia!"

People were shouting for her, searching everywhere, as Eddie refused to give up her location, much less her condition. I was losing my mind after awhile.

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Music: Chapter named for YET ANOTHER song by Muse. :D LOL The song makes me soooo happy. The beat is simple yet effective (and super sexy to me, for some reason); the lyrics are amazing, so on and so forth......