Grin (7 page)

She hadn't.

After her own personal hell, and having her brother's brain splattered all over her, she wanted to see everything else.

Whether it was a wise decision or not, only time would tell.

Moments later, they closed on their own as she passed out in the ambulance. The next two months were mostly a drug-riddled blur as various doctors and nurses healed her and saved her life. Dani would be forever grateful.

The memories stayed put though.

The sight of her mother, her chest tattered and torn by buckshot from a shotgun shell, was horrific. There was crimson everywhere; on the floors, the walls, the furniture and the ceiling. However, the blood spots that decorated her mother's face pushed her over the edge. For some reason, seeing her mother's innocent, beautiful visage slathered in blood and terror was one of the worst sight of her years so far.

A sheet obscured her father's corpse. Only his left hand, poking out from the sheet at an obscure angle, was visible. His injuries were a mystery, unknown. She aimed to find out what happened though. In due course.

The holding cell she sat in was minimal, chilly. A huge, fluffy fleece covered her shoulders. Dani tugged at her ponytail, which sat low on her head. She normally wore it a lot higher, but it was useful for the rehabilitation, so she'd become accustomed. Hair no longer hung in her face, it only caused the doctor and nurses hassle on her multiple appointments and cleansings. Plus, Dani didn’t like when the hair caught the scar tissue on her cheeks. It was irritable. The ponytail made life much simpler.

Her tongue gently probed the inside of her mouth. She felt the dissolvable sutures there, newly applied. The bandages on her face covered the worst, but she knew the wounds existed. She pushed it from her mind.   

After a minute, Jack Scott walked into the room, smiled, and closed the door behind him. He placed a manila file, topped with a box of cigarettes and a Zippo, before her on the table. Dani didn’t know how the police worked, but she knew she wasn’t under arrest. She hadn't done anything wrong. They just had some questions.

Jack leaned forward. "I'm sorry about your loss. I can't imagine what you're going through." Dani just stared at him, her gaze lost and wandering, focusing on nothing. He sighed, and slipped a cigarette from the pack before him. He held them out to Dani, saw the damage to her face, realised his error, and withdrew sheepishly.

Dani said nothing.

Scott remembered how frail Dani had been after that night. He looked her up and down, placed his cigarette back into the pack and placed it on the desk. He topped it with the Zippo lighter, confirming his will to wait. He had no idea what rehabilitation had happened, but he wasn’t about to jeopardise it by smoking.

Dani stared ahead, past Jack's left shoulder.

"There's no real way to say this without sounding inappropriate…How are you, Dani? You doing okay?"

Dani diverted her withered gaze to Scott and nodded.

"Off the record, you're not in any trouble. We just want to generate an idea of what happened at your home and to…your family." Jack coughed. "You ready?"

Dani nodded, silent.

"Are you able to speak?"

Dani nodded.

"Does it hurt to talk? I have a pad here if it's easier."

Dani paused for a second and held out a hand, refusing the pad.

"Okay, whenever you're ready. Short answers are fine. No rush, take your time."

"Shall I starts at the beginninush?" Dani's words were slurred slightly, normal according to the speech therapist. She hadn't spoken much in the past few months and realised the words would correct themselves in time. If her cheeks tugged when she spoke, they'd advised to stop. She eyed the pad, thinking it might have been a better idea after all.

"The beginning is good. Gives us a clearer picture," Scott smiled. 

Dani told him everything she knew. How their evening was plodding along. Dinner, family banter, doing her homework, Teddy's irritating mannerisms. At the last one, Dani choked and began to cry. Instant guilt swarmed through her chest, making her cough. She kept her mouth shut, protecting the stitches as the coughs jostled her body. Jack handed her a pack of tissues. Dani took two and wiped her mouth. She sat back, pulling the fleece closer.

Jack watched the young girl, his eyes observing her body language. He opened the file on the metal table, unsure of how to proceed. Dani paid him no attention and closed her eyes. He swallowed, breathed in and went for it.

"We couldn’t find the people…person who did this."

Dani remained silent, did nothing.

"I apologise. We will catch them."

Again, no reaction.

"The investigation is at a standstill. We thought your testimony would shed light on something we haven’t found, but we did a thorough job. If we could find the attacker, if we knew who he was or what he did –"

"You won't catch him," Dani uttered, not moving.

Jack stopped, frowning slightly. "Excuse me?"

Dani opened her eyes, the pupils raging behind the tears and blood-shot whites. They penetrated Jack's soul, made him flinch a little. "You won't catch him."

Jack shuffled forward. "How do you know?"

Dani felt a smirk tugging at her sutures, surprising herself with the response. She cleared her throat. "He was wearing all black. I mean all; every inch of his body was covered. DNA, fingerprints, sweat, saliva, you wouldn’t have got any. The guy was
smart
. He walked in, not a care in the world and slaughtered my family. He would have killed me if…" Dani didn’t finish the sentence. A thought popped into her mind.

"We were alerted by the sound of gunshots. Your neighbors called it in."

Dani looked down.
Thank you, Mrs Jones
. She instantly regretted it. The thought of losing Teddy made her wish she'd gone with him.
If I'd stepped out of that wardrobe first, everything might have been different
. Or she could have gone straight after him, let the guy take both of them out. She could protect him in the afterlife. She'd take his pestering all day long if she could just see him one more time.

Fresh tears rolled down her cheek, blotting her bandages. She hugged the fleece closer.

Seeing her response, Jack sat back again. "I'm sorry," he uttered across the table. Dani closed her eyes and nodded once. She knew what was coming next.

"Have you got someone you can stay with?"

"Yeah, I have an aunt I can go to," Dani lied.

"I bet you'll be glad to get out of that hospital?"

Dani nodded. In honesty, the thought of leaving the safe sanctuary terrified her.

"I'll make some calls."

Dani stood up. "Don’t call my aunt, she doesn’t have…well, she lives in the Stone Age. The telephone terrifies her. I'll go over there now."

"Need a lift?"

"No…I think I want to walk for a bit. Being cooped up in a hospital really inspires you to get some fresh air. I've missed the outdoors."

"So be it," Scott said. He looked up at the girl, a girl who'd lost everything in a few short hours, some months ago. He wanted to provide her some hope. "We'll catch this fucker, Dani, I promise."

Jack stood up, taking the folder with him. Dani watched him go.

She wasn’t the only liar in the room. Jack exited, closing the door silently.

Dani snuggled into the fleece.

She had work to do.

Dani sniffled as she watched the jaundiced CRIME SCENE tape flutter in the wind. The faded plastic spooled across her front garden, wrapped around three spaced out railings along the street. A staggered rectangle, cordoning off the house to any nosy reporters or prying eyes.

Yeah, like it could stop anyone from ducking underneath.

A separate, shorter stretch – snapped in the middle – clung to the red front door. Someone had passed through, probably Jack or another officer doing his duty.

A pit of sadness and isolation opened up in her stomach as she turned from the house, realising she would never step foot within again. Her entire life, every memory in her home, was dropping through a blood-soaked void.

Dani pulled the fleece around her shoulders and limped towards the garage. She lifted the metal shutter slowly, wincing as the stab wound scorched her entire body with sudden pain, and fished the BMW key from her pocket. Her finger squeezed the little padlock icon on it and an electronic thump emitted from the car.

She walked around to the boot.

With one hand, she lifted the lid slowly. The fresh smell of carpet rose from within. Dani remembered her father buying the car weeks before the incident, remembered how excited he'd been. If Dani were capable, she would have smiled at the happy memory. Instead, she rubbed her face cautiously, feeling the scars beneath the protective bandages.

Will I ever be able to smile properly again?

Dani looked into the boot and saw nothing of importance. Grey carpet, a bottle of antifreeze and a wheel jack. She frowned as the memory resurfaced slowly.

She smacked her left hand against the side of the boot, whapping against a padded panel. The carpet in the middle of the boot lifted slightly, exposing a hidden, rectangular crevice.

Two months ago, maybe more, her father had done the same thing. He hadn't been aware of her presence and she'd kept it to herself. After all, boys and their toys. She knew men spent a lot of time on their cars, adding modifications, installing sound systems and all sorts of fancy gadgets. A hidden panel was unusual.

Whilst in the police station, everything fell into place. Dani felt relief that she hadn't revealed this to DI Scott. After obtaining the key from her father, who insisted it was for her to drive, she'd become suspicious. Driving lessons weren't in her immediate plans; she didn’t have time or need for them, which struck her as odd. Walking was good for her, it enabled her to think, alone and undisturbed, and to seek solace in her headphones. Why drive when you can walk and not only save money, but also be productive in the meantime? Sure, she'd been ecstatic, who doesn’t like receiving a car, but something was off about the gift.

That's when Dani realised something else was afoot.

Due to the rehabilitation, antibiotics, and surgery, none of this occurred to Dani until a few days ago. Her foggy mind kept the revelation from her until, at the right time; the fog vanished and left her with the answer. Her tongue probed the scars again, out of habit.

Dani sat on the workbench behind her, realisation dawning. Her father
knew
they were coming for him. He hadn't warned them, or done anything to protect his family. Dani choked back tears, thinking of Teddy and her mother, innocent lambs to the slaughter. A simple drive and they could've stayed in a cabin or hotel somewhere, safe and sound.

A simple drive and none of this would have happened.

Damn you, Dad, damn you
.  

Dani stood up, gently wiping the tears from her face. After a second, she lifted the panel and exposed a hollow. Inside sat a dark brown, wooden box, about the size of a small DVD player. Lifting her head to check if the coast was clear – which it was – Dani collected the box and slid it into her bag. She checked the hidden compartment once more and shut it.

She closed the boot and took her mobile phone from her pocket. She had no messages and no missed calls.

That was about to change. She expected relatives to emerge from the woodwork, pound signs flashing in their deceitful and gluttonous eyes. She hadn't heard from any of her aunts or uncles in nearly a decade. With her father being wealthy, she expected this to change.

She was the only point of contact.

"Dani?"

Narrowing her eyes, Dani stepped around the car, pushing the boot closed as she did. When she reached the driver's side, she saw a familiar face standing at the opening to the garage. Two months ago, her heart would have sunk. Now, she didn’t give a shit. A lot had happened since that horrible afternoon. Nothing he could do or say would ever ruin her life, not anymore. Not now it was practically taken from her.

"Hello, Ben."

Her former boyfriend stood awkwardly, tense, backlit by the murky sky. His left hand wavered in the air, as if wanting to shake hands with her, as if some inner turmoil prevented him from stretching the limb. As Dani neared him, his face came into focus. A sheepish grin adorned it, spread below twinkling eyes. Dani felt nothing, didn’t respond. Aware that the dark shadows from the garage shrouded her, masked her injuries; she stopped moving, concealing herself. Dani remained silent, awaiting a response.