Photo Credit | Christian Lue from UNSPLASH
By Autumn Matthews
Fifteen years earlier….
“My father and mom always argue, no big deal Bonnie,” said Destiny.
Destiny shrugged her shoulders then, paused the movie.
“My Pops always comes home drunk like a dog, then, my mama gotta get in his behind about it. I’m used to it,” said Destiny.
“O-oh okay,” Bonnie said as she sat up on the bed.
She understood that couples sometimes would get into a little disagreement. She saw this all the time with her mother and her stepmother. They would argue sometimes
and then makeup, no big deal.
“Anyways, I’m going to go get me some more juice– you want anything?” Destiny asked as she jumped off the King-sized bed and slid on her yellow bunny slippers.
“Water is fine, thank you,” Bonnie replied.
“Got you and I will be back in a few.”
Destiny skipped out of the room.
Bonnie grabbed her cellphone off of the nightstand to check for the time. Realizing that she and Destiny both had to wake up early in the morning for dance practice, she
put her braids in a ponytail, then, used a durag as a protector to keep her braids from messing up.
Destiny went downstairs where she spotted a man she had never seen before talking to her father. She paid them no mind. She walked inside of the kitchen to open the
fridge.
“I’m not giving you anything, I don’t owe you nothing,” she heard her father yell.
“You owe me, Steven, you owe me,” the man yelled back.
“I don’t owe you nothing! And keep your voice down before you wake up my wife and my kid. Like, I said I’m not giving you anything,” Destiny’s father said, clenching
his jaw. “I need me a beer if you’ll excuse me.”
He then walked inside the kitchen. Destiny pretended that she was looking inside of the fridge while she was listening to the entire conversation trying to figure out what
trouble her father got himself into now.
“Sweetheart, do me a favor go upstairs and lock your bedroom door,” he whispered in her ear.
Meanwhile, upstairs with Bonnie, she got under the covers laying her head on one of Destiny’s soft pillows. She started to doze off then, when she opened her eyes again
Destiny was standing over her with a knife behind her back.
“Bonnie wake up,” Destiny whispered while shaking her awake.
“Hmmm,” Bonnie sat up on the bed rubbing her tired eyes.
“There’s someone in my house. A man I have never seen before talking to my father. My father told me to go back upstairs and lock my bedroom door. So, I got scared I
grabbed this for protection,” she whispered again while holding a Santoku in her hand. “I don’t know Bonnie, something about that man was strange. Do that little thing
you do, when you can read people’s energy.”
Bonnie thought that this was another one of Destiny’s silly pranks. The worried and scared look in her friend’s eyes made her sense that something was wrong and that
they had to leave if they wanted to live. Then, she saw Destiny’s mother. The door did not open, Destiny’s mother appeared as a ghost. The strange guy that Destiny told
her about must of had killed her.
“Destiny, I think something’s happened. Something bad.” Bonnie whispered back. “We have to leave now!!”
She jumped out of the bed and walked towards Destiny’s bedroom window.
Present Day
“Detective I apologize for bothering you during your off day,” Lieutenant Jones said. “Bonnie I need you on this case. You’re one of my best detectives, one of the best.”
Bonnie read through the police report as Lieutenant Jones spoke to her. She gave Jones in between head nods.
“Sounds very familiar.”
She passed the report back to her boss.
“I will have to decline, why not let Rodriguez do it. He’s a great detective, Lieutenant.”
Fifteen years later and the monster spikes again. Bonnie had no interest in being a part of any of this and she refused to. Though her friend Destiny had moved on from her
parents’ death, it still haunted Bonnie. The ghost of Destiny’s mother still visited her from time to time in her dreams or when she was alone in her apartment.
“I want you on this case too. You and Rodriguez together would make catching our bad guy an easier task,” the Lieutenant said.
“I don’t know about that Lieu, I have to sit out on this one Rodriguez got this,” Bonnie said as she folded her arms in front of her.
It’s not that she had no interest in getting this person off the streets. It is just that she refused to revisit the past.
“I know this case is quite similar to your friend’s parents’ case.” “I remember when I first met you–”
“Yeah it is and this is why I shouldn’t be involved.” Bonnie interrupted.
“At least come take a look at the crime scene,” the lieutenant replied with a sigh.
“Yeah, sure.”
Bonnie lifted the crime scene tape up then, she met Detective Rodriguez at the door.
“How bad is it in there ?”
Detective Rodriguez and Detective Sinclair sometimes worked together on certain cases. There were times Bonnie worked solo on a case, she enjoyed working by herself no
hard feelings towards Rodriguez.
Rodriguez removed the pair of white plastic gloves from his hands. “A lot of blood, “ he replied. “Our guy was very messy.”
Bonnie entered the house. “Did anyone check upstairs?”
“The victim’s daughter was upstairs sleeping,” replied an officer. “She is waiting in one of the cars.”
“Interesting…,” Bonnie answered.
Before walking inside the two-story home, Bonnie put on a pair of gloves to avoid getting fingerprints anywhere on the crime scene. She entered the kitchen trying to figure
out where exactly the murders took place. Just by looking around the kitchen, she projected that both victims were murdered inside of the kitchen from the trails of blood.
“Any word of the victims, their names?” Bonnie asked Rodriguez.
“Alexander Harris, 45 and Olivia Harris, 43,” he replied.
“So we are looking at a double homicide. Have you spoken to the victims’ daughter?” Bonnie asked.
“She’s refusing to talk.” said Rodriguez.
“Well, her parents have just been brutally murdered I wouldn’t want to talk to anyone either Rodriguez,” Bonnie said as she removed the gloves from her hands.
“Spencer, how long is the autopsy going to take?” Bonnie asked.
“Mmm, I should have it done by tomorrow afternoon,” Spencer answered.
“This right here is exactly like that case from fifteen years ago with the dude that murdered the
husband and wife by stabbing them to death and he sat them on the couch like they were sleeping,”
Rodriguez said.
“Exactly how the officer found this couple, the daughter was able to escape. They never found the
guy. Wasn’t you and the girl like friends, Sinclair?”
“Yeah, we were,” Bonnie said with a sigh. “They never caught the guy which is why I don’t need to
be involved in this case. I told Lieu all she needs is you, but you know she is not listening to me.”
“You should want to be a part of this case as it’s a win-win for everyone–you are a great detective
Bonnie,” Rodriguez exclaimed as he started to give Bonnie the puppy eyes.
“Bon please, you know I can’t do this without you.”
“Look, I am going to the victim’s daughter but that doesn’t mean I am on this case.”
She rolled her eyes at Rodriguez. Something about those puppy eyes of his always made her somewhat change her mind. She decided to walk out of the house to find the victims’ daughter.
“Where is the girl?” Bonnie asked Lieutenant Jones.
“Over there?” Lieutenant Jones pointed to one of the cars. “Go easy on her, I know how aggressive
you can get.”
“I am just going to ask her a few questions,” Bonnie said as she walked over to the window and
knocked on it. “No need to get aggressive.”
Clare Harris looked up from her phone and rolled down the car window.
“Look, I don’t know what happened to my parents, no press please,” Clare said.
She had mistaken Bonnie for a reporter. Bonnie looked so young to her– like fresh out of college
young and working for The New York Times.
“Oh no, I am not a reporter,” Bonnie laughed. “My name is Detective Sinclair, but you can call me
Bonnie if you want. Mind if I ask you a few questions?”
“You look kinda young to be a detective no offense,” Clare said. “I don’t mind if you ask me any questions it’s just that Ronnie guy gave me the creeps,” Clare gruntled, referring to Detective Rodriguez.
“None taken, I actually took it as a compliment,” Bonnie responded. “I am going to have to ask one
of these nice officers to take you down to the station so I can ask you a few questions.”
“Okay, but can we wait until my uncle arrives?” Clare asked Bonnie.
Clare’s uncle was a lawyer and she thought it would be best for her uncle to be present in the room
with her while Bonnie interviewed her.
“I just spoke to him not too long ago he should be here in about ten minutes,” Clare added.
“Yeah, that’s fine with me. Can I get you anything while we wait for your uncle?” Bonnie took one
good look at Clare’s face. No cuts no bruises, no crying. no sort of grief. That was strange to Bonnie.
And with that, it gave Bonnie most of what she needed to know.
