Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace

My heart plummeted like it had been dropped from a high–flying plane. I raced over to Robin, panic edging my voice. “Stella? Missing?”

“She was practically living in the morgue these past few days, trying to piece together Phoebe’s death. She’s been shadowing Dr. Quinton through every autopsy, desperate for answers. Last night, she nearly passed out, so I told her to go home and rest. When I didn’t see her at the precinct by eight this morning. I called her, but no answer…”

Robin furrowed his brow. “I got held up with a case, and when I went to check on her at noon, she was gone. I’ve been searching all afternoon, but no one’s seen her.”

“What about last night? Are we sure she made it home?” I asked, my voice trembling as I clutched Robin’s arm.

“The old man downstairs has insomnia; he’d have seen Stella if she came home. She didn’t come back last night, which means she disappeared somewhere between leaving the precinct and getting home.”

My gaze swung frantically to Colin–I had to find Stella.

Colin’s expression was complicated as if he wanted to say something.

“Let’s check my place!” I suddenly turned back to Robin, my heart racing with a new thought. “No… Phoebe’s place.”

I had told Stella the murderer might target my house. Could it be possible that Stella never went home last night but instead went there?

Robin paused, then gestured for me to get into the car.

1

In the yard, Colin followed a few steps and then stopped, his head hanging low.

I caught his figure in the rear–view mirror, an inexplicable ache blooming in my chest.

Was he upset? Heartbroken? Heartbroken that I cared more for someone else than for him?

Or was it just my imagination…

“He really relies on you,” Robin said, glancing at the rear–view mirror.

I stayed silent, a strange discomfort settling in my heart.

Why… Why did it hurt so much to see him waiting there silently? Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

It’s as if a voice inside me was telling me not to make him wait any longer. He had waited long enough.

My hands clenched tightly, and I turned to look at Robin. “Can I bring him with me?”

Robin was about to drive off but glanced at me. “Yeah.”

12:07

I rushed out of the car to where Colin still stood barefoot in the yard. “Would you come with me to look for Stella?”

Colin looked surprised for a moment, and then his gaze intensified. Without a word, he strode over to me and pulled me back into the car.

I took his shoes and socks from the butler and quietly helped him put them on as we drove.

He huddled in the corner, eyes fixed on me, always cautious. “Phoebe… do you remember me?” he asked in a whisper.

I was a bit bewildered and shook my head. What I was doing now was out of sympathy, nothing

more.

Colin’s eyes were once again shrouded in loss. He turned away, staring out the window.

The drive was silent, save for Colin’s grip on my hand, which he never let go of.

We arrived at my apartment complex.

Robin parked the car in the alley and cautiously led us upstairs.

Night had fallen, and the hallway lights were out.

I instinctively protected Colin, urging him to stay close behind me. His eyes never left me, ever watchful.

“That guy hiding in Phoebe’s apartment, he’s definitely trouble,” I whispered, handing the spare key from under the mat to Robin.

Robin carefully unlocked the door, signaling for us to be cautious.

The room was dim, the lights off.

My portrait hung there, indistinct in the gloom, somehow unsettling. Being spooked by my own picture, I was surely a first.

“Shh,” Robin gestured for silence, listening intently to any sounds from within.

Suddenly, a soft noise came from the bedroom.

“Stella?” Robin called out warily, flicking on the living room light and slowly making his way to the bedroom.

I, too, watched the bedroom door, praying Stella was alright.

“She won’t be dead,” Colin said firmly from behind me.

I turned to look at him. “Why are you so sure?”

“Innocent people.”