I woke up from a very deep sleep when I heard someone pounding on my door.
I was surprised to find myself in bed. I didn’t even remember coming home last night.
I would have loved to take a moment to brush my teeth first, but the pounding seemed urgent. When I answered the door…I saw Lizzie standing there holding Dray Jr. Both of them were still in their pajamas.
Lizzie’s voice was strange and shaky…like she was desperately trying to hold it together. “I’m so sorry to wake you this morning Val. I just…I just didn’t know where else to go.”
She finally continued… “He’s dead Val.”
My heart was pounding in my throat, but I still managed to speak. “Oh my God! What happened?”
“I…uh…the police came to my door this morning. They said they found him in an alley.”
“You’d better come in,” I turned to lead Lizzie and Dray Jr. inside. I needed those few moments to gather my thoughts.
Lizzie didn’t hesitate. She needed to tell me what happened as much as I needed to hear it. It had to be a coincidence that they found Dray in an alley.
Lizzie put Dray Jr. down next to the couch and walked over to sit down.
I was feeling anxious to hear more, but I allowed her some time to calm down and stop crying. “I just can’t believe it! One moment he was here…and now…now he’s gone!” Lizzie’s body heaved as she tried to catch her breath between the sobs.
“Tell me everything the cops told you,” I said after a sufficient amount of time passed.
“They found him in an alley between a couple of old warehouses…”
Lizzie inhaled and exhaled, then continued, “…they received a 911 call after a worker discovered his body while emptying the trash.”
I interrupted briefly… “How can they be sure it was him?”
Lizzie eyes filled with tears all over again. “They told me that they’ve been investigating the scene all morning. Val! They say that he was murdered!”
“He’d lost a lot of blood…bu…but, they couldn’t find any at the crime scene.”
“No…I…I read it in the detective’s notes when she wasn’t looking,” Lizzie stopped for a moment as a new wave of sobs took over.
In a voice barely audible, she asked the one question that threatened to break me… “Val…who would do something like this?”
I sucked in my breath…and wondered to myself if it was me. Could I have killed Dray last night?
Even thinking about the possibility made me incredibly anxious and scared. It was too much…way too much of a coincidence that my best friend’s husband was murdered in an alley…the same night that I finally lost control…also in an alley. “Oh my God Lizzie! This whole thing is crazy!”
I knew that I had to quickly get myself together. There was no way I would be able to explain to Lizzie that I just so happened to be in an alley last night. I had to play it off. “I’m fine…I just can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe he’s gone Lizzie.”
Lizzie took a deep breath, “I…uh, I have to go. I’m supposed to go and officially identify the body. But…I…I don’t know if I can see him that way Val.”
Lizzie stood up to leave. I got up and walked over to her.
I was relieved, but I tried hard not to show it. I put my arms around Lizzie and did my best to offer my reassurance…”Everything will be okay. You’ll get through this…I promise.”
“Thank you, Val.”
Lizzie looked broken all over again. I wished there was more I could do for her, but I needed time to sort out my own thoughts.
Lizzie and Dray Jr. headed to the door silently…too silent. At that moment, I realized something very important…
I couldn’t hear their heartbeats and I didn’t smell their blood the entire time they were here.
My mind recalled some information in one of the chapters in the book that I took from the library and just thinking about it made me sick to my stomach…
