Chapter 39 The detective's advice
The police station smelled faintly of coffee, metal, and rain. The kind of smell that clung to tired people and cold mornings.
Lila sat across from a woman in her early forties with neat dark hair, brown eyes that missed nothing, and a calm that felt both comforting and unsettling.
Detective Mara flipped through a thin folder before setting it aside. “Lila Rowan,” she said slowly. “You’re Serena Rowan’s sister.”
Lila nodded. Her voice came out quiet. “You already knew.”
Mara gave a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s my job to know. But I wanted to hear it from you.”
Lila swallowed hard. “She was my sister. People keep telling me to move on, but.” she paused, gripping her hands together, “I keep getting things. Roses,chocolates, notes. Like whoever did this doesn’t want me to.”
The detective leaned forward, elbows on the desk. “And when did these gifts start?”
Lila hesitated. “A few weeks after I came to campus. First, the roses. Then the chocolates. Then, the notes.” She looked down. “They always came with my name written on them.”
Detective Mara tapped her pen lightly against the table, eyes thoughtful. “And the texts?”
Lila nodded. “From an unknown number. Always short. Sometimes warnings. Sometimes…” Her throat tightened. “Sometimes they sound like threats.”
Mara jotted a few words down. “And your roommate? Ruby?”
Lila’s fingers tightened around the edge of the chair. “She was found near the lake,” she said softly. “She was my friend. She didn’t deserve that.”
Mara’s pen froze midair. Then she set it down slowly. “Ruby was Serena’s friend too.”
Lila looked up, startled. “What?”
“She was in Serena’s photography class,” the detective said. “They used to work together on projects. After Serena’s death, Ruby left school. Said she needed space. She only came back recently to apply for a transfer.”
Lila blinked, trying to process it. “She never told me that.”
“Maybe she couldn’t,” Mara said gently. “Maybe she was scared too.”
A heavy silence filled the room. Lila’s thoughts tumbled over each other, the photo of Ruby smiling, the roses in her hands, the red ribbon. Was Ruby trying to tell her something all along?
Mara cleared her throat, bringing her back. “You mentioned you changed dorm rooms?”
“Yes,” Lila said. “After Ruby’s death. I couldn’t sleep there anymore. I kept hearing her voice. I thought I was losing it.”
“You’re not,” the detective said. “Grief does strange things.”
Lila managed a small, broken smile. “That’s what Asher says.”
“Asher?” Mara tilted her head slightly. “That’s your friend?”
“He’s…” Lila hesitated, searching for the right word. “He’s the only person I trust. He’s been helping me since all of this started.”
Detective Mara studied her for a long moment. “Do you trust him completely?”
“Yes.” Lila didn’t even have to think. “He’s the only one who’s stayed.”
The detective nodded slowly, though her eyes lingered on Lila’s face, searching for something unspoken. “It’s good to have someone. But be careful, Lila. Fear can make you see comfort where you should see caution.”
Lila frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing specific.” Mara leaned back in her chair. “We’ve been trying to catch this person for two years. Every time we think we’re close, they disappear again. It’s like chasing a shadow that changes shape.”
Her tone hardened slightly. “We need your help now more than ever.”
Lila’s pulse quickened. “What can I do?”
“Stay alert,” Mara said. “Tell me everything, no matter how small. And” she hesitated, studying Lila’s auburn hair. “dye it.”
Lila blinked. “Dye it?”
Mara nodded. “Most of the victims were redheads. Serena, Ruby and a few others before them. Whoever this is, they’re drawn to a pattern to an image.”
She lowered her voice. “Doesn't fit that image.”
Lila looked down at a loose strand of hair falling across her shoulder. It caught the light, deep copper, just like Serena’s used to. Her stomach turned.
“I’ll do it,” she whispered. “If it helps.”
“It might,” the detective said. “And until we know more, stay with people you trust. Don’t walk alone at night. And if you get another message.”
“I’ll call you,” Lila finished for her.
“Good.” Mara gave a small approving nod. “We’ll keep you safe this time.”
The words “this time” lingered too long in the air. Lila looked at her, searching for something hopeful in her expression but Mara’s eyes had already drifted to the folder again, her face set in lines of quiet frustration.
They both stood up. Asher waited outside in the hallway, leaning against the wall, arms folded. His expression softened the moment he saw her.
“You okay?” he asked.
Lila nodded, though her hands trembled slightly. “Yeah. We’re done.”
Mara followed them out, stopping just by the door. “Miss Rowan,” she said quietly, “if anything feels off like a noise, a note, a word, call me first. Don’t go to anyone else. Understand?”
Lila hesitated but nodded. “I understand.”
The detective’s gaze shifted briefly toward Asher, her expression unreadable. Then she walked away, the echo of her heels sharp against the tiled floor.
Asher glanced after her, then back at Lila. “What did she say?”
Lila exhaled slowly. “That I should dye my hair.”
He blinked. “What?”
“She said maybe it’ll keep me safe.” Her voice cracked a little, half a laugh, half disbelief. “Can you believe that?”
Asher frowned, but he didn’t argue. “If it makes you feel better, do it. Whatever it takes.”
She smiled faintly. “You sound like her.”
He tilted his head. “Her who?”
“Serena,” she said softly. “You both worry too much.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I guess we have a reason.”
They stepped outside. The rain had stopped, but the sky hung low and gray, the air cool against their skin. Cars passed, tires hissing against the wet road. The world felt ordinary for the things they had just talked about.
Lila shoved her hands into her coat pockets. “I hate police stations. Everything smells like fear.”
Asher smiled gently. “Then let’s get out of here.”
They started walking toward the bus stop, the city stretching wide and damp around them. For the first time that day, Lila felt her lungs start to loosen.She was tired not just from fear, but from everything: the grief, the pretending, the way her mind kept circling back to the same questions.
Ruby was Serena’s friend. Ruby came back. Ruby died.Why?
She stopped walking for a second, her breath fogging in the cool air. There had to be something she was missing. Some thread connecting it all.
“Lila?” Asher asked gently. “Are you good?”
She nodded quickly. “Yeah. Just thinking.”
He gave her a small smile. “That’s dangerous for you.”
She barely laughed. “So I’ve been told.”
Her phone buzzed in her pocket.
She pulled it out, thumb hovering over the screen. Unknown number.
Her chest tightened. She hesitated, then opened it.
“Going to the police doesn’t make you safe.”
The words blinked against the screen like a heartbeat.
Her hand went cold. She looked around the street, the bus stop, the reflection in the window beside her but no one was there, no one watching. Just the whisper of the wind through the trees.
Asher frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Lila locked the screen quickly, forcing her face still. “Nothing. Just… spam.”
But her heart wouldn’t stop racing.
Whoever it was? they knew.They knew she’d gone to the police.
And maybe, just maybe, they were already watching.