Page 67 of Only Girl Alive

“We’ve notified Family Services,” Ray said. “They have a two-man team in the area working our earlier report. Clyde asked me to come up here and check on you.”

“I feel sick but it’s getting better. How is Hannah?”

“Catatonic. She hasn’t moved and she hasn’t blinked since we got her down there. She’s breathing and has a pulse. Am I allowed to be freaked?”

“Yeah,” Eve said between breaths. She raised her head and looked at him. “Thank you for calling the ambulance.”

Bina sat beside Eve and started taking deep breaths with her.

“Clyde had you on speaker the entire drive over. She’s one messed-up kid.” Bina lowered her head.

Ray didn’t say anything for a moment. They were in some semblance of shock.

“I’m going back down. I’ll give Clyde a heads-up that you’re okay. You are okay, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. I just need a moment and I’ll come down.” She smiled at Ray. She needed to prepare herself to see Hannah again.

Her phone suddenly popped into her head. Eve started to rise. Bina placed her hand on her arm when she wobbled a bit. “I’m good, thanks,” she assured her once she was upright.

She walked the few feet to the bed and grabbed it. The sirens drew closer and she knew the ambulance was at the house when the wail stopped.

“Where’s the knife?” she asked, trying to remember what happened to it.

“In the back of my pants. We need gloves to remove it.” Bina turned and Eve saw the butt sticking out.

She remembered Bina asking for it. She inhaled deeply.

“I want to check on Hannah before they take her,” Eve said. “Family Services also needs to make the ride or one of you will need to go with her.”

“Agreed. I’ll go down first and catch you if you fall.”

“Yeah, that’ll work.” A small grin escaped Eve. Bina was smart and would move out of the way no matter what she said. The humor helped calm her.

Hannah was on one of the couches in the gathering room. Her hands were no longer in flex cuffs. The paramedics were taking vitals. Clyde, who stood behind the couch, glanced at Eve, and nodded grimly.

A man and woman dressed in casual clothing walked in. Bina intercepted and they showed identification. They were from Family Services.

Eve walked with them into the kitchen area and gave a brief overview of what had happened in the attic. Her hands had finally stopped shaking. She told them that Hannah killed her family. Eve wasn’t sure they believed her but they agreed to take custody.

“I have her recorded confession,” Eve told them. “She’s dangerous. Don’t allow her out of your sight.”

One of them would ride in the ambulance.

Ten minutes later, everyone had cleared the house but Eve’s team. No one from local law enforcement came.

Eve needed to notify Judge Nelson to clear the way for law enforcement where the hospital was located. They had to oversee Hannah if she wasn’t placed in a locked facility at the hospital. Family Services could not put her in emergency foster care and she wasn’t sure if they understood that.

“Someone needs to glove up and get the knife from Bina,” Eve told her team. “Hannah may have been staying here. We should check for someplace she could hide. The attic first.”

They looked at Clyde, not Eve.

“Take photos of the attic and give us a moment,” he told them.

Ray walked out the front door and came back with an evidence bag. He removed the knife from the back of Bina’s pants and packaged it.

Eve’s brain was finally processing again. She called Judge Nelson before Clyde could stop her. Thankfully the judge immediately took her call. He said he would personally notify law enforcement after she explained the situation.

She dared a glance at Clyde after the conversation ended. The others were upstairs.

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