Page 31 of Forsaken

"Katie, honey," Elizabeth called toward the sound of cartoons. "Can you play in your room for a bit? Mommy needs to talk to some people."

"But Mom—"

"Please, sweetheart. Just for a little while."

They heard small feet trudging up stairs, followed by a door closing with slightly more force than necessary. Elizabeth's shoulders slumped as she led them into the kitchen, where a chicken was indeed roasting in the oven, filling the air with deceptively normal scents of home and safety.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked, the question automatic rather than genuinely hospitable. "Coffee? Water?"

"We need to ask you about someone specific," Morgan said. "Someone who lost a sister. It would have been years ago, possibly when you were in college."

Elizabeth's hands stilled on her apron strings, her brow furrowing in concentration. "Someone who lost..." Her eyes widened suddenly with horrible recognition. The color drained from her face so quickly that Morgan instinctively moved to guide her into a kitchen chair. "Oh my God. Oh my God. Simon Drayton."

"Tell us about him," Derik prompted gently, settling into another chair while Morgan remained standing, her need to stay mobile never quite forgotten.

"We were at UT Austin together," Elizabeth said, her fingers worrying at a loose thread on her apron. "His sister Mary—she died at Peaceful Valley. The mental health facility?" She shuddered slightly at the memory. "It was all anyone talked about that semester. How the nurse had just... left her alone. With a belt. She was only twenty-two."

Morgan exchanged a quick glance with Derik, reading the same recognition in his eyes that she felt.

"Simon was... different after that," Elizabeth continued, the words spilling out now as if she'd been holding them back for years. "He'd always been intense about his art—he was in the studio program with Marcus—but after Mary died, his work changed. Became darker. All about transformation and rebirth through suffering." She swallowed hard. "Marcus loved it. Said Simon was finally creating real art. That's when I stopped going to their shows."

"Did Simon ever threaten you?" Morgan asked. "Back then or recently?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, I haven't seen him since graduation. But..." She paused, something else clearly occurring to her. "Last month, at the grocery store, I got this weird feeling. Like someone was watching me. I told myself I was being paranoid, but..." Her hands trembled as she smoothed her apron again. "That's when it started, isn't it? That's when he started planning all this?"

"Does that name mean something?" Elizabeth asked, reading their reactions. "Is he—is he the one who's been watching me? Who made Marcus..." She trailed off, fear tightening her features as she glanced toward the stairs where her daughter had disappeared.

"We're going to increase your protection," Morgan assured her, noting how Officer Rodriguez had moved closer to the kitchen window at Elizabeth's obvious distress. "But this could help us stop him before he can hurt anyone else."

Elizabeth's hands clenched into fists, her knuckles white against the floral pattern of her apron. "I should have known," she whispered, more to herself than to Morgan and Derik. "The way he looked at me that day in the store... it was like he was seeing right through me. Like I wasn't even there."

Morgan leaned forward, her voice low and urgent. "Elizabeth, I need you to think carefully. Did Simonever mention anything about agricultural rituals or seasonal ceremonies? Anything that might have seemed odd or out of place at the time?"

Elizabeth's brow furrowed in concentration. "He was obsessed with cycles. Life and death, seasons changing. There was this one piece he did..." She trailed off, her eyes growing distant. "It was a series of paintings. Four canvases, one for each season. But they were all twisted, wrong somehow. Spring had dead flowers. Winter had blooming trees. And autumn..." She shuddered. "Autumn was the worst. It looked like a harvest festival, but instead of crops, there were bodies."

Derik's pen scratched across his notepad, capturing every detail. "Do you remember what happened to those paintings?”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “No, I have no idea. I just remember they were creepy.”

Morgan's mind raced, connecting the dots between Elizabeth's recollections and the crime scenes they'd encountered. "These paintings," she pressed, "did they incorporate any specific symbols? Anything that stood out?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes, trying to recall details from years ago. "There were... vines, I think. Twisting around everything. And in the autumn painting, there was this figure. Hooded, like the Grim Reaper, but instead of a scythe, it held..." She paused, her face paling further. "It held a paintbrush dripping with red."

Derik and Morgan exchanged a loaded glance. The symbolism was unmistakable, aligning perfectly with the killer's modus operandi.

"Elizabeth," Morgan said softly, "I know this is difficult, but we need to know everything you can remember about Simon. His habits, his interests, any places he frequented. Anything could be crucial."

Elizabeth nodded, visibly steeling herself. "He was always researching obscure rituals, especially ones related toagriculture and seasons. He'd spend hours in the university library, poring over old texts.”

A small voice from the doorway made them all start. "Mommy? Are we in trouble?”

Katie stood there in Frozen pajamas despite the early hour, clutching a well-loved stuffed rabbit. Elizabeth moved to her daughter with desperate speed, gathering her close. "No, baby. Remember what I said about Officer Rodriguez? He's here to protect us."

Morgan's heart ached at the scene—another child touched by violence, another family living in fear because of someone else's twisted vision.

“Sorry,” Morgan said, standing up. “We’ve used up enough time. We have enough on Simon to know we need to find him.”

"We'll be in touch," Derik added, rising from his chair. "Officer Rodriguez will remain posted outside, and we're increasing patrols in the area. If you think of anything else, no matter how small, please call us immediately."

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