Chapter 6 Sudden Sadness

The rest of the day was pretty much the same; other students came up to clarify the rumors. They never left Clio by herself except when she had class alone. At the end of the day, they said their good byes and Tyler drove her home. He pulled into the driveway and parked; leaning back into his seat he turned his head toward Clio. "What am I going to do? It feels like she ripped my heart out of my chest."

Clio was silent, "you wanna talk to my mom. Maybe she could help."

"I feel like such a girl." Tyler muttered to himself, but he got out of the car anyway. Clio knew he would for his father was also gone and had no one to talk to but his mother. He had run off with another woman when he was five and his mother always worked.

Clio slid to the ground and proceeded up the stairs after Tyler. She slid the door open, "mom?"

No one answered; an eerie silence filled the air. Clio could feel something was wrong. "Mom?" She dropped her bag; worry lacing her voice as she walked through the living room and into the kitchen. "MOM?!" She shouted, "where are you?"

Tyler went down the left hallway to the master bedroom and study. Seeing no one in the bedroom he pushed the study door open. He stopped cold, there was Natalia lying on the white carpet, stab wounds peppered her back. Her long black hair was spread across about her and the same onyx eyes that Clio had stared up at him. Her mouth was open as if she tried to call out. He couldn't move, couldn't seem to breath either. Tyler still hadn't moved from the doorway until he heard Clio's footsteps behind him on the hardwood floor. He swiftly shut the door and turned to face her. Anxiety and worry lined her beautiful face, changing it completely. He had no idea how to tell her.

"Tyler what's wrong? Did you find my mother?" Clio noted his completion was almost as pale as her white walls. "Tyler what's wrong?" The unease feeling began to grow. "Is my mother in there? Tell me!"

Tyler met her eyes, shocking her to see tears filling up his eyes and begin to fall. Clio reached to the side of him and turned the door handle. Glancing over his shoulder she saw her mother lying on the floor. "No." She whispered. She pushed past him and flew to her mother. Kneeling down next to her head she gently shook her stiff mother. "NO!" Clio shrieked. "Mom, please mom, wake up. Come on, wake up." She didn't move though, her blank eyes now staring at Clio. Tears began to flow freely down her face.

"Clio, please."

Tyler knelt down next to her, and Clio threw herself at him. Beating her fists against his chest she kept on yelling. "She can't be dead! She can't, I just called her an hour ago." Her sobbing became uncontrollable and she fell against him, failing to hit him anymore.

Tyler sat there holding her until her tears slowly subsided. He helped her up the stairs and into her bed. Shutting the behind him he went back down stairs and picked up the phone. "Get over here now." He told Alex.

"What happened?"

"Clio's mom is dead." Tyler hung up the phone.

Alex arrived in a hurried state, as if he ran. "Where is she?"

"Well Clio's sleeping in her room and mom is in the study." Tyler told him opening the door wider to let him in.

Alex headed for the adjoining door in the room leading to the study. He too seemed to lose his breath at the sight of the small woman on the floor. He shut the door and whirled around at Tyler. "Who did this?" He demanded.

"Well I don't know. I'm not psychic." He said, sounding sarcastic to hide his pain.

"I know that." Alex snapped, frustrated he ran his hand through his hair. "Come on." He headed to the back of the house to the basement door.

They descended the stone steps and into the surveillance room. Several flat screen televisions surrounded them and a control board was in front of them. Alex went straight for it, searching he hit the button the said STUDY. Tyler pulled up two chairs and sat in one, looking for the rewind button. "Dammit!" Alex suddenly swore. He looked guilty for a minute, "sorry. There's a password on it."

Tyler looked thoughtful, "didn't her mom tell us where the password was hidden?"

Alex stared at him, and then jumped up. Going to the steps he counted from the top five down. The stairs were originally built from stone, but Clio and her mom had covered them in soft gray carpet. On the fifth step, he pulled the carpet away from the wall and saw a small, hollowed out slit with a piece of paper in it. Pulling it, he smiled when he saw what was written on it. 'Love lasts forever.' He brought it over and handed it to Tyler, who was confused upon seeing it. "What's this supposed to mean?"

"It's a clue. I think it's her husbands name." He pulled the microphone out, "Michael Clear Waters." He said in a clear voice. On the center screen flashed Wrong Password.

"Mmm…maybe it's her wedding day." Tyler suggested frowning at the paper still. He pulled the microphone toward him. "May 19, 2000." The screen flashed CORRECT and pulled up the video of the living room of four different cameras.

Alex twisted one of the knobs left and the video skipped backwards. "Stop." Tyler yelled when one of the screens found them at a scene when Natalia was still alive and at her desk writing.

The time at the bottom of the screen showed them 2:37, when they were in 7th hour. "Pull up holographic picture." Alex told the computer.

On the table between the two boys shone a 3-D image of Natalia. Alex twisted the audio up and they watched her write at her massive oak desk. Behind her, the door opened. Not hearing it, she didn't turn around just kept on writing. The assailant continued on into the room silently. It was a tall man, dressed dark blue jeans, and a black jacket. Both Alex and Tyler heard the sound of steel against leather and apparently so did Natalia. She looked behind her and jumped up, knocking the chair over. Her voice rang out, "what do you want?"

The man chuckled and came at her as she lunged for the door. Alex and Tyler started visibly as they recognized the attacker, Markus. Both of them spared a brief glance at each other then went back to the scene. They were familiar with the knife he used as he stabbed her in the back several times. It was the ceremonial apache knife that hung above the fireplace. He dropped the woman to the floor and licked the knife, raising his head to one of the cameras. They saw him grin wickedly and bow at them. He flung the knife on the desk and stepped over Natalia and out the door.

Both of the boys sat back in the chairs looking at one another. Then they both heard a strangled cry being rip out of a throat. Looking up at the stairs, they saw Clio standing at the middle of the staircase. Her face was pale and was trembling violently. Alex leapt from his chair and up the stairs as she collapsed. He held her on his lap, realizing that she wasn't trembling from fright, but from anger. "I'm going to kill him." She said in a shaky voice, loud enough for Tyler to hear her.

"No, your not." Alex told her firmly. "Not before we get a chance to talk to him." He looked at Tyler, "call Ebony and Markus, I want them over here. Then we can call the police."

A half hour later Tyler, Clio and Alex sat on the couch in the family room and Markus and Ebony sat together on a loveseat across from them. "You said you had something to show us." Ebony impatiently told them. "What is it?"

Alex picked up Clio's projector and placed it on the coffee table. "An interesting show." He pressed play and pointed it at the fireplace for all to see.

Clio hid her face in Alex's chest as the whole scene replayed itself. Ebony and Markus wore twin expressions of shock and disbelief, especially when it revealed Markus as the attacker. When it was over, Alex turn the machine off and him and Tyler looked at the couple with stone faces. Clio also looked at them, only her face revealed unmasked fury. "Is this a joke?" Ebony demanded. "Because if it is then it isn't funny."

"A joke? Funny?" Alex rose up from the chair. "Come on."

He crossed the room to the study door. Momentary looking over his shoulder to make sure they followed him, he flung open the door and showed them Natalia lying on the floor. Ebony gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, Markus looked down in disbelief. "A joke? I don't think so. You can even check her pulse if you want, but then you're endangering you life with your fingerprints. That video," he shut the door and pointed at the projector, "was not made by anyone. Tyler and I downloaded it off the surveillance camera."

"No." Ebony shook her head. "I don't believe you. He would never do anything like that."

"How do you know that Ebony?" Tyler stood up gently prying Clio's fingers off his arm. "We hardly know him."

"You're jealous, you can't stand I broke up with you." Her voice was getting louder. "Beside its you guys who don't know him, me and him know everything about each other." Her eyes shone with secrets that revealed them to everyone.

Tyler narrowed his eyes, making his scar appear longer, "you slept with him? How could you, you gave him your virginity!"

Ebony took a step forward. "Who are you, my father? I don't think so, stay out of my business." She grabbed Markus by the hand and tugged him forward. "Come on, we're leaving."

"Hold on." Clio stood up and walked haltingly over to them. "Give me your hand Markus."

He pulled his hand out of Ebony's and gave it to Clio. She pulled him towards her and yanked down the zipper on the jacket, revealing splatterings of dark, brownish stains on his shirt.