Unholy Confessions

Sylvia crossed her arms over her chest ignoring the guilt that was bubbling through her. Some part of her recognized how utterly wrong this was; knew that Matt didn't deserve this. But she wasn't ruled by that part. Unlike most of the people around her she was graced with the primal instinct of self-preservation. It didn't matter who it was or how important they were to her, if she could she would push the threats onto other people and escape unscathed.

This time her victim was her loyal boyfriend of four years. In many ways he was a fool to trust her. They had known each other for ages and he knew how she was, or maybe he didn't have a clear enough image of her. It really did not matter though.

"Ms. Townsend, are you sure he wasn't at home with you that night?" The detective asked carefully. Apparently he wasn't buying her story. How inconvenient.

The dark-haired beauty allowed fresh tears to roll down her cheeks. "I wish to God that he was, but the fact is he was nowhere to be seen. I called him at least five times and he never answered the phone." Sylvia brought both hands to cover her eyes as she sobbed. "How could he do this? We were going to get married for God's sake!"

"I know this is hard for you, Ms. Townsend. I'm sorry to take up so much of your time. I suggest you go home and rest. I'll see you at the trial."

Sylvia stood as the detective did still sniffling, using her handkerchief to dab at the corners of her eyes gently. "Thank you Detective. I don't know how I could have gotten through this if you hadn't been so understanding and patient."

"I'm only doing my job Ms. Townsend. Now you take care of yourself and keep away from the murderers. I wouldn't want you to go through this ordeal again."

Sylvia gave him a small, watery smile. Sucker, being a woman made everything so much easier. "I'll try to Detective. Have a nice day." She made her way to the door and pulled it open, then strutted down the corridor of the police precinct.

"Um, Ms. Townsend…Sylvia?" Sylvia turned back as the Detective hailed her from down the hall. He jogged to her and looked down bashfully then seemed to pull himself together. "If you need any cheering up don't be afraid to call me." He handed her his number and smiled. "Maybe we can hang out on the loneliest night of the week at around 7?"

"Are you asking me on a date Detective?" Sylvia asked quietly.

The detective shrugged, "It doesn't have to be if you don't want it to be. But it's hard to be alone on a Friday night. So if you want someone to talk to I'm only a phone call away."

Sylvia smiled warmly. Maybe Matt being in prison had its perks after all, other than the obvious one in which she was free. "I'll think about it Detective. And now I really must leave. I have another appointment I can't put off longer. Once again, thank you for your time."

This time when Sylvia took her leave of the detective he didn't call her back.

She drove all the way home to where her mother stood by the window. Sylvia's mother turned when she heard the door open and breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought for sure that you were going to confess."

Sylvia's laugh came out harsh and grating, "Now why would I go and do that?" She took off her coat and hung it over a chair. "With so much evidence on Matt there was no way anyone would ever guess that it was actually me. No reason to come clean."

Her mother took a seat on the couch and turned on the television. She'd been worried about her little girl but since Sylvia was home again there was no need to be. "Except one."

"And what is that?"

"He was your fiance meaning that means when his world is hurt yours is too," her mother said matter-of-factly.

"Nothing hurts my world; it just affects the ones around me. You of all people should know this by now Mom."

There was no response to this last statement. Sylvia's mom merely flipped through the TV guide and finally settled on CSI. "Nice Mom," Sylvia mocked. "This is just the thing that would make me feel sorry for the love of my life."

"Who said that was why I put it on?" Her mom asked lifting her brow inquisitively. "I just happen to like this show."

Sylvia crossed her arms across her chest ignoring the guilt that was bubbling through her. There was no other reply to this last statement.

Friday Night

"Sylvia! Where in God's name do you think you are going?!"

"I'm going on a date of course. Where else would I be going at this time of night?" Sylvia answered, dismissing her mother with an unconcerned wave.

"A date? Don't you think that people will get suspicious if you start dating again so soon?" Sylvia's mother paused for a moment as if waiting for an answer but continued when Sylvia pointedly ignored her. "So who's your date?"

"Zachary Baker…"

"Do you mean, Zachary Baker, as in Detective Baker?"

"Yes Mom…"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FLIPPIN' MIND?!" Her mother exploded. "You are going to get caught if you mess with him. Then you will be sent to jail for the rest of your God forsaken life!"
Sylvia gave her mother a wry grin and went back to looking for her car keys. "Mom, if I got away with it once I'll get away with it again, no problem. It's not like the trial is going to be the first thing out of his mouth and I'm not stupid enough to tell him anything."

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"I just know it. You should have a little faith in me." Sylvia found her keys and headed out the door. "If I'm not back by midnight you know already know that I won't be back tonight."
She left the house and her mother shook her head. "I thought I taught that girl to play it smart but this is ridiculous."

Twelve o'clock came and went without word from Sylvia. So after heaving a great sigh, her mother decided to turn in for the night. There was no reason for her to stay up anymore.

Seven Months Later

The phone rang just as Sylvia finally settled into her deliciously warm bubble bath. She sighed and pretended not to hear it but it rang again. Finally, unable to take it any longer she climbed out of the tub, wrapped a towel around her and headed to her room.

"Hello love," she said sweetly. "I was just thinking about you." The bastard called every few hours, it was rather annoying but that’s the price you pay for a having a boyfriend.

"Hello to you too," why does he sound so angry? "We need to talk."

"What do we need to talk about what exactly?"

"Matt..."

Silence reigned for a few moments. "Why do you want to talk about him?"

"You seemed to have forgotten a minor detail in your testimony. A detail that has been triple checked since we were told of it a couple weeks ago."

"Oh silly, you had me worried for a minute. I thought that you were going to say he escaped and wants to kill me now." Sylvia laughed nervously unsure of where the conversation was going. Now where did I fuck up?

"It's pretty serious and I think it's better if we discuss this in person. Mind if I come over later today? How about after work?"

"Of course Zacky, you know you don't have to ask."

"Good, I'll talk to you later then." The other end clicked off and Sylvia slowly pulled the phone away from her ear. What was this about? What did they have to triple check?

She brought the phone with her to the bathroom in case Zacky called back and slid out of the towel and into the tub. This time when the phone rang she answered the first one. "Zacky?"

"No but thanks for confirming my suspicions." Sylvia dropped the phone onto the tiled floors and it went onto speaker. "You see, I figured by the amount of time that it took the detective to accept the 'new evidence' that you were fucking him. No other reason why he would want to stall or have trouble believing it. But I know what that's like.

I'm never gonna make that mistake again. I'm not stupid enough to go back to you but I will make this perfectly clear. One day Karma is going to come back full circle and all the people you fucked over are going to do the same to you three times over.

Oh and one more warning before I go…They're reevaluating all the evidence of everyone in jail who was somehow connected to you. There's a lot of interesting connections being made. Be sure not to skip town."

Matt blew her a kiss over the phone then hung up leaving Sylvia dumbstruck. Impossible, this could not be happening.

"Sylvia baby, Zacky is at the door and he looks pretty angry. Is everything alright?"

"Yes Mom, everything is perfect." It was 7:30, he was late. He was never late…and never angry. Was Matt just messing with her? Or was it possible…possible that he was serious?

Sylvia made her way to the living room where Zacky was already waiting. He was leaning on the mantel and looked at her with disgust as she entered. "You lied, Matt was never anywhere near there. He was on the other side of town at his job. He didn't get out until 5:30 and the girl dead by 6. He wouldn't have had the time.

Then there's the fact that his prints were on none of the surfaces. They were yours and I checked it to make sure."

Zacky waited silently for her to deny the crime but she didn't. Instead she started to laugh. "It was so easy to fool you guys." She said softly. "A few tears, some sweet words, and a lie…none of you get passed it."

The detective shook his head sadly, "I'm going to have to take you in. We already let Matt go and justice has to be served." He pulled out a pair of handcuffs, "I thought you were a good girl always going to church. And here you are a true blood sinner."

"What can I say? Sin's deep in my blood," Sylvia said with a shrug eying the cuffs warily. "I'm not going to jail."

"Yes, you are."

Sylvia pulled out a gun from her back pocket and pointed it at him. His eyes widened as she fired three shots, killing him where he stood. "If anything, you'll be the one to fall."

She put the gun away, "Mom, I need your help again!" Her mom trudged down the stairs and shook her head at the scene. "We need to get rid of him and skip town."

"Anything you say dear…"