The Key Chased the Blade

Simon and I both got coffee and he got a sandwich back at Market of Choice. We ate there fast. I was over my rage at Simon by the time I had a full stomach. I was still irritated about being soaked to the bone though.

We left and Simon took me to his house. It wasn't too far from mine, and his parents weren't home, so he wasn't afraid of getting in trouble. His mom was an actress and his dad did something boring and official in the business industry. His mom had just accepted a role in the local theatre's production of some Shakespearean play, otherwise she would've been home. His dad was never home; he practically lived in his office.

"Hey, I'll get you some shorts," Simon said. "Or sweatpants, if you want."

"Go for the sweatpants. And go change yourself," I huffed. "Get me a shirt too so I can get out of this stupid hippie jacket."

Simon smiled and started off towards his room. I made myself comfortable on his couch. His family was loaded; he had a huge house and a giant TV on the wall and pretty much everything else imaginable. He wasn't stuck-up about it though. I have never heard him brag about his wealth once in my entire life.

Simon came back in dry clothes and threw me a pair of sweatpants and one of his T-shirts. It wasn't like we haven't shared clothes before, even Simon had worn my clothing when he was over at my house and his clothes would get ruined. "Go change, you can put your wet clothes in the laundry, my mom will take care of them," Simon said.

I went to his bathroom, changed, and threw my clothes into the laundry chute. Then I tucked the hippie coat under my arm and went back to the living room. "What do you want me to do with this?" I asked, pointing at it with my other hand.

"Let me see it." He smiled his stupid dorky smile and took it from me, looking at the tag. "Oh. Well, I got the wrong size, I guess you'll have to keep it, then."

"Screw you!" I nearly threw it back in his face when he handed it to me. But I scowled and then tugged it over my head; I was actually still a little cold. Simon kept smiling.

But then it faded. "Do you think we should take you to the hospital?" he asked.

"For what? I'm fine."

"For you nearly fainting. You probably had mild hypothermia."

I glared at him. "Simon, I'm fine, trust me on this. I'm not about to die right now, right?"

Simon looked really worried, which pissed me off even more. "You really scared me," he said quietly.

"Well, you know what scared me?" But I cut myself off. I wasn't going to tell him about the washing lady. I huffed and turned around so I didn't face him. That was definitely blood on that dress. But Jesus, why was it there? Then it hit me that it was probably blood on Sadie Amala's sweatshirt too. This was just really weird. The lady wasn't Sadie's mom, so she was probably a maid or something, but why was she washing blood off the clothing? God. If my employer made me wash bloodstained clothing, I'd flip the hell out.

But then I thought of something. What if Sadie had an abusive dad? Maybe he was the killer. Maybe he'd hurt her mom too, that's probably why there's blood on the dress.

Jesus, I was probably getting way over my head again, but this was really eating at me. What if Sadie Amala's mom was the next victim? I'd have to investigate. But I wouldn't get Simon into it, this case would probably freak the hell out of him.

"Noah?" Simon asked.

"Yeah?" I turned to face him.

"Do you want to watch a movie? I'll make popcorn."

"Sure. Let's watch a movie." Then I followed him in the kitchen to help him make popcorn.