It took Aaron a while, carrying his items while walking to Sarah and Calem's home, but he eventually made it around 5 pm. Everything was gone now, the tape, bodies, evidence, etc. He went straight to work, placing his items around the house, all for his plan. After he was done, he walked around the study room, glancing at the photographs. Time had passed, and Aaron was looking at a specific photo when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He didn't turn around, and instead kept looking the opposite way of the doorway. John Milton came through the doorway, as he was holding a gun. "Hmm? What are you doing here Mr. Milton?" asked Aaron with a sly smile.
"Turn around slowly." John ordered.
"What's up with you? You're acting like I'm some criminal." Aaron said as he slowly turned around. When he saw the gun in John's hand, Aaron's face changed. It went from his usual cheeky smile, to a worried and confused look. However, he quickly caught himself and returned to his normal expression.
John didn't miss that. "You weren't expecting me to be aiming a gun at you, were you?" John said with a crooked grin.
"John, I think there's been a misunderstanding here. I don't know what caused you to be pulling this type of thing, but I need you to-"
"Cut the bullshit." John growled. "Put both of your hands up. Use your left hand to fish out everything in your pockets, and drop them on the floor." John impatiently said.
"You're not thinking clearly-" Aaron started, but after John aimed his gun right at his head, Aaron went silent. He reluctantly lowered his left hand, and took out some items from his pockets. It was revealed that Aaron had been hiding the gun used in the murder of Sarah and Trey, a taser, a knife, and his phone.
"Kick them over to me." John said. Aaron complied, as he slowly kicked them over. John looked down at them, and he tsked. "That's not everything. There has to be something else." He looked back at Aaron. Aaron was trying his hardest to look like he was unfazed, but the slight twitch in his mouth and posture gave away to his nervousness. Many thoughts ran across John's mind. He knew that Aaron had set up a trap, and he thought back to the police station. Abigail was hounding Ethan and Michael about the missing tape recorder, and to watch Aaron better. He also placed himself in Aaron's shoes, and tried to recreate the trap. If he was Aaron, he knew that he also had a gun, and that if Aaron suddenly pulled out a gun, he would do the same. The two would likely be in a shootout, and Aaron definitely anticipated that. So, how could Aaron prepare himself for that? Of course, it was simple.
"Aaron, I want you to slowly take off your suit."
Aaron's smile went away. "Heh, you're weird for that. Don't you know how different we are in age?" Aaron said while shakily laughing.
John saw right through him. He guessed that Aaron was trying to stall for time, by creating that joke. "Do it."
Aaron looked down as his hands started shaking. He then slowly took off his suit, which revealed a bulletproof vest.
John could only smile. "Take it off, and slowly place it on the floor. Then kick it over to me."
Aaron gritted his teeth as he did what John said.
"Now, show me where you hid the tape recorder." John said with a hint of amusement.
Aaron laughed at that. "A tape recorder? What else do you want? A playstation 5? What tape recorder?"
"The tape recorder you stole from the interrogation room." John stated.
Aaron stopped laughing. He nervously smiled. "A tape recorder I stole? John, let's be logical here. A tape recorder serves absolutely zero-"
"Stop stalling for time." John angrily said. "I know you have the tape recorder somewhere here. You took it to record our conversation, as a part of your trap."
Aaron didn't answer, as he slowly went on his knees, and reached behind him in the bottom bookshelf. He never took his eyes off John, so he wouldn't be suspected of doing something sneaky. Eventually, he grabbed the tape recorder and put it on the floor. He kicked it over to John.
John stopped down and held the tape recorder. He was right. It was recording their conversation, and it was still going. He stopped it, and put it back down. He then noticed Aaron was looking straight down. "What are you doing?" He asked with a skeptical tone.
Aaron didn't answer. He kept looking down, showing no signs of answering back. John then yelled at him to answer. Aaron still didn't answer.
"I'll kill you right now if you don't." John ruthlessly said as he aimed his gun.
Just then, Aaron whipped his head upwards, to look right at John. John was taken aback by Aaron's face. Aaron was smiling, but it wasn't normal. It was huge, and his eyes were staring right at him.
"What are you so happy about?" John asked.
Aaron then started silently giggling. "I admit it. You're smarter than I thought. You managed to predict my entire plan of catching you, and somehow used it against me." Aaron then stopped giggling as he started whispering. "But, it doesn't matter. My friends are already on their way here." John's eyes widened, while Aaron started laughing. "I'm a very careful individual, so I made sure to call them, before your arrival here, to start coming here. And, if my math is correct, they should be here within mere seconds." Aaron slowly got up. "So, it's all up to you. You can shoot me, and waste time doing it. Or," Aaron said as he pointed towards the window, "escape, just like how you did when you killed Sarah and Calem."
It was John's turn to be silent, as Aaron kept goading John. Then, John spoke. "I can't believe it."
"Believe what? My intelligence?" Aaron said while snickering.
"I can't believe how dumb you are."
Aaron's entire demeanor changed as John said that. His smile faded away, and his laughs turned to stutters. "Wha-What are you talking about?"
John then reached into his pocket and pulled out Abigail's phone. "You actually thought that I wouldn't think you would try to call them."
Aaron's knees buckled and he fell to the floor. His entire face was pale as he stared at the phone.
"The rest of the phones are in my car." John said as he waved the phone in front of Aaron's phone. "Even if you could call them, your friends wouldn't be able to come here. I tore out the starter relay in their cars, just in case. I wanted to be sure they wouldn't follow me."
Aaron didn't answer as he just stared. His eyes were filled with despair, knowing what was about to befall him.
"It's been fun, Aaron, but all things must come to an end." John aimed the gun right at Aaron's head. He made sure he was more far away. He didn't want to give Aaron a chance to steal his gun.
"WAIT! JUST-PLEASE WAIT!" Aaron yelled. His eyes were beginning to tear up, and his nose was getting runny. "I have connections. I know some people who can aid you in killing people. They can easily help you get away with any type of crime." His voice was shaky. "Please, you don't even understand just what I can offer you." Aaron begged as he went into a bowing position.
"No, I know who you are. You're the brother of Candy Cain." John said.
Aaron gasped. He slowly raised his head. "Then you understand the benefits of letting me live?" He asked hopefully.
John silently chuckled. "Candy Cain wants you dead."
"What?" Aaron silently said as his eyes glazed.
"Or rather, the act of killing you will prove my worth to him." John then smiled. "But, seeing how you were outsmarted by me, I think he overestimated you." John said as he pulled the trigger.
Just before pulling the trigger, John thought he saw something. He thought he saw a flicker in Aaron's expression. He could've sworn that he saw Aaron start to smile, but he never knew for sure. After all, right after pulling the trigger, his vision was blocked by smoke. John didn't understand why there was smoke, but then he felt a tingling sensation on his hand. He glanced at it, and froze. All 5 of his fingers were blown off. His gun dropped, and the drop caused the chamber to pop out. He then saw something that made his heart stop. In the chamber was dirt. In that split second, he realized what had just happened. He had been tricked. But, by who? John quickly moved his line of sight to Aaron, and he saw Aaron smiling wickedly at him.
"You fell for it, you fucking dumbass." Aaron pronounced.
Did Aaron do this? John couldn't spend any time wondering about this, and he had to focus on his exploded hand. He quickly got the gun that Aaron was hiding, and aimed it right at Aaron while he searched for a towel to apply pressure. However, he quickly understood something. Aaron was smiling like a madman, while looking straight at the gun. John then thought, if Aaron was the one who put the dirt in the chamber of his gun, and had predicted this entire scenario, then he would've also guessed that this was going to happen. This meant that Aaron knew he was going to get the gun, and aim it right at him. But, then why would Aaron be smiling like that? That's when John got it. Aaron had also sabotaged this gun.
Combined with the pain from his hand, and the fear that Aaron was predicting his every move, John threw the gun at Aaron, while he ran away. He ran downstairs and went right to the kitchen. He grabbed some towels for his hand, while also grabbing a knife. He then ran to the front door, to try and escape. John didn't know for sure just how far Aaron had planned for, so his only option was to run away for now, and to figure this out later. But first, he had to get treatment for his hand first. He figured Candy Cain would probably be able to do that. As he placed his hand on the knob of the front door, his entire plan went up in smoke.
On the other side of the door, John heard a deep and gruff voice saying, "John Milton, stay right where you are. We have the place surrounded."
FUCK, John thought to himself. He then turned around, to go a different way, but he stopped. Right behind him was Aaron Bell, holding a phone in his left hand, and the gun in the right.
"Drop your knife and get on your stomach." Aaron ordered while aiming the gun.
"HAH, that won't work on me. I know that gun's also sabotaged." John said with a leering grin.
"I don't recall sabotaging this gun, though." Aaron said with a confused look.
"I told you, it's not going to-" John started, but he was cut off with a bullet zooming right past him. He slowly looked to his left as he saw a bullet hole. He then looked at Aaron, who was smirking at him.
"Get on your stomach."
John then complied, and Aaron got out rope from behind him. He then tied John up while humming to himself. After Aaron was done, he then opened the front door. John was expecting to see a full swat team outside, but what he actually saw puzzled him. He saw no one. There wasn't a single soul outside. Aaron noticed this and said, in the exact same voice John heard outside, "We have the place surrounded."
John was bewildered. How could this be? If the voice was actually Aaron, how did he hear it outside then? Aaron was behind him the entire time. It didn't make sense. But, that's when Aaron raised his hand to the hanging flower pot, and pulled out Calem's phone from inside it. Aaron then mentioned, "Bluetooth does wonders."
With that comment, John understood what Aaron did. He had recorded a message prior to their confrontation, and placed the phone in the flower pot. Then, after the confrontation, when he had escaped and went to the front door, Aaron used his phone, and connected to Calem's phone via Bluetooth. He then activated Calem's phone and played the audio recording, to make it seem like Aaron had backup, so he would be forced to surrender. John shook his head in disbelief, wondering at just how much had Aaron planned for.
"Alright, now get up." Aaron ordered. John slowly got up, with the help of Aaron. "Since you annoyingly rendered their vehicles useless, and stole their phones, my friends can't come here, nor can I call them. So, we're gonna have to make our way to the station, on foot." Aaron said as he poked John's back with the gun.
While the two slowly made their way, John had some questions that needed to be answered. "How did you sabotage my gun?
"Well that wasn't me specifically."
"What do you mean?"
"I made Calem place some dirt in your gun's chamber. Pretty simple, really."
"But how? How did he even get the opportunity?"
"Do you remember Ethan and Michael searching your body for a supposed clue that I said you had?"
"Yes, I-" John stopped. "It was then?"
"Yep. It's a lot to take in, but seeing how we got plenty of time, listen up. It all started in the car, before we first entered the police station. I had told Ethan and Michael beforehand, to distract Abigail while I was questioning Calem, and to leave when I gave a certain sign. Then, while they were all gone, I gave Calem the key to get out, and some dirt. I told him to wait until you arrived, which I knew Abigail would since I led her to believe that Calem was truly the killer. After you arrived, Ethan and Michael would search you, which I told them to, in a different room. I also told them to leave your belongings with Abigail, so she could watch over them. Then, they would call Abigail over, and in that period of time, Calem would unlock the door, and place the dirt in the chamber of the gun. Then, he probably returned back to the interrogation room, and acted like nothing had happened." John was astounded at what he was being told.
"I also took the tape recorder, not only because it revealed what I said to Calem, but also so that I could use it to secretly record you. I then took some more items, like the murder weapon, a bullet-proof vest, a knife, rope and a taser. But, there was one more thing I took, which I knew you wouldn't notice." He showed John Calem's phone. "Calem told me the password, so I could actually use it. My plan was to convince Abigail and the rest that Calem was the actual killer, while I went around verifying alibis. I knew that Abigail would ask Ethan where I was, and I also knew that you would hear of it. So, after hearing that I was left at the convenience store, alone with the one person who knew about your true whereabouts, I was confident that you would grow fearful, considering how cautious you seemed to be. I figured that you would follow me, and likely question Steve about what he told me. However, that was all a part of my plan. See, I know why you chose Steve. He's not exactly a strong individual, and he's easily controllable if you scare him enough. So, I was fairly confident he would buckle under the pressure, and reveal where I went. Now, at this point, is where it gets fun. You were probably thinking very hard, about why I was at the house, why there was a tape recorder missing, why the murder weapon was missing, all of that. And, you probably realized that I set up a trap. Knowing this, you foolishly thought that you had predicted my every move, and confidently walked right into my grasp, not knowing that I read you like a book."
"Let me explain. I had also told Ethan to check the Evidence Room after he searched your body, and to see what items were missing. With this, you would suspect that it was me who had taken those items. Then, after hearing that I was at the convenience store, you went there, threatening Steve about what he spilled. Like I said, he's not exactly strong, so he ended up telling you. But, I wanted him to. You see, I told him that I had called for other officers to come there after I left. But, that was a lie. After all, why would I do that? I needed you to go there first, so you could find out where I went. I reasoned that this was possible, because Steve would likely figure out that I lied, and feel less guilt about ratting me out. Then, after you arrived, and mistakenly thinking you were in control, I played the part of a coward. I acted like I was completely done for, with my trap being completely seen through. You probably thought that this was my trap. You walk in, nonchalantly walk around with me, as we look around for any more clues. Then, I pull my gun out at you, and force you to confess. I would mention Steve's testimony being fake, and of how you roofied Daniel. To keep yourself safe, you would end up confessing, not realizing you were being recorded. That's what my trap was, right?" Aaron said mischievously.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Thing is, you were right. That was my trap. But, I always have contingencies. I make sure to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, like you finding out about my trap, and getting into a shootout with you. That's why, from the very beginning, I wanted to make sure you had no way of harming me, which is why I had Calem sabotage your gun. I knew for sure you would end up shooting me. Why, you may ask? Simply, I led you to think like that. Just think about it. My fellow officers all think that Calem was the killer, while Steve told me, and only me, about your actual whereabouts. It's only logical that you would resort to killing me, to make sure no one suspected you, and to regain your total control over Steve."
"Hah, this is ridiculous. I can't believe you actually managed to think of a plan like that." John said. "What about the gun? How were you so confident that I wasn't going to shoot you again?"
"That's easy. I purposely smiled at you like that to incite fear into you, to make you think the gun was also sabotaged. But, if you actually ended up shooting the gun, it wouldn't matter, since the gun never had any bullets."
"What? But I saw you shoot it just a few minutes ago."
"No, it didn't have any bullets when you had it. I removed all the bullets beforehand, in case you saw through my "trap". Then, if you had pulled the trigger, upon the realization of it being empty, you would probably abandon the gun and try to run away. Since you didn't shoot, all I had to do was go to the sofa, which is where I hid the bullets. Reloading the bullets, I walked downstairs, and you know what happened next. Now, if you somehow didn't see through my trap, and just walked in normally, I could easily pretend I found a clue in the sofa, and just retrieve the bullets. If you tried to threaten me, or shoot me with your gun, after seeing the bullets, I wouldn't be in any danger, since it was sabotaged."
John could only shake his head. "What made you think I was the killer when we first met?"
"At first, I didn't suspect you at all, but then you revealed your sin."
John raised an eyebrow. "My sin?"
Aaron raised his finger. "Your sin of pouring the milk before the cereal." He said triumphantly.
John was taken aback. "That made you think I was the killer?"
"That and your answer to when I asked you how you were feeling after I told you that I thought you were the killer."
"My answer? But I was perfectly fine. I didn't show any signs of nervousness nor signs of me lying." John retorted.
"Typically, when an innocent man is accused of killing those that are close to him, he'll lash out in anger, sometimes punching the accuser. You, however, showed absolutely zero signs of that, which helped me realize that you were prepared for that type of question. In essence, this acting of yours, of seeming like you were completely unaffected to not have any suspicion placed on you, was what made me suspect you in the first place."
John softly sighed while looking out. "Amazing." He looked back at Aaron and asked, "Why did I kill them then?"
"I don't exactly know your motive for killing them, but I do have a good idea on what happened. I think that you first hid in the house, waiting for Sarah to come home, from piano lessons. You knew she was going to be home alone, due to Calem going to Daniel's house, so you called Trey to tell him to go there. That's why you took his phone. When the two arrived, you hid in the study room, behind the door, waiting for them. Eventually, the two entered, and you quickly struck Trey, since he was the bigger threat. While Sarah was screaming, you promptly hit her too. The two fell down, so you took their phones and went back to beating them. You didn't want to use your gun, because that could be used to lead it back to you. However, you still kept your gun, just in case. While you were beating Trey, Sarah managed to make it to the bathroom. You then followed her blood trail and tried to open the door. You then kicked the door, over and over, until the lock gave in. The opening revealed Sarah, lying on the floor, aiming a gun straight at you. You quickly dove out of the way, but the bullet managed to still hit your leg, which is why you have a slight limp. You then quickly used your gun to disarm her, which is why there's an indentation on the gun and a hole in her hand. After that, you shot her in the head to finish her off. You then drug her body back to the study room, along with Trey. You start treating your leg, with some torn clothing to apply pressure. Trey was still unconscious, so you shot him too. You then undressed them as part of your plan. After that, you realize that the missing bullets in Sarah's gun don't match up with the holes in the bodies, so you go to the red couch, and take Calem's pillow. You use it as a silencer and shoot into it. You keep the pillow with you, obviously. Then, you probably hear Calem's car parking outside. It's all going according to your plan, with how the roofies worked on Daniel. You then take your leave and escape through the window, and go to a secluded place. You hide all your stuff, and you go back to the front door. You enter while having your gun drawn, slowly going up. You then walk in on Calem, as he cries over the bodies of Sarah and Trey. You made sure to make no sound, so that Calem would take the gun, placing his fingerprints all over it."
"That's correct." John confirmed. Aaron patted himself on the back. "If you want to know my motive-"
"Nah, I actually give zero fucks about that. You probably just wanted to bang Sarah, and so you killed her after she rejected you too many times." Aaron said as he cut John off. John was surprised at that, because Aaron was right.
"Now, I have 2 questions for you. How did you manage to get my coworkers' phones?"
"That was easy. I just made my officers go and bug your friends to distract them while I took their phones. I then simply took my chance and got their phones, and checked for any recent calls from you, to make sure if they knew about my falsified alibi. Knowing this, I decided that I needed to silence you, so I casually left the station, while also removing the starter relays as a precaution. If needed, I also had a way of scapegoating Steve as your killer, since the kool-aid that was used to drug Daniel was from his store."
"I see. Now, do you know Candy Cain?" Aaron asked with a devious smile.
"Not here. It's too open." John quietly answered. Aaron understood exactly what John meant. He knew what type of person Candy Cain was. After all, they are brothers. Well, were.
John was still confused about one thing. "If you had sabotaged my gun from the beginning, why did you need to go through all of this?"
"I knew that there was a small chance of my trap backfiring on me, but I still needed conclusive evidence, like a confession from you. So, I took advantage of your confidence thinking you outsmarted me, then after you had taken my items and thinking you were in control, I simply made you focus on other things. For example, confusion on why the gun was sabotaged, fear on your hand injury, and disbelief over my gun not being sabotaged.
"Focus on other things? What do you mean?"
Aaron then pulled out his phone from his pockets and showed it to John. "You were too distracted to think that I would record our entire conversation starting from when you were at the front door."
After quite a bit of walking, the two made it to the station. Aaron was yelled at by Abigail, along with Ethan and Michael. John was then held for questioning, while Aaron explained what had happened. After the reveal of Steve's testimony, the kool-aid being roofied and Daniel's results coming back positive, and the little hints like the missing pillow and John limping, John was formally declared the true killer. Calem was let out, and he profusely thanked Aaron, while begrudgingly thanking the rest of the team. Then, Calem was allowed to talk to John.
Calem, along with the team behind him, went to the holding cell of John. Calem was breathing heavily, as he slowly walked up close to the cell. "Father, why did you do it?"
John was lying on his bed, presumably sleeping. Without opening his eyes, he answered, "Sarah was like a rose. She was alluring, with her aquamarine eyes, and a smile that dazzled like a gem. It's not too surprising that I fell for her."
Calem, with a shocked voice, "You liked her? But, what about mom? You said that no other woman was as beautiful as her. You even promised you would never remarry after she died."
"Wait...You actually thought I was serious?" John then started laughing, keeping his hand over his eyes. "Sure, she was beautiful. But that didn't mean I would be incapable of falling for other women."
Calem started to become angry, with his breathing becoming more shallow. "So you thought it was okay to not only like my wife, but to also murder her, along with Trey, your own son?"
John then sat up while opening his eyes. "She was very stubborn. Even when I offered her an unfathomable amount of money, she never let me make love with her, let alone kiss her."
"You-you were offering her money? For how long?"
John went into a thinking position, laying one leg on the other, while gazing out. "I think it was back when you first introduced her to me."
Calem put his hand to his face while he stared at the floor. "Since back then?" His breathing became ragged. He looked back up at John. "Why did she never tell me then? Why didn't she ask for help?"
John stood up, and walked up to the bars. He looked straight at Calem. "She couldn't because of you."
"Of me?"
"She couldn't bear to see you learn how his own father was trying to fuck his son's wife. She didn't want you to undergo that pain of realizing just how twisted your father really was. So instead, she settled with not telling you, nor anyone. She figured that as long as she could keep rejecting me, we would keep our normal lives. Her kindness, of not wanting to see you in pain, was her downfall. She didn't realize that I would eventually grow tired of this. She didn't know that I was careful, wary of the possibility of someone finding out what I was trying to do to her. After all, that would demolish my reputation. So, I settled with killing her. Of course, I needed a plan, so I ended up using Trey. I lured him into the home, and killed the both of them, just so I could pin it on you."
The look of amusement on John's face made it even worse for Calem. He needed help staying up, so Aaron quickly got behind him, and helped Calem regain his footing. Aaron then spoke to John. "You know, I generally respect intelligent people. People who can plan, read others, and think of clever ideas are great to have as rivals. But, it doesn't matter when they're a sorry bastard like you. Someone like you deserves punishment, something truly horrible. Death is too kind of a mercy for you. Isn't that right, Calem?" Aaron said, while glancing at Calem towards the end.
Calem looked back at him. He was confused at first, but then he slowly realized why Aaron mentioned him. He smiled weakly, while his eyes started watering. "That's right." He then looked back at John, with steadfast eyes. "If there was one thing I truly wanted to do in this world, it would be to kill you. To kill you in the most brutal way possible. However, I know I can't. I know that Sarah and Trey wouldn't want that for me, to live on with that sort of trauma placed upon me. Instead, I want you to forever be in prison, to slowly rot away in horrendous living conditions. I want you to undergo torture, the kind that'll leave you begging for death, but you'll never receive it."
John merely smiled at that and returned to his bed. Calem turned away in response and looked back at the team. He then mentioned to Aaron that he was okay now, and Aaron let him go. Speaking to Aaron, "Mr. Bell, thank you. You were the only one that believed I was actually innocent, and you even managed to expose the true killer." He glanced at the others, which caused Ethan and Michael to look away nervously, while Abigail merely lowered her head as an apology. "I'm just joking. You all had good evidence to prove that I was the killer." He looked back at Aaron. "Without your help, I don't know what would've happened to me." He paused as he quietly chuckled. "Actually, I do know. I would've been in prison, forever in sorrow. But, now, I can confidently look at Sarah and Trey without any guilt. Thank you, Aaron, for not only proving I was innocent, but also for giving me the chance to redeem myself."
"No worries." Aaron responded with a grin. Abigail smiled too, which Michael saw. He later told Aaron, and the two agreed that it was a doppelganger. Michael and Ethan fist bumped each other. Then, Calem reached into his pocket, and pulled out a gun. Sarah's gun. Abigail's eyes widened in response as she instinctively pulled out her gun. Ethan and Michael did the same, while moving towards Calem. Calem looked at Aaron. He smiled, and Aaron waved in response. He pulled the trigger.
Abigail yelled in disbelief, as Calem's head exploded. His remains flew over John's cell, and inside the cell, John was silent, frozen at the sight he just witnessed. Ethan quickly ran to the body, while Michael confiscated the gun. Abigail could only look, as she was confused over what had just happened. Why did he shoot himself? More importantly, where did he get the gun? She then looked at Aaron, and saw him gazing at the body, with a solemn look. She then remembered how Aaron was behind Calem, and how he could've easily slipped the gun into his pocket. Realizing this, she marched over to Aaron and pushed him across the wall.
"Damn Abbey, mind being more gentle next time?"
"Aaron, I'm only going to ask this once, so be truthful. Did you give the gun to Calem?" Abigail asked with rage.
Aaron looked back at her with an emotionless face. "Yeah, I did. What about it?"
Abigail's grip weakened as she heard that. "Why did you do that?" Even though she said that, she knew exactly why. She knew Aaron long enough to understand Aaron never did something for no reason. He always had a reason for doing something, even dangerous stunts like this. "You knew he was going to shoot himself."
"Of course I did. That was the whole point."
After hearing those words, something in Abigail's mind snapped. She pistol whipped Aaron, which caused him to fall down in agony.
"FUCK!" Aaron yelled while holding his face. He looked up at Abigail. "Are you crazy? What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Abigail could only laugh at hearing the hypocrisy from Aaron. "Me crazy? No, Aaron, you're the one who's crazy. You purposely gave Calem a weapon, knowing fully well he was in a horrible mental state, wanting him to kill himself." Abigail raised her hands in disbelief. "I told him to not do it. I warned him that a criminal could never be a proper detective. And look what happened. That same criminal ended up killing a man."
Aaron quickly got up while glaring at Abigail. "Here you go with your shitty righteousness. You seriously think you're the hero in this?"
Abigail glared back at Aaron. "And you're supposed to be the hero? Don't make me laugh."
"I understand that you probably can't understand with your feeble mind, so I'll explain as simply as I can. Calem had just got his wife and brother murdered by his own father. He then had to go through a period of self-hate when he felt that he was guilty of their deaths. Not only that, but he also learned of how he actually was the cause behind John murdering Sarah and Trey. If you had handled this like you usually do, and let Calem go back to his normal life, and be content with the delusion of helping him, then Calem would've ended up killing himself on his own terms." Abigail tried to respond, but Aaron stopped her. "I'm not done. You genuinely think that Calem could've lived a normal life? Be serious. He would have had to live on, waking up in an empty bed without his wife, drinking beer by himself without his brother, and knowing that the same man who had raised him killed them. He would also feel a tremendous amount of guilt, for the entirety of his lonely life. And, before you try and say that he still has Daniel and the rest of his neighbors, stop being naive. Think about it in their shoes. They had just learned that John Milton was the killer. This meant that the same man who had been respected by the entire town, killed his own son and daughter-in-law. Not only would they have felt betrayed, but also fearful. After all, John didn't seem like a killer. He was considered a cheerful and emphatic man who helped out everyone while protecting them at the same time. So, what about his son, Calem? He's related to him, and he also has the same characteristics of John: charming, funny, and kind. What if he's just like John? What's stopping everyone from thinking that John is also hiding a terrible side within him?"
Abigail was silent. Despite her immense anger at Aaron, she understood what Aaron was talking about. "You think that I'm some evil maniac who let Calem kill himself. But, it's not anything like that. I obviously didn't want him to kill himself, but I also knew that was the best choice for him, to die at that moment. I knew he was feeling guilty over their deaths, so I gave him an option. If he helped me sabotage John's gun, that would lead John to expose himself as the killer. I gave him a chance to redeem himself, to stop burdening himself of guilt. To help him decide, I then promised him that, after capturing John, I would give him the gun, to kill himself shortly after. I wanted him to first talk to John, and see if he truly wanted to kill himself. Do you actually understand now? Of course you wouldn't. You not once have ever experienced a tragedy like this. You never went through anything similar to this. That's why you can so easily accuse me of leading Calem to kill himself. That's the difference between us. Throughout my former life as a criminal, I met many people who had similar experiences to Calem, and all of them would suffer the same fate as each other. They all lived their lives in regret and self-abhorrence, and later killed themselves later on. I helped Calem. I helped him break free from his shackles of self-hatred, and let him be able to reunite with Trey and Sarah with no regrets. If I didn't, he would've lived a horrible life."
Abigail didn't answer, and instead walked away, into a different room. Ethan and Michael looked at Aaron, with both fearful and sad looks. They followed Abigail, leaving Aaron with the body of Calem and John. Of course, John had to ruin the moment. "Well, well, well. It looks like the genius is hated by his coworkers now." John said as he laughed.
Aaron gritted his teeth as he looked with scorn at John. "Shut your mouth."
"You sure you want me to do that? How else would I tell you about Candy Cain?" John said with a smile.
Aaron's mouth twitched. "You'll actually tell me?"
"If you promise to release me and give me adequate money, I'll tell you everything I know."
A typical detective would refuse the offer, reasoning that the risks would outweigh the benefits. However, Aaron wasn't a typical detective. He believed that the types of detectives who followed that line of reasoning were fools. They would never understand that releasing John for information on Candy Cain was a great bargain. Even if John were to kill more people after he was released, so what? It was a necessary sacrifice, for the bigger goal of catching the greatest criminal mastermind in the world. Besides, Aaron knew that if needed, he could easily catch John again.
"I'll take you up on your offer." Aaron said as he pulled up a chair.
While Aaron took his seat, John started talking. "To start off, I never directly met Candy Cain."
"Then, how did you hear of him? Not many know of him."
"A lady claiming to be a servant of Candy Cain walked into my office, saying that I was blessed with the opportunity of becoming a 'Contestant'."
Before Aaron could ask what a 'Contestant' was, all the lights in the station went off. Aaron quickly got up, and tried using his phone's flashlight. Before he could, he was suddenly grabbed from behind, and a wet towel was put on his face. After mere seconds of inhaling the scent, he passed out, but not before hearing the cries of John.
Aaron didn't remember much, but he eventually came to when he heard Abigail telling him to wake up. Groggily, he opened his eyes to see Abigail jostling him. Around him, Michael and Ethan were also just now waking up. This was strange, since they weren't in the same room as Aaron when he passed out.
"What happened?" Aaron asked while shaking himself awake.
"The entire station lost power, and in the darkness, we were suddenly attacked from behind and drugged." Abigail explained. "Looks like the same happened to you."
Aaron got up, albeit slowly as he looked around. He was still in the same room, which seemed odd. If he was still here, and the rest were moved here, does that mean something was here that they were meant to see? Then, suddenly remembering the cries of John, Aaron hurriedly ran to his cell. Peering inside, his jaw dropped as he saw the inside. Abigail followed, with Michael and Ethan trailing. The three looked inside, and they all had the same reaction as Aaron. Inside, there was John. Except, he was dead. His entire stomach had been cut open, and he was covered in blood. The thing was, there looked like there was a pattern on his blood. The blood was 'painted' in a stripe motion, while what seemed like white paint was also used in a stripe motion. Above the body, written in presumably John's blood was THE BELL HAS RUNG. Aaron instantly realized what had happened. Before John could reveal more information, Candy Cain had somehow took control of the station, and turned off all the power. He then used chloroform to make everyone pass out, so he could safely and quickly kill John. It was obvious, considering John was killed in Candy Cain's trademark style. The sentence above was ambiguous, but it was clearly directed towards him.
Ethan was starting to feel queasy, so Michael had to comfort him. Abigail was disgusted by the sight, but she didn't let it show. She wanted to ask Aaron what had happened, but when she looked at his face, she froze in fear. The higher-ups had called Aaron the Devil, due to his inhumane methods, but she thought they were exaggerating. Sure, he seemed off at times, and him letting Calem kill himself was despicable, but he genuinely seemed like believed that it was the right thing to do. She never knew why they called him that, but the look on his face explained it all. Rather than seeing a revolted expression, she saw Aaron smile, but it wasn't his normal smile. His smile appeared as if it went from ear to ear, stretching as far as it could. His eyes, the once humorous and fun eyes, became terrifying. They were evil itself, gleeful at the sight of John's body and the bloody sentence. They were slightly slanted, like a predator finding its prey. Abigail now understood why he was called the Devil. And she also understood why their boss, Chief Amal, had given Aaron the title of The Devilish Detective.