Francis Gaumond was an ailing man,
especially too ailing for a detective, whose job can be often fatiguing. For the past week Mr. Gaumond had at least three sleep paralyses, so at the morning he looked no better than corpses he witnessed investigating different cases.“Why don’t you take a break and take up another line of work, Francis? There will be so many benefits to your health if you quit this dangerous job and mhm…start the painter’s career? You’re great at drawing!”, -- Edith Bechard, a frisky teammate of Francis, gently poured a green smoothie in front of him.
“I don’t like your bitter herbal essence, Edith, bring me some coffee, please?”- Francis frowned and suddenly shuddered. He couldn’t get the nightmare out of his head.
“I’m not your mother, still I do care for your health. Did you see your yellow face? You need some peace and vitamins from my bitter herbal essence, which is a nutritious smoothie, by the way!”, -- young lady got her hands on her hips and looked wrathful.
“I give up. You’re right, though, I can’t quit my dream job. I’ve come too far for this. I went from being a shy, inconspicuous boy to a prominent detective. I didn’t have outstanding abilities for the future detective, but I had a commitment and a thirst for knowledge. Now I’m here. And drawing pictures by the numbers doesn’t mean I’m great at painting”, -- Francis taunted.
“Why are you so stifling? It’s not attractive. And I’m insisting on your retirement at least for a month”, -- Edith demanded.
“I’ll consider your offer. However, now we should go on our next mission. Robert asked us to help him to investigate quite strange demise at the hotel not far away from our house. Get ready”. There was never much use in arguing with Francis.
***
Edith Bechard got nauseous every time she saw blood. Her parents worked at the medical examiner's office. They were quite a bizarre couple with peculiar humour. From an early childhood, Ms. Bechard saw horror or gunfights films where there were a lot of mindless use of blood. Edith was sick and tired of it, so one thing she always wanted was peaceful job, maybe at school or at the library.
Francis changed her attitude to the work related to crimes. Love can be blind sometimes, even if it’s non-reciprocal.
“Another day with another murder. Some things never change, right, Edith?”, -- Francis looked tired but satisfied.
Sometimes it was creepy to see Francis enjoying solving murders. He always wanted to help people and to make justice, it was obvious. Well, maybe, all people who investigate crimes are somehow weird. That same Robert from the police department. What a freak.
There wasn’t much blood, but something terrified Francis. Edith noticed his face turned ashen and his hands were clammy. What the hell is going on?
“Maybe, some water? You look…mhm…bothered I guess?”, -- Edith tried to hug and reassure Francis, but he continued staring at the corpse with wild eyes.
“Her name was Betty. She was my classmate and the best friend of my ex- girlfriend. What a terrible death”, -- Francis was whispering, his voice was plaintive. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
“It breaks my heart to hear that. I’m concerned about your condition. Robert can do this by himself, and we should go home. It’s a big shock, you shouldn’t be here, let’s leave this case to the police”, -- Edith squeezed Francis’ hand and rushed him out of the room.
***
Sleep paralyzes have become more frequent and made Francis Gaumond even more neurotic. He has been going over every possible suspect but a puzzle didn’t put together. Bethany Clyde was a sweet and lovely person that worked as a florist. What motive does the killer have? The bouquet that the receiver turned down? A bad date? Francis sobbed. The head was exploding out of mad suggestions. What if it was Taylor? But she also was a nice girl, break-up isn’t the reason she suddenly becomes a psychopath. He got sleepy. The nightmare visited him again that night. His blood-stained hands and Edith’s agonized cry. She was a strong woman, Ms. Bechard even attended boxing classes, though in this dream she was puny and helpless. Francis choked her and cut her hands, he was out of control.
Cold sweat ran down his back. Francis was kneeling when he opened his eyes. There was Edith. Her eyes were full of horror, she was breathless and purple. Francis staggered, he hoped it was still a dream. But suddenly a desperate cry suspended a silence.
“Have you completely lost your mind, Francis? What did you do with an unfortunate girl? What did you do?”, -- Taylor Mackenzie shook Francis with all her might. Tears shimmered her eyes.
“I told you, Francis, I told you! You should have gone to a psychiatrist a long time ago. You’re insane! Bipolar disorder isn’t a joke, you killed your mate. She is dead because of your irresponsibility, moron”
“But…but I didn’t have an outbreak…I took the pills with a clear conscience, I can’t believe it…”, -- Francis suffocated in tears.
“Francis, love, I’ll take care of you, you’ll be safe at the asylum, I promise. It’s better than rotting at the prison. I’ll hire the best lawyers. We’ll go through this hell together”, -- Taylor cradled his hair staring at the corpse with fear.
***
Some months later, Taylor and Francis got married. Taylor promised to keep that awful night and the real cause of Edith’s death as a secret. Love can be blind sometimes, you know. Taylor Gaurmond knew it well. She was a great actress.
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