Copycat

Her dark eyes stared up at the two police officers standing outside her prison bars, she knew their faces; they had been her case since the day she had been caught, she had made it to four murders before being caught. She was surprised they had taken them that long to catch her, especially since the first murder she committed was a pure accident.

She pushed her dark hair behind her shoulder, she watched as they studied her.

They knew her all too well; they knew every detail about her.

She knew almost every detail about them, she knew standing in front of her was a female police officer; Constable Charlie, the two woman were roughly the same age. Charlie came from a police background; she didn’t have any children and she struggled to keep hold of relationship.

She knew standing in front of her was a male police officer; Constable Jack, she knew him as a forty year old police officer who had stepped out of his troubling past to make right with his future, he already had one ex-wife and was in the middle of his second divorce, he had four children; three boys and one girl, Jack was afraid of his daughter dating someone like the woman he was standing in front of.

Jack watched Cressida with a cautious eye, he watched as she studied him. He knew she showed no interest to him, she wasn’t into males and they both knew that.

Charlie wasn’t scared of Cressida, if Cressida hadn’t done what she did, if Cressida had maybe taken a different route in life than maybe Charlie would’ve crossed paths with Cressida in a different way.

Cressida slowly exhaled “is that all you came to see me for?” Her words toyed with her lack of care for their attendance at her cell.

“No. We came to ask for your help.” Jack spoke.

Cressida laughed “Help? You know how long I’ve been in prison for? You know how long I’ve got left? It’s a life sentence. It’s been five years already, five years, Jack.” She pursed her lips “It’s not my fault this time.”

“We didn’t say it was your fault, Cressida.”

Cressida rolled her eyes “But your accusing me of murder. What happened last time I got accused of murder!? I’m here.”

“Cressida.”

“Jack.” Cressida wrapped her fingers around the bars of her cell “I don’t care.”

“You will.” Charlie spoke.

Cressida shot her glance at Charlie “What makes you think I’ll care? I’m in here.”

“We’ll make it worth it.” Charlie spoke with a hint of bribery

Cressida rolled her eyes before pushing herself away from the bars of her cell, she dropped herself down on her bed “Go away.”

“Cressida.” Jack tried but failed to hold back his sigh.

Cressida twisted her glance to Jack as she rested herself against the wall her bed was propped against “You’re the cops, not me.”

“Cut the shit, Cressida.” Charlie knew acting tough was the only way Cressida would respond.

“Charlie, fuck you.”

“Charlie.” Jack firmly spoke “Cressida.” He allowed his sigh to fill the silence for the moment “We need your help.”

“No.”

“Please.” Jack almost begged.

“What part of no means no don’t you understand? What could I possibly do while I’m in here? You guys arrested me five years ago!” She let her raised voice be heard.

Jack took a moment to process his thoughts.

Charlie heavily sighed before folding her arms.

“What?” Cressida looked up at them “You know everything about me. What made you think I worked with anyone when I committed my crimes?”

Jack and Charlie both remained silent as they watched Cressida casually shift up onto her feet.

“I just casually slip out every night for a quick fuck than whoops...another girl’s dead. Guess you got me.”

“Don’t be a smartass.” Jack allowed his frustrations to be heard.

“Don’t be a smartass.” Cressida mocked “Bite me, Jack.”

Charlie shifted her attention to Jack “We should just tell her.”

Jack pursed his lips together, he wanted to refrain from telling Cressida who the victim was.

Cressida watched the two of them before rolling her eyes “Fine, I’ll bite. Who’s the victim?”

Jack and Charlie shared a silent glance at each other before shifting their attention to Cressida, neither were sure who was going to say it instead they both said “Alexandra.”

Cressida almost laughed instead her face froze in some weird, twisted expression with shock, sadness and disbelief.

Jack and Charlie watched in silence as Cressida tried to process the name.

“Bull…shit..” Cressida managed to find her words.

Charlie shook her head.

“Bull…” Cressida couldn’t finish her sentence.

Jack watched as the young criminal processed what was happening, watched as Cressida dropped herself down on her bed, he watched as Cressida struggled to understand how.

“It was done the exact same way that you killed..”

“SHUT UP!” Cressida screamed in her cell.

Jack and Charlie watched; all they could do was watch as Cressida tried to process her emotions.

“Alexandra had nothing to do with anything. She was safe. She was alive when I broke up with her. I didn’t fucking touch her!” Every smartass remark that Cressida wanted to use had suddenly disappeared from her mind.

“Cres..”

“Shut up.” Cressida snapped at Jack. “I didn’t fucking kill Alexandra. I loved her.”

“We know.” Jack softly spoke.

“Do you? I was arrested at her work!” Cressida threw her words at them “YOU ARRESTED ME AT HER WORK! DO YOU KNOW HOW THAT MADE HER FEEL!? It made me feel like shit. YOU FUCKING TOLD HER I WAS GOING TO MURDER HER! Then I ended up in here.” Tears were starting to form in Cressida’s eyes “Alexandra was alive the day I came here.” Her face had almost froze with a mixture of disbelief, confusion and refusal to admit that the only woman she had truly never meant to hurt was dead.

Charlie stayed silent; she had never seen Cressida hit emotions like this before. Even when the than twenty-five year old murderer was arrested she didn’t show remorse or an ounce of forgiveness for her crimes.

Jack knew something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite figure out how this wasn’t going the way he had planned “Are you going to help us?”

Cressida sniffled; she used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears “Go fuck yourself.” She glared at the two police constables standing outside her prison cell.