100 Ways to Solve a Murder-Chapter 178: The Monsters

20 years ago, Fresno, California

Sam sat on the couch, in a shady office of a person she met just seconds before. She found the address online, providing hypnotism services and she decided to give it a shot for she’d rather not wait five more years. She did as the woman asked, she lied on the couch and leaned back, closing her eyes. However she felt a wave of unease swept over her, she didn’t know that person. That person could turn her into a bodysuit, which was terrible in her standards.

She tried to kick her morbid thought aside, and she calmed her racing heart, attempting to relax, as the woman spoke. Sam listened to the sound of her voice, listening to her every word as she leaned back on the chair, her body slowly relaxing and the woman’s voice started fading, where did it go? She wondered, seeing blackness in her mind.

"It’s buried deep in your memory, find it." the woman spoke watching the young teen slowly melt to the couch. Her arms fell limp beside her. If she was honest, she wanted to avoid dealing with teenagers; after all, she wasn’t certified or anything. She just did it for the cash, and business had been slow, and she needed the money. And the redhead was offering a lot.

"Remember the monsters under your bed" she continued, noticing her breathing slowing down. A sign that she was now unconscious.

Sam’s life flashed in her mind backwards, so fast she could only see snippets of it. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Till she found it.

.....

March 15. Spindlewood, Somerset

The red-haired toddler walked hand in hand with her mother, Lilian. "Dad!" Her squeaky voice echoed down the stairs, where her Father Christian was, doing some work even during a vacation he took for their Wedding Anniversary.

He smiled down adoringly to his youngest child, only 3, Samantha as she dropped her mother’s hand and sprinted into a run towards him in her pink pyjamas. Her bare tiny feet pit-patting against the wooden floors.

Christian picked her up, feigning surprise as he acted like she was too heavy for him. How his green eyes got a tiny bit bigger always did send the ginger head into fits of giggles. "Sammy, it’s past bedtime." he scolded, earning a pout from the toddler. She didn’t want to go to bed, yet, claims she wasn’t tired at all.

The three-year-old looked down at her father’s work on the desk as he continued to hold her in his arms. To her, it was just an enormous piece of ’doodles’; in reality, it was a blueprint he was working on. Christian, after all, was a gifted Architect. And the blueprint, Sam would only come to know in the future was the blueprint for probably the Safest Building ever built. Fredricksen Co. Building in Waterloo.

"Doodles." The toddler pointed out, trying to reach down for one of his mechanical pencils on the large table, while he remained holding her. Christian’s eyes widened in slight terror, "No--- sweetie." he pleaded to the toddler, who had for more than one occasion drew something in one of his blueprints. He has almost finished; after all, he only needed to make final touches on it. It would be the pride of his career, he knew, that building would change everything for his family.

Lilian smiled at the sight of the two, father and daughter. She could see the unmistakable look of adoration on her husband’s face. She would have been jealous if he ever looked at any other woman that way, she would have never thought it would be her daughter that would make her husband fall in love all over again. But she wouldn’t have had it any other way. Lilian was sure her daughter had him already wrapped around her fingers even before she knew how to walk. "Now, now---let daddy work", she told the girl, approaching the two and taking her mini-me from his arms. The toddler pouted up at her mother, using her puppy dog eyes. "But---" she whined but stopped immediately when she saw the stern look on her mother’s face. "It’s time for bed--- let’s go tuck you in", she said, pecking her chubby cheeks. Her gestures made the girl smile, and Lilian started to walk away.

"My kiss!" Christian complained, feigning anguish as he watched the two redheads leave his temporary office.

"Kiss!" the little girl exclaimed, mirroring her father’s expression. Defeated on the pleads, Lilian walked right back and let her husband get his precious goodnight kiss from his daughter. A peck on each cheek and she gave her husband a chaste kiss then proceeded to get her daughter to bed.

"Night, Dad!" Sam yelled, sending a flying kiss to her dad, who was silly enough to pretend to catch it. "Sweet dreams, love." He said, going back to his design.

An hour and a half later, his wife invites him to bed, which he obliges happily. The two fell asleep---only to wake up into a nightmare.

Little Sam woke up in the night, needing to use the potty. She called for her mum and dad, but they didn’t hear. And so, she decided that she should go on her own. She was now a big girl after all, after recently turning three years old. She wasn’t scared of anything above all. Sam was rarely afraid. Big girls aren’t afraid of anything.

Sam shimmied out of the covers, and hopped off her bed and headed to the door. She tiptoed and opened her door, and to the loo, she went to pee. Sam grinned with pride that without supervision and she walked right out, only to be surprised with her mummy coming over suddenly.

To Sam, she seemed excited to see her; she was in a hurry after all. She was running towards her, and maybe she missed her too? Because she was crying.

The three-year-old’s lips widened in glee, she wanted to tell her of her recent accomplishment. And she opened her mouth, "Mu--!" she started, only for her mum’s hand to cover her mouth.