Page 29 of Say Now
"I’m not leaving him until we get answers," Claire said."I’m prepared to watch over him all night if that’s what it takes."
"All right," Alison said."We get him back to his house, let him sleep it off, and then talk to him again when he makes a little more sense.A house arrest of sorts."
"Wait here," Claire said.
She left Alison at the table with Dr.Laurent and went to the bar to pay the tab for all of them so they could get out of there.It wasn't a long drive back to his house, but it would be treacherous.When Claire returned, she drank her bourbon as a shield against the cold, and Alison followed suit.
Then, they helped Steven up from his chair and out of the bar.When they got to Claire’s car, Steven wouldn’t get in.
"No!"he threw his arm around."I know the way home.I don't need a cab."
No matter how many times Claire told him it wasn’t a cab, he wouldn’t get into the vehicle.In the end, despite arguing their case vehemently, they had to walk him home.It was only five minutes in the falling snow, but the cold bit at them the entire way, and when they got to the door, Alison could feel the cold in her bones.
Please, please, please know where your keys are.
Steven patted his pockets at the door, then looked around, and after a full minute of searching, he held up the key in his hand with neither of the ladies seeing where it came from.He stuck it into the lock on the first try and didn't say anything when Claire and Alison followed him into the house.
Claire was the one who guided him to his bedroom.As soon as he was next to the bed, he fell onto it and rolled over.His breathing became heavy immediately.
"Now we wait," Claire said."I’m going to grab a chair and sit out here until he wakes us.You can make yourself comfy if you like."
"I don't know how comfortable I can make myself," she said."Either we’re currently sharing a house with a completely broken man, or we’re bunking up with a serial killer.We watch him like a hawk until he wakes, and then we find out which he is.Then, we deal with him properly.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
For the second time since arriving in Montana, Alison wished she had her gun with her.It was in her bag, but her bag was still in Claire’s car outside the bar where they had found Dr.Laurent.Claire had a gun, and Dr.Laurent was in no shape to cause anyone any harm, but the longer he rested, the more he would sober up, and they had no idea whether he would be a problem or not.
She paced up and down the hallway, watching Claire as she watched Steven asleep in the bed.He had started to snore.
He was pretty out of it when we found him.We have at least a few hours unit he’s of sound mind again.
Alison pulled the curtain aside when she got back to the living room.The snow was so heavy that she couldn’t see the house across the street.They could leave at any time, but they were somewhat trapped.They didn't need to brave the storm if they didn't have to, and Claire was right.They couldn’t let Dr.Laurent out of their sight until they had spoken to him properly.
The effect the suicide of his patient had on him was apparent.Alison wondered how she would react to something similar.It would affect her deeply, but would it stop her from helping others?It was hard to compare herself to someone else.Everyone acted in different ways, and there was only so much that the mind could take.
She investigated the house as she wandered through it.The kitchen was messy.At least three days' worth of dirty dishes sat next to the sink, and the countertops were topped with spills and crumbs.His house was like his mind: a mess.
The rest of the place wasn’t all that bad, but it wasn’t cared for.The killer was precise and organized.If Dr.Laurent had been drinking for the last week and his house was in the state she saw it, she didn't believe he could be the killer.She walked around the house, and everything she saw backed that up.He looked like a man whose life was in disarray, not a man who had taken control and was killing people.
She stopped in the living room again and spotted the laptop sitting on a small table in a corner of the room.She went to the living room door and looked down the hallway to see Claire unmoved on the chair, and Dr.Laurent unmoved on the bed beyond her.Alison knew she shouldn’t go snooping, but she was stuck, and there was nothing better to do.
Is that a valid excuse?Can I look through his laptop because I’ll probably get away with it?
Alison walked closer, and the closer she got to the device, the more her mind was made up.Three people were dead, and if she could stop a fourth, then it was worth any risk.She picked up the laptop from the small table and took it to the couch, sitting down and setting the laptop down on the coffee table.She opened it and was surprised to find no password.
The killer would have a password on his laptop if there was something to hide within.
She didn’t need to search.The document was already on the screen.Alison scrolled back to the title:Justice For Our Failures.
The manifesto wasn’t overly long, and it didn't take long to read through it.It discussed the failures in the judicial system and made multiple allusions to people dying.While it could be read as people being killed by dangerous inmates being released too early, the wording around the topic was extremely personal.It wasn’t only a rant against the system he found himself trapped in, but a release of his emotions about his patient’s suicide onto the page.It was part manifesto and part deeply personal essay.It definitely showed a fractured mind, but when Alison compared the text to the man who had written it, she saw brokenness that led to self-pity and apathy more than a call to self-action.
Although it did end with a call to action: What are we willing to do about this, and how far are we willing to go for justice?
"You believe those words, don't you, and maybe you’re willing to go far, but you don't have it in you, Dr Laurent.You don't have the ability anymore to do anything other than drink yourself into a stupor."
After reading the manifesto, she felt less scared to be in his house.She didn't believe he had it in him to kill anyone.
Dr.Laurent finally woke with the dawn.It was hard to track the passing of time based on the landscape outside.The snow had fallen thick on the ground, a foot of white covering everything.The snow on the ground had reflected the plentiful moonlight, and the coming dawn didn't seem any brighter than the night.Without looking at the time, it was nearly impossible to gauge whether it was night or day outside.
