The Curse Of Eden
Chapter 24- A Strangled melody

Collette groaned as she slowly started regaining consciousness.

Her mind was fuzzy and a dull pain scratched at the very back of her mind.

Her eyes squinted from the bright light and as her senses started coming back one by one, the sound of a woman talking penetrated through her ears.

"Authorities..... still investigating..... bombing...."

The words faded in and out of her ears, her mind struggling to form a complete sentence and try to remember what had happened.

".....hate crime...... is it the work....... E had... lead detective...."

A pained moan escaped her lips at the pain throbbing in her head. She tried to move her body but something constrained her arms and legs from any movement. Last thing she remembers was her full bladder as she ran to the bathroom. She knew she should've have drank that much juice at once. But she was so thirsty.

"You're finally awake." A familiar voice spoke, it's sound echoing fainlty at the back of her head.

Collette was already getting back all of her senses as she cranked her neck multidirection to loosen it up.

"Where am I?" She managed to ask, her throat feeling like sandpaper.

"You're in my daughter's house." Came the calm reply.

Collette opened her eyes fully and her focus was regained. She looked around to replace herself surrounded by cozy looking furniture. The air conditioner was turned in, cooling down the summer heat and she found herself tied down to a comfortable arm chair.

A man sat on the coffee table in front of her, his back facing her as he concentrated at the news playing on the television.

Collette did a double take before gasping in surprise.

"Doctor Newman! What are you doing? What am I doing here wrapped in this chair?" She asked frantically and in utter confusion. She tried freeing herself but failed miserably.

"Don't worry much professor, I don't intend on hurting you." Newman replied, his eyes never leaving the TV screen. "Not yet at least." He whispered under his breath and Collette acted like she didn't hear it.

Collette, with furrowed eyebrows, looked up to see what was consuming him so much on the screen.

'We just got new updates that the bomb exploding at the CIB headquarter was of amateur structure and it was only meant to cause a little disruption and nothing serious more than a heavy cloud of smoke, which then raises even more questions than before...why did they place a harmless bomb? What reason did the culprit have in mind?'

Collette gasped as she watched the chaos unfold.

"Oh my God what have you done?!" She yelled at the old doctor as she struggled again in her chair.

"Keep it down will ya!" Newman yelled in agitation. "I'm trying to listen."

"What are you even trying to know from the news?" Collette yelled back angrily. "You wanna know how many people you've hurt? Maybe even killed?"

Newman at that moment, turned around to look at the furious profiler. Collette could've sworn that those weren't the same soft eyes she'd come to know of the old doctor. It looked like him, his face, his hair, his body but those eyes weren't his. It held anger, determination too and a dark void of nothing.

"Like I said, it's not my intention to hurt anyone!"

"Me being here doesn't prove that!" Collette challenged.

"You're my bargain card. You're the missing link."

"What? Missing link to what?"

"Don't think I'm stupid professor." Newman growled.

"Do you think it's a coincidence or just random that E connects with only you? I had my suspicions at first when they found his phone in your childhood house and when he sent you a note to stay away during the fair. It was all confirmed even more when he sent you a note of his innocence about the Blake Jilles murder."

Collette's eyebrows united in confusion. "You think it's me?" She gaped.

Newman scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself much Mrs. Woods. You don't have the balls to do such a thing and try to protect all those families. You didn't even have the decency to rat out the cult when E saved your pathetic life." He spat his words out.

Collette was about to fight him off but thought better of it. He was obviously not stable and she had to play it carefully.

She swallowed his insult and asked instead. "And what's in it for you? What do you have against the Holers so much?"

"It's not about the Holers. Do you know how many women die because of domestic violence? Do you know how many innocent girls lose their lives because of some savage caveman they were too unfortunate to love?" Newman growled at the thought. "And no matter how hard they screamed, no one ever has the guts to go help them!"

Collette couldn't deny his point. She herself was on the verge of death because of the abuse she had in her childhood.

"But that doesn't mean we can just go around killing doc."

"You're not the judge of that."

Doctor Newman turned back to the TV screen, the coverage of the bombing at HQ still playing.

Collette felt her heart fall to the pit of her stomach. She closed her eyes and silently prayed that Adam was okay. She couldn't bear the idea of losing him. "What you're doing is pointless. I have no connection to E in anyway. I don't know who he is or why he's contacting me specifically." Collette started again. Newman looked at her from the side. "I didn't take you to replace E, like I said, you're our bargaining chip."

"Our? You're in contact with E?"

Newman turned to her fully. He got up from his place and walked towards a set of drawers standing against the wall.

"You talk too much." Newman muttered under his breath as he walked up to Collette with tape in his hand. He tapped her mouth against Collette's struggles. "Now be quite. I have work to do."

Collette watched as he went outside the living room. She could still hear him behind the wall in what Collette assumed was a small hallway.

He remained silent for a couple of minutes before he started talking.

"Hey, I'm being sent to your voice mail again. I did as you asked. I have the girl. But you need to hurry. I don't think her husband will be far."

Obviously to Collette, Newman wasn't trying to be discrete in his affairs with E. Like he didn't bother at all.

He went silent once again before his footsteps echoed on the stairs as he made his way upwards.

Collette tried to separate her lips away from one another to loosen the tape and when there was enough space, she pushed it with her tongue simultaneously with random face movements till she was able to remove one side that it hung from one cheek only.

Trying to gag someone with tape was always a bad, useless idea.

She took the time she had alone to look around the room.

The place looked like it hadn't been touched for a very long time. Dust covered most of the furniture.

Her eyes gazed around till they landed on the fireplace. A picture rested on top of the fireplace, hung up on the wall. It was the only clean thing in the room. A blonde girl beamed goofily in the picture. Doctor Newman was standing beside her as she had her arm wrapped around his neck.

Without a doubt, she was his daughter whom he's mentioned earlier.

At the very top corner was a black ribbon wrapped around the edge. Collette looked at it in confusion, her head titled slightly.

"That's Nadia." Newman's voice startled her out of her thoughts as he entered the room. "That's my baby girl."

"Is she..." Collette whispered out.

"Yes." Newman walked towards it with heavy steps.

"She was a beautiful young girl. She loved life. She loved the people. There was never a dull minute with her." Newman's voice cracked.

"I'm so sorry for your loss."

"It's all my fault she's gone. I wasn't able to protect her. I didn't notice them."

"D-Didn't notice what?"

"The black and blue. The scratch marks, the red spots, the blisters. How was I so blind." His voice broke as he looked down at his feet, his arms extending on the fireplace for support.

"And he killed her. I was too late to notice, and she couldn't tell me. I should've known when her eyes lost their spark. But it was too late when I tried to ask if she was okay. She was already gone."

"She was a victim too. Of a Holer?"

Newman shook his head. "He was some arrogant bastard who thought with his fists. And it was always the same damn scenario every time. He apologizes, says that he loves her, promises to never do it again." He growled as he tightened his fists. "But like an addicted sadist he repeats it again and again. I wouldnt have had evidence if my baby girl wasn't videotaping him. She knew he'll be the end of her someday and she was smart to leave evidence. Newman turned to look at Collette. His face was red and buffed and he tried to control himself. His fists were tightened, they almost made him bleed.

"But unlike you professor, she didn't have a savior. She wasn't lucky enough to be saved." He accused angrily like it was her fault.

"I-I'm so sorry." She stuttered under his sudden glare. "I-"

"I don't want to hear it!"

Newman cut her short. "If you really are sorry, then help us finish this once and for all! Starting with that damned cult! I might not have been able to save Nadia but I can sure as heel try and save all those other families." "How do you want me to do that? You don't expect me to go around killing!"

"Of course not." Newman ticked his tongue in distaste. "You're too damn weak! But I need you to at least convince Adam and everyone else to close E's case and stop any search for him. Let him do his work in peace." Collette was taken aback by his proposition. "You know I can't do that."

"Yes you can! You owe that to him." Newman yelled! "Even after all those years and after leading the cops closer to him, he's still protecting you!"

"What? What do you mean by that?"

"You're that stupid and naive aren't you?" Newman spat out.

"Why do you think E wanted you out of the case? Why do think he asked me to get you here?"

"You just said I was your bargaining chip." Collette spat back.

"Yes, mine not his. He asked me to bring you here to protect you from those protesters and the Holers. Believe it or not professor, getting your house egged and the CIB system hacking, was enough for E to want to get you out of all that." Collette felt dizzy. She didn't understand anything. Why would E want to protect her?

And the most important question that nagged at her relentlessly was who was he to go through such lengths?

"So you see professor, you owe him big time." Newman finished, walking towards Collette and placing the tape back on her lips. "And you better pray to God dearly that E gets to the Holers before their leader gets to you."