Chapter 30- Why Me?

Three days earlier...

Tristan's POV

"Are you sure you want to do this Detective Deckor?" My partner asked.

I gave him a curt nod with a deep breath. If this is the right way, and if this is indeed the truth, then I have to. Even if my dear Cianna will resent me, or take a while to understand, then I will just have to make my way around it all.

If her dad is guilty, which we are sure he is, then there is no way I can go about my career and act like he isn't.

This is the right thing to do. I saw it, so I hope she will too.

After Sean and I made an assumption yesterday about Renold being both Mia's and Sheldon's killer, we spent all day drawing up conclusions and linking evidence.

So far, all we have is the motive for murder, and somewhat a description match. Also, from the footage at the station, we can indeed link that man to the man at Sheldon's murder. Now, all we needed was evidence to present in front of a judge. And to do so, we needed to actually GET the evidence.

Sean and I went to his cozy looking porch first, telling the other officers to wait for us to call them. We had to first confront Renold before we could do anything. With a deep breath, I pressed the doorbell and waited for him to make an appearance.

About thirty seconds later, he opened the door, looking tired but stressed. He met my eyes first and they held questioning, about Cianna I'm sure, before they landed on my partner in confusion.

"Detective. How may I help you fellows? Is Cianna okay?"

Sean whipped out his badge, being formal and all as he responded. "S.P.D. I'm Detective Edwards and this is my partner Detective Deckor. We would like to ask you a few question, Mr Leir"

He looked at me in confusion and a bit of irritation before replying. "About what? If it's not about my daughter then-"

"This is exactly about your daughter," I interrupted. "You would do anything for her wouldn't you Mr. Leir?"

"Well of course" He seemed outraged by my question. "She is my daughter after all. And if you, Mr. Detective, won't do the same then you are not good enough for her"

I avoided his statement and proceeded with my interrogation. "Where were you yesterday at around 4 pm, Mr Leir?"

I could see that we got him. But he was quick with his reaction. "Why I was right here. I came straight home after I left the hospital that you and this fellow were at! You saw me there"

"Indeed we did. But, what did you do after you got home?"

"Is this some kind of interrogation? What are you implying here?" He defended. He was good, but he wasn't that good.

Sean, who wasn't as patient as me with my interrogations, just got right to it. "We have reason to believe that you were at the station yesterday at 4 p.m, Mr. Leir, and we believe you are responsible for the murder of Mia Walters in her jail cell."

The man gasped, and if I didn't already see through his act, I would've felt for him. I didn't say anything else. I just couldn't wrap my mind fully around what was happening.

My sweet sweet Cianna.

"This is ridiculous! My daughter is in the hospital and- "

"And yet, you're here instead of there, doing God knows what with bleach?" My partner sniffed the air in exaggeration, since the strong scent of the bleach in the house was quite evident from the moment he opened the door.

The old man gulped, looking angry, frustrated and scared all at once.

"Come on in boys!" I shouted over my shoulder when he didn't say anything else. If I thought he was angry then, he was more than angry now.

"What do you think you're doing! You can't just barge into my house!"

"Oh yes we can" Sean shoved the search warrant in his hand, and the man's mouth opened and closed as he struggled to get words out. My department officers entered the house, and we too stepped past him inside the bleach scented home.

Some officers went upstairs, some went towards the back, while others stayed in the living room. I could hear Cianna's dad's shouts and protests all over the building, but I barely paid him attention.

I simply pulled on my gloves and went towards the kitchen. Some officers were already in the backyard, so I didn't have to search the bins for anything he might've thrown away.

I remained in the kitchen as I simply peered around, looking if anything was out of place. For the most part, everything seemed quite fine. However, I did notice that he seemed to be a very tidy man with everything specifically in perfect place. So when I noticed a knife just sitting on the counter, not dirty, not used, yet not with the others, it got me thinking.

Bingo.

As I made my way over to it, I heard as he entered the kitchen . The panic on his red face was almost sad. I didn't dislike him, I just don't like to be deceived, and he definitely deceived me.

"You won't find anything here" He stated proudly. I simply smirked as I retrieved the knife that was resting on the counter. His eyes followed my movements, but he barely gave anything away.

"Oh yea? So care to explain why this particular knife is just sitting here?"

"I was- I was using it" He simply stated. I narrowed my eyes as I eyed it. It seemed to match the dimension of Mia's and even Sheldon's stab wounds.

"I'm sure you were." I mumbled with a victorious smirk. "Then I bet you won't mind if I make us a sandwich with this knife.. Hhhmm?" I wasn't serious, but I only needed to see his reaction to know for sure whether or not to bag the knife, and the almost gag that he did was enough clearance.

Just then, as if right on time, an officer entered the kitchen, and I handed him the knife. "Bag this one. Send it in for DNA as soon as we're back. It's a potential murder weapon" He simply nodded as he placed the knife in a ziplock bag.

Sean pushed his head inside the kitchen as he searched for me." Tristan. You might want to see this"

Without hesitation, I followed behind him to the laundry room. Renold, who must've wanted to see what they found, was on my trail too. In the drier, were a pair of familiar boots, and a certain coat I recognized on the security footage.

We got him now.

Sean and I shared a knowing look, as they bagged the clothing too.

I turned to Mr. Leir with a serious look on my face, and he caught on quite well, since he tried to run.

"Renold Leir. You're under arrest for the murder of Mia Walters. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney.." I recited his rights to him as I held onto him and cuffed his hands behind his back. He protested and twisted, and I slowly guided him to the line of cop cars outside of his house.

We got him.

After that day, everything else fell into place. The evidence that officers found, the forensic report from Mia's murder matching the print and shoe size of the boots we took from his drier, and Mia's DNA that was found on the tip of the knife. There was no way he could get out of this one, and linking it to Sheldon's murder shouldn't be too hard either.

We already had the shoe size and print, the eye witness report and the motive in place. All that's left was to solidify the evidence to be presented before a jury.

I hated that this was happening to Cianna, but the law is the law. My dad lived by the law, and I intend to do that too.

I now know that Cianna was everything to me, which was exactly why I was doing this. Sometime down the line, she will look back and see that what I did had to happen. I just hope it will be sooner rather than later, and I only hope her emotions wont cloud her judgement.

Because I need her.

And I'd be damned if I lose her, just because I was the detective on this case.

***

Present...

Cianna's POV

"You arrested him?" That was all I could focus on after he told me all that happened over the days I had been asleep.

The DNA on his knife, the evidence match from the forensic report, and all that fancy cop stuff. It made sense, but my mind wouldn't allow me to see the logic.

All it could see was that my dad, my very best friend and backbone, killed a woman and potentially my ex-boyfriend. And this man, my boyfriend, arrested my dad.

"Cianna I had to" His eyes were pleading with me to understand, and I knew eventually I would, but my tears blurring my vision and my heart breaking was more prominent than my sense of logic.

My throat felt dry as I violently wiped my eyes. I knew what my dad did was wrong, and I didn't want to believe that he actually killed Sheldon too.

'It would make sense Cianna', my subconscious reasoned, but I shook my head rapidly to clear the thought.

This is not my dad. That was not the man who raised me after mom left to be with her new husband. It couldn't be the man who stayed up with me all night on my terrible period cramps nights, and waited up til midnight on nights I got home from parties, dances and nights out.

My dad couldn't be a murderer. Yet, the evidence was all there, and as Tristan said, the motive was there too. I just couldn't wrap my mind around it.

MY dad killed somebody? And as much as I would think that Mia deserved it, I still couldn't accept it.

"Cianna" I heard my mom's broken voice call, but I just wanted to be alone.

"Can you all let me have a minute please" Immediately I was met with a series of protests, apologies and pleas to listen. But I just couldn't. It was all too much.

"Just..Please" I cut them all off.

Jessica was the first to leave after giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. My mom then kissed my forehead and exited too, while I simply kept my teary eyes strained ahead of me. I could feel him beside me, and deep down I knew I wasn't upset with him, but I didn't want to see him.

"Please Tristan" I managed to say as my heart played tug-of-war. I wanted him to hold me, yet I wanted to be alone. Is that possible?

After a while, he sighed, kissed my cheek and told me that he would be back later to check on me. He stopped at the door as he looked back at me, even though I still didn't meet his eyes.

"I'm really sorry Cianna. I didn't want it to go this way " And with that, he too was gone.

The minute the door closed, I was a sobbing mess. I didn't know who to be angry with. Should I be angry with Mia for everything she did? From being with Sheldon, to coming after me and ultimately putting me here?

Should I be angry with Sheldon for being with Mia in the first place? Should I be angry at Tristan for keeping this from me, and actually arresting my dad even though he had to? Or should I be angry at my dad for going to such a horrible length for me?

But deep down, I was just angry at myself and angry at the world. If I hadn't been such a drunk mess that night when I met Sheldon months ago, then I wouldn't have been here now.

A healing stab wound. A broken heart. A torn between two worlds boyfriend, and a felony committed dad.

Why does the universe hate Cianna Leir? Why me?