The Truth (Mommy's House 2)

Part Twelve

The lights in the room were blinding. My gaze followed the grey, patterned carpet to Emilio, who sat at the small table, twiddling his thumbs. The lighting was bright, beating down on Emilio's shiny forehead. His wrists were cuffed together, and his head was hanging down.

Jared and I sat across from him. There was a stone-cold glare in Jared's eyes, one that I had never seen before. Normally, there was always a hint of something in his gaze - whether it be amusement or instigation. But this time, there was nothing behind his stare as he watched Emilio.

"How are you doing today?" I broke the silence, shuffling some papers together.

Emilio's lips turned into a stomach-twisting smile beneath his wispy mustache.

"I've been better," Emilio chuckled.

"Listen," Jared said, his tone hard. "We're not here to make friends with you, is that clear? And there is nothing remotely funny about this."

Emilio nodded, but didn't seem fazed in the slightest by Jared's attitude.

"I don't know why I am here," Emilio told us. "I don't know what you want with me."

"You don't know why you're here?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. "You had two little girls in your attic, that's why you're here."

"Okay," was all Emilio said.

I could feel Jared tense up beside me, and I couldn't blame him. This was extremely frustrating. It took everything in me not to jump across the table and wring Emilio's neck.

"Who else is in this little... business, you have going?" I asked him, leaning across the table a little bit.

Emilio was hesitant to respond. "Nobody. There is no business."

"You and me both know that's a lie, Emilio," I responded.

"I refuse to tell you anything else. Just leave me be," Emilio ran his fingers through his thick black hair and exhaled.

Jared slammed his hands down on the table. "You fucking listen to me right now! We are not leaving you be, you were using those poor little girls for God can only imagine and you are not getting off easy. I can't wait 'til they fry your ass."

I was completely shocked about how seriously Jared was taking this. He was the type to inappropriately joke at wrong times, not at all the type to lose his composure so quickly.

Emilio grinned at Jared, which made him shake his head and stare at me. I looked at Jared, before clearing my throat.

"Rose was in the business, was she not? She's dead, so you might as well just tell us," my voice sliced through the air like a knife.

Emilio sighed. "She was not."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "There is no reason to lie, Emilio. We are asking about somebody who is dead."

"I am telling the truth," Emilio said, his eyes momentarily lightening. "I'll tell you this - Rose was a beautiful child."

"God, you are awful," Jared said from beside me. "You are a sick, sick man."

"So you knew Rose as a child, correct?" I asked him.

"My good friend, Steven, dated her back in the 50's. She was thirteen, and he was 23," Emilio told us.

"So... he abducted her, is what you are saying? News reports from back then said she disappeared," I tried to piece this together as best as I could in my head. This was all brand new - nothing like this ever happened.

"Yes, but they fell in love," Emilio said.

I rolled my eyes and looked at Jared.

"What does this have to do with anything? They are both dead," Emilio responded.