Linnea Selanne-Niemi (everflowing) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-04-18 02:47:00 |
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Entry tags: | #solo, 2009-07-10, linnea |
Oh crashing tides can't hide a guilty girl
Who: Linnea & Strike (NPC)
Where: Niemi house
When: 7:45 p.m.
It had been an agonizingly long day. From the moment Linnea had woken up everything had been centered around what had happened the previous day. And even right now it was not over. She was curled up in her favorite chair, pretending to watch the television and sipping at a glass of orange juice. And vodka. Mostly vodka with just enough orange juice to give it a flavor that would not be too terribly unpleasant. This was more alcohol then she had had outside of the Owl's Nest in quite a long time. But she was not quite ready to light up another joint after spending most of the previous day and a half in a wonderful haze. A little alcohol induced buzz was perfectly acceptable because it was going on six o'clock and she still had not received the phonecall she expected. The one from police in Detroit telling her that her husband had been found dead. Why had it not yet come? Nikita had said she was going to do it and Linnea wanted nothing more than for it to be done. Over with.
Two more hours passed and Linnea was half through her fourth glass and beginning to feel quite languid when the phone went off. Blinking, she took another sip before setting it down and reaching out to pick it out of the cradle. "Niemi residence, Linnea speaking."
The voice on the other end belonged to a gruff-sounding man. "Linnea Niemi? The wife of one Jokull Niemi?"
Linnea's heart jumped into her throat. "Yes, my husband's name is Jokull." Calm, the key was sounding calm but not too calm. Maybe a bit of worry. "Is there some sort of a problem? Who is this?" That was the sort of thing that a truly concerned wife would say, was it not? I'd not know since I've never been a truly concerned wife and never will be now. If this was it then Nikita had done as she promised and he was dead.
"This is Police Chief Carlson of Detroit city. Matthew Carlson. Mrs. Niemi, I've got bad news so I'm just going to come out and say it instead of leaving you wondering. You might want to sit down." He drew in a deep breath and Linnea had to wonder how thorough of a job Nikita had done. "We found your husband a few hours ago in his business office, dead from multiple gun wounds. At the moment we don't have any firm leads since no one seems to remember seeing anyone come in here between his entering the office and the person who found him. Amazingly enough, the cameras agree so we have nothing to go on straight away. Our teams are working on it, I can assure you of that."
Well done Nikita. "Oh... dead." Linnea had to keep her words few or else she was afraid that she would slip up and sound as happy as she felt. Because that joy was welling up, starting right at the tips of her toes and stretching up through her veins, a heat she could not remember feeling since her childhood. Everything was getting lighter, like a heavy burden was being lifted off of her. "My Jokull?"
"I'm sorry, ma'm," Carlson sounded genuinely sorry. He clearly had no idea of what kind of person Jokull was. Otherwise he might have wanted to dance a jig like Linnea did. "But yes, he's dead. We've already had him identified by several people and if you could come down tomorrow to... claim the body and make the necessary arrangements. After the autopsy and such he'll be ready. Again, I'm very sorry, but I have to ask - do you know of anyone who might have a reason to want your husband dead?"
Yes, practically every person that has ever met him. Most especially myself. And I did it! I got Nikita to kill him! The only way this could have been a sweeter victory was if she had been the one to pull the trigger and see the last ray of light flicker out of Jokull's eyes. "I can't think of anyone. He was always so well-liked by everyone we knew." Thank everything for her acting abilities. No one outside of her very close, very small-knit circle of friends knew that she actually bore him no affection. Those few people including Nikita, who had gone the deed, and Bradley, though she doubted that her fellow elemental would ever suspect her of having her husband killed. "I'm sorry, chief Carlson, but this is all... it's rather much to take in. I'll, I'll come down tomorrow." A deep breath and a tremor entered her voice. "Is that all?"
"It is. Thank you for speaking with me, Mrs. Niemi and again, my deepest condolences to you and your family at this time. I wish you all the best."
"Thank you, chief Carlson." And then the phone was back on the hook and Linnea could let it all sink in and spread out.
Jokull was dead. Jokull Niemi, the blue-eyed demonic-blooded bastard who had taken her away from her home when she was hardly more than a girl and put her through every sort of hell imaginable was dead and gone. Gone. That meant that she was free! A giggle slipped out and then another and another until Linnea was doubled over on the couch, clutching her side as she laughed, tears stinging her eyes from both mirth and complete joy. Had she ever been this happy in the her life? Oh the birth of her children had been joyous but it was hard to compare to this.
Jokull was dead and Linnea was free, that thought could not come to her enough. She almost did not even know what to think other than that because from the age of seventeen until today there had not been a moment when she did not worry about him coming home unexpectedly, about what he would say and what he would do and who would be hurt for it. Like her children. That was why he could not be allowed to come back to Scarlet Oak to live. Dagmar may have been able to go away to college but Valterri and Satu were trapped there for years yet. He would have continued forcing Valterri to attempt blood magic and might have dragged Satu into it as well. At the least he probably would have begun draining her again.
"None of it," Linnea told the empty air, forgetting about the snake curled up underneath his sunlamp. "None of it ever again. Our blood is ours and he can't take it from us anymore."
I'm assuming that was the police.
"Yes. He's dead! Nikita did it!"
Which we weren't doubting.
"No, but a girl can be a little nervous sometimes." Wiping away the tears, Linnea rolled onto her side so that she could look at her familiar. "Plus I wasn't sure exactly how she'd do it... if he'd be able to stop her... a little bit of reassurance goes a very long way." Even if Nikita had called to let her know that the job was done Linnea would have stayed nervous and unsure until the official report came through.
Do you think that they suspect?
Linnea shook her head. "Not even a little bit. Probably blame it on a business partner or some angry contact. It'll be interesting to see what they tell me when I go to make the arrangements."
Strike's tail rattled. Can't we just dump him in the river and call it good? I don't want to go to a funeral.
"Oh no, I'd never taint my element with something so foul. We'll bury him like a good, respective family. And not even care when he goes into the ground." If anything? Linnea would want to dance on the grave. Maybe at night when everyone was gone and no one would see because that sort of thing would be a dead give away for guilt. Even if Linnea was willing to sacrifice her freedom for her children's safety she was not about to go and do it if it was unnecessary. She would much rather be there for them on the outside.
Going to call and give everyone the news?
"I think I'll wait until morning. Claim that I was too shocked to do anything until then." And she already knew the first person she would tell - outside of the children - and that was Bradley. A smile curved her lips at the idea of how he might look at her when she was no longer a married woman. Not like she needed to go through a grieving process.