Murder Fic Chapter 9/?

[pdglyph.livejournal.com]

Shine on You Crazy Diamond
By: PD
Pairing: for this chapter – Drew/ Izzy, Ryan/Colin
Rating: R for violence
Disclaimer: Don’t own, so don’t sue.
Summary: … if she started screaming now, she’d never stop



Chapter 9: Follow Your Bliss

Izzy woke up that morning refreshed, recharged, and ready to take on whatever bad guy decided to show his (or her) nasty face. She looked down at Drew, sleeping peacefully next to her, and pulled the sheets tighter around his body, brushing a kiss on his temple before donning her robe and following the scent of coffee. She found Pearl in the kitchen stirring a mug of coffee and reading the paper.

She looked up, taking in Izzy’s disheveled state with a cursory glance. “Have a good time last night?” she asked as Izzy poured herself a cup of coffee.

“Yeah... this one is special,” she said with a sigh. She glanced around, “Where’s the other guy, Hertell?” she asked.

“Bathroom.” She replied. She regarded Izzy closely, and Izzy felt a little uneasy. “So, Drew Carey, huh?”

“Yeah, what about him?” she asked defensively.

“Well, I was just wondering if you were actually serious about him. I mean, he’s in his later years, fading in popularity like a dying candle,” she said, wandering over to the pizza oven. Izzy glared at her.

“What of it Pearl? You think I give a damn about that?” she demanded. She turned away, ending the argument. “So did you hear how I got in to see him in the first place?” she asked hesitantly, desperate to change the subject. Pearl pulled the huge wooden paddle off its hook and hefted it, eyes slipping away to silver emptiness.

“Yes I heard you stole the janitor’s ID,”

“Well, the guy was never really there, so it’s not technically stealing,” she said with a slight smile. She heard a click from behind her. Something felt off kilter, just vaguely, as the hairs on the back of her neck rose and the room’s temperature dropped several degrees.

“I was still using it though.” Pearl said. Izzy turned to catch the huge wooden paddle on the side of her head with a crack. She stumbled backwards, head ringing from the blow as she hit the counter and slid down it.

Pearl looked down at her and sipped her coffee. “Sorry Izzy, can’t have you in the middle of everything,” she said, clearing her throat. She hefted the wooden paddle and looked down the hallway where the master bedroom lay, pursing her lips thoughtfully.

----

Izzy’s head was spinning, but she never quite blacked out. She tried to rise several times, but all of them failed, her world staggered violently to the side and her head feel like it was splitting at the seams. “Drew needs me” she whispered to herself as she crawled towards the bedroom. “Drew needs me…” she continued to chant softly as she passed the bathroom.

A dark stain was peeking out from underneath the door but she continued, not thinking anything of it. Drew needed her, that’s all that really mattered. A scream cut through the air, only to be abruptly cut off by a loud thud of wood on flesh.

She crawled faster.

Izzy stood in the doorway, leaning heavily against the frame. Pearl, her own flesh and blood, was standing over Drew on the bed. His right arm was at a strange angle where it lay on the bed, and she realized that he’d raised his arms up to protect his head before Pearl shattered them with the paddle. Pearl was panting, eyes bright with an unnatural light, a fierce grin on her face. Drew. She felt something inside her threaten to spill itself out of her lips as a scream. She clamped down on her mouth.

If she started screaming now, she’d never stop.

She edged towards the bed, closer to the pair. Drew was lying on his back, the whole left side of his face a bloody mess. She saw as his chest lifted and fall in short spasms and was nearly dizzy with relief.

He was still alive!

Pearl raised the huge wooden paddle over her head to take care of that. It was stained with so much blood it looked black. “Pearl?” Izzy said quietly. The small sound carried over to the madwoman standing tall over her lover. Pearl looked over at her, and Izzy refused to step back or vomit. It wasn’t Pearl, it could never be Pearl. “Pearl?” she asked. Pearls beautiful face had been transformed.

Back at Scotland Yard, Pearl had been known as a heartbreaker. The angel with the heart of steel. But the face that looked back at her, was more like something she’d seen when she’d read Dante’s Inferno as a child. Her cheeks were sallow and drawn taught over her bones, making her look skeletal. Her eyes were so bright and silver they seemed to cast a glow over the room. But they were empty. There was no one there left to talk to, but she had to try. “What are you doing Pearl?” she asked as she edged even closer to the bed.

“Making him shine,” she croaked, voice sounding like she’d swallowed nails. Izzy felt fear rise like bile.

“Pearl, Lady Pearl,” she said, hands open before her. Pearl blinked at the moniker.

“I haven’t heard that in years,” she said. She lowered the paddle slightly, resting her arms. “What do you want of me Esabo?” she demanded, anger rising in the blink of an eye.

Izzy swallowed hard. “Please…leave him be…” she said, pointing to Drew. Drew made a weird hiccoughing sound, bubbles rising gently from the red ruin of his nose.

“Why? What is he to you? He’s nothing but a story, another article that might one day get you a Pulitzer, bringing you world wide recognition and fame while he, your victim, fades into the distance as ‘that one guy who died’,” she spat. Esabo felt anger spread out quick as lightening.

“That’s a lie!” she growled.

“Is it?” Pearl crowed, “Give me one good reason to spare him!” Izzy felt the words choking in her throat. “See? You can’t! Not even to save his life!” she screamed, leaning over into Izzy’s face. Izzy felt her sorrow and anger and hatred slip away like clothing. She walked over and pressed her head close to Drew’s, feeling the cooling blood sticking to her cheek.

“Do it,” she said quietly. Pearl stared at her, completely taken aback. “Do it, you hear me!” Izzy screamed, making Pearl jump.

Pearl hefted the paddle. “I’m doing you both a favor Izzy,” she said benignly, raising it slowly. Izzy curled up closer to Drew, calling back moments of last night, of his warm scent all around her, their warm bodies mingling, and smiled quietly.

Pearl brought the paddle down.

----

“You guys gonna be okay while I’m over checking on Drew?” Abe asked, donning his jacket. Colin and Ryan blinked blearily down past their toes at the Detective who had peeked his head in the bedroom. Colin and Ryan shared a look. They were spooning so tightly on Colin’s bed a razor couldn’t have parted them evenly. Colin waited for Ryan to pull away in shame.

“I think we’ll be just fine,” Ryan rumbled without a trace of embarrassment in his voice. Abe gave them a small copy of his usual grin and pulled his head back out. Ryan snuggled in tighter, pressing tightly against the smaller man’s ass, and getting happier every second to be there.

Colin smiled, “Why Ry, I didn’t know you thought of me that way,” he said quietly. Ryan chuckled, and Colin shivered at the tickling breath brushing across his neck.

He leaned in and whispered into Colin’s ear. “I must confess Col, I’ve had some very dirty thoughts about you for the past few decades.” Colin froze; feeling himself get a little pronounced as well.

Colin cleared his throat. “Well, we can’t do anything about that with the cops here,” he said urgently.

Ryan slumped behind him. “Oh yeah. Damn.” He swore, a heartfelt curse flowing freely.

Colin snuggled in a little closer before patting Ryan’s arm. “Come on, I’ll make us some breakfast to make up for it,” he said heavily. Ryan liked that idea a lot, too.