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CHAPTER 13: Eye witness


She drove for what seemed like hours, never getting anywhere. But despite the miles accumulating on the car’s speedometer, she never put any distance between her and Sunnydale. Her intent had never been to leave the town in the first place since her destination was only five minutes away from her own house. She just couldn’t bring herself to take the turn that would lead her to the dreadful place she wanted to see. So she kept on driving in circles. Her eyes were focused on a point straight ahead and her thoughts were going a hundred miles an hour. The goal of the ride was to witness the crime scene with her own eyes, but all she managed to do so far was to avoid it.


Earlier that night, Buffy had gone through Spike’s file to try finding out everything she could about that night’s events. There was nothing interesting in the file though. A copy of Darla’s deposition, one of Liam, the transcript of the court session and some technical details about the judgment. Everything matched what Spike had told her earlier, except the fact that he was innocent. Reading all this left her feeling frustrated.


After she got back home, she’d called an old acquaintance of hers, Willy, who worked at Sunnydale Police Department. She had met the guy while working in L.A. where he often stopped by the prison to drop off prisoners. Willy had transferred to Sunnydale a year before her as a result of a disciplinary measure taken against him. Being sent to the suburb was as far from a promotion as a police officer could get. Will was a nice enough guy when you overlooked the slightly sleazy side of his personality, but he was definitely not a good cop. He had a tendency to over share confidential information and unfortunately for him, his boss figured it out after a few incidents. When Buffy had called him earlier, she had hoped that being transferred to Sunnydale hadn’t cured him of his bad habit. She wasn‘t disappointed. It took a little bit of probing, but he ended up giving her the information she needed about Liam MacAlister. Although, there really wasn’t much to know about the guy. No real criminal activity anyway. Two arrests for assaults in a bar, and one for possession of marijuana. Not a clean record, but nothing that could help her. It didn’t matter. What she really wanted was an address, and she got it.


Now Buffy was cruising the empty streets of Sunnydale in her car, alone with her thoughts. And they were not pretty. She kept replaying in her head the story Spike had told her earlier that day. Thinking about it still made her upset, but as usual, she was turning it into anger. It was so much easier to deal with anger. In her experience, being upset only led to moping on the couch like a big useless lump, just like she did the night after she kissed Spike for the first time. Buffy didn’t like that feeling at all. She was action girl. That's what she did. She wasn’t the type of person to just sit and wait for things to change on their own. She needed to feel like she was doing something, like she was accomplishing something constructive. Anger always egged her on so she welcomed the feeling with open arms and let it take over her.


Making a decision, she suddenly did a sharp u-turn on Main street and stepped on the accelerator, heading in the opposite direction. She slowed down to be able to read the street names. When she found the one she was looking for, she signaled and turned. It was the town’s trashiest neighborhood. Generally speaking, the citizens of Sunnydale were mid to upper class. Large well lit sidewalks, pretty family houses with well kept lawns, expensive cars and brand new mini vans. It was the kind of perfect town where you want to raise your kids. A dream come true for soccer moms and busy CEO dads. But there was a small part of town that wasn’t exactly recommendable. Buffy wasn’t surprised to find out that this part of town was where Angel and Darla lived.


Small houses in desperate need of a paint job were lined up on each side of the street, so close from one another that you could probably hear what the neighbor was watching on TV. Most of them had old rusted cars parked in the driveway, tricycle and other kid toys abandoned on the front lawn, and the lawn itself was in a pitiful state. It was a sad contrast with the comfortable lifestyle Buffy was used to. The fact that William submitted himself to life in this neighborhood for the love of a woman, him who had been raised in luxury, was impressive in itself.


**That stupid Drusilla chick should have been kissing his feet and thanking God every day for being loved this much, instead of cheating on him like a big whore. I don’t know a lot of men who would live in one of those houses for a woman.** Buffy thought bitterly.


It started raining, making it difficult for her to see the addresses from the poorly lit street. But she finally found it. 230 Aurelius. The place where William Rayne had spent his last moment of freedom. Posh was definitely not the word she'd use to describe the house. The grayish white paint was peeling off on many spots and one of the windows on the second floor had been replaced with cardboard. A lawnmower had been abandoned by the front porch, probably ten years ago if the state of rusting was any indication. The lights were out and everything seemed quiet. But it was almost 4am and the car, a huge brown 1986 Oldsmobile Delta, was parked on the side of the house. They were probably in there, sleeping.


Buffy took the opportunity to fuel her anger by imagining Spike sleeping on his cot, cold, alone and uncomfortable, while those two murderers were sound asleep in their own bed. The house might have looked like a dump, but it was still way too good for them. If what Spike had told her was true, and she knew deep down that it was, then the people living in this house belonged in jail. They were the ones who should be sleeping on a cot every night for the rest of their pathetic lives.


She heard Spike’s voice in her head.


“I didn’t even try to run away. I just sat on the front porch, trying to understand what had just happened. That’s where the cops found me.”


The rain was beating down on the windshield, blurring everything outside. It rarely rained at this time of the year in California, but the weather suited Buffy’s mood perfectly. She stared at the porch and could almost see in her mind’s eyes the ghost of William sitting there with his head in his hands, waiting for the cops to arrive and take his freedom away from him. It wasn’t fair. It shouldn’t have been.


She was actually curious to see Angel and Darla. She wanted to see what evil looked like. How could two human beings be so completely evil that they’d come up with such a horrible plan, and lie so well that they’d fool everybody into putting the wrong man behind bars? How can you live with yourself knowing that you‘ve done that? How can you sleep at night? This was something Buffy couldn’t fathom no matter how hard she tried. Maybe because it takes a psychopath to understand another psychopath.


**Soulless. They have to be. There is no other explanation.**


The rain had stopped and the sky was turning to a lighter shade, a sure sign that the sun was coming up. Buffy realized that she had been sitting there for way too long. Turning the key in the ignition, she started the car and drove away, hoping that she hadn’t been noticed. Being spotted tonight would have been of the bad. She was there to observe only. Somehow, she needed to see this place for herself. It made what Spike went through, a reality to her as well. By being there, it made her part of this whole mess. Like adding a player to a game of poker when the game is already started. She had just thrown some money on the table and taken a seat. The only thing was, Liam Angel MacAlister and his wife Darla thought the game to be long over. Now, they’d have to sit back down and wait for the cards to be dealt again. And Buffy would make sure they wouldn’t go home with the money this time around.


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A/N: I would like to take a moment to thank all my faithful reviewers. I can't name you all, but you know who you are. It means so much to me and know that I always take time to read each and every review, even if I don't answer them all. Thanks.

The updates have been quick on this site because those weren't new chapters. My updates might take a little bit longer to come from now on, but don't worry, I promise not to keep you hanging. If you want to be notified for updates, you can join my mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TFTHFanficupdates/





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