The Murder Pal

I clenched my fists.

"That's impossible! My mom is at home with him. There's no way he came!"

Esther snorted. "Why don't you call and ask? You'll find out right away."

She handed me my phone.

I stared at her face and suddenly felt uneasy.

I accepted the phone and dialed a number with trembling fingers.

After a few rings, the call connected.

"Hello, Eve?"

I took a deep breath and tried to steady my voice.

"Mom, is Leo with you?"

"Leo?" My mom paused. "He went to school."

I heard a buzz in my mind.

"He had a fever. Didn't we say he wouldn't go?"

"It went down this morning. He insisted on going. He said he had plans with his friends." My mother, Bea Spencer, sounded calm as always. "I dropped him off at the school gate. What's wrong?"

I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn't come out.

"Hello? Eve? What happened?"

She continued speaking, but I couldn't hear anything anymore.

My phone slipped from my hand and hit the ground with a sharp crack.

Slowly, I turned around and looked at the small body lying there.

That blue hoodie was exactly the same one my son, Leo Spencer, had.

Could it really be him?

Step by step, I walked over and lifted the cloth covering the child's face.

It was a mangled, bloodied mess.

His features were unrecognizable.

Something inside me snapped, and I began wailing uncontrollably.

Esther walked over and tried to comfort me.

"Eve, is he really Leo? Aww. Don't be too sad. The dead can't come back to life–"

I pushed her away and lunged forward before grabbing her by the collar.

"You killed him!"

She fell to the ground and looked aggrieved.

"Eve! I told you it wasn't on purpose! What are you doing?"

"Not on purpose? Why didn't you say that when you stopped me from calling emergency services?"

Her face stiffened for a split second.

David hurried over to break things up.

"Enough, enough! Calm down! The dead can't come back. Right now, the most important thing is sorting out the funeral!"

'Sorting out the funeral?'

I turned to him with bloodshot eyes.

"That's not what you said when you were stopping me from calling the police."

David's expression darkened.

Esther got up from the ground and dusted herself off. The grievance on her face slowly turned into impatience.

"Eve, I already apologized. What more do you want? Will you not stop until I'm dead?"

"Apologized?" I stared at her. "You killed my son, took my phone, and stopped me from calling for an ambulance. Do you think saying sorry is enough?"

"Then what do you want?" Esther raised her voice. "I told you it wasn't on purpose! I'm willing to pay too! What else do you expect from me?"

She glared at me furiously.

"I was trying to comfort you, and yet you pushed me. Look at you. You're acting like a lunatic. If it weren't for the fact that you just lost your son, I wouldn't even bother saying anything to you!"

She then turned to face David.

"Mr. Brown, get someone to drag her away. Move the body. Let's bury the boy as soon as possible."

David nodded and gestured to the teachers.

"Drag her away."

Two teachers stepped forward and grabbed my arms. They tried to drag me away.

"Let go of me!" I thrashed around. "Don't touch my son!"

A sudden slap landed across my face.

My head snapped to the side. Blood seeped from the corner of my mouth.

Esther lowered her hand. She was fuming when she glared at me.

"Have you had enough? Or do you still want to keep causing a scene?"

I touched my face. There was a look of burning rage in my eyes.

Just as I was about to fight them with everything I had, I suddenly heard a voice from behind.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

I turned around and froze.

Leo stood at the entrance. He seemed completely unharmed.

Who exactly was the child that got hit?