The Eraser In My Brain Moved And My Sister Disappeared Chapter 07
The police arrived quickly.
Two officers came, one older and one younger.
When the younger officer saw me on the bed, his eyes widened, and he immediately looked away.
Mom, however, clutched the older officer’s sleeve as if she had found her last hope.
“Officer, you have to investigate this. My daughter was murdered.”
“She was a good girl. She knew the way home. Someone must have lured her away, killed her, and dumped her there. You have to catch the killer. He should get the death penalty.”
The older officer listened patiently and tried to calm Mom down.
At the same time, he sent the younger officer to check the area around the old oak, take photographs, and contact the town to obtain any available security footage.
“We need to understand what happened first. Please try not to panic.”
“How can I not panic? That is my daughter. My living, breathing daughter.”
Mom beat at her own chest, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.
“Officer, you have to find the killer. Otherwise my daughter will never rest in peace.”
She repeated that same sentence over and over.
The older officer shook his head slightly, then turned to Dad.
“I need to ask you a few questions.”
Dad silently cooperated with the officer’s questions.
He told him everything that had happened the night before, including my illness.
The older officer’s brow furrowed more and more deeply, but he said nothing.
The scene inspection and preliminary questioning went on for a long time.
Sunny grew tired too. Holding the broken doll she could not put back together, she curled up in the corner of the couch and fell asleep.
Tear marks still clung to her little face.
Mom insisted that no one move me. She said the police had to see me first.
Several times, Dad tried to wipe my face clean, but Mom fought him off.
“You can’t move her. She’s evidence. If you disturb the evidence, how will they catch the killer?”
“Gwen, can you stop losing your mind? I just want to wipe our daughter’s face. She is still so cold.”
“You are not washing her. Get away. No one is allowed to touch my daughter. I am going to catch the evil bastard who did this.”
I stood to the side, not understanding what Mom meant.
Where was the killer?
Had I forgotten again?
Time passed little by little, and the sky darkened once more.
The leftovers from New Year’s Eve dinner sat cold in the kitchen, untouched and uncleaned.
Finally, the younger officer returned with security footage copied from town cameras and the neighbors’ statements.
He and the older officer spoke quietly in the living room for a long time.
Mom stood tensely by the doorway, digging her fingers into the frame.
She did not even notice when her fingers started to bleed.
At last, the older officer came out.
“Mr. and Mrs. Miller, based on our current investigation, including the physical evidence at the scene, interviews in the surrounding area, and the security footage we were able to obtain…”
He paused, seeming to choose his words carefully.
“We found no sign that anyone suspicious approached the area around the old oak. From the time you left yesterday evening until your daughter was found this morning, there is no evidence that any outsider entered that area.”
All the color drained from Mom’s face.
“That’s impossible. Check again. You must have missed something. What about the road? What about the road she took after leaving the house? Was she abducted?”
She shouted, growing frantic.
“Mrs. Miller, we reviewed footage from several of the town’s main intersections from yesterday evening through last night,” the younger officer said. He looked pained, but he told the truth anyway. “We did not find any clear footage of your daughter walking alone or with anyone else.”
“Then how did she die? Tell me that.”
Mom cut him off and lunged forward, gripping his sleeve tightly.
“She was perfectly fine. How could she freeze to death there? And why would she take off her clothes? Was she out of her mind in weather like that?”
The older officer was silent for a moment before he slowly said, “In extreme cold, the human body can sometimes create a false sensation of heat.”
“When severe hypothermia disrupts the body’s temperature-regulation center, victims can mistakenly feel hot and remove their clothing. It is not uncommon in fatal hypothermia cases.”
“What do you mean, temperature regulation? My daughter was not crazy. She would never take off her own clothes and freeze herself to death.”
Mom shook her head desperately, refusing to accept it.
“Someone did this to her. Someone drugged her or knocked her out and dumped her there. Examine her. There have to be injuries on her body.”
“We did a preliminary check. There were no obvious external injuries.”
“Of course, the final determination would require a professional examination by the medical examiner. But based on the evidence we have now, it does point to an accident.”
“An accident?”
Mom staggered and had to grab the doorframe to keep herself upright.
“My daughter knew that road her whole life. From the edge of town to our house, she could have found her way back with her eyes closed. And now you’re telling me she somehow got lost right outside her own home and froze to death by accident?”
She stared hard at the officer, then suddenly turned toward Dad, who had been silent the entire time.
“Dave, say something. Tell them. Sienna knew the road, didn’t she? She knew the way home, didn’t she?”
The living room fell into dead silence.
Dad kept his head lowered. The cigarette between his fingers burned quietly, the ash growing into a long gray column.
After a very long time, he finally spoke.
“What if she forgot the way home?”