STALEMATE [MAFIA] [MXM] ✓

28: OVER WITH

Catrine goes in at 8, and the station is about a thirty minute drive from here. This means that Salem does not have a lot of time, made even worse when he realizes he doesn't work today. He won't have an excuse to be there.

Salem makes sure to not make Donny feel bad about this at all, he'd much rather the guy take care of his son than help him with this stuff anyway. This doesn't mean he isn't seriously stressing, however. He rushes through his morning routine and doesn't even put on his work uniform.

He doesn't work today, so it wouldn't really make sense, anyway. By the time he's heading down the stairs he is dressed in civilian clothes with his phone and keys in hand, nothing else. He plans on just rushing out the door, but is stopped when he hears a voice.

"Salem?"

Salem jumps, turning at the voice. He finds Ruby in the living room, seated in her same spot with a bowl of cereal. He doesn't see Atlas anywhere, but he does hear the coffee machine running. "Oh, hey, Ruby."

"Where were you last night?" She asks him curiously, eyebrows pinched in worry. Salem glances at the TV, which is now playing the news. Salem's heart starts beating faster when he sees the reporter talking about the mysterious skull appearing randomly last night, which evidently crashed and even broke multiple electronic devices. She doesn't say the Di Angelo name, but everyone knows what it is.

"Um," Salem says, not wanting to lie. He also doesn't really want to tell her the truth, though... "just had to work late. Got caught up in some stuff."

She nods, eyeing him. It's clear she knows he's withholding information, but she's not the type to pry. Salem wonders how to politely cut the conversation short, because he's kind of in a hurry. He needs to get to the station before Catrine.

He takes pause when he hears the news anchor move on to another story, however.

"In other news, a Wellbridge teacher was found dead last night..."

Salem watches Ruby's eyes shoot to the TV, and Salem turns around to watch it as well. He finds a photo of a creepy looking guy on the screen. He's skinny and has a mustache, as well as glasses. His eyes are dark and eerie, and Ruby is frozen. She can't look away.

Wellbridge? That's Ruby's school.

"Fredrick Dulaney, a teacher at Wellbridge High School, was found brutally murdered overnight. The motives are unclear, and no suspects are in custody. Due to the nature and brutality of the crime, I am unable to go into further detail. If you have any information, please..."

Ruby looks like she's seen a ghost, and the news moves on. Salem thinks he knows exactly what's happening, though. That has got to be the guy that assaulted her, and... well... the fact that they were unwilling to give detail on what exactly was done to him only means one thing. It was gruesome.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out who would do that, who would exact revenge for Ruby in such a way.

"I-I need to..." Ruby stands up, hands shaking as she sets her bowl on the coffee table. She pulls out her phone. "I'll talk to you later, I need- I have to call Stella."

Stella.

Stella did this. Stella exacted revenge. Salem has the clearance to look into his case and find out what exactly she did to that man, but he's not so sure he wants to.

Salem watches Ruby rush up the stairs and to her bedroom, and he sighs. He takes her bowl and washes it, putting it in the dishwasher before finally heading out the door. The whole time he feels a bit distracted, hoping that this won't affect Ruby negatively. Salem's never seen that look on her face before, and he's worried.