by Blair Burden
She screamed as she heard footsteps enter the room, thinking it was Adam, but it was Hannah. Hannah shook her head to leave him and she pulled Linda to leave. “We need to go now,” Hannah cried. “Before they come back!”
“I don't have the car keys,” Linda said as she quickly searched Adam's jacket.
“Let's just run,” Hannah said.
“Okay, but whatever you do Hannah, just keep running because I’m not stopping,” Linda whispered to only her and it made her wonder why.
“I think we should drive—”
“Just fuck it!” Michael said and they all ran out the motel room and out the opposite way they came into the dark shadows of the night.
They continued to run for ten minutes until they were only surrounded by trees. As they stopped, Linda continued to run, leaving Hannah and Michael behind.
Linda began to breathe normally again as she spotted streets and ran to the busy train station where people were trying to leave town. She stood at the end of the line that wrapped around the corner and waited, looking over her shoulders every second. She waited for twenty minutes until she finally was up next.
As Linda left the ticket window, her eye's grew large as she witnessed five police officers walking toward her as she put her train ticket in her pocket. Her eyes were busy, as she looked to see who they were coming for. She pointed at herself and dropped her wallet.
“You're under arrest,” said a police.
Linda didn't say anything but she knew a reason why she would be arrested. She never thought she would be arrested for something like this. She would much rather be on television arrested for public drinking or something silly—not a murder investigation.
She would have villain on her forehead for the rest of her life. No man would ever want to marry her, unless he was a creepy guy who married prison women—but she wouldn't be interested. And she would not be able to find a job, but why would she care—she would be in prison until she was ninety.
Random people stared at Linda, as she was put into the police car as if she were the most horrible person in the world. As if she were nothing but trash—but she knew she wasn't trash—she knew she wasn't dirt. They probably thought she was a runaway kid—she hoped that—anything but a murderer.
It seemed to take no time at all to get back to Simon. As they turned the corner, Linda stuck her head down as it seemed like the whole town and media was outside the Simon police station. She tried to catch her breath as she saw her life flash before her eyes—it was a short life.
The police roughed her up as he pulled her out the police car. For a tiny girl, she was stronger than many would think as she held her body back. He tugged on her again this time with all his force and she fell to her knees. She would regret that later when a huge scar would be there.
As Linda walked into the police station, she looked right into Adam and Lucy's lifeless eyes. The cop took off the handcuffs from her wrist and sat her next to them. She twitched as she didn't want to look at them. They were really the last people she wanted to see at that moment. She would rather see Dr. Smith's feet at that moment.
Lucy, who was dressed in a faux fur jacket and boots, put her cold hands on Linda’s arm, “It's not what you think!” She began to cry, and tried to get Linda to make eye contact.
Linda shoved her away. “Shut up and leave me alone,” she cried. “Where is Hannah and Michael? Are they okay? What did you do to them?”
As if he were being spoken to, Adam turned to them. “You didn't know?” he said, as he began to cry like a baby. “Hannah was killed two hours ago.”
Trying to hold her emotions in, Linda gasped, “What? You guys killed her?”
“We didn't kill her!” Lucy said. “I don't know how she died!”
“You're a liar!”
Lucy lifted up her shirt, to expose her round belly, “I'm pregnant,” she paused and pointed to Adam, “I didn't want to tell you, but we are going to work things out now.”
Linda rolled her eyes, “I'm so confused; my head hurts—there is way too much to gather in.” She stared at Adam who was emotionless, almost as if he weren't there. “What does this have to do with Hannah?”
The gang stiffened up as Tyler walked over to them. He looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks as he rubbed his chin, “Don't look too shocked. I ate some spoiled fish, so when I heard you guys running, I came looking for you guys. I'm sorry you guys. I feel like a failure not knowing this whole time.”
“Not knowing what?” Adam said.
“About the murderer,” he snapped. “We know who it is and he was right there in front of me every day.”
“Adam?” Linda mumbled and pointed at him. “It's him?”
“No!” Adam snapped. “It wasn't me. I swear!”
Tyler pulled out a photo of Michael Rose from his folder and handed it to them, “Before he moved here, he lived in California where is mother tried to kill him. He went nuts some say, and he's had a history of violence. He would be the last person to expect to do such a terrible thing.”
“But, he's my best friend,” Linda cried and she shook her head to reality. “He would never do such a thing. Plus, that doesn't even make sense. Michael grew up in Idaho.”
“He's also a murderer,” Tyler said.
“No, no, you said he grew up in California...that's a lie. And his mother never tried to kill him...she died in a car accident,” Linda added.
“No, you're wrong...he's a murderer,” Tyler snapped. “Just listen to me.”
“But why? Why is he killing all these people from our high school?” Linda said. “Yourstory doesn't add up. You're not making sense.”
“I'm not sure what his intentions are, but he's dangerous and he's still loose.”
Lucy began to laugh, “You think we believe you? Michael didn't kill Hannah.”
“He did too and you guys know about it,” Tyler said. “So, speak now.”
“I bet Hannah isn't even dead,” Lucy mocked. “You're just trying to make us crack.”
Linda agreed and whispered, “Michael is too much of a baby...he doesn't even like talking about people.”
Tyler rolled his eyes, angry that he didn't put a good enough story together. “We are going to take all you guys into interrogation to ask you some questions. This case is still not done yet,” Tyler said. “We promise we will keep you guys safe.”
Tyler nodded for Lucy to come into questioning first. Since she couldn't shut up, he expected her to say the lease. The chatterboxes always said the lease because they knew their rights.
She dragged her feet into the dark room and sat at the end of the table. She had seen many law shows and knew that one of the walls was a window and someone had to be watching her. The last time she was in an interrogation room was for punching a woman at the mall when she was twelve. It was actually the same room, she smiled at the wonderful memories.
She lifted her heavy hair and flipped it to her right side. She tried to control her trembling hands as Tyler stood over her. She didn't know why she was so shaky, considering she didn't do anything wrong. As if she didn't know her age, she counted on her fingers how old she was—still seventeen—still a minor.
Creepy Tyler clapped his hands, snapping her back to reality. He looked at her, barely noticing she hardly ever blinks like a normal person. Then again, what was normal. He just found it odd that he never noticed that before. “Hannah is dead,” Tyler snapped. “Who did it?”
“Um, you said Michael did it,” Lucy whispered as she didn't make eye contact with him. She could feel him reading her body language. She was no idiot when it came to reading people—she knew probably just as much as he did—probably even more.
“Well, I lied,” Tyler said.
“What, so Hannah is still alive? I knew it.”
“Who did it?” he shouted. “All fingers are pointing to your clique. Someone from your clique is the murderer and it's not Michael!”
“I need a lawyer,” Lucy said, with her wide
eyes staring at him. “I cannot say anything else without a lawyer.”
“A lawyer?” he laughed. “Do you have something to hide?”
“I'm seventeen.”
Lucy stayed silent and kicked the leg of the table. She folded her arms and stared up at the ceiling. Even though, she wasn't looking at him, she felt as though he was still staring at her. Tensely, she stood up and walked toward the door.
“I cannot believe this crap,” Tyler muttered as he led her out the room. He handed her off to another detective, where they dragged her into another room.
Tyler pointed at Linda, who was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. She jumped to her feet and slowly walked into the interrogation room.
With her arms folded, she tapped her foot on the floor. “Can I have a jacket. It's cold in here.”
Tyler tugged at his hair, “Just sit down, Linda!”
Afraid like always when she was in messy situations, she obeyed and sat down. As she felt her panties rising, she put her head down on the table and closed her eyes. “Please, let me go home. My dad is probably worried sick about me!”
“Oh, your drunken dad...I don't even think he knows you're gone—which is the perfect lifestyle for a criminal, right? You have a history of fighting and more fighting,” Tyler laughed.
“That doesn't mean I’m a killer. That's a big difference, buddy,” she said quickly after. “If you think you're gonna make me crack, ha, you've got a lot of learning!”
“What does that mean?”
“I know what you're up to,” Linda said, as if she were a police. “Michael didn't kill Hannah and she isn't even dead. You're trying to scare us, and trying to make us tell the truth.”
“So, you guys are lying is what you're saying?” Tyler said. “So, you guys are working together?”
“No, we just have each others back. We are all best friends.”
“You can never truly know a person until you're in their shoes.”
“I think you're just trying to end this case so you can go back to California. You're trying to pend this case on one of us because you want to move on with your life.”
Tyler began to laugh—the kind of laugh with no sound, with his mouth wide open, “You think you're so smart, but you're not. You didn't even know I was a cop. So, you don't know crap!”
Linda crossed her arms and pouted her lip. “I'm not going to say anything else. May I leave?”
“Not until you tell me what you know.”
“I won't say anything else because I’m a minor and need an adult or lawyer.”
“Fine! So, should I even bother talking to Adam or will he need a lawyer too? What was the point of me bringing you guys here?”
“Yeah, what was the point?”
“I'm not sure.”
“Can I go home now that you have insulted me and called me a dumbass.”
With an attitude, Tyler snatched Linda up like she was a child. He pulled out his cigarette as if he were going to light it and pointed for her to leave the room. Linda held her breath as she saw Hannah, Michael, and Lucy hugging. As she let out a sigh of relief, Linda ran over to them and kissed Hannah.
Adam walked over to them and he began to cheer. “Hannah, you're alive!” he cheered again. “That's awesome because they told us you were dead.”
“Um, yeah,” Hannah said. “Lucy told me everything. I cannot believe they would do something like that. They told me and Michael that Linda was killed.”
“Did Tyler try to intimidate you too?” Linda asked.
“Of course,” Michael added. “I just want this day to be over...or this whole era of my life to be over!”
Tyler slammed his office door shut due to them talking too loudly. They could still see him typing at his desk. It bugged nosy Linda to not know what was on his mind. That was the time she wished she had superpowers—she would want to read minds.
“What is going on?” Hannah said. “Why are we here? Why us?”
Linda began to laugh, “He said that one of us is the murderer!”
They all stayed silent and looked at each other. Linda’s arms were crossed with her knees bent inward, Hannah was rubbing her arms as if she were cold, Lucy was twitching, and Adam was staring at everyone with huge eyes—they may have been best friends but no one was innocent.
Michael stiffened his shoulders, “Why would he say that?”
“But, he's just trying to throw us under the bus. We could never do anything like that,” Linda said. “Right?”
Hannah tried to hold in her laugh, “We are like the last group of people you would suspect to be murderers. You have me, a dancer, Linda the school tramp...no offense, Michael the gay kid, Adam the social butterfly, and Lucy...the...dork?”
“This isn't funny, Hannah,” Michael snapped. “What if we go to prison for a crime we didn't even do? I can't live in prison.”
“He's right,” Lucy said. “We need to figure out who really is doing this before we get in trouble.”
“People are going to look at us differently now,” Hannah said as she thought of the evil things people would say to her. “Everyone is going to think we are the murderers. You know how this town is—everyone knows everything! We will be headline news by morning. Why would they even pick us out of all the cliques in school? I think the glee members are more suspicious than us.”
Michael bit his lip and raised his hand, “Um, well it's a funny story...but remember when Linda was suspicious of you? Well, I was too and I talked to a police here named Jacky. I gave him a paper and I swear I was going to write Tyler's name on it because I heard him talking about Linda.”
“How is this relevant to me?” Hannah snapped.
“Well, Tyler had walked into the police station and at the time I didn't know he was a cop too. He lied and said they fed him there. So, I thought if I wrote one of our names they would just investigate all of us to get to Tyler. So, I wrote your name, Hannah.”
“What? This is your fault!”
“No!” he cried. “Please, don't blame me!”
“Now, they think we are murderers!”
“But, we know we are not,” Linda said. “We've all been accused. Lucy is right, we need to do our own investigation.”
“Let's do one thing at a time,” Adam said. “Like getting out of this situation. I want to go home and sleep.”
Lucy rolled her eyes, “Sleep is the last thing we need. We need to handle this situation before class tomorrow.”
With her eyes on Adam, Linda cleared her throat, “So, are you guys back together?”
“No,” Adam said.
“Yes,” Lucy said at the same time as him. “I mean...we should be since I’m pregnant.”
“You're not pregnant,” Hannah snapped. “Stop lying! Adam obviously doesn't want to be with you anymore.”
“How would you even know if I am or not—”
Michael snapped his fingers, shutting them up. “Stop fighting. This is a tough time. We need to stick together—even if we are not agreeing on everything.”
“Once again, Michael is right,” Linda said. “We are all friends. We will stick together. If any of us are in trouble...we all go down.”
“We are in this together,” Lucy said.
“Why is this starting to sound more and more like a Disney movie?” Hannah chuckled.
Tyler walked back into the room, “You guys are all free to go home since we have no proof yet; but, we have our eyes on you.”
“Is that a threat?” Linda said.
“Maybe; but you never know if you're being watched or not,” Tyler winked. “It was nice knowing you guys.” He walked back into his office and slammed his door shut.
They all felt weird leaving the police station with no handcuffs. They felt like they were on the show To Catch a Predator when the men thought they were free to go, but then they would get attacked by cops and arrested outside the home.
Hannah tip-toed outside to the front of the station, afraid she would be attack
ed. “They must don't think we are that bad, since they are letting us go home.”
Michael shoved her to shut up, “Let's just go home and not talk about this situation anymore. I’m going to get acne stressing about this and you don't want to see me with acne. It's not cute.”
“So, you think you're cute?” Adam joked at a not funny moment.
“Just shut up!” Linda snapped. “We are in a sticky situation.”
“Yeah, what about me?” Lucy said. “I'm pregnant.”
The gang looked at Adam and he shook his head no. But, why would she lie about that? Although, Lucy had a history of lying about things, she was too smart to lie about something like that. She was also too smart to get knocked up at the end of the school year. Either way...it was pretty twisted.
10 | Misguided
The gang tried to ignore the stares as they walked the halls. It's one thing to get accused of being apart of a murder group, it's another thing to feel like as though they were actually guilty.
Linda leaned her head on Michael’s shoulder as they ate lunch by their lockers instead of their usual table. “Everyone keeps pointing at me and whispering.”
Lucy sighed, “Don't they always.”
“But, this time it is because they think we are involved with it. We have to do something.”
Adam tied his shoe strings, “Like what?”
Linda sat in closer to the gang, “Let's go back to our junior year when Mandy Perez was killed. Tyler said it's all connected. What do you guys know about it?”
“I don't know anything,” Adam said. “I talked to Mandy before—that's it.”
“Mandy was a cheerleader,” Hannah added. “She would stop and talk to me when I used to work in the mall. The last time I saw her was the day before she died. I think she said she was buying some baby clothes.”
“Was she pregnant?” Michael said. “Because, I remember seeing her at that dance not too long before she died and she was talking to Mr. Conner a lot.”
