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"The body of Julia McCarthe was found mutilated in the small town of Riverton at about 3:30 A.M. this morning. The citizens of Riverton are shocked to learn of such a violent crime in their neighborhoods. This crime marks the first murder in Riverton in more than 15 years." ZAP. The newscast on the television screen became a small white line at its center and then disappeared. I turned my attention to the cold grey table in front of me. It could barely be called "attention." I felt lethargic.
I heard the thick iron door close and footsteps walk to the edge of the table on my right side. The investigator dropped the remote controller onto the silent table. "PLACKT" The silence was broken. The sound of the remote seemed distant to me and it echoed for awhile.
"REHHH" The investigator pulled a plain metal chair to the opposite side of the table and the iron legs scraped against the cold cement floor. I was in one of those small cement rooms with no windows. Besides the television mounted in the upper-right corner, the two chairs, the table, the remote that was placed on the table, and the thick iron door to my right, there was one narrow lamp hanging about five feet above the table in the center of the room. Even so, the room was very well lit. Oh, and on the wall to the left of me was this wide reflective window that spanned about the width of the whole wall. I was in an interrogation room, that is, if this isn't a dream. It certainly felt like a dream. Like a nightmare.
The investigator took some type of recording device out from somewhere and placed it on the table. I saw the recorder being placed on the table but I didnt hear it meet the table. I was still staring blankly at the grey in front of me. The investigator pressed a button on the device and a light turned red on it.
"Please state your name." I barely made out what was said. I wasnt really there. I was back at the split where a scene was playing out over and over. I could hear our voices but they echoed.
" Yeah, I wish we could have had more time. I'll see you later. Maybe tomorrow, okay? "
" Alright "
That's all I said..."Alright." I said "Alright" but the statement was decieving because what I really said was, " No, its not okay. Cant we just walk around forever? I dont want this day to end like this. " But Juli turned and went her way and I just watched her. It was dark but I could see her auburn hair resting on her shoulders as she walked away. Even when she walked away she had a certain grace. The scene was broken with "Hey, kid. Do you know your name?"
My trance was broken. It was a woman's voice, I had hardly noticed before. I slowly lifted my head a little to focus on the woman across the table. She was looking at me, not in concern, but in annoyance. I could tell she wanted to get to the bottom of this case just as much as she wanted to cuddle up with a soft pillow. I don't blame her though, it was still in the early morning.
"What's your name?"
"Erin Swells...."
"Alright Erin Swells, can you tell me what your schedule was yesterday?"
"Yes..."
She didnt reply to that, she just waited for me to specify.
"I woke up at about... 9 o'clock and I went to Juli's house. I was picking her up to take her to the summer fair."
"Juli... Julia McCarthe, right?"
"Yes..."
She started writing something down on a pad that I hadnt noticed before; she wrote on it even though this was all being recorded. Behind her there was a clock on the wall. I hadn't noticed that either. The hands weren't moving which epitomized the moment. Time seemed to stop in this room.
"Do you mind if I ask you the time?"
She didnt hear me ask or she just ignored it because she replied with her own question.
"What else did you do yesterday?"
"For most of the day we just hung out at the fair. We didnt do anything else."
"I see..." she continued, "While at the fair did you notice anybody unusual or was anyone particularly mean towards Julia?"
For some reason I thought of the Glass Bottles guy.
"No.. we didnt notice anyone like that."
"When did you leave the fair?"
What time DID Juli and I leave the fair? It was about 5 o'clock. But that was just a guess based on the daylight. It did get dark earlier than usual yesterday.
"I'm not exactly sure. I'd say it was about five or so. It was getting dark."
"Did you and Julia stay together or did Julia walk home by herself or get a ride from somebody?"
"We both live in the same direction so I walked her home up until Garrin Street. Thats where we have to split. I have to go to the right and she lives to the left."
"Yesterday was Sunday. Did you pass any stores on the way home?"
I saw what she was getting at. Stores close early on Sundays; there usually isnt a store open after 6 o'clock. If I had noticed it could given her a better estimate of the time.
"We passed a few stores but I didnt notice if they were closed or not." I was too transfixed on Juli at the time.
"I see..." she moved on, "Is there anything you'd like to say before we end this?" That was her last question.
After the interrogation was over I sat with my parents in a noisy waiting room. They didn't ask me any questions. We just all sat there watching the receptionist answer the phone. About an hour later an officer told my parents that he needed to talk to them so I sat there alone for a bit. I was slipping into that scene again. I was with Juli. I could see her smile. I remembered when she blushed and I could hear her voice. She had a beautiful voice. I would explain it if I could, but I cant. It wasnt annoying and grating but pleasant and soothing. Her voice almost had a mitigating effect. Whenever I heard her voice all the worries and pains of the day just melted into nothing.
I wasn't even mad about what was happening. To a certain extent I thought I was going to wake up at any moment. I'd wake up and then I'd go over to Juli's house and we'd walk to the park. The park is nice this time of year. I'll take her to the fountain in the park with the elaborate ivory statue in the middle. And we'd sit on one of the benches that circle the fountain. We'd just watch life and feel the vapor from the splashing water behind us.
My parents came back after about a half hour and then I watched the buildings and lamp posts going by and every once in awhile I'd see someone walking on the sidewalk as I stared out the window of the car. It was still very early; the sun hadn't even come up yet but the darkness was becoming lighter. It was more purple now than it was pitch black. When we finally made it home the sun was peeking over the earth's shoulder. My parents went into the kitchen and were probably brewing some coffee or something. I just walked into my room and crashed onto my bed. I stared at the white plaster of the ceiling and my mind started wandering again. I thought about the last question the investigator woman asked me. She asked if there was anything I'd like to say before the end of the interrogation.
" Mmm.... actually there is... "
" Yes? Go ahead. "
I didnt ask how Juli died or how her parents were doing. I didn't ask where exactly she was found or if her death looked painful.
I asked, " Did she have anything with her when she was found? "
" What do you mean? " The woman was eager to find out where I was going.
" I mean.... was she holding anything? "
" No... we didnt find anything. Should we have? "
She wasnt holding anything? Did she lose it or drop it maybe? Why would the killer take a stuffed animal? Maybe she lost it in a struggle? These thoughts swam around in my head.
" Is there something you need to tell me? " She was trying to squeeze it out of me.
" No.. no. I don't even know why I asked that. "
And that was it. I guess I didnt really care to go into it any further because I knew this was just a dream. So I just layed on my bed. A few hours ago I was in the same position when the police barged into the room. This was an odd dream. I just closed my eyes.
I was ready to wake up.
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