"We believe you," Officer Smitty said softly, leaning over his clustered desk. He was a big bear of a man, with a red round face and bushy gray eyebrows over small round bloodshot eyes. The glare of the overhead light reflected off his bald head. The collar of his blue uniform shirt was open. He pulled off his navy blue tie and tossed it onto the desk.
"We believe you. But we have to ask a lot of upsetting questions anyway." He narrowed his eyes at me. "Do you understand Alex?"
I nodded and glanced at my Mom. She sat on the other side of the policeman's desk. She kept dabbing at tears in her eyes with a balled up tissue.
"I know we've been over everything twice before. But I need to go over it one more time," Officer Smitty said wearily. He mopped sweat off his bald head and forehead with the palm of hid hand.
"You see, it just doesn't add up. It doesn't make sense to me."
"But I told you everything! What part doesn't make sense?" I demanded. I clasped my hands tightly in my lap to keep them from shaking.
Mom help my skate bag on her lap, shifting it from leg to leg. I wondered why she didn't put it down on the floor.
Even when you're being questioned by the police about a murder, your mind wanders. I found myself thinking about Howie. Wondering if he was enjoying the party.
I tried to imagine how he would react when he heard about Kevin later tonight.
Officer Smitty rubbed his jaw. "What you told me makes sense Alex. You came out of the skating rink and found the body in the alley. It's the murder that doesn't make sense."
I stared at him, swallowing hard. My mouth felt so dry. I took a long sip of water from the paper cup he had placed on the corner of his desk for me. The water was warm and tasted kind of sour. Or maybe that was just the taste in my mouth.
"For one thing, he wasn't robbed," Officer Smitty continued. "He still had his wallet with about 15 dollars in it."
He raised his bloodshot eyes to me. "He didn't usually carry around large amounts of money, did he?"
"No," I replied softly. "Kevin was usually broke. He was always trying to borrow money from me."
My Mom stared at me. I was sorry I had said it. I didn't want them to start asking a lot of questions on why I had borrowed money to Kev.
Officer Smitty rubbed his jaw again. "He wasn't robbed. So why was he murdered?"
"I don't know," I started. "I don't think-"
"And why was he murdered in such a brucial way?" the policeman continued, staring over my shoulder at the pale yellow wall behind me. "It almost looks as if someone was showing off. Or maybe showing Kevin something. You know. Paying him back for something. Teaching him a lesson."
Mom let out a whimpering cry and dabbed at her eyes.
"I'm okay Mom. Really," I whispered to her.
"I just can't believe you had to see something so...horrible," Mom replied.
The policeman didn't seem to hear her. He stared at the wall, deep in his own thoughts.
A heavy silence fell over the small office as I waited for him to say something. I took another sip of the warm water.
What is he thinking? I wondered. What does he think happened?
At least he believed my story, I thought with relief. At least he didn't believe those stupid twins. He knows I'm not a murderer.
Someone is.
The thought forced it's way into my mind, making me shudder.
Someone is a murderer.
Officer Smitty cleared his throat. He leaned over the desk, elbows brushing stacks of paper aside.
"So we have to ask ourselves about a motive," he said. "Why did someone kill a teenage boy so brutally if not for money?"
He tapped his chubby fingers on the desktop, staring hard at me the whole while.
"Alex--any ideas? Do you know anyone who might not like Kevin? Anyone who might have something against him? Something serious against him?"
"Well..." I took a deep breath.
What should I say? How honest should I be? Should I tell him how much we all hated Kev? Should I tell him how Kev bullied us and blackmailed us and threatened us?
"I'll need a list of friends," the police officer interrupted, frowning. "Do you know his friends? I believe you said he used to be one of your friends?"
I nodded. "But not this year," I told him. "Kevin got some new friends. Guys we didn't like. From Tampa. Sort of tough kids. He-"
"Tough kids?" Officer Smitty's eyes suddenly flashed with interest. "He started hanging out with a group of tough kids? Do you know them Alex? Do you think any of them might have a motive for killing Kevin?"
"I-I don't know," I stammered. "I don't think-" He raised a big paw to quiet me. "Think hard. Take a deep breath. Think for a minute. Anything Kevin ever said to you about his friends? Any comment he made about someone being angry or annoyed at him?"
"We all were!" I blurted out.
The words escaped my mouth in a rush. I hadn't meant to say them. They just exploded from me. I couldn't hold them any longer.
I heard my mother gasp. The skate bag toppled from her lap.
Officer Smitty stopped drumming his fingers on the desk.
We all hated Kevin!" I cried. Once the dam had burst, the words just kept flowing. I couldn't stop myself if I wanted to.
"All of my friends hated him!" I told the startled policeman. "We all had reasons to hate him. All of us. Me too!"
I took a deep breath. My heart pounded in my brain.
"But we didn't do it!" I cried. "My friends and I-we didn't kill Kevin! We're just teenagers. We're not murderers!"
That's the truth, I told myself, watching Officer Smitty's suprised expression.
We're not murderers. We're not.
That's the truth.
Isn't it? Isn't it?
Chapter 11
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