The Castle On The Hill

Part 3

Part-3

Alysa stopped to observe her uncle's reaction. She saw that Fred was listening attentively. Seeing her stop he sighed,

"So, Billy is dead huh..."

"What-you knew him?" She was surprised. Fred never mentioned him before.

"Yeah, a long time ago. Through Roy. Actually, your father and Roy were childhood friends."

"Roy? Roy O'Rourke?" Parker blurted out.

"Yeah. Why? You know him?" Fred probed noticing her weird expression.

"No, no. I was just surprised that's all. He came up in a conversation. So, what happened?"

Fred stared at her but she didn't explain any further. He continued, shaking his head,

"Life happened. After Billy's wife left him, he practically became a recluse. Roy also stopped coming to the city. He obviously held Billy responsible for his mother leaving and ran away from home soon after. We also moved to D.C. And that's what happened. Anyway, continue your story."

"Yeah." Parker started from where she left off, "Walker drove me up the hill. We stopped before a forest. We started hearing a strange sound when we were on the road about halfway up the hill. It was coming from the castle or so we thought. We navigated through the forest and as the trees were thinning, a grey fog enveloped the hill. Walker told me the sea beneath us generated the fog. Our flashlight didn't penetrate much." She scratched her chin, "I didn't realize when I'd lost Walker. I didn't call out for him as I was very close to the castle. I could see its silhouette and the sound was also becoming louder. I finally stumbled onto an open area and spotted a person about 40-50 meters in front of me. He seemed suspicious so I turned off the flashlight and took out my gun. The sound suddenly stopped and he also spotted me. I yelled and identified myself but he was already running in the opposite direction. So, naturally I gave chase."

She seemed embarrassed for a moment as she lowered her voice,

"I saw him fall down. When I reached him, he was already lying-in front of the balcony stairs, unconscious. I checked his pulse and it was steady. Walker also found me as he was also following the sound. The man seemed suspicious so we decided to bring him here."

A brief moment of silence passed. Fred was taking time digesting the information. He then opened his mouth,

"You said you questioned him. What did he had to say for himself?"

"Listen for yourself. Here's his statement." Parker took out the tape recorder and played it back for Fred.

After Fred finished listening the whole conversation, he remained silent for a while-in thought. The voice sounded nervous and rang true for most of the time. He alternated his gaze between the tape recorder and Parker's face and said,

"He sounds like he's telling the truth. So-did you check his story?"

"No, you called me before I could do that. And-" she stopped contemplating to tell her uncle about her suspicion or not.

"What? Don't hold back. Speak freely." Fred encouraged.

Parker opened her mouth after deciding to speak,

"There's just something about him that bothers me. The whole scared act he presented seemed fake. My instinct is telling me there's more to him than meets the eye."

Fred examined Parker's face. He knew that her instincts were very sharp. She was an experienced Marine. So, if she felt there was something more, there usually were something more.