The Missionary -- Book 1

The Investigation

Noah had been frozen since he first opened the door. The group had gathered behind him by now and they were all standing there in shock.

"May we come in?" Detective Davis was now putting his badge away and motioning for the house. 

"Yeah, of course." Noah opened the door wider so they could enter. The two walked in and looked around the entryway.

"Your parents home?" Smith asked Noah.

"Not right now. They're both at a conference in Sacramento. They left after my graduation." 

"So you're all just hanging out here? Unsupervised?" Davis picked up a picture frame that housed a photo of Noah and Lauryn from the junior prom.

"I guess so." Noah was looking at the group frantically but they were all still upset from the fight just a few minutes ago.

"So which one of you is Noah and Sean?" 

"That would be me and him." Sean pointed at Noah who was now standing there with his arms crossed staring at the ground.

"Can we talk alone?" Davis asked Noah, noticing he was older.

"Yeah, we can go to the dining room." Noah lead the two of them into the dining room, leaving Smith with Kai, Jon, and the girls. The three sat down on one end of the table. "Can I ask what this is about?" Noah knew exactly what it was about but figured it would seem less suspicious if he asked.

"Well, we're investigating a murder. And to be honest with you," Davis laughed and shook his head at the two of them. "you're our only suspects."

Sean shot a look at Noah and Noah could sense the panic. "Murder?" Sean asked him.

"Okay, getting started," Davis ignored Sean's question and carried on with the investigation. "what did you know about Nate Moore?"

"Who?" Noah and Sean asked in unison.

Davis sighed and closed his notepad setting his pen down next to it. "This investigation will go nowhere if you pretend you didn't do it." he took a second. "But I guess that's your plan after all."

"Detective, we genuinely don't know who Nate Moore is." Sean lied.

"Well, you've gone to school with him since you were 11, so excuse me if I find it hard to believe you don't know the man." Davis leaned in over the table and folded his hands together. "I'm going to ask again, and I need you to answer me honestly this time. What did you know about Nate Moore?"

Sean and Noah had no idea what they were supposed to say because they never went over this part of the plan with the rest of the group. "I know he dated Maddie. And I know he was a piece of shit who drove a lifted truck." Noah leaned back in his chair. "That's about it."

"He drove a truck?" Davis opened his notepad back up and wrote it down. "Can you tell me more about it?"

"It was a blue Ford. Lifted. It was old." Noah had his arms folded across his chest in an attempt to hide his rapid heartbeat. "The truck was the only thing he cared about, allegedly. As I said, I barely knew the guy."

"Okay, moving on. Where were you between the hours of 4 last night and 8 this morning?"

"Well, we were at a party until about 2. When we left we came straight back here. The same goes for all of them." Sean tilted his head over to the entryway where everyone else had been standing talking to detective Smith.

"What party?" Davis was writing something down.

"I don't know whose party it was. We just got sent an address by Mick." Noah looked at him.

"So if I asked her right now, would she tell me it was Nate's party?" Davis stopped writing to look Noah in the eyes.

"Maybe. it could have been anyone's." Noah said.

"Can I get the address of this party?"

Noah pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the group chat where Mick had sent the address two nights ago. He slid the phone across the table so that the detective could write the address down.

"Thank you. And thank you for your cooperation. We'll let you know if we have any more questions for you." Davis closed his notepad and put it in his jacket pocket along with the pen he was using to record their information with. He stood up and pushed his chair in.

Sean and Noah stayed seated at the table, backs turned to Davis as he headed for the front door. "Fuck." Noah ran his hands through his hair.

"We're so fucked." Sean was whispering but to Noah, it felt like he was screaming.

"Chill the fuck out. We're fine. Quit panicking." Noah stood up and walked into the entryway where the girls were seeing the detectives out.

Once the two men were gone they all took a second to regain control of their situation.

"What did you tell them?" Mickey asked Noah and Sean.