Agnes in JackieLand

Chapter 11

The ride had been better than I thought it would be. Charlotte was pretty chill, and I let her do all the talking. I had learned that Charlotte was gifted and was graduating this year at seventeen. She had a boyfriend who was already in college studying law, and they were both saving themselves for marriage. I respected that.

Charlotte had dropped me off at Hope Hospital with a wave goodbye and no probing questions. Now, why couldn't the real Jackie hang out with this girl? She would be better for her than the shark Cindy. However, Jackie might not be so dumb for keeping her enemy close at hand.

I entered the hospital, still wondering about the life of Jackie and her choice of friends. I headed up to the fourth floor without talking to a soul. I got off the elevator and headed straight for my room, only stopping when I got to the window that looked into it.

No one was in there this time, so it was the perfect time to test some of my theories. A male voice called out as I headed through the door.

"Miss Franklin."

I turned to find a grey-haired man in a somewhat disheveled dark blue suit. He wasn't old. Despite the grey hair, he looked to be in his late forties. He smiled at me, and it reached all the way to his crinkled brown eyes.

"Yes," I answered cautiously.

"I'm Detective Groves from the CPD. Could I ask you a few questions?"

My stomach dropped to my feet. I swallowed as my throat went dry. This was it; I was going to jail. I nodded my head.

"We can go down to the cafeteria; follow me," he said as he strode to the elevator doors. I followed, thoughts racing in my head of me in prison, and tears pricked my eyes.

I followed him down the elevator in silence to a vending machine, where he bought me water and himself some disgusting-looking sludge they called coffee. We sat at a table in the center of the cafeteria, which was half full, and I could feel all eyes on them.

"Ok, Jackie. You don't have to answer my questions. You can wait until I summon you down to the station with your parents and a lawyer if that's what you want."

I was overwhelmed. I certainly didn't want to have to deal with Mr. Franklin. I would listen to the Detective, see what he said, and go from there.

"I'm fine, for now," I said.

The Detective smiled at me. I was sure it was designed to make me feel at ease, but it did quite the opposite. I was no dummy to predators; Jackie Franklin had been after me for three years. The smile unnerved me.

"So, Jackie, since you are here to visit, I. I'm going to assume that you know Agnes Bumstead."

You could say that is what I thought, but I said, "Yes."

"Are the two of you friends?"

Hardly. "Not really."

"Oh? If you're not friends, then why are you here?"

The hair on the back of my neck rose. The Detective was baiting me. "I wanted to see how Agnes was doing. I heard people talking about her being in a coma, and it piqued my curiosity."

The Detective's brown eyes observed me. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a pad of paper. He scrolled through the pages while I sat sweating in uneasiness.

"Were you at the party Agnes was at?" he asked me, never taking his eyes off the pad.

"Yes."