Memories: A Collection of Short Stories and Things

Case 220

I looked around at the small, dark room I was in, contemplating my future which could very well be decided by the end of this questioning. I looked at the legs of the table and saw that they were bolted to the ground and I felt a connection to the cold metal piece of furniture. My mind wandered for a minute to the table's being and how it must wish every day to be free and out of this room. That is, if the table even knew what day looked like after being locked down so long.

I heard the door gently creak open as a large man in a dark coat entered the room holding a bright orange envelope. He closed the door and glanced at me. I could almost feel his aura shift from that of professional curiosity to that of sinister distaste, and I knew my future was beginning to flicker like a candle flame in the wind.

"Ain't I seen you before?" I looked at him, confused, as he took his coat off and placed it on the back of the chair on the other side of the table and sat in it. "Ah, I dunno. You all look the same." I usually wouldn't mind the statement that much; however, it was coming from a man who was supposed to represent justice and equality. I was just slightly annoyed as he set the orange envelope on the table.

"Now, what do you know about what happened with Miss Heather?"

****

We finished moving into the new house that night. My Mom said that we needed to get away from the area we were in. The looks everyone was giving us were enough reason to move on their own.

I was having a hard time falling asleep, my mind was too busy and nervous about school the next day. I got up out of bed and went to the living room where I found my Mom silently crying, tightly gripping a glass of wine.

"Mom!" I quickly walked over and knelt next to her. She tilted her head towards me and wiped the tears away.

"It's not fair..." I saw her eyes watering again. "I'm sorry honey..." She lowered her head, "I still can't believe he did something like that..." I knew she was talking about Dad.

"But... the court found him guilty," I said slowly.

"Your father wouldn't do that!"

*****

All I knew were rumors and what mostly everyone else knew; Heather was gone. She had been missing for a week and there were endless stories about what happened to her, none of which could be taken with the slightest amount of credibility.

"Well, I mean, we've been talking about it at school and stuff. I just know she's been missing for awhile." I figured that response was generic enough to be an answer, but not say anything that might be used against me.

The only sound he made to acknowledge my response was a simple "Hm..." as he opened the orange envelope on the far end of the table and pulled out a small picture. He smiled and glanced back at me. "She's kind of a looker, eh?" He slid the picture face up towards me. It was her. She had always been a quiet girl who never did anything mean to anyone else. She was fairly attractive; she didn't have the standard cookie cutter shape of a super model, but she still looked nice. She had medium length black hair and in this picture she was wearing a sweater.

"Yeah, I guess." I had talked to her a few times, mainly because my friend, Gary, was beginning to hang out with her. He had seemed pretty distraught since she had been missing from school. I guess it was because he was beginning to care for her deeper than I had thought. We never talked about personal things too much.

"Mhm," my dislike for the man was beginning to grow as he pulled the picture back and looked at it again, this time with pleased eyes. He sighed through his nose and set it aside, looking at me again. "What was your relationship with this young lady?" He was beginning to get into the more personal questions.