Cast Away

Chapter Three

I didn't tell you about myself. I have been so caught up in the murder of my sister, that you don't know anything about me. I'm Lea Hartwell, and my sister was Rebecca Hartwell. I'm fifteen years old and my sister was eighteen years old. Rebecca was working full time at a restaurant in our home town, Green Well. She had to drop out of school after mom and dad left. Rebecca and me grew up in that yellow house, it was one hundred years old exactly. It had two stories and it was filled of memories that me and Rebecca shared. But after mom left, and she left because of dad, our family was stuck; stuck in a world of disaster. Dad was hardly ever home, he was always getting drunk, and us girls would spend hours of the night worrying if he would he ever come home. Until one night, I came home from school and found a note that he left and he wouldn't be coming back. I was in despair, but Rebecca assured me that we would be fine. Five months later, Rebecca was murdered and we here we are.
I knew that Rebecca had been murdered horrifically, but when the officers told us exactly what happened, the feel of hurling returned. "Rebecca was beat in the head by a blunt object, maybe like a baseball bat, and she was shot in the chest with a pistol two times." Police officer Hash said. I looked at mom, shocked. "Would you both come with us to the police station for questioning?" He said. "Umm...yeah. Can I grab some things from my car first?" Mom asked. "Yes, of course, go ahead." Hash replied.
On the way to the station was quiet. Me and mom was lost in our thoughts. Once we got there, I felt dizzy. The rush of everything, the blood, and the grieving caught up with me. My stomach was in my throat. I motioned mom to move. I ran to the nearest bush and let it out. Once I was finished I caught up with mom " Are you alright?" She asked. "Yeah I'll be fine." I replied and went inside, where I saw a front desk with a small blonde woman answering calls, and many rooms, which I guessed was for questioning. I asked the lady at the front desk where the nearest bathroom was and walked where she directed me. I opened the door to the bathroom and went to the sink, washed my face and my hands, and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked as pale as a porcelain doll.
    I walked out of the bathroom and right into room five, where mom and Officer Hash was sitting in the brown chairs and their hands folded on the steel table. "Come sit down Lea I was just asking your mom about Rebecca's childhood. "Aren't we supposed to be questioned separately?" I asked Hash. "No, here in Green Well, we question the family together, because they have the same ties with the victim." He explained. "Now. I'm going to ask both of you some questions about Rebecca, and I need you to answer truthfully. I know you have been traumatized and your under a lot of stress, but please give this some consideration, because the sooner we get answers, the sooner we can find the killer." I shook my head in agreement, and mom as well. "General question, do you know anyone, anyone, that would kill your sister Rebecca?" Hash asked. I scrambled through my head and searched for anything that would suggest as single reason why someone would slaughter Rebecca. "I can't think of anyone. She was a sweet person who didn't deserve this." I replied with a straight face. Mom looked at me and then Officer Hash. "Me neither." She said. Hash looked at both of us and then said, "Okay. Well where did she work? And tell me the people she worked with." "She worked at the Home Sweet Home Cafe. And her boss was Mrs. Ginger, and some employees was umm... Jerome Herald and Nina Cartridge. I think that's it." I said. Hash wrote down the names on a pad of paper and waited for anything else. "I don't remember, since I have been gone for a long time." Mom finally said. "Ok. Well can you think of anything else that would lead us to anyone that would likely kill her?" He asked. "Oh yeah! Her boyfriend, Nicholas Kent. They've been dating for five years. I think they were still together when she was murdered." I said. Hash jotted down the name and a few notes and then said, "Alright, thanks for speaking, I think this should cover today. I know it's getting late, and you need time to process this. I'm sorry that this happened to your family. You are dismissed, we might call you in tomorrow. I will escort you to a hotel and we will pay for your stay. Please get some rest." Hash told me and mom.
Officer Hash stood up and showed us out the door and straight passed the blonde lady. He had us get in the police car and we rode to a hotel in town called Sunrise Inn. He checked us in and we thanked him as we walked up the stairs to our room. The room number was 112, and as soon as I saw the number I unlocked the door ran in, and curled up on my own bed. Mom walked in and took off her coat. She fell on the bed and switched on the tv to the local news. Immediately their was a picture of that yellow house and police cars surrounding the area. I saw myself and mom sitting on the porch and my head in my coat. It must have been a few hours ago when the reporters came and taped the chaos, and now they're replaying the footage. Like a reflex, mom turned the channel to a cartoon station. "Good night sweetie." Mom said softly. I said nothing. I felt the urge of crying coming on. I didn't hold back, I let it out. I cried until my eyes hurt. Mom cuddle with me, and softly cried as well. After mom went to her own bed, I thought about Rebecca and me, and found myself drifting off into a deep sleep.