The Silence Within

Calculated Theories

A/N: Welcome back to The Silence Within! Please remember to vote and comment what you think, because it makes our hearts very happy. I'm not good at author's notes. Enjoy anyways!

"So you were sleeping when it all happened," relayed the detective. "Isn't that convenient."

Finley tried not to grind his teeth. "Listen, we'd had a long night and just wanted to sleep everything off. I slept like a rock."

Detective Roland didn't look convinced. "Were any of you intoxicated? Or, perhaps, on drugs of any sort?"

"I was," Finley admitted. "I had a couple beers, and Charlie 'n Oliver took me back to the cabin. I was knocked out by the time he left."

The man scribbled something down, his lips pressed into a thin line. He should've pulled his son out of school - cut off any connections with the delinquent sitting across from him. "Who else was at the party?"

Finley gave a bitter scoff. "Who else? Everybody in the whole damn school was there, Detective." He pushed his chair away from the table, cursing incoherently under his breath. He never really liked Charlie's father, and disliked him even more so after today.

Detective Roland glanced up from his notebook and narrowed his eyes. "We're not done here. You still have to answer -"

"No," Finley interjected hotly. "We're done here. I'm done answering questions." He stood and shoved his chair back to the table loudly. "Get out of my house."

++

Riley fidgeted nervously, wishing her grandmother were with her. Detective Roland had requested that Riley be alone for the questioning, and that she give nothing but the absolute truth.

"What was the party for?" the detective asked, his eyes glued to his notebook.

Riley shrugged. "We, um, we were just invited. The text didn't say anything about what the party was for. Just...for fun, I guess."

He glanced up at her, skepticism clear in his expression. "Just for fun. Who was there? Did you see anyone or anything strange or out of place?"

Riley thought hard about it. The only strange thing she'd seen was a pair of girls skinny-dipping in the lake in the nippy temperatures. "I couldn't name every one that was there - at least two hundred people from our school. Nobody stood out to me either - just..." She'd run out of words. "S-Sorry."

Detective Roland dismissed it with a soft grunt. "You didn't drink, or smoke?"

"I had a Coke," Riley blurted. "But uh, other than that, no."

Had this not been such a serious matter, the man would have been humored. But this involved what seemed like a murder and abduction case. He remained stoic. "What about, eh, Skye?" He took note of the change in Riley's expression.

"She did have a few drinks," Riley admitted, pulling on her fingers. "But they were thinned with Coke-a-Cola. I made sure that she didn't get too much..." This is it, she thought. So much trouble.

Detective Roland quirked an eyebrow. "What was in her cup?"

Riley felt guilty for having to sell her best friend out. But she'd sworn to tell nothing but the truth, and would feel a thousand times worse if she lied to a detective. "She had..." she sighed out. "She had vodka. But I only let her have a little! You know, to help get her mind off of things."

"What things?"

"I don't know." Riley said truthfully. "I never asked about it."

The detective scrawled something else into his notebook before standing. "Thank you for your time. Have a good evening."