Love & Carnage✗Noah Foster [2]

Chapter Twenty// No Innocence

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"I'll smile when I catch the killer."

--Dewey Riley

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"It's been one day since Jake Fitzgerald's body was found, and the grisly reality of how he died is settling in. That sort of grief is a tricky thing. You don't know what to feel. Should you be furious? Should you be frightened? Should you be sad? It can swallow you up or weigh you down or ignite a fire inside you. When murder hits this close to home... it makes you see the world in a new way. People too. Even the ones you trust start to look a little different. Because, when everyone's a suspect, there is no innocence."

I looked at my laptop in confusion. Noah sounded very... cryptic. I walked towards it and closed it. Stop listening to his podcasts, Arielle. I told myself. I grabbed my purse, and walked out of the room. I had to see him. I had to at least talk to him.

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Noah's mother had let me into the house, told me that Noah was in his room. I walked up the stairs, and towards Noah's door. I knocked twice. "Noah...it's me." I said. There was a lot of shuffling, before the door opened. "Arielle. Was that locked? That's weird." He said in a rush. "Come in." He moved out of the way. I walked in, shutting the door behind me. "Noah..." I muttered. "Yeah?" He turned to look at me. "You don't... uh, hate me, right?" I whispered. "No, what? I don't hate you." Noah shook his head. "Okay, well, I wa--"

There was another knock at his door. He looked at me. "Hey, Noah. It's Emma!" She called from the hallway. Noah walked towards the door, and opened it for Emma. "Hey, what's up?" He allowed her in too. "I have to tell you something." She told, that's when she noticed me. "Oh, hey, Ari." I waved awkwardly back at her. "Do you need me to go...?" I asked. "Oh, no, no. This isn't that--It's nothing. But I remembered something." She looked at Noah and I. "The last thing that Piper said to me was that she had one more surprise. I think that surprise just killed Jake and is now terrorizing all of us." Emma spoke. "You mean... Piper's accomplice?" Noah asked. He made a weird look, as he looked at me. Somehow uncomfortable. "Yes. I know. You've been saying it all along, but now I'm ready to know the truth." Emma told him. Noah had his arms crossed, and he looked as if he were cold. "I need to see your board." Emma went to walk past Noah and I, but Noah stepped in front of her. I squinted at him. "The board? No, no, no!" Noah protested. She walked past him anyways towards the... covered up board. "It's under construction. It's not ready. You're not ready. Nobody's ready." Noah rambled. I frowned, something was wrong. I walked past him, too. "Well, I'm ready." I told them, before pulling the sheet from the wall. My face... my face stared back at me.

The picture of me was right in the middle of the board. I remembered that day. When had he taken a picture of me? My picture was right beside Audrey's. And between the pictures, another small piece of paper was there. PRIME SUSPECT.