Our Place

Chapter #6 Dealing With The Aftermath

It's been six hours, twenty-one minutes and thirty-six seconds or three-hundred-and-eighty-one minutes and thirty-six seconds or twenty-two thousand eight hundred and ninety-six seconds. Since I found Mr Backers dead. I've been to police stations and hospitals back and forth all night, giving statements, going to see the twins, answering questions, checking on the twins and repeat. I was ready to drop dead myself, but the twins were a mess, they'd just lost their dad, so young too. Right now they were both sleeping on my lap with tear stained cheeks while I mused over what would happen now. Would they go to an orphanage? Do they have any living relatives to take them in? Would they get separated? Then I began to think about what happened two years ago, when I lost my dad, I was fifteen. These girls were just nine. All alone with no one to care for them but themselves. I heard the clack of shoes coming towards me, I lifted my head and noticed it was a police officer. Sighing I gently lifted the girls and placed them back on the chairs. "Yes?" I asked tiredly, yawning and stretching my arms.

"I'm sorry miss, but I need you to come back to the station to answer just a couple more questions, then you can go home." The officer said, looking at me in sympathy.

I nodded and silently followed him towards the entrance, I made sure to tell one of the nurses to keep an eye on the twins. Soon enough I was at the station, again, I clambered out of the police car and followed the police officer into a small and quite room where he gestured for me to sit down on one of the seats. The metal on the chair was freezing but I barley noticed,

"So miss Goodwill, just confirming your previous statements. At around three o'clock today you went to the Backers house to deliver their weekly jam, correct?" He paused and I nodded,

"The house was silent besides the occasional growl, which turned out to be a movie playing? The two twins, aged nine, Bella and Bianca, were playing a harmless prank on you? You sent them out to play with the horse Bucky while you went in search of the payment for the Jam where you found the spilled pills on Mr Backers bedside table?" I nodded after every question,

"Yes." I whispered

"You then realised that it was almost three quarters empty, which was highly illogical if Mr Backers was only prescribed them earlier that day which then led to you discovering that Mr Backers was dead. Is this all correct?"

"Yes." I whispered again

"Thank you for your time Ms Goodwill, I'll be in touch, don't go wandering anywhere now will you?" Did he think I killed Mr Backers? That I murdered him?

Horrified at the thought, I could only briefly nod and shake his hand before following him out of the freezing room. On my way out of the station I heard a lot of racket, it sounded like boys laughing and swearing. The officer and I rounded a corner where I nearly got hit by a stumbling teenage boy that turned around when he heard my gasp of surprise. It was then I realised that the boy who almost hit me, was Devon. A very drunk Devon at that too. "AaaaaaJayyyyyyy?" He slurred,

I looked around and realised that all the other people with him were the same as at the parking lot plus Mike, and they were all drunk too. Ignoring them all I kept walking behind the officer until I was outside. "What did they do? Drink driving?" I asked the officer curiously,

"Yeah that and speeding in a stolen car." He spat disapprovingly,

"What...what is there punishment? Most likely to happen I mean." I asked cautiously,

"Well some of them might do Juvy time because of their record but I'm pretty sure one of them is doing their first real offence besides getting in the occasional fight I think he was reported missing recently, clearly he's been found. He'll probably just get a hefty fine." Instantly I knew it was Devon.