Take Me Away | ✓

» 36

K A D E N

On the eve of the annual senior dance, I had two visitors knock on my door. The first was the detective. When I opened the door to see it was him, I immediately closed it again and would have done so completely if he hadn't stuck his foot out at the last minute.

He stuck out his hand too, a familiar set of keys dangling from his fingers. Slowly, I reopened the door to see him hold his arms up in surrender. "I just want to talk."

Despite me wanting to do the opposite, I let him in anyway. "Can I have my keys?"

"After you hear me out." He said, fisting the metal. "How about you start with telling me how your car wasn't at the garage like you claimed?"

I stayed silent. He sat on a stool and waited for my response. "I'm not on duty so I can stay here all day."

"What do you want from me?"

"Answers, firstly." He let out a tired sigh. "I'm on your side, Kaden, even though it might not seem like it."

"How do I know you're not just saying that?"

"I wouldn't be here with your car and keys if I wasn't helping you. It would have been in a forensics lab right now." He motioned towards the window. "Your car wouldn't be out there either. Go on. Look."

I didn't look. But I knew he was telling the truth so rather defeated, I slumped onto the stool opposite him. "It was stolen. My car."

"By who?" I didn't answer even though I knew I could have easily given him Taylor's name. "Whoever it was, they didn't do a very good job of stealing it."

"Where did you find it?"

"Just on the borders of town."

So she wasn't in town at least. Not anymore.

"I'm going to assume Dante was involved in this." He raised a brow in inquiry. I didn't say anything to protest.

But I did ask, "What are you getting out of questioning me?"

"A witness. Another step to getting Dante behind bars. Justice for the lives he's ruined-- do you want me to carry on?"

"You're building a case against him." I frowned. "Do it without getting me involved."

"That's where I need you, to fill in the gaps in the case. You know what he's capable of. You can convince a judge of the truth."

I rubbed my temple. The detective's words were making my head spin. "But you need more than a witness. You need evidence."

He dropped the keys on the counter but I had a feeling that wasn't it. And I was right because then he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a clear plastic bag. Inside the bag was my phone.

I stared at the cracked Samsung for a while longer before looking at the detective. "You knew all along, didn't you?"

"I know you were at Martin Bridges residence the night he was killed."

Hearing his name made my stomach turn. I'd heard it before the last time the detective tried to question me but it sounded louder this time around. Martin Bridges was dead.

"I know you made Phoenix give you an alibi--"

"I didn't make her do anything." I bit back.

"But you did lie about your whereabouts." I couldn't come up with a response to that.

"Will anything happen to Phoenix?" I asked instead.

"She'll be fine as long as you cooperate."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?"