Trapped

Time

I pull my phone out and dial Shepard's phone number.
"Hello,"
"Hey, how well do you know Michaels mother?"
"Very well."
"Do you think he could've gotten her involved?"
"No way. Trust me."
And I did.
I trusted him.
I wanted to trust him.
"Okay". And I hang up.

His mother out
Emma king out
What about a father.

I call shepherd again.
"Hey, what do we know about his father?"
"An asshole who left the both of them for another woman," he says "no longer in the picture."
"Are we sure?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." And I hang up.

His father out
Who else could it be?.

I need his phone.
But I can't get it, since we don't have the search warrant yet.
Emma could help me.
I turn around my car and head back for her house.
I knock on the door and she opens it with a 'what now' look on her face.

"Sorry to bother you again, but I want your help."
"Why would I help you get my closest friend to spend the rest of his life in prison?" She rolls her eyes.
"Because you believe he is innocent."
"I do."
"Then you will help me in order to prove he is."
"But you're not trying to prove?"
"I am. But, I'm trying to prove he is guilty, but it doesn't matter Emma. If he is innocent or guilty it'll come out when u help me."
"Okay. But first answer my question with honesty."
"Uh-huh?"
"Do you actually believe that Michael did it?"
"I do."
"They should take your badge and gun as soon as this is over," she shakes her head "I'll get my coat and we'll head out."
"Don't you want to know what I want from you?"
"Doesn't matter. I'll do anything to help him."
If I didn't know better I'd suspect she was the helper after all.

"So where are we going?" She asks me while I drive.
"To his house."
"Why?"
"Well, you are going to act like you're there to comfort his mother."
"And?"
"You know the house better than me and his mother so you choose which of the following we shall do."
"Okay,"
"We either let you talk with the mom and I sneak up to get his phone. Or you I stay out and you ask the mother to go to his room."
"His phone?"
"The black berry one."
She nods "What if it wasn't in his room?"
"Exactly."
"As much as I hate to say this but you should sneak."
"Alright. We have to communicate without her noticing so when we arrive I'll give you wireless earbuds and we stay connected all the time."
She nods.
"Why do we need his phone?"
"To see who he was texting."
"Okay."

"Here we are" I say as I stop the car a few block always from the Henderson's house "Emma, you need to tell me of every move she intends to make. Also, try to make her stay put."
"Yes."
"You're not nervous?"
"No," she says "you can call me an expert."
"In lying?"
"And other stuff."
That girl is dark yet weird.
"Okay," she says "so I go in and leave the door open. In five minutes I'll ask for a cup of water and when she goes I'll tell you to come in."
"Yes. Where is his room?"
"Upstairs on the left."
"Great. Go."
She gets out of the car and drifts aways.

After exactly five minutes I hear Emma's voice in my head.
"Come now, Emily." She whispers "through the back door."
"On my way," I say as I get out of the car and I run towards the house.
I find the door a little open. And before I get in "Should I come in?" I ask Emma.
"Yeah."
I push the door a bit and pray it won't make a sound.
It doesn't.
I walk in and find myself in a long corridor.
There is a room on the left I look inside and Emma is sitting there.
I don't see any stairs and I don't want to waste my time looking for one so I whisper to Emma "where are the stairs?"
"Down the corridor, on your right," she whispers back "the room on the left."
I nod and walk down the corridor. As soon as I get out of it through a door in the end I see the living room and a TV where he and I sat down and then the stairs.
And, another door.
The main door that he let me through.
I walk the stairs and pray harder they won't make a voice and as soon as I step on the second floor I hear Marlene's voice so I run to hide.
"I hope you like the tea, sweetie" she says.
Okay. Focus Emily.
I walk to the left and find a closed door.
I open it.
It's definitely his room.
It's tidy and clean, which isn't very common for boys. Especially boys his age.
There are a lot of books on his shelf.
Mostly psychology books.
He has a black laptop on his computer disk and next to it there is a glass of water, a few papers and a book with a bookmark in the middle of it.
Such a shame if he doesn't finish it.
Imagine not finishing a book.

I walk in and close the door behind me then start looking for the phone.
First, I search his computer disk.
Nothing.
I look in the drawers.
Nothing.
I look under his pillow, in his closet and under the bed.
I find a little black box under the bed and I open it.
I find an empty notebook, a picture of him with his mother and a blackberry.
Yes. Finally.
I try to open the phone.
It's clear.
As if never used.
Dammit there is nothing.
No pictures, no messages, no emails.
Nothing.
Ugh. I can't take it back to Chloe to try to recover anything from it because nobody knows I'm here.

"We need to go out. It's getting weird here."
Emma says.
"Okay, can I go out now?"
"No, I'm in the bathroom wait."
I wait exactly two minutes then she calls for me and tells me to get out of the house.

I'm in the car now and waiting for her.
I see a girls figure coming towards my car, then she gets in.
"So?" She asks
"Found it. It's empty."
She sighs "where does this leave us?"
"I don't know," I say. I don't have much time left to go wandering for lost evidence.
"How was his mother?" I ask out of politeness.
"She is a mess. But holding on I guess," she clears her throat "she's been through worse."
I nod and say "I know."
She just shakes her head.

I have talked to his friend, broken into a house, found the only evidence I can think of and its empty.
I've waisted enough time. There is but one thing; talk to Michael Henderson.
More accurately; make Michael Henderson talk.

I can't afford to lose more time.