A Bounty of Pictures

Chapter 9

Seth steps in front of me, "he wouldn't do that! He was happier than he's been since the robbery!"

Harlow crosses his arms. "Mr. King, you knew Peyton's mental condition ever since the robbery."

I wipe a tear away. The evidence. "Did you find the evidence from the field?" I ask.

"It must have burned up." The officer says.

"A gold ring can't burn up."

"We'll check." They walk back to a white sheet on the ground.

Parker convinces us to go across the street to the diner. Classmates from school stay attached to the yellow tape fluttering in the wind. The strong wind sends a burnt metal smell. I cover my nose with my jacket and run in the diner's door.

Seth chugs the third glass of rootbeer down after trying to fight the waitress for a real beer.

"He didn't commit suicide." He repeats.

"We know that." Parker comforts him. Rachel sits with her head on the table. Josie goes to the bathroom to wash her face and I just stare into space. I killed Peyton Devor. The quarterback of our high school. Seth's best friend. My friend.

"Peyton was killed." Seth says in a trance like state. He looks at me. I look back at the gray table top. "She killed him."

"No she didn't, Seth!" Parker and Rachel yell in unison.

"Yes I did!" I yell back. People stop talking and look at our table in the back corner.

"Chloe, shut up! It wasn't your fault!" Parker yells. Two tables get up to pay.

"Guys! Stop yelling!" Rachel says a little above her normal tone. I pull Parker's arm so he sits down.

"We all know Peyton was murdered. But not by Chloe. He had evidence in his car and also heard the gunshots." Rachel says. "We need to hide the evidence Josie has and Chloe needs to make sure she's safe."

"But how are we going to keep Chloe safe if the police don't think Peyton was killed? And where are we going to hide the evidence?" Seth asks.

"Chloe will go to school first period and then take Parker's car to his house and stay there the entire day. Josie can bury the evidence in the group of trees behind the library."

"I like that." I play with the sugar packet.
Josie sits back down, definitely looking a lot better. Rachel fills her in on the plan when the officer that was with Harlow comes in and pulls a chair up.

"I am sorry for your loss. But I'll need to ask questions about how he acted recently. I'm Officer Cook." Everyone just looks at each other with different expressions.

"Seth King, can you step outside please?" He asks. Seth leaves with the officer and we all just stare at each other.

"Why would the police believe its suicide?" I ask. "It's seems kind of random don't you think?"

"No, someone obviously knew Peyton's mental background." Parker says. "Remember how his mom died?"

I shake my head. "It was the beginning of freshman year."

"Peyton and his mom were home alone one night when four armed robbers broke in. They tried to fight them off but his mom was stabbed in the stomach and he was held at the throat with a knife."

"That's where the scar came from?" Rachel asks.

"Yes. After the robbers left, Peyton tried to stop his mom's bleeding but it was too late. Then he felt it was his fault he couldn't save her and became depressed until one night when he tried to commit suicide. That's why the police think it's suicide."

"But now there's nothing to prove that Peyton was killed except the ring." Josie rubs her face in frustration. Harlow walks across the diner and asks me to follow him outside.

The smokey smell slowly blows to the opposite direction. Harlow pats the bench next to him.

"I know what you're going to ask me." I say looking at the concrete. "Yes, Peyton was acting out of the ordinary. Yes, I did make him irritated. Yes, I know his mental background. But he didn't commit suicide."

"And how do you know that?"

I roll my eyes, "don't you find it suspicious that the day I tell you we found evidence, Peyton dies? Because I find it pretty suspicious and so does everyone else!"

I jump off the bench and stare in his brown eyes. Harlow calmly asks, "then who do you think killed Peyton?"

"I don't know! Probably the people I saw in the field! Or maybe it was you!"

"Are you accusing me of murder?" Harlow's voice changes from calm to stern in a second.
"No, but you're the one brushing off suspicious events!"

"Miss Jansen, there is nothing suspicious about Peyton's death. He ran his car into an electric pole at full speed."

I wrap my arms around myself. "Well if you want to talk to me, I'll be looking for Peyton's murderer." I leave Harlow behind as I go back to our metal table in the back corner of the diner. Josie leaves to go home with Rachel. Seth continues talking to Officer Cook outside. Parker finishes a text to his mom and I curl up next to him on the red booth.

"What are we going to do?" I ask. I look up at Parker's red eyes.

"Find his killer." Parker states.

"No, I mean what are we going to do?"

"The school is holding a vigil Friday." Parker wraps an arm around me. The waitress places two chocolate milkshakes in front of us.

"On the house. Do you know what type Seth likes?" She asks. Parker orders Seth a strawberry milkshake. The chocolate melts in my mouth as I take a sip.

Mom walks in the door with her paramedic uniform and takes a seat across from us. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah." I lie.

"I'm going home. Chloe, you need to come home with me." Mom stands up and fixes her ponytail. I hug Parker goodbye.

*tears still streaming* FIND HIS KILLER!!!
-Angela