Zodiac

8

That was the first time I'd ever seen a police station.

It looked like an office complex, except there were no cubicles. Everyone was in some variation of a cop uniform, and there were two jail cells directly behind the chief's desk. There was a sandy-haired boy sitting chained to a desk in one corner, apparently being interrogated.

The officer that brought us in (my first time in a police car, too!) nodded to the chief. "Sir, these two children match the video from the high school." the chief nodded to him and he stepped away.

The chief looked about 45 years old, but he seemed grizzled and vigilant. His salt-and-pepper hair matched his short beard. "So," he began, "do you kids know about what happened at the school?"

During our ride here, our escort had told us our rights. Although he mentioned the right to remain silent, we had agreed that I would do the talking at the station. "No, sir. What happened?"

"We have video proof that two kids that look just like you attacked several students." He flipped the laptop on his desk around and pressed play, showing us security footage of the fight. I gasped at the scene on the screen.

I was taking them all on at once! My body was a golden blur of movement, almost making it seem like I multiplied myself. "Sir," I tried to hide a smile, "how could this even be remotely possible? Look, human bodies don't just glow like that, much less a kid's!"

He shook his head. "Yet, this is the real video. No editing has happened since we recovered it from the school."

Willow and I gaped at each other. "You still assume that was us doing all of that? That's insane!"

He shook his head again. "Wrong. I suspect you of hurting them. The girl doesn't seem to be doing much in the video aside from watching."

My heart dropped into my stomach. "What?!"

He looked at me serenely. "I'm afraid you'll have to be kept here in the cell tonight. I'll call your parents."

I tried to wrack my brain for any possibility I could get out of this. I looked around for inspiration. My eyes settled on the sandy haired boy, who was staring right at me with electric blue eyes. He smirked and nodded. Suddenly, my eyes focused not on him, but on my reflection in the window behind him.

No, anything but that! I thought frantically. Please!

Seeing no other choice, I grabbed the phone a split second before he punched the final number in. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"He exclaimed.

"Sir," I swallowed, "I have an explanation." He nodded and set down the phone as I took a deep breath and ignored Willow's stare. "I had a twin."

"Had?" He skeptically raised an eyebrow.

I nodded. "Yes, I had an identical twin. He died two years ago on our birthday."

I could see Willow thinking. She must have thought of something important, because she swallowed and tapped her finger on her thigh impatiently. "If he died," the chief pondered, "why did you bring him up?"

"Well, think of the impossibilities in this video. Doesn't that strike you as... paranormal?"

He scoffed. "I don't believe in paranormal activity."

"At this point officer, how could you not believe?" I silently celebrated how well that went. "The facts are right there in the video!"

Thank you, Capcom. Ace Attorney may have just saved my life.

The chief shook his head one final time. "I'm sorry, but that video is inconclusive. You will still have to stay in the cell tonight.

"No!" Willow burst from her seat. "Jackson would never do that! I may have been standing there, but I know Jackson. He would never do anything like that! He can't even keep a secret!" She looked down, holding in sobs. "E-except for him h-having a t-t-twin, I know ev-everything about h-him..." She turned to me and started crying into my shoulder. I hugged her reassuringly.

Behind her, I saw the sandy haired kid working on his handcuffs. He flashed a wink at me.

The chief looked stunned. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about this. Jackson has to stay."

"Hey." I whispered to her. "I'll figure something out. I need you to stop crying and go home until I text you. If you understand, tap my back three times." She gave the requested taps and we broke away.

"Don't do anything stupid." She looked me in the eyes.

I smiled nervously. "You know me. No promises."

She sniffled and walked out without a backward glance.