Please Understand

Chapter 25: Coffee Breath

Detective Nix

My coffee was already room temperature. How do they expect me to work without a hot beverage? I slammed back the remainder, and swallowed hard. This wasn't going to be enough to get me through the interrogation. My eyes opened to glance at the man, who stared at me with beady eyes.

I leaned back against the hard chair and rubbed my chin, wondering how in the world this man could stand having so much facial hair, or how he could have murdered an innocent girl. "Have you seen this girl, or not? Answer the question," I insisted as I pushed the picture of Amelia Jackson towards him, once again.

He stared at the picture with his wild dark eyes. "You found her," he muttered as he put the picture back on the table for the millionth time. This conversation has been spinning in circles; he wouldn't give me a straight answer. He's already going down for murder, so he has nothing left to lose by helping us.

"I already told you, we know the girl is not her. You're being charged for her murder, so help us find Amelia. She has a family that wants to see her come home," I begged, hoping that playing the good cop would help him talk.

My partner on the other hand, slammed his fists against the table as he stood up, so he could wander around the room. He was tired of the interrogation from the moment it started.

The man jumped, and started wringing his hands. His eyes widened and followed Detective Conner around the room. "You're running out of time to find her," he finally whispered, and at first I thought I was hearing things.

I leaned forward, trying to hide my enthusiasm. "So she is still out there? Where is she?" I asked with sudden intrigue and a smile.

His eyes never left Conner, like he was studying him or preparing for an attack. "She doesn't have much air or time left," he whispered again as he rubbed his full, graying beard. "The roses."

I gaped at my new partner, who gritted his teeth together, and gripped the back of his chair. "What does that even mean?" he shouted as he lost his temper once again. "Tell us where she is!"

Quickly, I stood up, wrapped my arm around his shoulders, and walked him towards the door. "He just did. We are going back to the cabin. She's there," I whispered with a big smile. I felt my hands shaking, itching to get out there, and finally find her.

He pushed me away, and wrinkled his nose. "You really need to slow down on the coffee."

***

Part of my team went into the small house, double checking for anything we could have missed the first time around a few days ago. What if Amelia has been waiting here for us to rescue her? My eyes darted across the property, but all I could see were trees, no roses. I kept walking, kicking at the dying grass as I looked for any holes he may have filled. There had to something, anything. Maybe she got away, so her footprints had to be somewhere.

"Nix! I found the roses!" Conner shouted from the other side of the house.

I took off running and my heart raced. He and another detective were already digging, so I watched with a smile until a glint of silver was caught by the sun. "Hold up! Is that a timer?" I asked as I knelt down, and brushed the dirt off. Fifty-nine minutes left. "Hurry up! Let's get this out!" I barked, and it took all three of us to pull the metal casket out of the ground.

"Hey! We found something in here!" a woman shouted from inside the house.

My hands roamed around the cool metal as I frantically searched for a way to open it. There was a lock, but no other way for me to get her out. "If it's not a key, then I don't care!" I shouted back as I lost my cool. "Go find a key! We don't have all day!"