A Different Divergent: A Better Tomorrow

~fourty-three~

Chapter 43

Tobias, Tori, Will, Harrison, and I sit in Tobias' office opposite Brody who is looking defiant and defeated at the same time. On our walk up the path from the Pit to the Pire, Tobias told me that Sam was in fact strangled and thrown into the chasm. Zander did a full autopsy after finding substantial bruising on her neck during his visual inspection, which confirmed Tobias' suspicions. Sam was murdered.

"Dr. Parrish determined the time of death to be between 3:30 and 5:30 a.m.," Tobias says. "I need to know where you were during that timeframe, Brody."

"I. Didn't. Kill. Her," Brody emphatically says. He puts his face in his hands with a sigh and rubs it aggressively then looks up at us. "I've never killed anyone." I get up from my seat and stand in front of him, casually leaning against Tobias' desk, although I feel anything but casual.

"I can't speak for anyone else in this room," I say, gaining his full attention, "but I don't think you hurt Sam. With that being said though, we need you to answer all our questions honestly. There's a process we have to go through. Okay?"

"Okay, Tris," he says as he slumps in his chair, somewhat resigned.

"So, where did you go when you left our apartment?" I ask. He hesitates then sighs.

"I went to the net," he says. "I know you told me to go back to the dorms but I just couldn't do it. Every time I set foot in that room I feel like I'm suffocating. If you choose to make me leave, I will accept that."

"No one's making you leave," I say.

"Tris," Tori warns.

"This is your last chance though," I say, trying to cover what might have been an over step on my part. "Was anyone with you at the net who could corroborate your story?"

"No," he says. "I was alone." That's unfortunate.

"How long were you at the net?" Will asks.

"Until almost 6 a.m.," he says. "Then I went to the bathroom for a long shower. After I finished I went to the cafeteria for breakfast, although I couldn't eat anything."

"How did you get to the net?" Tobias asks, a look of concern on his face.

"The passageway in the hallway by the dorm rooms," he says.

"How in the world did you find out about that?" I ask. I just learned about it on Choosing Day. He's been here less than three weeks.

"Faith and I saw someone coming out of that door early one morning, and we decided to go exploring that night," he says, shrugging his shoulders. He sounds just like a curious Dauntless-born, roaming around the compound.

"Who was it?" Tobias asks.

"I honestly don't know," he says. "Whoever it was went down a dark hallway, and we never saw her face."

"Her?" Tori asks. "I thought you didn't see the person."

"I never saw her face," he says like he's speaking to someone who is slow, "but I saw her body. She was definitely female." Hhm. Typical guy.

"Was she tall like Murphy or short like Ana?" Tobias asks.

"Um, I guess she was built more like Murphy," he says.

"Truth serum?" Tori asks, looking at Tobias who moves to lean against his desk next to me. He looks at Brody for a moment before answering.

"We don't have any hard evidence that Brody is the one who killed Sam so I think putting him through a truth serum interrogation is premature. Unless you would like to clear your name."