Against Reason

Questioning from 23 in Tanner's POV

Tanner's POV

Walking into this questioning, I try to stay completely impartial.  However, it's hard not to feel for a girl who had her life ripped away from her.  I gave her as much time as I could for the questioning, but now it's gotten to the point that I need her statement. Although when I talked to Alison's mother, you can tell there is definitely a loss in their relationship.  It's almost as if she doesn't care about her daughter's feelings or mental state throughout all of this.  I know that Mrs. Dilaurentis called all of Alison's friends to support her through the questioning, but that makes it seem like she is unwilling to support Alison herself. 

So now it's just Jessica, and Alison's friends, Aria, Spencer, and Hanna at the dinning room table.  I've been informed that there will be one other girl joining us who stayed with Alison last night.  I hear the sounded of footsteps on the stairs and turn to see the blonde who is made famous from the missing posters and what I assume to be her friend.  They are walking very close together so I can see that they are indeed very close in their friendship.  They both walk cautiously into the dining room and Alison looks very confused.  It's obvious that no one told her that this was happening

"Is everything ok here officer?" Alison asks carefully.

"Everything is fine, we just need you to answer a few questions," I say slowly, trying to make sure she feels safe.  "My name is Lieutenant Tanner, I work with the Federal Department."

I can see all the girls eyes turn to look at their friend who looks as if she's about to bolt.  She's nervously digging her nails into her palm, hard enough that I'm worried about her drawing blood.  Her eyes are wide and her face is pale, I'm hoping someone she knows better than me will try to calm her down because it's obvious she feels threatened.

"Alison it's ok," the one that I'm pretty sure is named Aria says.  The other two girls at the table nod to agree with her.

"Yeah Ali, we thought it might be easier if you had your friends with you," the other blonde says who has quite a resemblance to Alison.  Alison looks to her friend that came down with her that I have yet to know the name of with eyes of sheer terror.  The brunette straightens her posture and puts a reassuring expression on her face.  It's obvious that she cares for her.

"It's all going to be ok, all you have to do is answer the Lieutenant's questions," her voice is steady, calm.  It's obvious that she is going to be the rock for Ali in this hard time.  "And we will be with you, right guys?" she asks and looks at her other friends for backup.

"Definitely," Spencer says while the other girls nod in agreement.  I know Spencer because of the extensive work the Rosewood Police Department has done in regards to her and her family.  The Hastings are a very well known family.

"Now do you think you can answer some questions?" Alison's unnamed friend asks her slowly and she nods.  She takes her seat next to the other girls and across from me without a word and tries not to look directly in my eyes.  I can see that this might be difficult.

"Alright Alison," I say and open my notebook, "I guess the first question would be where have you been all this time?"  I can audibly hear the poor girl's breathing spike and I can see her body start to shake.  But about a millisecond later, it stops for some unknown reason.  The brunette next to her whispers something unintelligible to me and Alison starts to speak.

"I wasn't far from here, a couple miles in the wood by the highway in a cabin" she says with a level of uncertainty in her voice.

"Whose cabin?" I ask her while I write down what she just said on my notepad.

"I don't know, it was abandoned," she replies.  I jot that down too, nothing is too insignificant in a case this big.

"What happened that night that you disappeared," I ask while still writing notes.