Cherry Garcia

Bang

"Yeah dad, I'm on my way," Ceresa said, walking down the streets of New York. It was slightly chilly as she walked home. "Yes, I got you your regular from Katz's. Yes, I got extra pastrami."

 She stopped at the corner and waited for the light to turn green. She noticed that there weren't as many people around late this time. She was on the prom committee and their meeting had run long. 

"Did you get the good chips and extra pickles?" her father asked. 

Ceresa sighed. "Shoot. I forgot. I'm not too far. I'll go back and get them. Bye. Love you too."

She put her phone away and a jogger jostled past her to wait for the crosswalk. 

"Hey watch where you're going!" she yelled out at them. She walked over to the sandwich shop, finding them closed. She dug through her pockets to get her phone to call her dad to find that it was no longer there.

"Excuse me sir, but I seem to have misplaced my phone. May I use yours?" the man nodded and handed her his cell. She quickly typed in her number.  She heard the familiar ringtone of her phone play and looked for her phone.  She looked up to see that the person who bumped into her holding it in their hands. The last thing she saw was the stranger answer the phone before everything went black.

***********************

"For the last time, she has answered all your questions. She really needs to rest." Alberto Garcia was a lot of things. Patient was not one of them.

"Dad-"

"Sir, we're just trying to do our job," Detective Nguyen said. Recently promoted to detective, Jenny Nguyen was excited to catch such a prominent case. 

"It sounds like your accusing my daughter."

"Sir, a bomb went off today, killing eight people, including Congressman Williams," Detective Cortez said. "CSU found a bomb trapped to a taxi that was remotely detonated. Our guys found that your daughter's cell phone pinged seconds before the bomb exploded. Cameras place her at the scene and conveniently 20 yards from the scene. Now either she's in on it, or that's one hell of a coincidence. "

"I'm telling the truth," Ceresa said. "Someone stole my phone. When it started ringing, I looked up to see the person who had it right before the bomb went off. I have no idea why that bomb went off when my phone did. I don't even know who Congressman Williams is."

"I believe that my daughter has told you everything you needed to know," Alberto said curtly. "But if you would like to speak with her again, you'll have to do so through our attorney. 

"Very well," Detective Cortez said. "Thank you for your time. I suggest you don't leave town anytime soon. We may have questions for you in the future."

The two detectives left the hospital room, leaving Ceresa to the point of tears. "I'm telling the truth. And I'm going to prove it."