If my life was a thriller movie, now would be the time for the scene before the climax to unfold, one in which I, the protagonist, aka the good guy who can’t stop meddling into other people’s business for the life of him, breaks into a sprint to chase the antagonist down the street as an alternative pop song with high tempo (preferably one by Arctic Monkeys) goes off in the background.
In real life, however, I am finding it very hard to even breathe, let alone move at the moment.
“Stevie?” Andy leans forward, her green eyes flickering between Keith and me. “What’s wrong?”
“We have to go somewhere.” My voice is quiet, barely above a whisper when I reach for her hand.
“There will be no need for that.” Keith interjects.
“What do you mean?”
“Sit down, please. There is something you should know.”
“Keith.” I bite down on my tongue. “Now is not the time to mess with me.”
Keith sighs and a moment later, pulls something out from the pocket of his sweats. It’s the pendant. Andy lets out a gasp.
“I can explain.” He starts, but his voice is turned off by a sudden, sharp ringing in my ears. Suddenly, I am hyper aware of everything in the room. The graffiti on the walls, the ticking of the grandfather’s clock, the bead of sweat running down Keith’s neck. Everything.
It happens like this: Crime loving teen prodigy Keith Smith Jr., who aspires to become a top-notch journalist one day, decides to focus his Senior Capstone Project on an unsolved mystery revolving around his small town. What begins as a simple proposal quickly turns into an in-depth investigation full of unexpected twists and turns, and soon, our wannabe sleuth finds himself spiraling into a web of danger and obsession, and is ultimately forced to make a choice.
“I wanted her to confess.” Keith pauses. “I had everything I needed for my project and for her to spend the rest of her life behind the bars, but I wanted her to get into details. There was something missing. I didn’t understand the ‘why’ of it. And I wanted to. So I asked her to meet me.”
“You are sick.” I spit the words at him.
“I swear I was going to expose her!” Keith argues, beat. Never have I seen him so vulnerable, void of his charm and confidence. There was no way this boy standing in front of me and the Keith I knew were one. Then again, I never really knew him. So it feels good to see him so broken, so goddamn helpless. He deserves it.
“Then why didn’t you?” Andy retorts, raising her voice. Keith stops pacing the room.
“She threatened to kill Kevin. She said that would make me understand the ‘why’ of it. It’s just him and I—it’s been him and I for as long as I remember. He’s the only one left whom I can call family. Celestine had one more person to kill, James Kurt, and if I kept quiet, she said she wouldn’t hurt Kevin. I didn’t trust her, obviously, but I had dug my own grave. So we came to an agreement, the terms of which were simple: I were to forget that we ever met, and throw the sniffers—if any—off the scent to the best of my abilities. And in return, she wouldn’t hurt Kev.”
“On your first night here, I overheard your conversation with Andy when I came back for her. Please understand I had little choice but to inform her. You had to be dealt with. You had to leave. It was nothing personal.”
YOU ARE READING
Franklin
Mystery / ThrillerIn Franklin, strange happenings abound. Over the past few years, five men have disappeared in the course of their stay in town. To the dismay of crime junkies, however, these missing men have nothing in common whatsoever other than the fact that th...
