Cypress Alley

Chapter 28

My window was red. On the outside.

I'd gone to bed at 11 pm. It was now 2 am, and we were all awoken by a thump outside.

Henry made ghost noises while the others cowered under their bedsheets. I, on the other hand, was already outside. 

I smelt it. It was a bit like grape juice, but I didn't want to taste it. Carefully, I scraped a handful into an empty container. Then, noticing a small note on a piece of yellow construction paper, I headed inside to grab a pair of gloves for fear of contaminating it with my fingerprints.

Henry gawked. "You're so professional," he said.

I, in my yellow fluffy pyjamas, hardly registered it.

There was a hiss at the door. A human voice.

My heart hammered in my chest.

I decided I'd retrieve the note tomorrow.

I knocked on my Harry Potter poster. Eliza was asleep.

I peeked out the window. A pair of glinting eyes.

I screamed.

The police were at our door at 2:30 am.

Henry called them.

I was under his bed.

There's no one there, they said.

It was a prank, they said.

Don't worry, they said.

They handed me the note:

I TOLD YOU TO STOP. I know that you know. But i did it once
and i can do it again Elijah

Signed with red drops.

Of grape juice.

I told them it was North's murderer. They said it was not. I told them she would kill me. They asked why. I told them I was onto them. They asked who. I told them it was Phoebe's mother. They said they'd look into it. I told them I was going to die. They assured me that I was not.

On the way out, they told Ms Hartley that I should see a psychiatrist. She said she wouldn't pay for that crap and that they needed to get the fuck out of her house.

They did.

But they took the note with them. Just in case. Fingerprint testing, they said.

Just in case.

---

Monday morning.

I wasn't going to school.

Eliza wasn't talking to me, either way. As usual. I wasn't surprised.

She'd heard what had happened last night and I could tell she was dying to know. Although she had abandoned me, there was no way she was going to abandon the case. But if she wanted to know, she'd have to talk to me first. She could ask Henry and Dylan and even Ms Hartley all she liked, but she knew she wouldn't get the full story through anyone but me.

I watched Eliza strut to school, joined by Jane, Phoebe and the gang. Phoebe glared at me, Jane just sauntered past and Eliza pretended I wasn't there. 

Instead of following them in, I took a right turn and headed in the direction of a bus stop. I pulled whatever was left of my cash from my pocket and handed it to the bus driver, who grabbed it lazily. Once I was in, I took a seat towards the very back and began to examine my evidence.