The Degenerates - Under Edit

t w e n t y t h r e e

I stayed at Trey's again last night, and I was awoken to a loud banging on the door.

I stayed in his bed again, as he offered to stay on the lounge. I tried not to feel intrusive as I stayed in his room.

Trey shot up off the lounge, immediately facing me, telling me to stay inside the bedroom.

He opened the door to the same pair of patrolmen we had met the other evening, "Mr Arden, we'd like to ask you some questions."

Trey obliged, and opened the door to the officers, who must've sat down on the lounge. I stayed quiet behind Trey's nearly completely open bedroom door.

"Where were you the night of the 18th?"

The night of the party.

"It was a Sunday," the other officer added.

"I was at a house party," Trey answered, "in the fraternity on campus."

"Did anybody see you there?"

"Yes," Trey answered again, "several people actually, including Brad."

"Who saw you?"

"Justin Ovard, Blake Knight..." he listed off a bunch of frat boys, "Sasha Sarovic, and Neijla Woods." He finished quietly.

"Okay, that's great, thank you." A moment of silence.

"How long were you there for, when did you get there, when did you leave?"

Trey said, "I arrived at 7, to help the boys set up. It's an annual thing here. We had a ton of fireworks to put out..." scribbling, loud scribbling, "I was inside for the fireworks, but they had trouble lighting the last box, and they asked me to help light them later on."

"Not like young men to waste a box of those," an officer commented.

Trey uttered a small chuckle, "Not these days."

I strained to hear their conversation, and I couldn't tell what the agenda was from the two policemen.

"You understand why you are a suspect, don't you?"

"I do," Trey answered solemnly, "My past betrays me."

"That it does. You do not have a good record. You knew Brad well, and you knew his friends. Did you know his enemies? And to remind you, your place here, is not far from where the body was dumped."

"Dumped?" Trey asked, surprised.

A moment passed, "Yes..." the officer began, "You see Brad was not shot in the location where his body was found, or that day. We've been notified that his time of death was on the evening of the party, and in fact he died instantly from a single gunshot wound to the back of the head."

-

"Someone killed him at the party?" I asked Trey when he was in the bathroom. I sat on the floor outside the door.

"Well, they didn't exactly say that...but it was the night of the party." Trey called back. I heard the shower finally turn off, and the sound of him scuffling around.

"Trey that changes things..."

"I know," he answered, and open the door, blasting me with hot, steamy air.

He walked out and sat back on the lounge, in a towel.

I followed suit and sat opposite him, not completely trusting myself to sit so close.

"Do you think we should tell Theo?"

Trey snapped his head up, "Theo? Why should we tell Theo?"

I swallowed, "You know...if you didn't do it, James didn't, and Theo didn't..."