The Wrongs of The Right

Three

Chapter Three

Police cars crowded the street, as several blue uniforms drew the the growing number of people back from the scene.

Officers had arrived moments before the crowd got out of control, separating the witnesses from the gawkers. Olivia was surprised that Misses Kent had made her way to the uniform interviewing witnesses.

The rest of the crowd watched as a roll of yellow tape was drawn out, quarantining the scene from being more tainted than it already had been.

The keys to the vehicle remained at the foot of Olivia's steps, the shiny metallic glinting against the multiple colors of the sirens.

Olivia watched solemnly as the paramedics laid a sheet over Abigail's body and then lifted her onto the gurney, the slow progression drawing seemingly endless cries of grief from her mother.

Even from behind the thick glass of her kitchen window, Olivia could make out the slow pained howl of Abigail's mother and it seemed almost too much for her to stand.

"I need to speak to anyone that actually witnessed the accident! Did anyone here actually witness the accident?" The pot bellied officer yelled out among the crowd, the frustration of countless opinions weighing on his face as the minutes had turned into hours by this point.

The blond woman, still unidentified by Olivia, looked around the crowd, a mixture of eagerness and pain polluting her face as two officers kept her pinned between her vehicle and safe from the gawkers.

For a moment the silence seemed undistinguishable save for the moans of Abigail's mother, who was being led away into the house by a woman seemingly called out specifically for such a thing.

"Anyone at all, please come forward..." His voice was cut off from Olivia as a face suddenly appeared inches from the outside panel of the window, sending Olivia reeling back in fear.

The officer stared inside and no matter how much Olivia wished at that moment she knew that she was not as invisible as she prayed she was. His young face seemed to take in her position and the room in a second, before turning and realizing her direct view of the tragic scene. He turned back before Olivia had decided to hide and slowly tapped on the window.

Deliberately calm, Olivia walked methodically to the window and opened it slightly, realizing for the first time how much louder the scene was outside than she had originally thought.  

"Are you Olivia McEnroe?" She knew by his tone it was simply a nicety that he was asking.

She nodded in response.

"Can you come outside so we can talk?" He pushed his blond locks out of his face, giving away his youth.

"I really can't, my mom is here and I need to able to hear her if she needs me."

"That's okay, have her come outside too, I would like to talk to both of you if that's okay."

She sighed and stepped closer to the window, hoping that he would understand what she needed simply in her hesitation. "My mother can't come outside, she has cancer and is bedridden, so if you want to talk to us you'll have to come inside."

The green in his eyes widened and then shrunk slowly back into a look of embarrassment before stumbling into a response. "I'm so sorry, I understand, can you at least come to the door, it'll be quick, I promise."

Her eyes instinctively turned towards the ceiling, hoping her mother could not hear the commotion, before nodding her head again and closing the window. She paced herself to the door, searching her mind for words that would convince him that she was ignorant.