The Castle On The Hill

Part 2

Part-2

Sam woke up in an unfamiliar place for the second time in this week. But he wasn't as disoriented as yesterday because he could actually remember what had transpired last night. His head didn't hurt as much as he expected thanks to the two painkiller pills that he took before he went to bed. He sat up and stretched his arms. After Roy asked him what had happened last night, he briefly summarised and told them what he went through. Mary jumped up at the mention of the odd sound,

"See! I told you! I told you that something fishy was going on there."

"We still don't know that it relates to his death." Roy turned to Sam,

"So, you followed the sound and wandered off to the backyard when Parker chased you with a gun?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"That explains it." Roy also nodded.

"Explain what?" Sam was confused.

"There's another road on the other side of the hill. You could come up to the backyard that way. She must've taken that route. So, that's why I didn't see another car."

Now Sam also understood why Parker hadn't crossed path with Roy. Roy beckoned him, "Continue."

Sam then told them what happened at the police station. He cut out a lot of detail but Roy understood as soon as Sam mentioned that Fred recognized and knew him. They communicated via their eyes when he said Fred knew him as a P.I. Mary was shocked. But come to think of that, it actually answered many of her questions. She would've probed further but Sam was in the middle of his story so she let it rest.

Sam didn't drag it very long. He finished his story at the same time he finished the whisky in his glass.

After that, they solemnly toasted to Billy and finished their drink in silence. All three of them were very tired after the emotional ordeal they went through all day. Sam again started to go toward his temporary room but Mary stopped him. She pointed out that his clothes were dirty and he absolutely shouldn't sleep in them. Also, he needed a hot shower and painkillers. And there was no shower on the room above. She then invited him to come over to their house with his bag of clothes. He could wash his dirty clothes in the washing machine in their home and hung them on the yard to dry. He could sleep in Roy's clothes. Sam vehemently protested but Roy agreed with Mary. He said if Sam were to ride with Parker- he would at least need to appear clean. They both were about same height and build, if anything Roy was bulkier than Sam's lanky thin build so, Sam could wear Roy's clothes to sleep.

Sam was very tired and didn't have the energy to argue with them. He took his bag and followed them to their home. When Sam first told Roy that he needed a fake id and somewhere to stay, Roy suggested Sam that he should stay at their house. But Sam didn't want to invade their privacy so he declined. They were so tired that they didn't even eat dinner. Mary went straight to her room and Sam also hit the bed after he showered. He slept in the guest room in Roy's loose clothes.

Sam stood up and looked at his watch. It indicated the time was quarter past eight. He only slept for about six hours today but were feeling much more energetic compared to yesterday.

He yawned as he came down to the living room after washing his face. He noticed that his clothes were folded neatly on a nearby chair. He scooped them up and followed the sound of dishes.

He entered a moderately spacious kitchen where Mary was making breakfast. She was wearing an apron on top of a pink top and a pale blue frilly frock. She was rolling a dough and lifted her eyes, hearing his footsteps and greeted Sam,

"Good morning! I was just about to wake you-after I finished making the breakfast-I mean."

"Good morning to you, too. Where's Roy?" Sam also greeted back.