Recollection Of Questionable Events

Every Story Has A Beginning.

EVENT #36: THE FIRST POLICE INTERROGATION 

(1) Every Story Has A Beginning:

Araceli Torre

A million thoughts crossed my mind: the things I could’ve done differently, and the places I should’ve avoided. But no matter how I worked through it, this weekend always ended the same…me handcuffed to a table waiting to be interrogated.

I wish I could pinpoint the exact moment when things went wrong, maybe then I could figure out why it all did. Unfortunately I didn’t have clue, which terrified me. At any moment a cop would walk through the door, demanding answers.

The bare room did nothing to ease my nerves. Devoid of any color or wall décor, the small gray box gave the illusion of slowly closing in. My breath quickened, and my feet swung around in circles, gaining speed as my anxiety built up.

“Yoo-hoo, is anyone there?” I asked frantically, waving my free hand around.

But the door remained closed; I had no way of knowing if anyone had heard me or how much time had actually passed. The processing officers had collected all my things, including my watch and phone.

So I continued to squint at the mirrored wall in front of me, trying to ignore the blinding light overhead. I imagined the whole precinct on the other side, having a good laugh at my expense.

The thought made me uncomfortable, and I lowered my hand down in defeat. I focused on tracing small circles over the metal table with my index finger, desperately trying to distract myself. 

Circle thirty-one, circle thirty-two…

A jingling noise caught my attention, and my feet immediately stopped swinging around. The noise continued sporadically, apparently the person on the other side was having some trouble opening the door.

I held my breath as a ‘grandpa’ looking officer opened the door, and shuffled towards me. He took his time settling into the seat across from me, his body creaking with every step.

“Miss Torre, I’m Lieutenant Riggs…sorry for the delay,” he said. Riggs sipped his coffee, and flipped through a file before he continued, “Hopefully we can sort this out quickly.”

I nodded, as I twirled around strands of my long, wavy hair. He had a soothing personality, and I felt my body relax. A small ray of hope, that this was all a big misunderstanding engulfed me.

“It’s procedure to record all conversations,” he said, interrupting my thoughts. Riggs had pulled a tape recorder out of nowhere, and was busy trying to turn it on. My body tensed up again, warning bells ringing in my head.

“I won’t talk until my lawyer gets here,” I stuttered, not recognizing my own voice.

“Araceli…you’re not a suspect. We just want to get to the bottom of this.”

I hesitated. He seemed harmless, but the tone in his voice hinted at other motives. I’d lived a pretty sheltered life, but even I knew this might not be a friendly conversation.  So I interrupted him before he could continue, and repeated myself. The second time around, I managed to speak clearly and with a false sense of bravery that I didn’t know I had.

Riggs sighed, slightly frustrated. “Okay, I suppose I could take a lunch break.”

I gave him a weak smile, and nodded once again. I knew myself pretty well, and I didn’t want to be charmed into saying something incriminating.

Only a little bit longer, and I could tell my story…the whole story.