My FRIEND

「 Chapter Two 」

The ride to the station was very quiet. Rodolfo seemed to have no interest in chatting with me and Alejandro was still after the person. There was one other person in the SUV who made no move to introduce herself and just sat quietly staring out the window. I followed suit for the most part and once caught Rodolfo checking his rearview mirror. We caught each other's eyes but looked away. Most awkward car ride I've had.

I shove my hands into my hoodie and lean my head back. Closing my eyes, I made a mental note to call my work and tell them my situation. There was probably no way I was going to work today (because it was technically the next day). Everything had happened in the span of an hour and somehow not any more than that. I snuck my phone out of my back pocket and unlocked it using Face ID. I pulled up my text messages and sent a text to my best friend, Julianna.

Julie, guess what just happened...

I literally just got picked up by police because of a fugitive in the area

I didn't get a response, but I would've been concerned if she did. I always had to text her everything, in spite of the fact that she lived almost a whole 3 states away. Julie has been my friend ever since we were in 5th grade, but I decided to leave my hometown and move. I ended up doing college online (which was the worst 2 years of my life) for accounting, but it hasn't gotten any farther than that. Instead, I was stuck working a job at a café, but to be fair I did enjoy my job to a certain degree.

When we arrived at the police station, my anxiety relaxed at the fact that I wasn't being kidnapped. It does happen more often than you think, and they use uniforms to get you to get in their cars. The three of us got out and made our way inside. The lady took a seat at a desk somewhere in the office and Rodolfo led me towards an interrogation room. Do you know how they look in the movies? Well, these looked nothing like that. I know that some of them have bare walls and hard chairs, but this particular room had a couch and pillow facing a desk that had a few pictures hanging above it.

I took a seat on the couch and snatched the pillow, holding it to my chest. "I'll be right back," he says, and leaves, closing the door behind him. I sigh and relax my muscles. What a way to start my day. First off, why are there people crouching outside the window at 3 in the morning? Ridiculous. Rodolfo seemed like a reasonable person and made me feel safe. Alejandro, his partner, I only saw for a few moments, but it seemed like the two of them were super close. So, for sure, I could trust him. I've never been to the police station, which should be a good thing.

It doesn't take too long and Rodolfo returns with a man who is introduced as Martin, the Chief of Police. Rodolfo takes a seat on the opposite end of the couch and Martin snags the chair that was stationed by the desk. "I'm just here to take your statement and try to get as much about what you saw as possible. We're not worried about you as a suspect, just as a witness," Martin says. I nod for him to continue. "State your full name for the record," he says.

"Lucille Loraine Kennedy."

"What do you prefer I call you?"

"Luci is fine."

"Can you describe everything that happened starting with your morning yesterday?"

"I woke up around 8 a.m. and did some reading for a couple hours before I did some laundry and dishes. Just random chores around the house I guess. I then read my book again and had lunch. Then I went to work around 1 p.m. and was there until 9 p.m."

"Where do you work?"

"Blossom."

"Okay got it. Sorry, continue."