whispers•barryallen

that~comes~as~a~shock

"So The Pawn Shop?" Nora asked as clarification.

Walker and I nodded. "The Pawn Shop."

We'd been to the gas station, we'd asked people around. The house next door. We barely got anything except from the neighbors rusty dirty wooden house next door claiming they heard 5 gunshots. As we predicted.

Nothing was really coming up. We had decided to leave the last place for the best. The Pawn Shop.

Walker led the small squad as me and Nora followed behind him. He was the man in this situation. He was our force field. If anything happened, he was the answer.

"I don't see the guy around." He muttered to us. The place was kinda empty. With spare watches, gadgets and clocks, the stuff never stopped. Dust seemed to be a decoration for him because it lined every bookshelf and table. It didn't look like it was getting much business.

Then the guy came out from a back room. A scruffy black beard covered half his face. He had thin hair, and dark eyes. And with every step he took, he winced. Me and Nora shared a look. I'd told them earlier about Barry's theory so they were prepared and could also pick up on other things that I couldn't quite catch on. I mean, technically this wasn't my job. But Eddie threw me with Nora and Walker. So I was just gonna have to budge. "What do you freaks want."  Came a deep gruff voice.

I was kinda surprised at what he said. Walker took a step closer to the counter that the man stood behind. "Sir we just want to ask you a couple of questions." He asked nicely.

He rolled his eyes. Looking around everywhere except at Walker. His eyes, were annoyed and - scared? Was he the second man that participated in this crime? And what was be so scared about? Scared that we would find out? Or scared of what the outcome would be if we did? Scared for his life?

We saw the limp, we had a theory - Barry's theory - but we needed proof. So we had to study him. Ask him questions. Not a "oh okay your innocent? I believe you. Well have a great day Mr.Parner. Sorry to bother you."
Nope. We weren't those kind of people. We were much more dangerous and realistic than that.

"Did you hear any gunshots Mr. Parner?" I pulled up my notepad to take notes as I tried to sort the waters of tension that were rising in the room.

"No." He said stiffly. As if he'd been asked a thousand times. Which, he might have been.

"Mr.Parner, how come you didn't hear the five gunshots that went off when your doors were clearly wide open?" Nora questioned with curious brows and a confused face.

Walker nodded to her question.

I watched. To see if he was having trouble lying, covering up something? If he was bad at lying. Who knows?

"Mr.Parner, may I ask," I cleared my throat, after he avoided the question. "-where you got that limp?"

There it was. Our source. His eyes went wide and then he tried to cover it up. "Limp? Limp! Are - are you mocking me of the way I walk?!" He bursted, stuttering along the way as his eyes remained on me.

"So you are trying not to limp. Hmm." I kept a calm face as I tapped my pen against my lip. He nodded but then got confused. "NO! Stop trying to mess with my brain!" He pointed at me.

"How come you wince then? Every time you take a step?"

"I don't." He said as his hands at the sides balled into fists.