Paradox (Unearthly Paradox Series Book 1)

Chapter 11

Just as I picked up my phone to call the police to find out what was going on, Jett entered my room, followed by two police officers, a male and a female. "The police want to speak with you about what happened last night."

"Um, sure, I guess."

"Hi, Zara," the woman said. "My name is Sergeant Campbell, and this is Sergeant Brown."

"Hi," I said nervously.

"Your friend here said that you would be up to speak with us about what happened last night."

"Yeah, that's fine." I glared at Jett, wishing I had telepathic abilities so I could let him know he should have given me some warning.

"Good. Well, we won't take up much of your time," she said. "The security company have informed us that your system was inactive at the time of the incident, and they couldn't find any evidence to suggest tampering. Do you remember setting the alarm before you went to bed?"

I was supposed to set the alarm? Dad hadn't mentioned that. "No, sorry. I don't remember."

"That's okay. Do you remember anything about the burglar you encountered last night?"

"I'm sorry. What?" I asked.

Campbell furrowed her eyebrows. "You interrupted an intruder last night in your lounge room."

I shook my head. "No. Someone came into my bedroom and shot me."

Sergeant Brown glanced at Jett. "You were found downstairs. You-"

"Ah, no. It happened in here, right where you're standing."

They looked at the floor as if expecting to see bloodstains or some other evidence.

Campbell knelt to study the carpet. "I'm sorry, but I don't see any blood here."

It suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't seen any bloodstains on the carpet when I'd gotten up to go to the bathroom, and it would've been impossible for someone to clean up the mess overnight. As much as I knew it was going to hurt, I had to see for myself. Gritting my teeth, I rolled over and checked the floor. The carpet was clean. "But..." I looked up at them, hoping they'd come up with a reason why there were no stains on the carpet.

Campbell gave me a pitying look. "Maybe we should come back later when you've had some time to remember what happened."

"No!" I shouted as they turned to leave. "I remember what happened."

"We were first on the scene, and we found you downstairs," Sergeant Campbell said. "We've already searched your house, and there was no evidence to say you were shot in your room, or anywhere else in the house, for that matter."

"But..." I shook my head, trying to work out how my memory could be so wrong.

"That's okay, miss. Sometimes this happens with trauma victims." Sergeant Brown pulled a card out of his pocket and put it on my nightstand. "You can call us when your memory comes back."

"But I remember what he looked like."

Sergeant Campbell shook her head with a sorrowful expression. "We can't use any description you have of the assailant if your memory of the event is conflicting with the evidence."

I sat there, too shocked to say anything more. I remembered the attack as clear as day, but they were right. There was no blood on the carpet, walls, or bed sheets. I did have a tendency to sleepwalk, so maybe my whole memory was nothing more than a dream. And for all I knew, I could've let the intruder in myself.

"I'm sorry. I know this must be hard to hear," Sergeant Campbell said. "Maybe you should try seeing a counsellor to help you." She looked over to Jett, who gave her a slight nod. "We'll let you know if we have any further information for you."