The Four Points

CHAPTER 3

SUSPECT

I was surprised and annoyed to find that my room was filled with people. Sunlight shone brightly through the window. I rubbed my eyes, quickly sitting up, covering myself with my blanket. I looked over at Valerie's side of the room. The curtain was open but she wasn't there.

"What, what time is it?"

I looked at the walls for a clock and was just about to reach for my phone on the bedside table when someone in the room replied, "Eleven ten."

There were five people in my room and I had no idea who answered me. I rubbed my eyes harder trying to will myself to snap out of my morning haze.

"Hi Erika, I'm Detective Arthur Nixon," a tall lanky man with a moustache said. "Can I ask you a few questions this morning?"

I didn't answer, I just stared at him. He was towering over me, standing next to my bed. I felt dazed. Was yesterday just a dream? I was trying to grasp what was going on.

"Erika, I'm sorry. Let me start again. Can I get you anything? Are you hungry, thirsty?"

I shook my head to say no.

"I know you've been through a lot in the last 24 hours, but we need your help. Can I ask you a couple of questions?" Before I could answer he continued, "I've already received your mother's permission to talk to you."

I stared at the detective. He stood about 6' 3". His face was weathered and wrinkled. He was a shockingly thin man. His Adam's apple protruded through the leathery skin on his neck. I watched it move up and down as he spoke.

"Uhmm, okay," I replied cautiously.

At my reply the other people in the room all took out little notepads, their eyes fixed on me. I wondered how long all these people were in my room before I woke up. It made me angry. Did my privacy not mean anything to them?

Detective Nixon asked me about my friendship or association with Trevor and Robert. He asked me if I knew about their plans or why they did what they did. I told him I didn't. I chose to leave out the fact that Robert told me to stay away from the quad. I stared at him as he questioned me. I wanted to know what he was thinking. I tried to concentrate, but I couldn't hear his thoughts. That was the thing about my talent... sometimes I could hear everything, and sometimes I couldn't hear anything. I didn't know how to trigger it or how to stop it when it started. But, it didn't take mindreading to tell that the detective didn't believe anything I had to say. It was frustrating. I was telling him the truth, but I could tell he thought I was involved in the planning of the shooting. Right then it hit me. Was he right? Could I have stopped all this? Was Robert trying to tell me his plans? I thought back to yesterday, to my encounter with Robert in the hall. I had walked away from Robert because I was embarrassed to talk to him. He was flirting with me, and, though a part of me liked it, it also made me uncomfortable. Even after I walked away from Robert, he called out to me. I told him I would stay away from the quad but I didn't ask why. I didn't even finish the conversation with him. I didn't say goodbye; I just turned and walked away. Was he trying to tell me? Did he want to confide in someone? Why was I so quick to stop the conversation?

Detective Nixon's voice came back into focus. He was telling me that I was brave, but he was curious to understand why I would help girls who were known to be mean to me, and how I knew that Trevor wouldn't just shoot me.

"Oh my God, I can't believe you think that just because Joanne and her friends were mean to me that I would want them killed," I blurted out, not meaning to say the words that escaped my mouth.