Witness Protection Program // n.h.

Chapter Eight

Hey guys! I'm sorry for the late update. It's the Friday before exams and my first one is on Monday so I've been too busy studying. I was only able to upload today because I'm in class and I finished my psychology culminating so I had time to edit this to get it up for you. My last exam is on Thursday (the 2nd) so I should be able to have an update for you guys by the week after. I apologize for the delay. Enjoy!  

Bryn's POV

The blood ran from my face upon hearing those words escape from Niall's mouth. I was frozen in my spot for what felt like an eternity, processing what he had said in my mind. It didn't seem real that they had already been considering a lead, because it seemed far too soon for something to already have come up, but I was hoping for the life of me that this would actually go somewhere. I suppose I had heard that the first few days in an investigation were the most crucial, so maybe it was common that they would already have found some form of evidence or at least something that would lead somewhere. 

"What do you mean they think they know who one of them are?" My voice cracked once I finally managed to speak.

How could they think? Why couldn't they just know? Why would they bother telling us if they were't one hundred percent positive? Didn't they consider the fact that this would only give me a false sense of hope if what they found turned out to be nothing? 

"They found old case files on a guy that had some scandals with the victim last year. Some of the things that he was charged for have built suspicion among the police that lead them to believe he may have had a part in the murder," Niall explained, starting up the car.

"Well, what does that mean?" I asked frantically. I was very confused by what he was telling me and he wasn't offering up a big enough explanation to satisfy my wandering mind.

"I'll explain what I know when we get back to the hotel. Until then, try to calm yourself down," he advised, looking over at my wide-eyed self. Maybe the news wasn't much yet, but it was something, and that was more than I had gotten since this whole things started. I didn't know what to make of it.

By the time we pulled into the hotel parking lot, I was about ready to jump right out of the vehicle before he even had it stopped in a proper parking spot just so I could rush inside and hear what he had to say. I could tell that he was fighting to hold back a chuckle at my eagerness considering the situation was kind of a serious one and probably not a time for laughing. When I actually was able to climb out of the vehicle safely, I did so and picked up my pace to get inside.

"Slow down there, Bryn. I'm supposed to keep a close eye on you, remember?" He called from behind me, and this time I could hear a hint of a smile in his voice.

I listened to his advice and slowed down some, waiting for him to catch up before stepping into the elevator. The ride up to our floor was silent as I stood there and rocked back and forth on my feet, watching the numbers above the door roll by in anticipation. My mind was racing with thoughts about who this guy they thought they had a lead on was and how exactly they were going to go about building a case on him- if they were even able to at this point.

"You can go ahead and sit down on the couch if you want. I'm just going to go make a quick call to Wren and ask him to go over what's going on with me. I don't want to try and explain to you my idea of things because I want you to know what's actually happening," Niall spoke. I nodded my head and went over to sit on the couch, thinking that he was probably right in doing so. The last thing I wanted was false hope due to a lack of communication. I wanted to know the real story.

So I waited there on the couch for him for the second time today, thinking about what could possibly be happening with the case. I certainly did not understand a whole lot about the police department or the protection system, but I did know that they wouldn't contact Niall and tell him this unless they thought it was important. I mean, at least I thought so. I needed so badly for this to be a step in the right direction, because I didn't think that I could afford any screw ups along the way to solving this murder. My life was the next one on the line if anything were to go wrong somewhere in their investigation.