Page 29 (1/2)

Finally, Detective Cra the door behind her She’s wearing a simple black pantsuit and her blonde hair is pulled back in a tight bun She pulls out a chair across frolasses

"Ees her thin lips "So we hten up in the chair "So we do"

She eyes ht?"

I stare at her with a vacant expression "Nope"

She explores the pages in the folder "Where are your ht?"

"Yeah… ht Diner," I tell her "And my brother’s at a friend’s"

"Do you need to call them?" She shuts the folder and overlaps her hands on it "Someone needs to pick you up e’re done here"

"No, my friend’s brother will come pick me up" I cross my arms on the table "My mom doesn’t need to miss work and Ian probably won’t answer his phone"

She slips off her square-fralasses and wipes the lens with the sleeve of her jacket "Do you knohy you were brought in tonight?"

I shrug nonchalantly "Because my car was found at a crime scene"

"At a crime scene just like your father’s and Laden Miller’s," she says "What do you know about Mackenzie Baker?"

"Mackenzie Baker?" Her shocking words throw off ht?"

"I’ll be asking the questions," she warns "Nohat do you know about her?"

"I have a few classes with her, and she used to be the head cheerleader That’s all I know really"

"Were you at the party tonight? The one by the lake? A few people said they saw you there"

"I was at the lake before the party started," I answer "But I left when people started showing up"

She jots what I say on the top of the folder "And how did you get hoot a ride from a friend that I called to come pick me up," I tell her and she scribbles that to her list

"Who did you drive out there with?" She writes a nuuy," I say and her eyes elevate to nize the na dumb "And who is he?"

"He just moved here from New York," I explain "He lives on my street"

"Was he part of the reason you left?" She puts her glasses back on

"Partially," I say with hesitance "He was flirting with another girl"

She opens the folder and searches through her notes "What’s the girl’s name?"

"Mackenzie Baker"

Her head snaps up "You know lying is only going to get you into ," I assure her "That’s the truth"

She reluctantly returns to her notes and pens down a few lasses "Again, we’ll be in touch I have no doubt about that" She sticks out her hand for me to shake "For now, I’d say it‘d be best for you to stay in town"

My muscles tense as I take her hand A thick, vile sensation blasts up my arm Blood and a thousand petals scattered across the dirt An Angel stands in the center of a mob, stripped of its feathers, and beaten blue Their face is curtained with a halo of black hair She steps forward and raises a knife, but a black figure swoops down from the sky and snatches her by the shoulders She screams as they fly up, up, up and then drops her to the earth

I jerk back at the X on her wrist "Who are you?"

She tugs the sleeve of her jacket down and turns for the door "I’d watch out, E the door with the folder tucked under her arenerations And your dad was diagnosed with schizophrenia, which can surface at a young age" She slams the door behind her

It takes every ounce of strength I own not to jump up from the chair, pick the lock on the door, chase her down and hurt her

Thirty minutes later they release , besides not reporting that s at theand the big-haired lady with bright blue eye shadow handsmy bracelets She turns her back to the hen I walk up and I bang lances over her shoulder atannoyed "May I help you?"

I hold up a bag and jiggle it in front of the"Yeah, I had a necklace in here"