CLOCKS By: Lori Titus
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009The Marradith Ryder Series Part 21
Marradith watched the clock.
5:35 AM.
She was sitting alone in an interrogation room. What were the police doing? she wondered. Were they making emergency calls? Looking for a rep from children’s services? She hadn’t expected that this would go quickly, but she did think that someone would have come and spoken to her before two hours passed.
They offered her a soda and a stale bag of chips, but she wasn’t interested. She caught some of the glances between the officers. None of them dared speak to her, but the look they gave spoke volumes. She was trouble, and they did not want to be involved.
Finally, the door opened again, and an officer entered. She wanted to tell him everything and just be done with it, but Justin had already warned her that she must resist that urge.
Stick with your story, he said. Don’t hand them anything.
“I am Detective Ryan Doherty,” the man said, extending his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I am sorry that you had to wait, I had a long drive up.”
She nodded. He seemed kind. Too much so.
He laid out pen and paper, along with a small camcorder. He explained that he would record her statement. She agreed.
“You seem well, Marradith, are you?”
“Sure.”
“You haven’t been in any accidents, or any kind of scrapes lately?”
“No.”
“You sure about that?”
“I’d remember if I got hurt. Do I look hurt?”
Ryan paused a moment before replying. “No, you don’t.”
He jotted something on his notepad. Marradith stopped him before he could continue.
“I don’t really understand while I’m still here. I saw the story on the news about the APB. Why were you looking for me?”
“You must have seen the news stories about the shootings at LessCost.”
“Yes, but what’s that got to do with me?”
“We found your cell phone in the trash bin at the store. Do you know when you were there?”
“The day before the shooting.”
“How do you know it was the day before?”
“That’s something that sticks in your mind. You go to buy clothes or groceries and the next day someone gets killed in the same store.”
“How did your Mom’s car end up at the bottom of the river?”
She shrugged. “I guess someone drove it off the road.”
“And you were not around when that happened?”
“No.”
“Where was your Mom?”
“Out of town. She has been the last couple of weeks.”
“And where is the rest of your family?”
“With her. By the way, I called my Mom and she is on her way in. I wasn’t expecting that you’d question me without my Mom. Or somebody. I don’t know, like a lawyer?”
“You agreed to speak with me.”
“Yes, I did,” Marradith smiled. “But it was late when I got here, and now its morning. I’m a kid, what do I know anyway?”
Ryan drew back. “We needed to make sure that you were alright, and weren’t a victim in the shooting.”
“Okay. So what now?”
“How come your Mom didn’t bring you in?”
“Because she wasn’t with me, remember? Try to keep up.”
“Your Mom was okay with you coming to a police station to turn yourself in?”
“She won’t be if she gets the impression that you kept me here to grill me.”
“I’d be very interested to hear what she’s got to say about all this.”
Marradith crossed her arms. “Ask Mama then, why don’t you?”
Ryan turned to see Nora Ryder standing in the doorway behind him.
***
Shannon checked her watch.
It was 7:00 AM.
Though permitted visiting hours started at eight, Shannon had been able to bribe a nurse to let her in to see her “friend”. She came in with a four cup holder of Buckie’s Coffee, which did the trick nicely. She handed them out to the nurses at the desk, and tiptoed into the hospital room.
She was surprised that William Keyes was not only out of bed, but dressed and hurriedly packing a bag with his toiletries, prescriptions and dressings for his injured arm.
“Yes, I already know who you are,” Will said after she introduced herself. “And my answer to you is going to be the same one that I gave the police. I don’t know anything.”
“Really, Mr. Keyes? Because I spoke with a witness that says he saw that girl shock you with a stun gun.”
He stopped and chuckled. “Uh, yeah. Stun gun. Detective Doherty seemed fixated on that too, but I told him I have no recollection. I can’t remember anything that happened that day.”
Shannon rolled back on her heels. “Detective Doherty spoke with you?”
“Yes, he was here a couple of hours ago. Why?”
She fumbled in her bag for her cell phone. “Are you absolutely sure about that?”
“Yes.”
“There’s a problem with that. Whoever you spoke to can’t be Doherty. He was in a car accident yesterday, and he’s been in the hospital in Fairfield ever since.”
“Lady,” Will said, picking up his bag. “I’m getting out of here. Take some advice. Whatever you’re chasing, just… stop.”
—
© 2009 Lori Titus
Lori Titus’s The Marradith Ryder Series appears each Wednesday on Flashes in the Dark. She is the short story editor for Sonar4 ezine. Many of her stories have appeared on MicroHorror and Shadeworks, and her first anthology of horror stories is scheduled for release in 2010.
For more information see her at: http://www.myspace.com/talesforthedark
