* * *
Tara and Kevin held hands as they walked up to his front door. Kevin hated having to tell his parents. It was going to be awkward, and difficult. Nothing could change that. He wished they could have just been at home when the police came for Jake. He wished they cared more. Tara and Kevin stood on his doorstep and he turned to her.
“This is it,” he said, feeling his pulse quicken a bit.
“Are you sure you don’t want to do it alone?” She hesitated. “I don’t want to be in the way.”
He tried to give her a reassuring smile. He needed her there.
“You’re never in the way and I couldn’t be this strong without you here.”
He leaned in and kissed her, stalling a bit.
“Let’s just get it over with,” he said.
He pushed through the door and they entered the house.
“Mom…Dad…” he called out. He looked around, waiting for their answer.
“Over here,” his mom called out.
They walked toward her voice coming from the living room. He started to tense up, but then focused on his breathing. His parents looked up as them as they walked in.
“Good morning,” his mom said, giving them what seemed to be disapproving looks, or at least that’s how Kevin took it. “Tara…good to see you,” she greeted Tara, smiling.
Kevin wasn’t sure if it was sincere.
“You too. Good morning Mrs. Crawford…” Tara answered, and glanced over at Kevin’s father, who hadn’t spoken a word since they’d gotten in the house. “Hi Mr. Crawford.”
Kevin’s father just nodded his acknowledgement and then went back to his paper. Just say it. Breathe. It isn’t true. His internal pep talk wasn’t enough to boost his confidence. “Mom…Dad…I need to tell you something.” His mom looked up, but his dad barely moved. “Dad, will you please put down the paper? This is really important.”
After several agonizing moments he put the paper down and looked up.
“Are you going to tell me you two are getting married?” he asked, not breaking eye contact.
It was direct. Kevin just stared at him, shaking his head. It would have been so much easier if it was a marriage he had shown up to announce.
“I wish,” he mumbled. His dad raised his eyebrow and Kevin saw Tara gawking at him. “But that isn’t it, dad.”
He took a seat in front of them and Tara grabbed the seat next to him.
“This is actually more serious.”
“You’re quitting college?” his mother piped in.
“What?” Kevin turned to her. “No. That’s not it either. Will you just let me tell you?”
“With all due respect, son, you are taking long enough.” His dad grabbed his newspaper back up and Kevin feared he would go back to reading it.
“Jake’s in jail,” he blurted out.
“Jail?” his mother asked, snickering. “Well, you got our attention. Good one. What did you really want to tell us?”
Kevin groaned out of frustration. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. He was arrested last night and he spent the night in jail.”
This time he noticed his dad’s gave him his full attention.
“What happened?” His father asked. “Why is this the first time we’re hearing of it? What did he do?”
Kevin glanced at Tara and she nodded, urging him to proceed.
“I didn’t want to worry you. There’s nothing you could have done last night. The cops came by yesterday and the next thing I knew Jake was being carted off to jail.”
“Okay, well you didn’t really answer the important question,” his mother said, sitting up and looking directly at him. “What is it that they accused him of doing?”
Kevin reached out and grabbed Tara’s hand. She gently squeezed it for support. “They think he was involved with the murder of the latest victim…Amy Watters. They charged him with murder, Mom.”
His mom’s mouth opened wide and his dad’s face was bright red.
“What are you saying? We raised a serial killer?” his dad yelled out of defense. “Haven’t they ruled these murders are connected? So, if he killed one…then it stands to reason he killed them all.”
“Dad, listen to me. None of this is any of your fault. Jake said he didn’t do it, and I believe him, because…” his words failed. He wanted to make sure it came out right. Telling his father Jake was with him would only make sense.
“Jake was with Tara and me Friday night at the time Amy Watters was killed. So, there is no way he was with the victim.”
His dad shot him a look. For a moment he looked like he didn’t believe him, but then nodded.
“Okay. So why does the police think he was involved?”
“Amy and Jake were dating.” His mom looked more surprised at the comment than anything else. “I was shocked, too, Mom,” he quickly replied.
“She was older than he is, wasn’t she?” his dad asked.
Kevin shrugged. “A couple years, but that’s not the point. The point is Jake is in jail and we’re going to have to find a way to prove his innocence, starting with talking to the police and telling them we are his alibi. When we left the station, they told us they would be in contact with us for our statement. I guess we’ll just have to wait until then.”
They all sat there in silence until Kevin couldn’t take it any longer.
“I need some air,” he announced, standing up and turning back to his parents.
“I’ll let you know if we hear anything,” he continued. Tara and Kevin left the house and he could finally breathe. They began walking. He didn’t know where they would end up, but he needed to get as far as they could from that house.
* * *
Tara didn’t want to interrupt his thoughts. She could tell he had a thousand things running through his mind. As they walked further away from the house, she was more worried about his silence.
“How are you doing?” she finally asked.
He nodded. “About as good as anyone could expect. How about you?”
She smiled. “About the same.”
She didn’t expect him to throw out a lie to his parents, but she didn’t know why it came as a shock. It was the only thing he could do. The more people that knew he was lying, the harder it would be to keep it a secret.
“I just worry about you because this is a lot to deal with,” she whispered, locking her arms into his as they continued the even pace.
“I’ll be fine,” he muttered, not missing a beat.
She was certain he would be. She looked ahead of them and spotted an empty bench.
“Let’s sit for a while.” He agreed as they moved to the bench. “Can I ask you something without it coming across as nosy?”
He turned to her. “You can ask me anything.”
She hesitated because she feared it was none of her business. However, she also believed if she was going to get fully involved then she needed some answers.
“What did you and Jake discuss last night when you were at the police station?”
He looked away from her inquiring eyes. His hands slipped into the pockets of his jeans. She didn’t think anything about it because a breeze picked up and there was a chill in the air.
“We didn’t have a lot of time to talk. He just told me he didn’t do it, asked me to be his alibi, and told me what he was doing that night.”
“What was he doing?” she asked, careful to walk the line of being nosy and being concerned.
His face turned red and he looked at her.
“He was enjoying the company of another woman.”
She waited for him to continue, knowing there had to be more.
“If that’s the case…why can’t he get this other woman to come forward?”
“Tara, he was with a hooker. I doubt she would come forward.”
Tara’s looked at him, stunned. Amy had seemed so excited about going out with her boyfriend. Jake must have stood her up, but what happened afterward? She couldn’t fathom the gui
lt that must be going through Jake’s mind, knowing he wasn’t there to protect her.
“Wow…” she mumbled.
He nodded, “The plot thickens. I feel like I barely know who he is anymore. He has a girlfriend…he’s with a hooker…just seems so strange.”
“He’s an adult,” she replied.
“Young adult,” he corrected her. “I…” his words were interrupted by the ringing of his phone.
“Hello,” he said into the phone. He looked up and his eyes met hers. “We’ll be right there.” He hung up the phone. “We’re requested at the police station. They want both of our statements.”
There was no turning back. It was time to do what had to be done.
Chapter 12
Kevin’s parents drove in a separate vehicle as they made their way to the police station. Kevin practiced what he was going to say and hoped it would go off without a hitch. He periodically glanced at Tara as she was the one driving. He wondered what she was thinking. Did she really know what she was getting herself into when she agreed to go along with this deception? He doubted it. Tara was always the sensible one. Yet, she didn’t come right out and refuse to help his family out.
She pulled into the police station and he heard a strained sigh next to him.
“I’ll be glad when we can put this behind us.”
He agreed. He wanted nothing more. They got out of the car as his parents were pulling into the spot next to them. The four of them headed into the station and walked back to where Tara and Kevin had waited the previous night. It already felt familiar. Officer Jessup stood behind the desk and looked up as they approached.
“You have good timing,” she said, looking at Kevin.
He didn’t return any snide remarks, but he was thinking about them. “Are you ready for us?” he asked, feeling the tension.
Officer Jessup She nodded. “Just in a few minutes.” Her attention went to his parents. “You must be the Crawfords.” She stuck out her hand, but neither one accepted it. “If you would like to see your son, you can have a few minutes,” she announced, retracting her offered hand.
“Please,” his mother replied.
She nodded. “Follow me.”
They left Kevin and Tara standing in the waiting area as his parents were escorted back behind the double doors.
Kevin and Tara walked over to two chairs and Tara sat down. He was about to take the other seat when he saw the doors swing open and Officer Grayson came out.
“Kevin Crawford, we’re ready for you.”
He glanced at Tara and he wondered if he looked as scared as he felt. This was even worse than being questioned at their work because now, he was fighting for his brother.
“Good luck,” she whispered. He nodded, heading to where Officer Grayson was still standing. The middle-aged gentleman didn’t smile as Kevin followed him. They walked through the doors and heading down a corridor, then entering a small room lit with fluorescent panel lights. He looked around the room before taking a seat.
“Mr. Crawford, this can be even quicker than the time before. Or not. So, just bear with me for a few minutes,” Officer Grayson said as he sat down in front of him.
“Where’s Officer Jessup?” Kevin asked.
“She’ll be questioning your girlfriend,” he replied casually. He looked down at the paper in front of him. “First of all, is there anything you want to ask me?”
“Not particularly,” he mumbled. “I already know my brother didn’t murder Amy.”
Officer Grayson didn’t seem too interested about that revelation. “Aren’t you the least bit confused as to what brought the two together? After all, you went out with her first.”
“I already told you. It was nothing,” he snapped. “Sorry…” he quickly retreated. “I’m just stressed.”
“I’m fully aware of the stress you’re under, Mr. Crawford. If you are so convinced your brother is innocent, then you must have a reason.”
“I do. He was with me that night!”
“Oh…” Officer Grayson replied, writing down some notes. “So, he was with you and your girlfriend? Sounds cozy.”
He was smirking and Kevin didn’t find it humorous. “The bottom line is, he was with me…he didn’t kill anyone.”
“Hmm…I suppose so,” Officer Grayson said. “What exactly were you all doing? Playing board games?”
The joke wasn’t as funny as Officer Grayson thought. At least, it wasn’t to Kevin. He replayed the story in his mind. He and Tara both knew exactly what to say. He just needed to relax and not look guilty.
“Well…we went to the movies,” Kevin started, trying hard to keep his voice even. “We went to see Fiery Peaks, you know, that new one with Adam Johnson. It was pretty good, you should see it.”
“Hmm…frankly I’m not a big Adam Johnson fan, but I’m sure you all had a wonderful time,” Officer Grayson said, writing some more notes and then looking up, his eyes scanning Kevin’s features for one long, tense moment.
“You don’t mind me asking if you are sure you want to stick with your answer, do you?”
“Of course I’m sure,” Kevin belted out, flustered by the officer’s suggestion.
Officer Grayson nodded. “Just asking, because when we talked to you the other day, you didn’t mention your brother was there. I believe you said you were with your girlfriend.”
The officer’s eyes were focused on Kevin’s. He opened his mouth, fumbling with the right words.
“See why I question it?” the officer asked, bringing Kevin’s focus back to his earlier resolve to remain calm.
“I was with Tara. That’s the truth. I apologize if I failed to mention Jake was there too. My relationship is still fairly new and I try to focus only on Tara.”
“I see,” Officer Grayson said, looking down at his notebook and then writing more down. “We’ll add it to the file and be sure to take it into consideration.”
He wanted to laugh. “Great. Am I free to go?”
Officer Grayson nodded. “We’ll be in contact with you.”
Kevin stood up and turned toward the door. He wasn’t looking forward to seeing them again.
* * *
As Officer Jessup sat down, Tara fidgeted in her seat. She had to remember they had a plan and she needed to stick to it.
“So, Ms. Matthews…how are you doing today?”
She frowned. It seemed like an odd question to ask after what they had been put through.
“I’ve been better,” she remarked.
“I’m sure you have,” Officer Jessup replied. “I just want to start off by asking you some things so we can get to the bottom of this. Understand?”
Tara exhaled and nodded. “Yes.”
“Great,” Officer Jessup spoke with a smirk, as though she knew something that Tara didn’t. “So, you said you and Mr. Crawford, Kevin not Jake, were together on Friday night. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” she confidently answered.
“Do you have any idea where Jake was that night?”
Tara slowly nodded, praying her face didn’t give her away. “He was with Kevin and me. He never left our side.”
Officer Jessup looked at Tara, and placed her pencil down on the table.
“Okay, let me get this straight…Jake, Kevin, and yourself were together all night?”
“Well…not all night, but until quite late.” Tara crossed her arms, feeling good about her response.
Officer Jessup picked her pencil back up, scribbled into her notes, and looked up again.
“What did you guys do, until late?” she asked Tara.
She froze. They had discussed their alibi, so they would both give the same answer if Kevin were questioned about the same thing, but Tara knew she was a notoriously bad liar– as a kid she’d been caught every single time she’d tried to fib, much to her dismay. She fiddled nervously with her thumbs, frantically fighting panic for a moment. There was a significant pause as she worked to soothe her overwrought nerves, and just
as Officer Jessup glanced up at her she managed to say smoothly.
“We went to the movies.” It was neat and it was logical– she started to relax just a little.
“Nice. Anything good?”
She heaved a sigh. This was already torture. She just shrugged.
“The Peaks movie with Adam Johnson– Fiery Peaks I think? I fell asleep halfway through it.”
“What a shame,” Officer Jessup said, shaking her head. “Now, I do have a couple of things I think are worth discussing. For starters, correct me if I’m wrong, but the last time you were questioned, didn’t you say Amy was going to be going out with her boyfriend?”
“I did, but…I didn’t know…”
“Jake Crawford was her boyfriend, so wouldn’t it make sense to believe that he was with her that night?”
“Yes, but…”
“I find it hard to believe that Amy Watters’ boyfriend decided to go out with his brother and brother’s girlfriend.” She hesitated. “Doesn’t that seem a bit strange?”
She took a moment to reflect. It did seem strange. None of it seemed real. Tara didn’t want to be interrupted any more.
“I don’t know what happened that night to make Jake change his mind about going out with Amy. I didn’t even know that they were dating, so it wasn’t odd for me to go along thinking it was her boyfriend that did it. With that being said, I know now, it wasn’t. Jake Crawford wasn’t anywhere near Amy that night. He was with us.” She was proud to stand her ground, even though doubts were already surfacing.
“Then, that brings me to another question.” Officer Jessup stated. Tara braced herself. She wanted the interrogation to be over. “Why didn’t you tell me Jake was with you that night you were questioned?”
Tara swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t know if it could get any worse. “There was a lot going on. I just discovered someone I truly liked was murdered and my mind wasn’t exactly functioning properly.”
A moment of silence hung in the room, before Officer Jessup opened up a folder. Tara’s eyes fell to the contents. She saw pictures inside, but wasn’t following. “Gregory Prescott…do you know him?”
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