by C. L. Brees
Alex rolled his eyes as he and Amy were escorted up the stairs to the main entrance. “God, I so hate him right now.”
“I know you do. He’s a pig if you ask me,” Amy agreed.
Alex sighed and replied, “Yup, a typical guy, but really deep down I don’t hate him. I’m just very disappointed at him right now.”
“Well that’s a natural feeling to have,” Amy assured him as she held his hand.
The two were seated in a hallway where they waited for what seemed like an eternity to speak with a detective. About an hour later, John and Heather joined them in the lobby.
“What is taking so long?” Amy asked Heather quietly.
“The questions are pretty intense, but I think they are making sure we aren’t the ones who shot the clerk,” Heather answered.
“Are they fucking insane, do we look like killers?” Amy sneered.
“I know, I don’t see the resemblance, but someone is being very thorough in this investigation,” John replied.
“This is just fucking great. I’m missing class because some assholes decided today, of all days, was a great time to rob a store and murder a few people,” Amy whined selfishly.
“Calm down, Amy. We’re all in the same boat. It’ll go faster if you just do what they ask.”
“I guess you’re right, Alex. You’re always right. The fact that you’re always right really bothers me,” Amy said as she looked away, observing the detectives in the office sitting around a table talking.
A few minutes later, two detectives took Amy and Alex into the office. They both sat down in chairs that were seated on the opposite side of where the detectives sat.
“So, what all do you guy know about what happened at the 7-11 this morning?” one detective inquired.
“Well, I was in the store when it happened,” Amy recalled. “Two guys with guns just ran inside the store as I was walking back towards the front of the store. I heard a lot of commotion up front and it caught my attention, so I looked up and there they were. I ducked down and managed to get myself to the back of the store, hoping that neither of them would come to the back looking for any of us. I called 911 from my cell phone, which I hid in a stand of potato chips…will I get that back by the way?” she asked.
“Yes, we will get your cell phone back for you. Don’t worry about that, though. Go ahead, don’t stop,” the detective prompted.
“Ok, so I hide the cell phone and not even a minute later the short guy came to the back, pulled me up by my hair to my feet. I got smart with him, I know, stupid move on my part. I should know better with all the cop shows I watch. Anyways, so he points the gun at my head…” Amy stopped midway through her sentence.
“What’s wrong Amy?” Alex leaned forward in his chair as she started to cry.
“I could have been killed. I can still feel that gun pointed at my head…” Amy covered her face with her hands and began to cry again.
“Amy, you’re almost done, just tell the detectives what you saw. Those men are out on the loose and unless you tell them what happened, they might do this again to someone else. Hold my hand. It’s going to be ok; we’ll get through this,” Alex comforted her.
“Ok, I’m sorry; he pointed the gun at my head and asked me to pick out somebody I wanted to die today. I told him that I couldn’t make that choice, and since he had the gun he should make that choice. The next thing I know I’m laid out on the floor and I just hear bullets flying and glass shattering all around me. Then I think I had a blackout of some sort because I don’t remember anything else until Heather shook me to get me up off the floor.”
“Wow, Ms. Williams, that’s a lot for someone of your age to go through,” the detective said. “We’re just glad you weren’t seriously hurt in this incident. Are you still sure you don’t need any medical assistance? That’s a real nasty bruise on your face there.”
“Thanks,” Amy replied as she reached for a tissue to wipe her face, “I’ll be ok, a little bit of ice would be great though.”
“We will make sure to get some for you,” he answered and instructed the other detective to retrieve an ice pack for her.
“Mr. Jones, what do you recall about the incident?” the detective asked as he readjusted his position in the chair.
“Well, I was outside sitting in my car with John listening to music, waiting on the girls to get done with their quick shopping so we could get to class. We were actually going to be early today for once. Anyways, while we were sitting there, I swore I heard gunshots coming from inside the store, but John said he didn’t hear anything, so I just turned the music back up. Not even three minutes later, there were bullets flying through the glass. I mean, it just broke to a million pieces on the ground outside. Shattered! I knew something was obviously wrong then, but by the time we got around to the front of the store, all I could see was a white van whipping around the corner out of the parking lot onto Westlake Road and towards the freeway,” Alex told the detective.
“Ok. Now Amy, do you remember anything distinctive about them?” he asked.
“Actually, yes, now that you mention it, they were talking in a foreign language of some sort, I don’t know what it was. It could have been Russian,” she said.
“That’s great, that will help narrow it down a little bit if we find suspects.” He sat up straight in his chair, “Ms. Williams, would you be able to describe these men to a sketch artist?”
Alex interjected quickly. “Detective, as you can see, Amy is in no condition to spend time doing that. Maybe we can come back tomorrow after she gets some rest?”
“Miss Williams, it would be a great help if you could stay just a little longer,” the detective as he tapped his pen onto his notepad.
“Detective, I just can’t. If you find these men, I will be more than happy to come in and point them out to you. But as my friend has said, I am in no condition to spend the time it takes to do that.”
Hesitantly the detective stood to his feet “Alright, I understand. You kids are free to go. Miss Williams, if we need more information, we’ll contact you.” Alex shook the detective’s hand and escorted Amy to the door of the office. “Oh, and Mr. Jones, your mother is downstairs waiting to take you to retrieve your car.”
“Thank you, sir. If there is anything else we can assist you with, please let us know,” Alex offered as the detective stood in the jamb of the doorway.
“Thanks Alex, we miss seeing you around here. I hope things work out for you. Good luck at the University of Colorado this fall,” he said with a wink.
The crew grabbed their stuff and headed down the long corridor to meet Carol, Alex’s mother. The day had been shitty and it was not even 11:00 AM. Alex knew that neither Amy nor Heather would be up for going to class today, so he figured the crew should just take the rest of the day off and relax. They finally reached the bottom of the stairs, and Carol ran towards Alex and gave him a hug.
“My God, what happened to you guys this morning?” she asked with sincere concern.
“It was just awful Ms. J., I’ve never seen something so gruesome in my whole life,” John replied.
“Did someone die?”
“Yeah, mom, the clerk at the 7-11 down the street from the house was murdered this morning along with two innocent bystanders who were probably just coming in to pay for their gas,” Alex answered.
“Alex, you’re joking right? This is some sort of joke, huh?” she said as she looked at all their confused faces.
“…this isn’t a joke, Carol.”
“I think we’re just going to take the rest of the day off, mom. It’s been pretty traumatic for us this morning, and it’s not like we’d really learn much today anyhow,” Alex suggested as they all piled into the back of the Yukon.
“That’s fine with me. You guys can all hang at our place. I’m actually going to be home tonight for a change, we could all make dinner and hang out,” Carol said as she put the vehicle into reverse.
“Sounds like a great idea to
me,” John said.
“Yeah, definitely,” Amy said. “It’ll give me a reason to get out of the house and away from my parents before they get me involved in their drama.”
“Your parents are still at it, Amy? I figured those two would have grown tired of all the arguing and breaking shit. I might just need to sit down with them and have a talk,” Carol said.
“I don’t want to get you involved in this sordid mess. I just hope the two of them can hash this thing out for once.” Amy reached into her pocket for a pack of gum. “Anyone want a piece?”
“Sure, I’ll take one,” John answered as he reached out his hand.
After a ten-minute ride, the crew arrived safely back to the car. Looking around the parking lot, the investigators were just finishing up collecting their evidence. The yellow crime scene tape flapped in the wind, sending a chill down Amy’s back. Alex looked at Amy and she looked right back at him.
“We need to find a new place to get our morning snacks at,” Amy said as they all got out of the car.
“Thanks Ms. J, see you tonight at dinner.” John waved as he walked towards the BMW.
“Thanks again, mom. You need me to pick anything up at the grocery store today?” Alex asked as he leaned on the door.
“Yeah, why don’t we do pasta tonight? Check to see what we might need and get enough for a party of 8,” Carol replied.
“Eight?” Alex asked with a confused look upon his face.
“Yeah, was going to invite a co-worker, you four, me, and Amy’s parents definitely need to come. I’ll call and invite them on the way back to the hospital though,” she answered as she started babbling to herself.
“Alright mom, calm and collected already, I’ll take care of everything. Get back to work. Love ya.” Alex leaned in the window and kissed his mother on the cheek.
“I love you too, sweetheart. See you tonight.” Carol waved as she pulled the car towards the road and hung a left heading back towards Denver.
The crew was waiting in the car already for Alex to return. He opened the car door and sat down in the seat. Putting the key into the ignition, he cranked the car over and shut his door. The crew all seemed drained and it was only fifteen after eleven. Alex turned around and looked at everyone in the backseat.
“Ok, here’s the deal: we’re all going back to my house. If you don’t want to hang, I’ll be more than happy to take you home, but after today I think we should all just chill together. It might help us clear our heads a little better to be around friends,” Alex proposed as Heather raised her hand.
“What’s up, Heather?” he asked.
“I think I want to head home for the day, I have a ton of studying to get done, and it’s very hard for me to study around groups of people,” she replied.
“Alright then, are you going to be coming back over for dinner tonight?” he asked. She nodded.
“No problem then. Let’s get a move on,” Alex said as he put the car in reverse and pulled up to Westlake Road. He took a right and headed back towards the subdivision.
3
The black BMW pulled up to a large, brick two-story house on Birchwood Drive. Alex slammed on the brakes as the rear door abruptly flung open. Heather stepped out casually onto the freshly paved street. Alex rolled his eyes, this was so typical of her. She leaned in to the driver’s side of the vehicle, and a blast of cool wind blew through her hair.
“Thanks again for dropping me off, Alex. I suppose I’ll see you guys later on tonight,” she announced, running her fingers through her brunette hair.
“Alright. Next time though, please, please, wait for me to stop the car before you open your door. Talk about giving me a heart attack,” he scolded her.
“Calm your shit down, Alex. You know I won’t step out until the car isn’t moving. Dude, you need to stop worrying so much about everyone.”
“Whatever, Heather, I don’t know where any of you would be if I didn’t worry. So, yeah, dinner is at eight o’clock; don’t be late.”
The car drove away from the curb. Heather stood there, waving until the car disappeared around the corner. She walked up the brick walkway to her front door. Heather wasn’t like the rest of her friends. Shy and anti-social were the best words to describe her most of the time. She did, however, exude confidence and flirtatiousness on other days. She was a modern day Jekyll and Hyde. Alex always knew there was something different about her. Nonetheless, he always treated her like she was one of them, regardless of her bi-polar personality.
She finally made it to her front door and punched in the door code, and the deadbolt unlocked. She gripped the door handle, turning it to the right. It swung open and creaked softly as it tapped the doorstop. As she walked into the foyer, everything in the house was still. It was so silent that she could hear the refrigerator in the kitchen pumping filtered water through the line. She sighed and smiled, plopping her backpack on the floor behind the door. She slipped off her shoes before she made her way down the long hallway towards the kitchen. Every step she took on the hardwood beneath her feet creaked and echoed off the hollow beige walls that had just bene recently painted by her father. She made her way to the kitchen, opened up a cabinet door, and placed a tall clear glass down on the countertop. Turning around quickly, she opened the refrigerator door and took out a container filled with orange juice. Pouring the orange juice into the glass, she only filled it halfway full. Just as she lifted the glass to her lips, the telephone rang in the distance, startling her. Heather quickly set the glass down and ran towards the living room to grab the phone.
“Hello,” she politely said.
“Hello, this is Detective Scott from the Ridgewood Police Department, may I please speak with Wendy Burgess?”
“Oh, my mother isn’t home right now, this is her daughter Heather Burgess. Is there something I could help you with?”
“I’m calling in regards to your sister, Kelli Burgess. If you don’t mind Heather, could you have her please return my call at the police station when she gets home?
“Sure thing, Detective Scott. I’ll have her call you as soon as I see her.”
Heather stood there with the phone in her hand, staring at it. She knew her sister was a little hellion, but the police calling about her was something new. The call made Heather think aloud to herself, “I wonder what that hoodlum has done now?”
She made her way back to the foyer to grab her chemistry book and notebook from her backpack. She walked back towards the dining room table and opened her book to the beginning of chapter twelve. Heather was also doing extremely well in school—not as good as the rest of her friends, but good enough for her standards.
Just as she began reading through her notes from Friday’s class, her mother suddenly burst through the door from the garage.
“Mom, what’s going on? You look frantic!”
“Your sister, is she here? Have you seen her today?”
“No mom, she’s not here. I saw her this morning getting ready for school. Which, by the way—I have a perfectly good explanation as to why I’m not in school. It’s a long story though and I’m sure you have more important things do worry about.”
Wendy Burgess walked away, dashing up the stairs hollering, “Kelli, Kelli! Are you here?”
Annoyed, Heather walked towards the staircase and shouted up, “She’s not here, I swear. Get your ass down here, woman, and tell me what’s going on!”
“The police called me while I was working and said they might have Kelli down at the police station. I wanted to come home first and make sure it wasn’t some joke. You know how your sister gets when she’s deprived of attention.”
“Mom, if the police called, don’t you think you should be down at the police station checking on it?”
Hearing no response from her mother, Heather let out a large sigh and said under her breath, “Christ! This woman is crazy as all hell.”
Meanwhile upstairs, Wendy was double checking all of the bedrooms and bathrooms, opening and sl
amming doors closed. Kelli was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, she ran down the stairs where Heather was waiting for her to return from her insane hunt.
“Get your shit on Heather, we’re going down to the police station.”
“Mom, why do I have to go with you? I’ve already been at the police station myself this morning. I am really in no mood to go back again. She was probably just caught skipping school or stealing again. I’m sure it’s not a huge deal. Besides, I have bigger things to worry about like this huge Chemistry test I have tomorrow. You do want me to get into a good college, don’t you?”
“Listen, young lady, you better get your ass moving towards the car. While I want you to get into a good college and get the hell out of my house, your chemistry studying can wait a few hours,” she said as Heather slammed her book closed, picked it up, and headed towards the garage door.
"Fine, whatever. I’ll just study on the way over there then. I can’t wait until I can finally get out of this prison.”
“Heather, I don’t know what has been going on with you lately. Your attitude is in the toilet and you’ve been a total bitch the past few weeks. I literally mean a downright awful bitch.”
“That’s because I am a bitch, mom. Come on now, you know I learned from the best,” she exclaimed as she looked her mother dead in the eye.
“Have you totally lost it? Do we have to send you back to the therapist again?”
“Calm down, mom. I don’t need to see that woman anymore. You know she was a quack who needs a lifetime of therapy herself.”
“Well then drop the attitude. Otherwise you’ll be going back to her until your eighteenth birthday.”
Heather had been struggling for years with emotional issues she thought were brought on from her rocky relationship with her parents. To Heather, these feelings were just natural. Her parents didn’t see them as natural. To them, her emotional outbursts were a cry for help. As the car backed down the driveway, Heather sat in the passenger’s seat and looked out the window towards all of the freshly manicured lawns. She reminisced about her sister Kelli. Kelli lately had been playing a lot of pranks. Heather thought it was because no one was paying any attention to her. Their parents sure had been spending a lot of time harping on Heather to get into a good school and move out. Nonetheless, Heather was ready to be out on her own. She needed to get away from the triggers that were holding her back as a person.