Misguided Truths: Part One

by Sarah Elizabeth

  I’ve been watching the rain hitting the kitchen window ever since it began to fall at three o’clock this morning. Today is gonna be a hard day. At eleven o’clock, they’re burying my girlfriend. Rachael has offered to give me a ride over to Seattle for the funeral.

  At first, I didn’t fully understand why the service and burial would be taking place there and not here in Olympia. But, Holly’s mom and dad had explained to me that all of their deceased relatives have their headstones placed in the same cemetery. In Beck Hill. I guess it seems only right to keep their family together.

  I pinch the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index finger of my left hand, while clutching the necklace with my right. You see, I can’t let Holly go, not while knowing that she’ll be all alone. I want her to take a part of me with her. I need her to know that I’ll always be with her and that she’ll always be with me.

  The necklace I bought for her for our two month anniversary was a silver locket, and the very same one that I’m holding in my hand right now.

  Yesterday was the first and only time I’ve been in Holly’s bedroom since the night before she died. Actually, yesterday is the only time I’ve managed to make it outside of my parent’s home since the day I arrived back from the police department.

  I messaged Rachael early in the morning, and after telling her what I planned on doing, she invited me over there. When I got there, the necklace was still sitting in the gift box on her nightstand, right beside the picture frame holding a photograph of the two of us. It was taken when we went out for a walk one day a few weeks ago.

  The sun was shining brightly, and I think we must’ve walked around five miles in all. We’d walked hand in hand until we reached one of the quieter areas of the city, and sat down on the riverbank for hours. It’s one of my favorite photographs of the two of us together, and we both had a copy made.

  I’ve placed the one that was in her room inside the locket and have decided that, when it gets to the time we have to say our final goodbyes, I’m gonna place it on top of the coffin, before they lower her down. That way, we’ll be together. Always.

  A tapping sound on one of the windows over on the far end side of the kitchen brings me away from my thoughts. When I look over to see what’s going on, I see Rye and Neil pointing towards the main door for me to let them inside.

  I rake a hand through my hair and stand, before heading over to unlock the door.

  “Hey, man,” Rye says with a small smile. “Listen, we just wanted to …” Before he finishes what he was going to say, he steps through the door and throws his arms around my shoulders, patting my back hard with one of his hands while hugging me tightly.

  It’s not the kinda thing Rye would normally do, but never the less, I appreciate it. Even if he is soaking wet from the rain. Neil walks in behind Ryan and nods once, but he doesn’t speak. He’s obviously upset, too, if his bloodshot eyes are anything to go by. Neil has always been more reserved and never usually displays his emotions. I know he and Holly were pretty close. It was actually through him that she and I had started talking to each other in the first place.

  “How are you holding up?” Neil asks quietly as he takes a seat at the dining table. “Do they have any idea on what the hell happened yet?”

  I shake my head and slump back down into the chair opposite to where he’s sitting. “No.”

  The cops have been keeping Holly’s mom and dad updated, but so far, there hasn’t been any new leads in their investigations. There’s no way in hell she injected herself. No fucking way. One of the officers suggested that she may have been hiding her addiction from us. Yeah, let’s just say that it took all of my strength not to punch that guy in the goddamn face.

  “Dude, I’m sorry,” Neil rests his elbows on the table, and there’s complete sadness in his voice. “So, what time are you heading over to Seattle?”

  “Rach is picking me up in around an hour,” I answer.

  The three of us sit around, mainly in silence for another half an hour, before I decide to head upstairs to get myself dressed. I was gonna say ready, but I don’t think that I’m ever gonna be ready for what lies ahead.

  Once I’ve showered, I throw on my pair of black suit pants and the same purple shirt I wore when Holly and I went out for the first time on our ‘unofficial first date’. She told me that this one was one of her favorites.

  I glance in the bathroom mirror and let out a deep sigh. I hadn’t realized just how bad I actually look these days up until now. Purple rings are circling my eyes, and judging by the way my shirt is hanging off of me, I’ve definitely lost a little weight.

  Heading back downstairs, I cross by Neil in the hallway, “Is it okay for me to use your bathroom, buddy?”

  “Sure, go ahead,” I answer and walk into the kitchen to grab the locket from the table. “Do you want a coffee or something?” I ask Rye and watch him as he stands.

  “It’s alright, dude. I’ll make it,” he winks at me and then heads over to the coffee machine. I take a deep breath and grab the locket from the center of the table. Opening it up one final time, I gaze at the image of me and Holly before closing it back up and placing it inside my pants pocket. “Neil suggested that we delay our trip to Europe by a few weeks.”

  “He did?” I glance over in surprise. He nods while adding some sweetener into the cream colored coffee mugs.

  “Yeah. Some things are more important than traveling, bro. We’re not gonna abandon you when you’ve got all this shit going on.”

  My eyes glaze over from knowing that I have such good friends around me when I need them. These guys are definitely two of the nicest people I know. I don’t think I could ever ask for better friends than Neil and Rye. The three of us grew up together, and although the saying goes ‘two’s company, threes a crowd,’ we’ve always been close. As close as I imagine brothers to be.

  “Brandon?” I turn around when I hear Neil say my name, and see him standing in the doorway. “The ... er … the cops are here.”

  I nod and head towards the hallway, with Neil stepping to the side to let me pass by him.

  “Mr. Taylor?” There’s two of them standing just inside the doorway.

  I try and swallow past the lump that’s in my throat, “Yeah … Are there any new developments?” I notice the one on the right glancing towards her partner, as though she’s waiting for him to be the one to answer me.

  “Mr. Taylor. We have a warrant to search these premises.”

  “A what?” I begin to laugh. They can’t be serious? “For what?” From the corner of my eye, I see Neil and Rye coming out to stand beside me.

  “We have reason to believe that there are illegal narcotics stored on these premises,” I feel my eyes widen and a sharp pain shooting through my gut.

  I shake my head and glance around to Neil and Rye. They both look just as shocked as I’m feeling, “No. No, there must be some kinda mistake.”

  “Then you won’t mind us taking a look for ourselves, will you, Mr. Taylor?” The male cop steps forward and hands me the warrant before stepping by me. Shit. They’re fucking serious. “Is your room this way?”

  “You do realize what the day is, right?” Rye takes a step forward. “It’s Holly’s funeral in a couple of hours.” The officers disregard him as I continue to stare down at the piece of paper in my hand, without being able to answer their question.

  “It’s the second up the stairs on the right, officer,” Neil answers him before they both head up the stairs. “Come and sit down, buddy. They’ll soon realize they made a mistake.” He places his hand on my shoulder and steers me towards the living room.

  “Pigs,” I hear Rye mutter under his breath when we hear the cops moving things around on the floor above us. “Like you’re some kinda drug dealer now? What the hell, man.” He grinds out, looking completely pissed.

  My palms are sweaty, and my right leg has been uncontrollably jiggling up and down ever since they went up there and we came to sit down in here. Afte
r around ten minutes, we hear them walking back down the stairs, and the three of us immediately stand and head into the hallway as they make the bottom step, “Well? Are you happy now?”

  Both of their facial expressions are unreadable, and before I know it, I’m being turned around by the male officer.

  “Brandon Taylor, you are being arrested for being in the possession of illegal narcotics and on suspicion of causing the recent death of Miss Holly Grainger—”

  “What?” I choke out when the words the female detective has just spoken begin to sink in. “I don’t … what? Why? How? I don’t… I don’t understand!” The male detective places his hands firmly on my shoulders, and I shrug him away from me. “I don’t, I’ve never, I mean ... you think I killed her? But …”

  I feel the cuffs being wrapped around my wrists behind me, and see Neil and Rye staring directly at me with what looks to be pure disbelief.

  “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed by the court of law. Do you understand these rights?”

  My head starts spinning, and my heart’s thundering so hard in my chest that I actually feel like I’m gonna pass out or something. The female cop walks by me, and that’s when I see it. She’s carrying a couple of clear bags containing white powder while speaking through her radio, “The suspect has been detained. We’re bringing him in now.”

  “That’s not mine! I swear! I don’t—”

  “What’s going on?” I freeze when I see Rachael walking through the front door. “Brandon?” She pauses after taking a step inside, and glances around before her eyes land on the female cop who’s now beside her. She says something to Rach, and when she looks back over at me, I notice her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

  “I didn’t do it, Rach. I promise. I swear it’s not mine! I didn’t do anything!” The cop behind me grabs my left arm and starts pulling me outside. “Rach, please?” I plead with her. She doesn’t say anything. Not a single word. Her lips are formed in a tight line, but the look over her face now is completely blank. “Rach, you know how much I loved her. How much I still love her. I would never have hurt her!”

  She looks away from me and down to the ground. My stomach rolls and my chest becomes tight when I realize.

  She doesn’t believe me.

  The Inquisition

  The look over Rachael’s face when the cops dragged me out from my house hasn’t left my mind once all the way over here. She couldn’t even look at me. There’s gotta be some mistake. I mean, how in the hell did they manage to find drugs in my room?

  Never. Not once in my whole life have I even been tempted to touch drugs, let alone take them. Right up until they showed up at my house, around an hour ago, they’ve been saying that they weren’t treating Holly’s death as suspicious. That she was a user, but I know she wasn’t. I know … I knew her. As for the drugs being in my room? Well, your guess is as good as mine.

  “Mr. Taylor, we’ll get you booked in and then escort you through to the interview room.” A different male cop tells me as he unfastens the cuffs. I rub my wrists and see red marks from where they’ve been cutting into my skin ever since they were locked on back at the house. He walks around until he’s standing in front of me, and I watch as he begins to pat me down. “Is there anything you’d like to admit to having in your possession before I proceed?”

  Apart from my ten inch penis? Yeah, maybe that won’t go down so well right now. I shake my head and glance to the side, “How long is this gonna take?” I ask when my eyes land on the wall clock behind the main desk. It’s almost nine thirty already and it takes around an hour to get from here and over to Seattle.

  “Let’s just put it this way. If you co-operate, then it will take a lot less time than if you choose not to.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” I grind out through my teeth when I see a look of amusement crossing over his face. “I need to be in Seattle by eleven.”

  He shakes his head as his hands reach my waist, “Son? You haven’t a hope in hell of being anywhere but here for the next few hours, at least.”

  “No. No. You don’t understand… I need to be there. Not being there is not an option for me.” He ignores my protests and continues his search. I look down when I feel him pause his hands before standing back up on his feet.

  “Do you normally carry women’s jewelry around in your pants pockets?”

  My eyes land on the locket he’s holding in front of me, and it feels like my heart just stopped. “It’s my girlfriends,” I answer quietly.

  “Does your girlfriend not mind you taking her jewelry?” he looks and sounds amused.

  “My girlfriend’s dead,” I spit at him and see the amusement immediately fading from his eyes. “That’s why I need to be in Seattle … It’s her … it’s her funeral today.”

  He studies me for a couple of seconds before a smile appears wide over his face, “That’s one hell of an excuse, son. Usually we get told all kinds of crazy shit. Mainly they need to get home to feed their dog or something. Dead girlfriend? Wow. You must be really desperate if you think that’s gonna work in here.”

  If I thought I’d get away with it, I’d have that jackass punk on the floor and beat the shit outta him for what he just said.

  He turns around and I see him placing the silver locket in a clear bag, “Hey! Hey, what are you doin’ with that?” I step forward and notice the security guards on either side of the desk stepping forward. “You … no. No, I need it for—”

  “All personal possessions need to be bagged and locked securely away until you sign the papers for their release on your way out of the building. And, son? The chances of that being any time soon are extremely slim. So, I need you to step forward and sign this form so we can take your fingerprints and police photograph before you’re taken in for questioning.”

  “But you don’t understand. You’re not listening to me. I need to take it to her… I can’t miss her funeral. I need to say goodbye. Please? Please. I need to say goodbye to her!” What is he not understanding here?

  “You won’t be saying goodbye to nobody today,” he ushers me forward and pushes a pen in my hand.

  “I need my friend to come by and get that necklace. Please? When do I get to make my call?” I ask the woman who’s sitting behind the desk with desperation. She looks up from her computer and over to a police officer who looks as though has just come on duty.

  “Give me a second,” she throws me a small, solemn smile and walks towards the female officer. I glance around, and after a few minutes of tapping my fingers impatiently on the desk, she walks back over to me with the female cop following closely behind her, while gesturing towards the phone.

  I swallow while my mind races on who I should call. I get one call. One. I need at least five.

  “Hello?”

  “Neil … Neil it’s me.”

  ***

  “How many more times?” As I stand, the chair I was just sitting on falls backwards and hits the ground, but I don’t let it phase me. “It’s not mine!” I rake both of my hands through my hair. I’ve never felt this frustrated before in my whole life. I start pacing back and forth in front of the desk and try to calm my breaths.

  “Then how do you propose the heroine made its way into your bedroom, Mr. Taylor?”

  I swear, if he calls me Mr. Taylor one more fucking time … “I’ve already told you,” I close my eyes and take another couple of deep breaths. When I reopen them, both of the detectives are staring directly at me. The guy with narrowed eyes, and the woman? Well, she’s just looking at me. “I’ve never seen it before it my life. I don’t do drugs. I don’t deal drugs. It’s. Not. Mine.” I say angrily say through my gritted teeth, and notice the female detective writing a few things down on her notepad. The male sits lazily back in his seat and crosses his hands behind his head,
still staring right at me.

  A knock on the door interrupts the little stare off we had going on, and once he clears his throat, he stands and heads over to open it up. He talks with someone who’s standing on the other side for a couple of moments, before looking back over to the two of us, “I’ll be back.” And with that, he leaves the room. Yes, I don’t doubt that, Arnie.

  I don’t know how long I’ve been in here answering their questions though it’s obvious they don’t believe anything I’m telling them anyway. They know things. Things they shouldn’t know. They asked about mine and Holly’s relationship. They knew things were rough over the last week before she … before it happened. How? How did they know this and why is any of that relevant to their investigation?

  Shaking my head, I begin pacing the floor again, “Brandon?” I hear the one remaining cop speak. “Is it okay if I call you Brandon?”

  “Is this the part where you pretend to be my friend, just so you can try and trick me into a confession?” I glare over at her. “Because if it is, then it’s not gonna work. I didn’t do what you’re accusing me of. I didn’t do anything. I loved … I love my girlfriend.”

  She smiles a sad smile at me, and nods before averting her eyes away and back to her notebook, “I can see that. I was just wondering why you used your one and only phone call to contact your friend. Usually, especially people around the same age, call their parents, or a lawyer. The evidence they have against you is—”

  “There is no evidence because I didn’t do anything!” How many more times are we gonna go through this before they realize their mistake? I breathe out a sigh and walk back over to the table. While picking the chair back up, my eyes land on the clock that’s hanging on the wall behind where I was sitting.

  I glare at the second hand and watch as it hits the number twelve.

  It’s eleven o’clock.

  I slump down into my seat and rest my elbows on my knees, my head hanging low. Staring at the floor, it finally hits me. “I’m not gonna get to say goodbye to her.” My voice cracks when I speak.