Taken By Surprise

by Jessica Frances

  Chapter Seventeen – The Interrogation

  Sunday April 8th

  I finally make it home at four in the morning, collapse on top of my bed and sleep. I don’t bother to change, to shower or even to pull myself under the covers. I feel exhausted.

  I hear Dad come into my room a few times, but I refuse to open my eyes or to acknowledge the world in any way. When I finally do emerge, it’s to realize I have slept entirely through Saturday.

  “Charlie you need to get up. Sleeping all day and night is not healthy.” Dad is worried and I know why. Sleeping a lot is what Mom used to do. I remember that about her. I would want to play, but she was always too tired. In the end, I used to spend a lot of time lying in bed with her, watching her sleep.

  I sit up and rub my eyes open. I don’t know why I still feel tired.

  “Fine.” I sit up and stumble out of bed, feeling dizzy.

  “You need to eat.” Dad leads me to the kitchen and I sit down heavily on the stool, watching him cook some left over eggs from the other day and place them in front of me. I smell the hot food and realize that I really have no appetite.

  “Not hungry.”

  “Charlie, talk to me. What happened? Did your date go badly?”

  I snort and laugh, but I find no humor in it.

  “Charlie?” Dad’s concern is enough to get me to talk. He doesn’t deserve for me to be a jerk.

  “She died.”

  “What?” Dad starts choking on the piece of toast he has just placed in his mouth.

  “She collapsed and died.” My back sags on the stool, feeling like sitting up straight is too much effort. I just want to go back to sleep.

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. I took her to the hospital and she died.”

  “I’m so sorry, son.” Dad puts his arm around my shoulders and gives me a half hug. We don’t hug, ever, so this is huge for him.

  Before I can move, the doorbell rings.

  “Hang on a moment. I’ll make whoever it is go away.”

  A few seconds later, two cops emerge into the kitchen.

  “Charlie Nichols?” one cop asks. He’s overweight and his belt looks like it will burst open at any moment.

  “Yeah?”

  “We need you to come down to the station with us for a few questions about Nora Peterson.”

  “If you want to talk to him, then you can do so here.” Dad is in business mode now. He talks like he’s in control.

  “Dad, I can go down to the station if they want me to.”

  “No, the only way they can force you down to the station is to arrest you.” Dad narrows his eyes at the cops.

  “Dad, this is just something routine, right? She had some allergic reaction or whatever.” I start to stand up, but stop when I hear Dad’s next words.

  “Trust me, Charlie, it doesn’t mean they’ll care about the truth.” Dad is giving me a stern look.

  “I hate to break this up, but we can arrest him if you feel that is the only way he will be willing to come down with us to the station.” The overweight cop crosses his arms over his bulging chest and panic rises up inside me at his words.

  “No! Dad, shut up.” I get up from the stool and walk over to both officers.

  “I don’t see why you can’t just question him here.”

  “Because this is being classed as a murder investigation and we would like to do things thoroughly and properly.”

  “Murder? Nora was murdered?” I numbly follow the two officers out as Dad insists he drive me to the station and they agree.