Chapter 22

I sat in a room that I very much thought of as a police interrogation room. If I wasn't in trouble as the police told me then what was I doing in here?

"We're going to start with a few basic questions," a female officer said. She was Officer Martin. There was a male officer in the room too. He was Officer Sandoval.

"Okay."

Martin asked for my name and where I lived and about my family and about school. It was all questions I'm sure they already knew the answers to. I looked at Martin when I answered but often glanced at Sandoval who said nothing and remained inscrutable.

"Now let's change topics," Martin said.

She was a friendly woman and easy to talk with but when she said that my anxiety returned.

"Sure," I mumbled.

"We talked to the night clerk who worked Friday night at the motel you stayed in. He said you and a girl..." She looked at her notes. " ... Alex is her name, paid to stay one night. Is that correct?"

"Yes," I said. They needed to turn up the air conditioning in this room.

"Good. We talked to Alex a short time ago and she said the same thing."

"You talked to Alex?"

"Yes. Does that scare you?"

"No," I quickly responded. It didn't scare me but it definitely made me nervous.

"So why were you and Alex staying the night in a motel? What were you doing?"

"What does it matter?" I said grumpily. "I thought you were going to ask me about the hostage situation."

"We just want all the facts." She smiled sweetly.

"I think you can guess what we were doing."

"Yes but we just want to confirm."

"We had sex."

"So you rented the motel room for you and your girlfriend, she is your girlfriend, right, to have sex?"

"Yes," I said exasperated. Did I have to spell everything out? It should be obvious.

Sandoval spoke. "Did you have a good time?"

I looked over and nodded. My face felt warm. Sandoval smiled.

Martin said, "So let's go to Saturday morning. What did you do?"

"We had sex again and then dressed to checkout."

"And that's when the police saw you and sent you go to the motel lobby?"

"Yes. For our own safety or something. We couldn't leave because you had Alex's car blocked in."

"So what did you do then?"

"Nothing. I waited until you said we could leave."

"Did you enter the hostage room and free the hostage?"

"No," I said, trying to sound disdainful. "How could I do that?"

"That's what we want to know."

"I didn't do anything but wait."

"Did you use the restroom in the lobby area?"

"Everybody did."

"Probably. In conversation with your girlfriend, Alex, she said when you returned from the bathroom, the hostage situation was soon over."

"So?"

"Alex said she thinks you helped the hostage, but you wouldn't say how. She told us a lot of interesting things like how you helped her relationship with her father and how you helped a friend's mother's work situation."

"They're just stories I made up. I was just trying to seem important."

"Are you sure you weren't with the hostage?"

"How could I be?"

"I don't know. The hostage says there was a boy your age helping her. She saw you leave the area with Alex."

"This is all just a strange coincidence. Isn't there some hostage syndrome or something?"

"Do you want to revise any of your statements? Have you told us the complete truth?"

"No and yes. I've told the complete truth."

She brought an electronic device up from off the floor.

"What about now?" she asked.

"What?" I was confused.

She pushed a button and the voice I heard chilled me to the bone. It was my voice!

I listened to my conversation with the 911 operator which ended with "Hurry! We're in trouble!"

Martin said, "We're in trouble."

"Someone was with her but that's not me."

"It sure sounds like you."

"It's not."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Couldn't she understand that it wasn't me?

Martin uncovered some other papers on the table that were underneath her notepad.

She said, "We obtained a copy of your cellphone records. You made a call to 911 at the exact same time as this 911 call. Strange coincidence, huh? So what did you call 911 about?"

I slumped in my chair and felt like crying. Life was all coming down on me.

"Sam?" she said, sounding concerned.

"What?" I mumbled, looking down at my feet.

"Did you try to rescue the hostage?"

"Yes," I admitted.

"That's a very good thing you did, Sam. That was very brave of you. We'd just like to know how you got in there and how you got out without anyone seeing you. We interviewed the officers at the situation and not a one saw you go in or go out."

"I can't tell you how I did it. I just can't."

I cried. I felt like such a wuss. I was too old to cry.

The officers were mercifully quiet.

"Can I go home now?" I asked.

"Sorry, Sam," she said gently. "Not until you give us some more information."

"How I got in and out without being seen?"

"Yes."

"I can't. No one knows but..." I stopped.

"But who?"

"No one. Not any girlfriend or any school friends or my parents. No one."

"No one?" Martin confirmed.

I shook my head.

"Do you want to go home, Sam?"

"Yes."

"I need you to tell us then."

"I can't say. I have to show."

"Then show us."

I sat up and looked around. I saw enough TV police shows to guess they were recording this conversation.

I said firmly, "Some place where there are no cameras."

"Alright," Martin said and looked over at Sandoval.

Sandoval said, "I'll go talk to someone."

"No cameras!" I said forcefully. "Someone's office or a storage room or something."

"Sure, Sam," Martin said. "Officer Sandoval will take care of it. Would it be okay if we leave you alone for a short time?"

I shrugged.

"Just call out if you need anything." She pointed at the mirror that I suspected was a one-way glass.

The cops left and I was alone. I could leave and disappear but what good would that do me? I would lose my family and friends like Mallory and girlfriend Alex and her sister Alyssa and any chance of getting back with Brianna.

I stood and paced. What was going to become of me? If they thought they were going to dissect me then I would disappear and make their life hell. They would regret messing with me. I didn't want to do such a thing. It was against my nature but if I were up against the wall, I would do what I had to do.