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Chapter 3
§ Lσyalty Tєst §
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Elaine skipped over and whistled loudly, pretending that entering an interrogation room was the most normal thing to ever do. Twirling around in circles and humming some random tune, Elaine made her way to the chair opposite Ezio. He was beginning to worry; there was something off about her. The erratic behavior, perhaps? The chair made a loud scraping noise as Elaine sat down.
She raised her eyebrows in excitement and chirped, “Guess what, Ezzie?! We get some alone time to talk. Soooo, how are you and uh, if you don’t mind, can you tell me what happened after the police rescued me? Did you actually kill someone? Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”
Ezio was unsure how to react; what did the police do to her? If they threatened her at all, they would definitely hear from him. He would give them a piece of his mind. Not literally, of course. Ezio was practically fuming at the thought of that. Elaine seemed a bit panicked when Ezio didn’t respond.
She leaned forward and glanced around before she said, “Oh, there’s a piece of fuzz by your ear. Let me get that for you. Don’t say I don’t need to. There might be an infection!”
She locked eyes with him and gave him an “I-know-you-think-I’m-crazy-but-just-play-along” look. Ezio didn’t refuse as Elaine walked over to him and began searching around his ear. All of a sudden, she grabbed him and pushed him under the table.
“Wha—“ Ezio had attempted to ask Elaine about what she was trying to do, but she cut him off by clamping a hand on his mouth. Elaine placed a finger on her mouth, a sign for him to be quiet. He nodded and she removed her hand.
Elaine, almost inaudible, said, “Okay, here’s what happened after I was ‘rescued’ by the police. Some went out looking for you, while the detective asked me a whole bunch of questions. I didn’t say a word, just like he said.”
It was pretty easy to tell which detective she was referring to, since Ezio had previous encounters with him. Drew. Elaine was now grinning ear to ear, obviously proud that she hadn’t betrayed her “brother” in any way.
“Anyway, Ezio. When he was questioning you, I was confronted by the rest of the police team. They wanted me to talk to you to supposedly get the truth. I pretended to be all innocent and agree with them. The police fell for it; can you believe that?”
Ezio was about to answer, but Elaine interrupted, “Never mind about that. We should figure out something and quick. I bet the police are recording our conversation now with those concealed microphones or whatever tools they have. They’re probably getting suspicious by now.”
She pulled him back up and said loudly, “Oh, I’m sorry. Forgive me for my carelessness. I knocked you over by accident. At least I got the fuzz out, though.”
He could tell she was acting, but just hoped that the police wouldn’t be able to figure that out.
A few seconds later, the door opened; Drew stomped in, frowning.
He literally bared his teeth and growled, “This isn’t going in any direction. No new leads. No confessions. That’s it, young man. Tell. Me. The. Truth.”
Ezio said, “What makes you think I wasn’t telling the truth earlier, huh?”
Drew gave an exasperated sigh and when he turned to Elaine, his face softened, as he tried to reason with her.
“Come on, little girl. You’re very brave for trying to cover for your brother, but that’s not going to work. I know we got off on the wrong foot earlier, but now, it’s very crucial for you to tell us any information that you’re withholding. Any small detail can help.”
Elaine scowled and through clenched teeth, she said, “I am not a little girl. Don't you know my name is Elaine? E-l-a-i-n-e.” Oh boy; Drew had struck a nerve and she would definitely not tell him anything, especially after his remark.
Drew was called back outside and shortly after, he entered the interrogation room again.
He announced, “Elaine, your mother is complaining that she has been waiting too long and would like to take you home now.”
Drew beckoned for Elaine to come over and she almost followed; however, she gave Ezio a wistful glance, as if she was afraid what would happen to him.
“What’s going to happen to Ezio?”
Drew smiled cruelly and replied, “Oh, we’ll just keep him here for now. Detain him for about a day.”
Elaine exclaimed, “What?! He’s innocent. Don’t you need a guardian’s consent or something?” She sure does love watching those criminal and law shows.
“I understand what you mean, miss, but we do have reason to question him. Plus, that is only for kids under the age of sixteen. I’m fully aware of the suspect’s age. He’s sixteen, am I right? Now, please go home and I assure you that this situation will be resolved. One way or another.”
It was funny to hear Drew attempting to sound polite; what he was really trying to do was get rid of Elaine as quickly as possible without directly telling her so.
She pouted and argued, “Well, technically, I believe that parents or guardians should be notified. He isn’t quite an adult yet.”
There was a pause and Elaine added, “I hear that our brains aren’t fully developed until the early twenties. We might not always make the best choices, so we need support from others.”
Ezio had no idea what she was trying to do, but at least Drew backed off. He opened the door even further and made a sweeping motion with his hand, obviously wanting Elaine to go out.
“I’m not going anywhere without Ezio,” she said stubbornly.
Drew said, “I’m not playing around. Come on.”
When she still didn’t move, he took her out. Elaine’s earsplitting screams made some nearby people cover their ears. Ezio was used to her loudness, so it wasn’t a problem for him.
Off in the distance, Elaine shouted, “I’ll find you Ezio! I’ll help you. I’ll help you as best as I can.”
Ezio was not left alone for long; some guards led him down a narrow hallway. He hoped that wherever he was going, he would see Violet.
YOU ARE READING
Jigsaw (Undergoing major editing)
RandomEzio has always been different, so different that people don’t believe that he’s related to his family. Even Ezio doubts that he’s their biological son. His grey hair and mismatched eyes turns others away. Also dealing with amnesia, he doesn’t remem...
